2 story 29 gallon leo tank

i'm going to be converting my 29 gallon into a 2 story enclosure. the extra level will separate my 2 leopard geckos. there will be vents in each corner of the 2nd level for proper ventilation. there will be a part of the 2nd level that lifts off so that i can maintain the bottom floor.

has anybody ever attempted this? any suggestions on how to add that second floor? i was thinking of using silicone to fix a frame onto the inside of the tank followed by either a grid using eggcrate or wood. the heatpad and then tile would follow.

this project seems stupid when i can just go get a 20L but im also trying to conserve my space while utilizing unused space inside an existing tank.

can anyone see this affecting either of my geckos in a negative way? i figured no seeing as how they're a terrestrial species and each will have a good 8 inches or so of airspace.

pictures soon. promise.


vil.

 

http://www.reptilerooms.com/forumtopic-18460.html

also, im getting rid of this 10gallon tank that is currently housing my leo that will be living on the 2nd level when it's complete. its tough to keep clean because the dens are not removal but some good reptile disinfectant and some good vacuuming will do it good.

im in the san diego area. just pm me. its free to someone with a juvie animal. its a very small 10 gallon but 2 levels are utilized!

 

at work so pictures will come later.

here's what i did: i removed the plastic top off an old 10 gallon and cut it into 4 corner pieces. i siliconed the corners into the 29 gallon tank. now i have a support for my base. i used eggcrate cut to size as a base for the 2nd floor. upon that, i layered tile, making sure to leave a few missing for proper ventilation. now im utilizing all that height in the 29 gallon.

only problem is accessing the bottom floor. i have to make part of the eggcate easily removable w/out sacrificing stability in the floor.

 

its done!

bare with me. i'll have pictures as soon as i borrow my roommate's digital camera.

 

pictures

side view of both top and bottom.


overhead view of both top and bottom.


view of top


view of bottom left including homemade warm/humid hide combo (from older project)


view of bottom right including homemade cool hide (from older project)


sorry, enclosure needs a little bit of cleaning and one of my hides needs to be completely covered and sealed. its in for a test run.

any comments on improvement would be appreciated and highly considered. thank you.

 

RE: pictures

Shouldn't there be three hides per a leo? And in the lower part, does the air change only through that net shown in the third picture?

 

air flow is not only through the 4x4 grid. there is also ~.5cm space surrounding that top floor because it is not permanently fixed to the glass. only the brackets holding up the floor are fixed permanently. since the main floor is eggcrate, there is air movement also in between all the tiles. i occasionally lose mealworms because they end up falling through the cracks.

i've seen wooden enclosures with less airflow than that for beardies. is there a different need in terms of species?

i have 3 hides for my bottom enclosure. if you read my caption for those pictures, there is a warm/humid combo hide i made. they are separated by an internal wall. i know that it looks like one big flat warm hide.

as for the top enclosure, i recently tossed out the combo warm/humid hide. so my top leo is indeed missing a humid hide. he's shed once since the move and i just put in a plastic container. its missing for the pictures because its a sore spot on the aesthetics but he has one. im currently figuring out a way to incorporate a nice looking humid hide.

 

Ok. I just wanted to know before complaining about anything. ;D

I kinda dislike the way you did the air flow thing (isn't my english wonderful?) because the leo can walk on it. I also dislike those large water dishes because they cover so much of the floor space. There is no need for dishes that large and when the water evaporates it raises the humidity more than a small dish would. Other than that it looks nice.

How large is the floor space of the top floor if you exclude the the net? And if the meal worms can drop down from the spaces between the tiles, can poop? Weird question, but I'm curious.

 

its a good idea but it just seems like too much hassle for me. I try to keep my setup fairly simple these days because its less stuff to clean and I dont have to take a top level off to get to the side it was hovering over.

 

yah. i dont mind the cleaning but taking the top level apart is a pain. i was just trying to conserve space and it seemed like a good idea. im still liking it for now. :wink:

 

Are you using under tank heaters for both levels? If so, how is that affecting the temps on the bottom level? It's definitely a good way to save space, but I agree with Retheat that those water dishes take up a lot of floor space, I'd prefer something smaller myself

 

how do you get into the bottom for like evryday feeding and handling and stuff? do you have to lift up the whole top just to do that?

it looks great its just to much hassle for me

 

i think i'll buy some smaller bowls this weekend. that means i can use the two bigger bowls for new snakes! jk. my roommate is freaked by them.
smaller water dishes...check!

easy access to the bottom level.....i've got to think about that one for a sec.
i think i'll make a trap door to access the bottom. so all i'd have to do is lift the top, lift out the water dish, then lift out the trap door.

any other suggestions on improving this setup?

 

Cover that net with something more leo leg friendly?

 

with window screen material maybe?

im thinking of scrapping this project, turning the tank on its side for more floor space and more accessiblity. that way i can access both stories from the side via sliding doors i can mount of brackets. i might even be able to use silicone to permanently fix the second level in and use glass instead of eggcrate.

anybody see a flaw in this new idea? my current setup is far from permanent and can be easily changed.

 

And then you could put the air flow thing to the side. Sounds much better to me. It also means more floor space.

 

i would say dont make the hides in a perminant place(just in case u want to move the view around alil)

 

i couldn't wait. the leos are separated again and im remodelling the 2 story.

i now have the 29gallon on its side and i am making the 2 levels that way. it: 1) is more accessible 2) allows for more floor space.

i am currently using a screen top for the door but it is very annoying to open and close, not to mention not very secure. any ideas on putting a sliding door in place? two panes of glass? acrylic? framed screen? i need something that will allow for lots of ventilation because the rest of the tank is glass.

here are pictures of the progress. silicone is curing. i think i will need to reinforce the separating glass b/c its pretty flimsy. i dont think it will hold up when all the tile and furniture are in. any ideas?

shown sitting on top of the build is my old 10 gallon.

 

Get sliding glass doors, but have holes drilled into the top and bottom of the glasses?

 

you really need to reinforce that glass, that will not hold the wieght of tiles or anything else.