Animal Plastics

Shaif

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Pittsburgh, PA
After months of looking and learning, I have decided to go with an Animal Plastics T70. This is the largest they make-- 8 x 3 feet. I was concerned about the front only doors, so Ali was able to customize top hinge doors as well. I asked for built in MVB fixtures at each end and built in fluorescents along the top. Is there anything else I'm missing? Things I should customize or fix/add?

Thank you in advance for any ideas. I wish I had the skill to make one myself. Some of the ones on this forum are Off The Hook!
 

BILBO-03

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[nQUOTE="SarahChelonoidis, post: 1416700, member: 60380"]What species is this for? Do you need a night heat source too?[/QUOTE]i think it's for a Greek
 

Shaif

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I will absolutely post pics! But I think my wait will be on the order of 3-4 months.

And yes-- great thought about night time heat, but I have Testudo. They need a night time cool down.
 

Shaif

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Sorry it has taken sooooo long. The enclosure is now here and I'll post the pics I promised.

A few thoughts on the process:
My order took a very, very long time to be made from Animal Plastics. I did order the biggest enclosure they make; T70; 96x36x24. It took 6 months to arrive. Ali and her husband were able to make me some stellar fixtures to hang my lights. I've enclosed a pic of the roof of the enclosure. It's sleek.

We had some setbacks in construction and some issues with broken glass doors, but with each issue, Ali (co-owner of Animal Plastics) was incredibly kind and responsive. Total for the enclosure with shipping to PA was $936.

I took the invaluable advice of Mark84 regarding lighting. I have 12%uvb fluorescents running along the back of enclosure and a double T5 HO fluorescent across the front. Two basking domes with 60watt floods centered on each side. Lights were from Todd Goode at Light Your Reptiles. One note-- most of these lights are not meant to be attached from above. It takes a bit of effort to make them top mountable. Total for lighting was $416.

The stand I got is actually a riser that we found online at a school supply store. Cost was $350. You probably don't need this or can find something better. Of course, I thought it was ugly, so I had to buy a $250 custom cloth to cover it (also unnecessary and silly in retrospect).

I'm still making fine adjustments for temps, but humidity is amazing, and I'm very happy so far!

Here are the pics of my husband and kids assembling the enclosure.

The last pic is of the top of the enclosure. The uvb fluorescents snap on at the back, and were not attached yet.

Cheers,
Shaifali



ImageUploadedByTortoise Forum1492893558.172646.jpg

ImageUploadedByTortoise Forum1492893103.514868.jpgImageUploadedByTortoise Forum1492893171.791624.jpgImageUploadedByTortoise Forum1492893199.157808.jpgImageUploadedByTortoise Forum1492893225.602519.jpgImageUploadedByTortoise Forum1492893302.946597.jpg

ImageUploadedByTortoise Forum1492893324.905297.jpg
 

Greta16

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Sorry it has taken sooooo long. The enclosure is now here and I'll post the pics I promised.

A few thoughts on the process:
My order took a very, very long time to be made from Animal Plastics. I did order the biggest enclosure they make; T70; 96x36x24. It took 6 months to arrive. Ali and her husband were able to make me some stellar fixtures to hang my lights. I've enclosed a pic of the roof of the enclosure. It's sleek.

We had some setbacks in construction and some issues with broken glass doors, but with each issue, Ali (co-owner of Animal Plastics) was incredibly kind and responsive. Total for the enclosure with shipping to PA was $936.

I took the invaluable advice of Mark84 regarding lighting. I have 12%uvb fluorescents running along the back of enclosure and a double T5 HO fluorescent across the front. Two basking domes with 60watt floods centered on each side. Lights were from Todd Goode at Light Your Reptiles. One note-- most of these lights are not meant to be attached from above. It takes a bit of effort to make them top mountable. Total for lighting was $416.

The stand I got is actually a riser that we found online at a school supply store. Cost was $350. You probably don't need this or can find something better. Of course, I thought it was ugly, so I had to buy a $250 custom cloth to cover it (also unnecessary and silly in retrospect).

I'm still making fine adjustments for temps, but humidity is amazing, and I'm very happy so far!

Here are the pics of my husband and kids assembling the enclosure.

The last pic is of the top of the enclosure. The uvb fluorescents snap on at the back, and were not attached yet.

Cheers,
Shaifali



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View attachment 205528
Wow, what a set-up!
 

FLGirl41

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That's a great setup! I ordered a smaller size (6x3 footprint) from AP and hope it will be done this month. I'd love to see more photos and know what you think of the enclosure as it settles in. :)
 

Markw84

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Shaifali

It really looks great, and should be a wonderful home for your tortoise.

I see the fluorescents are in an apparently custom mount on the top. They appear to have a plastic diffuser covering the bulbs. Is that correct? If so, that could block all the UVB from the tubes. Was that considered by Animal Plastics when they made that for you? Looks really nice, but most plastics will not pass UVA/B unless a very specific type is used.

Since there was a problem with breakage, I see you went with glass for the doors. From what I see it is sliding doors. Are you happy with the way those work? Do they seem secure and "break-proof" now in place?

How heavy did the unit end up being? It is the exact size I make, but even with 1/4" plywood, 2x2's and the foam insulation sandwich, mine end up being quite a heavy load for 2 guys to move - maybe 200 - 250lbs. Any guess on the weight of yours? Were you and your husband able to move it fairly easily yourselves once assembled?

Thank you for the updated post. Please keep us updated on how it maintains heat and humidity, and your overall appraisal of it's value.

Mark
 

a5fung

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Great enclosure!! I currently have a AP 2x4 for my yearling cherryhead. I'll move them outside for the warmer months, but during the winter I'm thinking of getting this as one of the options as they get bigger. Thanks for the pics and info!!
 

Shaif

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Pittsburgh, PA
Shaifali

It really looks great, and should be a wonderful home for your tortoise.

I see the fluorescents are in an apparently custom mount on the top. They appear to have a plastic diffuser covering the bulbs. Is that correct? If so, that could block all the UVB from the tubes. Was that considered by Animal Plastics when they made that for you? Looks really nice, but most plastics will not pass UVA/B unless a very specific type is used.

Since there was a problem with breakage, I see you went with glass for the doors. From what I see it is sliding doors. Are you happy with the way those work? Do they seem secure and "break-proof" now in place?

How heavy did the unit end up being? It is the exact size I make, but even with 1/4" plywood, 2x2's and the foam insulation sandwich, mine end up being quite a heavy load for 2 guys to move - maybe 200 - 250lbs. Any guess on the weight of yours? Were you and your husband able to move it fairly easily yourselves once assembled?

Thank you for the updated post. Please keep us updated on how it maintains heat and humidity, and your overall appraisal of it's value.

Mark


You are absolutely correct, Mark. The diffusers were just for packing. I removed them and now have just the exposed bulbs. I wonder if it's too bright for them-- I've got two 6400 ho t5 bulbs in the fixture. Behind that is a separate fixture with the 12%uvb bulb. The 60 watt flood is the basking light in between the 2 fixtures. The pics don't show the posterior fixture because we hadn't hung it yet.
The entire unit weighs 220lbs.

Yes, the sliding glass doors were the only option with this size. I do like them. Very solid. No problems installing. Sturdy on the track. We added some handles on them. Much easier to grab hold of.

I added a sticky film on the doors also. Wanted the torts to feel secure.ImageUploadedByTortoise Forum1494198504.167885.jpgImageUploadedByTortoise Forum1494198519.429689.jpgImageUploadedByTortoise Forum1494198534.854678.jpg
 

leigti

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That is a totally wonderful enclosure :) I really wish I could afford something like that.
I had a question about the lighting. I'm going to be making an enclosure with the same general dimensions and I haven't decided what I'm gonna do about lighting it. You have a 12% UVB bulb on each side and then one day light bulb on each side also? I was thinking I might get a double bulb fixture and combine both bulbs together but then maybe they wouldn't have enough light throughout the enclosure.
Are you happy with your set up now that you've had it for a little bit? Any saying you would have done different? It is a very beautiful set up and I'm sure your tortoises are very happy. Thank you for sharing this.
 

Tom

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It looks wonderful @Shaif , and thank you for sharing.

I have two questions:
1. What is the measurement from the floor of the enclosure to the bottom lip of the front window? In other words: How many inches of substrate could you use before it began spilling out onto the floor?

2. It looks like you have a plastic liner in there. Was leakage an issue?
 

a5fung

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Do you mind showing pictures of the top hinged lid? I'm curious how that customization worked out. Thanks!
 

Shaif

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That is a totally wonderful enclosure :) I really wish I could afford something like that.
I had a question about the lighting. I'm going to be making an enclosure with the same general dimensions and I haven't decided what I'm gonna do about lighting it. You have a 12% UVB bulb on each side and then one day light bulb on each side also? I was thinking I might get a double bulb fixture and combine both bulbs together but then maybe they wouldn't have enough light throughout the enclosure.
Are you happy with your set up now that you've had it for a little bit? Any saying you would have done different? It is a very beautiful set up and I'm sure your tortoises are very happy. Thank you for sharing this.


This is a great question, and I actually am not sure what the best option is. I actually have TWO 6400 daylight bulbs in a double fixture and a 12% florescent in a separate fixture. In between the two fixtures, I have a basking 60 watt incandescent flood. My temps were actually getting too warm and I really think it was too bright in the enclosure. I removed one of the bulbs from the double fixture, and am pretty happy with just one daylight bulb and the 12%.

I am still adjusting though. Thinking of decreasing the time that the 12% stays on, which may mean replacing the second daylight bulb.

It's still a work in progress for me. I've modeled this setup based on @Markw84 and @Tom. Because they are pretty brilliant. Get it, lights...brilliant.....get it?:cool:
 

Shaif

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It looks wonderful @Shaif , and thank you for sharing.

I have two questions:
1. What is the measurement from the floor of the enclosure to the bottom lip of the front window? In other words: How many inches of substrate could you use before it began spilling out onto the floor?

2. It looks like you have a plastic liner in there. Was leakage an issue?


1. The front lip is 3.75 inches. So what I've done is make a gradient with shallower substrate in the front (about 2 inches) and deeper substrate (4 inches) in the back. I think that almost everything is customizable though. I should have asked if the front lip could be deeper in retrospect.

2. No, no issues with leaks. They gave us a sealer to put on and we sealed with our own sealant as well. I put the liner hoping it will make substrate changes a little easier.
 
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Shaif

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Do you mind showing pictures of the top hinged lid? I'm curious how that customization worked out. Thanks!

I actually ended up with a fixed top so I could mount the lights and fixtures internally. I wanted a truly closed chamber, so I had to forgo the top lid. I would have been cool though.
 

Sterant

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I
1. The front lip is 3.75 inches. So what I've done is make a gradient with shallower substrate in the front (about 2 inches) and deeper substrate (4 inches) in the back. I think that almost everything is customizable though. I should have asked if the front lip could be deeper in retrospect.

2. No, no issues with leaks. They gave us a sealer to put on and we sealed with our own sealant as well. I put the liner hoping it will make substrate changes a little easier.

I recently made 2 new enclosed chambers for my tortoise room which are very much like the Animal plastics enclosures, but I made a 5" lower front lip to give a bit more room for substrate. I made them out of the same materials as AP does (1/2" PVC). The one pictured here is 5' wide, 3' deep and 2' high....perfect for my needs.Dans EC.jpg
 

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