dimzel

Super Moderator
Staff member
Guys, I just have to tell in detail what mistakes we made in the construction process and about the benefits of communication on the forum.
So, we started reading the forum (at that time the Russian forum) 4 months before buying the iguana.
We were too self-confident that we could understand the necessary information. And in the end we created a terrarium, as it seemed to us the right terrarium.
It was a small terrarium for a small iguana. But he had a great height. Now I find it funny that we did not pay attention to this fact:
Для иностранцев.jpg

We found our first oak snag, and were tied to this snag. As a result, all the lamps (heating and UV) were too high.
В ясене (1).JPG


The poor child did not get UV and enough heat. But we continued to argue, and even wanted to add UV lamps, to the detriment of our financial situation.
We tried to draw attention to the scenery, but did not understand the convenience of iguanas. These are examples of our stupidity. Inconvenient staircase close to the wall.
На лесенке (1).JPG

Or plants that the iguana rose high, but did not receive UV.
На самом верху (1).JPG


Our dispute lasted for 1 month. But at last we understood that we should not defend our point of view, and we can listen to the advice of the forum. And we have radically changed the design of the terrarium. I believe that our new design was not only more beautiful, but also convenient for the iguana.
! Террариум Хуана  .jpg

Our iguana began to feel better and more comfortable.
На новом диване.jpg
Июнь 2008 (2).JPG

Therefore, I advise everyone who comes with their own opinions not to ignore the advice of other people. Because very often an independent study of the forum leads to errors and misunderstanding of information. And people on the forum try to pay attention to errors and help.
 
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Ann, the most important thing - it is ridiculous to me now - why we resisted when we were given good advice?
lol смеется.gif
 
Unecesary tall enclosure? Guilty as charged.
Johnny also didn't get his first humidifier until he was only with me. That is, around 9 years old. Because at the time, someone thought it was only a luxury.
It is not a luxury, people, it is vital.
 
Mariana, we had a good height, but we did not understand that we could use this height for the benefit of the iguana. Height 180 cm. (71 inches)
We were too stupid. And our Juanita initially received only 50 cm of usable area. Her snag was too low. Those. Now I understand how stupid it is to have a good terrarium height and not use this advantage.
We also got our humidifier when we made a good horizontal shelf. And we realized the benefits of a humidifier, compared with spraying water.
 
The first part of my construction for berkle i did in PVC. This was my first mistake. I thought with it being lightweight and mold resistant it would be good to work with. Some cons that came with PVC were:

-joiners only go two ways, making three way corners super lame.
-is not as easy to fasten shelves or supports post build.
-measuring everything to fit perfect with all the joiners is extra tricky.
-also quite expensive after you factor in all the joiners and sheer amount of PVC needed once you start factoring in even the most bare minimum of shelving.

For all the reasons above i prefer using wood.

Alas that wasn’t my first mistake. Because I used pvc it was much easier to use a mesh screen. I figured humidifiers could keep up if placed properly, and although they are sufficient, it could be better. If it wasn’t for my automatic misting system, (it is a Mist King system which i highly, HIGHLY recommend) as well as constant bathing, the humidifiers would more than likely not be enough. Alas they can be if its fully enclosed with proper ventilation.

Having covered my first two mistakes i can show your my third!

As you can see in the pics my first attempt had a big cool piece of driftwood to climb and bask, but the shelf was non existent, and she couldn’t lay on it at all. I was realizing humidity issues and thus built better shelves and ladders for her to get around. Simplifying the cage to avoid hard to clean poops, and also add basking water for her to poop in. These changes were sufficient until she got too big for the enclosure and it needed to be upgraded.

I used a table as a base for the first enclosure so i did so with the second. Luckily i had another table that was the exact same height as the other one. I built the second out of wood, and used mesh only because i couldn’t find plexiglass in town (and because i was stupid) i just used screen again.The second time went much better, the shelves were at a better height, and were wider. The wood allows me to change and add with greater ease (which i have done already).
As soon as i get back to work i will be rebuilding the pvc half with wood, and will source out some transparent plexiglass to fully enclose it. I’m gonna add a better pool that will be heated, and use tubing to keep humidifiers outside of enclosure. I will have to turn my misting system down at this point and most likely will add a fan on each end on a timer to pull fresh air in periodically throughout the day to help avoid mold. I will also use pond liner to line the bottom of the enclosure, as well as the shelf tops. This I will do for ease of cleaning and to protect the wood from the direct mist of the sprayers. I will post pics of this upgrade when i get to it this coming spring/summer.

AA1D8683-2956-44D4-A870-B2B513CA1089.jpeg F2361F50-7E6D-4BDF-BF69-E72910405FD0.jpeg 864B500C-FCAB-4392-9D8F-A6D4838A1C9D.jpeg D7964934-D0D5-490D-9694-34610D29D98A.jpeg 54FE43D6-C08D-4079-9DF3-23947D3387AA.jpeg 3A08F4E4-630A-4C58-80C4-E3C5CA1A63DC.jpeg
 
Live and learn, they say. Thank you for sharing this, so that other can benefit from your knowledge.
I am looking forward to see the new enclosure18jy8saerz