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Posted by Mr. D on September 19, 2002 at 12:16:52:
In Reply to: Re: I\'m sooooooooo excited! posted by Linda G on September 18, 2002 at 20:49:52:
Bear in mind that the more "open" you make the enclosure the more difficult it will be to control heat and humidity. rooms have a natural tendancy to suck humidity out of an enclosure. Consider offsetting vent holes on the sides, i.e. placing one set low on one side and high on the other to promote cross ventilation or, better yet, install a small fan on the high side to help draw air into the enclosure.
I'd recommend going with a wood top with hardware cloth protected cut outs for any high temp lighting such as mercury vapor bulbs. Make sure that any mesh or cloth that you use is a minimum of 1/2" sq. as anything any smaller will reduce available UVB to the ig. You can also install a radiant heat panel directly to the wood should you chooce to go with one.
Somewhere in the archives I know I have posts referencing my three favorite pieces of equipment for an enclosure - mercury vapor bulbs for basking heat and UVB light, radiant heat panels for ambient temperature control, and ultrasonic humidifiers for humidity.
As Michelle suggested, consider mounting the unit itself outside of the enclosure and plumbing it in. Vick's ultrasonic humidifiers lend themselves to this very nicely with PVC pipe. This way, the unit is accessible for refilling and maintainence and doesn't get covered with ig poop. The units can run roughly for 24 hours per fill. Look for them at something like a Wal-Mart.
And check out HerpSupplies.com for bulbs and radiant heat panels. The key to building a custom enclosure is spending money WISELY as opposed to CHEAPLY... Feel free to drop me a line if you have any Q's...;)
