How long will an enclosure last?

[Ivyna J. Spyder]

My young red foot is rapidly outgrowing her 40 gallon and I've been planning on making her a larger (indoor) enclosure. Though I know it will be years and years before she's full grown, I want to save time and money and just make the adult size 8'x4' enclosure now. No sense in making a lot of incremental sizes, right?

But my parents argue that the enclosure wouldn't even last that long due to humidity, and I would need to replace it long before she was full grown anyway.

I think if I sealed it properly and kept up on maintenance it should be fine... but what are people's experiences with this?

Should I go with the 8x4, or make something smaller like a 4x2 or 6x3 in the interim?

 

[GBtortoises]

Indoors it should last for a lifetime if taken care of even with high humidity levels. If the wood is sealed with a good quality coating or paint there should be very little maintenance. While it may be very humid inside, there still needs to be air exchange to prevent mold and other bacteria from "blooming" so the entire enclosure shouldn't be soaking wet anyway.

 

[Madkins007]

GB is right- a decently-built habitat should last quite some time.

I generally recommend 3 indoor habitats over the animal's life- a tub or tank for 'kids', a 'half-sized' habitat of about 4x4 or so for the fast grewing 'teenagers', and the 8x4 adult space.

Some of the benefits of an 'in-between' space are...
- It gives you a chance to experiment in 1/2 scale- what substrates work? What lighting system do you like? All easier to try out in a smaller habitat.
- It can usually be more on-display and attractive. We have gorgeous torts, so we want to show them off. Unfortunately, as the space gets bigger, this gets harder to do. The in-between can often still be shown in the main parts of the house.
- It will be cheaper to heat. humidify, and light. It also takes less time and work to clean, etc.
- As you discover what works for you and does not, you have more time to get the supplies purchased.
- In this economy, any of us may move with fairly little notice. An in-between space is easier to move than the big space.

 

[Ivyna J. Spyder]

Hm all great points :T A 4x4 or somethin does sound more manageable. I may be able to convince my parents to let me do that. Thanks!

 

[Akronic]

i used about 1 1/2 quarts of a wood water proofing/sealer/clear coat. it's the Helmsman line by Minwax, made for outdoor use. main problem is the wood rotting cuz of moisture and just being wet all the time. I have a Russian and they dont require as high humidity. but i would build it myself, even if you go in incremental sizes you may be able to reuse the plexi glass if that's how you do your table, mine is 3x6(waiting till i get another female to add them to it) but i plan on building either a 4x8 this summer or try to make an 8x8......we live in a mobile home in Ak so having that size table in the house is kinda outta the question at this point.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Indoors it should last for a lifetime if taken care of even with high humidity levels. If the wood is sealed with a good quality coating or paint there should be very little maintenance. While it may be very humid inside, there still needs to be air exchange to prevent mold and other bacteria from "blooming" so the entire enclosure shouldn't be soaking wet anyway.