New Enclosure for Skrilla

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Kayti

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I finally moved Skrilla into the big enclosure I made for her a couple weeks ago. It's still a tad big, but I got tired of waiting!

I made it using to the Crossfire designs for a bearded dragon enclosure, with a few modifications- mainly, the screen top because I don't like in-cage fixtures. It's the same size as the largest exo-terra, so I can buy a background for it when I get around to it.
I still need a few good big branches, and I might add a frame to the front, but I'm really happy with it so far! The inside is water-tight with drylock and sealant, the front door slides, and the top is wire mesh.

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And my favorite part; the substrate-guard just happened to be at the perfect height for her to do this:
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She's a lot like a puppy for a wild lizard :rolleyes: She likes to lick my hand now.
 

webskipper

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RE: New Enclosure for Skilla

Really nice. I think a buddy of mine is using that material for his Croc Lizards.

I should try melamine for a Tort Table. Is it a plastic coated particle board or what?
 

Tom

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RE: New Enclosure for Skilla

Love this. Nice job.
 

Kayti

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RE: New Enclosure for Skilla

webskipper said:
Really nice. I think a buddy of mine is using that material for his Croc Lizards.

I should try melamine for a Tort Table. Is it a plastic coated particle board or what?

It's not actually melamine, it's just 3/4'' plywood painted with a water-proofing product called Latex Base DRYLOK® Masonry Waterproofer.
Melamine is plastic coated particle board, but I've also heard it's a total pain to work with- it cracks really easily, it's super heavy, and it's pretty expensive. I used plywood with drylock on my tort table too, and I'm really happy with it. The warranty says it seals up to 10 psi or something like that, which is supposed to be equivalent to a wall of water 22 feet high. I don't trust melamine to not leak or rot eventually.
 

Tom

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RE: New Enclosure for Skilla

Kayti said:
webskipper said:
Really nice. I think a buddy of mine is using that material for his Croc Lizards.

I should try melamine for a Tort Table. Is it a plastic coated particle board or what?

It's not actually melamine, it's just 3/4'' plywood painted with a water-proofing product called Latex Base DRYLOK® Masonry Waterproofer.
Melamine is plastic coated particle board, but I've also heard it's a total pain to work with- it cracks really easily, it's super heavy, and it's pretty expensive. I used plywood with drylock on my tort table too, and I'm really happy with it. The warranty says it seals up to 10 psi or something like that, which is supposed to be equivalent to a wall of water 22 feet high. I don't trust melamine to not leak or rot eventually.

Kayti, thanks for sharing this. I've always hated the liner idea and it sounds like this Drylok is a great product. This might really solve a few housing problems for me.
 

ChiKat

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RE: New Enclosure for Skilla

It looks incredible!! Lucky little lizard :)
And I love those pictures of her peeking over the substrate guard. Too cute!
 

Kayti

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RE: New Enclosure for Skilla

Thanks! This cage is still temporary though. I've decided that whoever (was it Tom?) pointed out that reptiles act a lot on instinct and probably wouldn't have that much of a problem being re-introduced into the wild was right, and I'm going to release Skrilla sometime this summer when I find a perfect spot. What really convinced me was remembering how tiny and helpless baby reptiles seem- but 99% of them are still capable of surviving without any parental care. Skrillz has a lot of behaviors that seem different from a wild animal, but I am confident that she would revert back to her original demeanor if she was outside in proper Alligator Lizard habitat.
 
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