New indoor enclosure. Pic heavy!!

J_W

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Jan 3, 2014
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I recently adopted my baby Sulcata, Patton, and she currently lives in a cement mixing tub. I am in the process of making her something better. It's not a whole lot bigger, but should give her more room and be more interesting.

Here is where she currently lives. It is ok, but hard to keep up the humidity and she doesn't have too much room to explore.

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Here is what I am working on. It is 42" by 21" and 7" high. The wood is 3/4" plywood. It was a shipping container that looked promising.

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I first sanded the whole thing and then stained it with a gel stain. For the back wall I carved up some foam and then coated them with concrete. The box in the center is going to be a pool with a drain at the bottom so that I can change the water easily. I am going to put a piece of glass at the top on hinges so that I can keep in the heat and humidity but still be able to see Patton.

Let me know what you guys think and please tell me of any improvements you can think of.
 

Saleama

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Looks great! Make sure you keep a good "ramp" all around the pond so s/he can get out easily. If you put one on one side only s/he will for sure try to climb out where there is no ramp and flip over in the water. I speak from experience here. They neve seem to want to use the easy way out if there is a more deadly way, lol.
 

J_W

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Colorado
Saleama said:
Looks great! Make sure you keep a good "ramp" all around the pond so s/he can get out easily. If you put one on one side only s/he will for sure try to climb out where there is no ramp and flip over in the water. I speak from experience here. They neve seem to want to use the easy way out if there is a more deadly way, lol.
Thanks Saleama. I have two ramps planned out, one on each end of the pool and they meet up in the middle. It's hard to explain, but I will show pics when it's done.

lucky_tortoise said:
Can't wait to see your completed project
I can't wait to be done, I'm excited.

Team Gomberg said:
I'm very curious to follow along.

Painted with concrete huh? I like that idea!

Just the foam will be painted with concrete, the rest will be covered with a paint on rubber. It's the same stuff I used to seal the wood in my plywood aquarium.
 

bouaboua

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Nice looking box you build. How big is your baby Sulcata Patton? This box may only less for 12 months. They grow so fast.......
 

J_W

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Jan 3, 2014
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Location (City and/or State)
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She's only a few months old so still pretty small, but I agree about it not lasting long. I am moving soon so once I get settled I'm going to build a bigger indoor enclosure, and start working on a nice outdoor one as well.
 
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