New enclosure for Pixel

[DutchieAmanda]

Pixel (young redfoot of 8 cm) is living with me for a few weeks now, and he's getting more and more active. Love him!


He's living in a glass terrarium at the moment, but I wanted a bigger (and higher) enclosure without glass sides to bump in to... So time to start the build!

The base is a Ikea lack table of 118x78 cm.


I started with the walls today: double layer of plywood with isolation in between.


The front and part of the sides and top will be glass, with sliding windows on the front. There will also be a small second floor. I'll use epoxy coating for the inside, so it can withstand the moisture. And if Pixel outgrows this enclosure I can use it as a second floor in a larger house.

I'll keep you updated on the progress!

 

[Jodie]

Looking forward to the updates. Great start!

 

[stojanovski92113]

I'm also looking forward to the progress made on your enclosure for Pixel

 

[Delilah1623]

Haha cute name!

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Did YOU make that? Nice work. A closed chamber will be ideal for your little guy.

 

[DutchieAmanda]

Did YOU make that? Nice work. A closed chamber will be ideal for your little guy.

I have to admit I had a little help...


Did some more work today: I added the styrofoam insulation layer and the inside layer of multiplex. You can also see where the second floor will be. (The top board is still loose, so I can install the lights more easily).



For ventilation I drilled some larger holes and put pieces of pvc pipe in, three at substrate level and three at the top.


The next few days I have to work and celebrate Sinterklaas with the family, so I don't expect to make much progress. Will keep you posted!

 

[stojanovski92113]

Looking good

 

[Michael Twohy]

looks good so far!

 

[kdub]

I have to admit I had a little help...
View attachment 107748

Did some more work today: I added the styrofoam insulation layer and the inside layer of multiplex. You can also see where the second floor will be. (The top board is still loose, so I can install the lights more easily).
View attachment 107749
View attachment 107750

For ventilation I drilled some larger holes and put pieces of pvc pipe in, three at substrate level and three at the top.
View attachment 107751

The next few days I have to work and celebrate Sinterklaas with the family, so I don't expect to make much progress. Will keep you posted!

I like your helper! Very cute!

 

[leigti]

I have a couple little helpers like that also can you please come to my house and build some enclosures for me that look nice? Mine don't look pretty. At least not the outside of them.

 

[DutchieAmanda]

I constructed the second floor today, including the ramp. It might look a little steep but it's connected with a hinge, so if the substrate is in it get's a lot less steep.

 

[Michael Twohy]

I constructed the second floor today, including the ramp. It might look a little steep but it's connected with a hinge, so if the substrate is in it get's a lot less steep.
View attachment 109317
View attachment 109318

Looks good

 

[Jacqui]

Love your helper! I hope he/she got a special payment for their hard work. I don't recall anybody using insulation on their inside enclosure (but then I do have a bad memory). Just curious as to why you decided to do so. It is looking great.

 

[leopard777]

dont forget to waterproof the ikea table , is it solid wood ?

 

[keepergale]

dont forget to waterproof the ikea table , is it solid wood ?

Ha Ha Ha Solid wood in Ikea furniture. You are very funny.
None of my IKEA furniture is solid wood.
OP what a cool idea.

 

[leopard777]

it look nice , but once touch water/moisture ,it start to crumble down

 

[DutchieAmanda]

Love your helper! I hope he/she got a special payment for their hard work. I don't recall anybody using insulation on their inside enclosure (but then I do have a bad memory). Just curious as to why you decided to do so. It is looking great.

Thanks! Off course she was rewarded
I'm using insulation to cut down on heating costs. It can be quite cold in our old Dutch house (15 degrees Celsius or lower) at night or on work days. If I insulate the enclosure less heat will be lost. Hope it works out!

 

[DutchieAmanda]

it look nice , but once touch water/moisture ,it start to crumble down

The Ikea table is definitely not solid wood (hahaha), the rest is multiplex wood. It will be around 80% humidity inside for my redfoot, so it's indeed necessary to treat the wood and table. I'm going to put epoxy resin on the inside (normally used for wooden boats) to make it waterproof. So I'm confident that it will not crumble down

 

[DutchieAmanda]

Hi all! It has been a while since the last update, partly due to my vacation to Kenya (which was awesome, too bad we didn't see any leopard tortoises!). But I did some work on Pixel's enclosure in the meantime.

I treated the inside with grey boat paint (epoxy resin) to make it water resistant. I also put in the electrics and lights. And, to make it more tropical, I put in a photo background. It's an outdoor poster, which is water and UV resistant. I really like it!

I also ordered the glass today. The top and sides will be double glazed. This will make it better isolated. This will save energy and makes it easier to regulate temperature. The front will be two sliding glass doors.

And now: some pictures!

 

[Jodie]

Very nice!