Building an Enclosure for a Baby Redfoot

LemmyBites

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Troggie got some new plants and sphagnum Moss to destroy:

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Enjoying a snack:
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The humidity is at 99%, which makes me a little nervous! Temps are fine in the low to mid 80s, I just worry about mold.
 

LemmyBites

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Well, we're already on take 2! The top access with lights on top turned out to be a real problem. It's hard to reach Troggy when he's in the back bottom corner. But the biggest issue was my fat cat! She loved to lie on the top and actually broke through the plexiglas the other day and fell into the enclosure. Thankfully cat and tort were unharmed, just confused.

So, next up is a larger, 2 story, 2x6 foot enclosure with access from the front. I'm hoping to finish it within the week. Photos to come...
 

Lyn W

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Well, we're already on take 2! The top access with lights on top turned out to be a real problem. It's hard to reach Troggy when he's in the back bottom corner. But the biggest issue was my fat cat! She loved to lie on the top and actually broke through the plexiglas the other day and fell into the enclosure. Thankfully cat and tort were unharmed, just confused.

So, next up is a larger, 2 story, 2x6 foot enclosure with access from the front. I'm hoping to finish it within the week. Photos to come...
Certainly keeping you busy but well worth it - looks great.
 

Rutibegga

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Certainly keeping you busy but well worth it - looks great.

New enclosure will be bigger and better! Trogdor is napping right now, completely unaware that his world is about to expand.

I'm not sure he'll appreciate the fact the his room is also my guitar practice room, but he'll just have to deal.
 

LemmyBites

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The Great Fat Cat Incid

ent of 2015 resulted in a new and improved build. It's 24W x 72L x 42H with a pair of ramps connecting the 2 floors. Troggy loves climbing the ramp in his current enclosure, so I think he'll enjoy his little landing area between the two ramps. It's 8x10 so plenty of room to turn.

Since it's bigger than his current enclosure, and we're already having trouble keeping the back corners above 80, we got another CHE, as well as another UVB basking lamp, so he'll have one of each per floor. I also got more plants (jmbamboo seller on Amazon is awesome, lots of tort safe plants) and a second fluorescent strip light to keep them growing. No more lights on top of the enclosure--it'll all be inside this time.

The inside wood is sealed with 2 coats of water based polyurethane, and we will line it with shower curtains. I ditched the rock walls. I love them, but it's too much work to do again!

That's it so far. Tomorrow I'll paint, attach the doors, and then we give it a week to air out and cure before the big move.

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LemmyBites

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First coat of paint is on. I used leftover paint I had on hand. It looks kind of like a giant dollhouse now, haha.

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LemmyBites

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Paint is almost finished, and top doors are on. I thought about using sliding doors, but this way @Rutibegga can access a larger area at a time. Plus, I didn't have to cut plexiglass, which was such a nightmare last time around.

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Yvonne G

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Well, we're already on take 2! The top access with lights on top turned out to be a real problem. It's hard to reach Troggy when he's in the back bottom corner. But the biggest issue was my fat cat! She loved to lie on the top and actually broke through the plexiglas the other day and fell into the enclosure. Thankfully cat and tort were unharmed, just confused.

So, next up is a larger, 2 story, 2x6 foot enclosure with access from the front. I'm hoping to finish it within the week. Photos to come...

Oh no! After all that work.
 

LemmyBites

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Oh no! After all that work.

I know, right? :( I could just mend and modify the current enclosure, but I learned a lot from the first build (equipment placement, access points, etc), and we also know more about Troggy's likes and dislikes. He'll need a bigger one in a year or two anyway, so...might as well upgrade him now.
 

Rutibegga

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Oh no! After all that work.

The upshot is that, while the first build was great in a lot of ways, there were some flaws that made it less than ideal: corners that were really hard (and perhaps a bit dangerous) for me to reach, sorry of precarious lighting setup, and of course, the plexiglass lid-turned cat trap. And Troggy will have more climbing, which have loves, as well as more space. So it's not the worst thing that could have happened.

This little bugger has no idea how much work he is. Worth it (says the person not doing the whole build - though I think, despite her admission that she prefers leopards, @LemmyBites would agree.)
 

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Michelle D

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I am loving it so far!! Thank you so much for posting all these pics in progress! So helpful! You did an amazing job on the first one and it looks like this second one will be even better. It kinda does look like a dollhouse - which is pretty cute! :) I can't wait to see the finished product! Troggy is very lucky to have you both!
 

Paschendale52

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Have you considered coating the inside with DryLok masonry sealant? People make aquariums out of plywood coated in that stuff so it should hold off any moisture issues, that way you don't have to line it with a shower curtain.
I really dig the new enclosure, it'll be neat to see it all finished up.
 

Ariel Perez

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Wow thats an awesome enclosure! I followed everything through. Please keep updates coming, would love to see the finished product! :)
 

LemmyBites

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Thanks guys! It's been an adventure so far, that's for sure.

I did consider using Drylok but wasn't sure if I should since it was all marked for use on masonry and not wood. Now I feel dumb that that's what I was supposed to get. Whoops! At this point, I'd have to sand off the polyurethane, at least on the parts that hold the substrate.

By the way, the cat in my avatar is Lemmy, the one who broke the lid on the other enclosure. :mad: Very bad cat!
 

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