# Accie Central



## herptrader (Nov 23, 2008)

We gave our son a couple of accies and an enclosure for his birthday. His birthday was a couple of weeks ago but he is still waiting for his licence .. which is a good thing because I only just finished the enclosure today.

This first pic is of the enclosure with no furnishings.

I decided to put it all together with biscuits so there are no screws showing from the outside.







The second is fully furnished. This one has some adult accies (the parents of what he is getting) checking it out.






It is also intended to be insect proof. While well ventilated all the vents are mesh at the back. There has been a foam strip added between the doors to cater for that gap. The airflow is in from the back, through the cupboard vents around the sand pit and out through the light cage at the top.








This is a shot of the lighting compartment which houses the lights, timer and thermostat - basically all of the wiring. This was intended to be a completely self contained unit with just a single power cord coming from the back.






Under the tub is heat tape which I tiled over. The thermostat is a Habistat mat stat which works well for heat mats or tape under 100 watts. The cord to the probe was just long enough hence I have mounted the controls at an odd angle so as not to over tighten the lead.





The same view but from below. Note the seal to make it insect proof.






I bought a tub from Bunnings to hold their digging .. and perhaps one day their laying pit. It does not look like it but there are porcelain tiles in the bottom.






I did not measure correctly so I put some filler foam around the lip so it would fit snugly.






The basking site works well for the parents (pictured) and the juveniles.






(and with a flash)






The furnishings are mounted on a panel so when it gets moved it can be taken out to reduce the weight. 6 coach bolts hold it in place:







Between the platforms are ramps and holes for the accies to climb through. (Pictured is one of our adult females).






So what do ya recon?

The animals seem to like it and we think it looks great. I will be quite disappointed when my son's licence comes through and we have to deliver the enclosure and its inhabitants to him. It has been a lot of fun watching them today.

(I don't take commisions.)

Yes we have some accie eggs in the incubator and judging by the look of the girl in the picture we may have some more in the not too distant future. They will be advertised on the Herp Trader when available.​


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## Marto167 (Nov 23, 2008)

awesome enclosure looks great


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## reptilegirl_jordan (Nov 23, 2008)

WOAH! thats some very very lucky accies.Very well made!
thanks for sharing **drools**


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## ryanharvey1993 (Nov 23, 2008)

AWSOME, I want my parents to give me accies and enclosures for my birthday


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## first_time_owner (Nov 23, 2008)

OMG thats sik!!!!!! i soooooooo want a pair of accies but nooooooooo 2 snakes is "enuff" PFFFFTTT


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## dougie210 (Nov 23, 2008)

nice enclosure!!! Wish you could get me that as my b-day pressie lol!!! Whats the dimensions???


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## notechistiger (Nov 24, 2008)

NICE! I want parents like you, lol.


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## herptrader (Nov 24, 2008)

dougie210 said:


> nice enclosure!!! Wish you could get me that as my b-day pressie lol!!! Whats the dimensions???



800 w x 600 d x 1450 h

The interior height is about 1 meter.


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## Chrisreptile (Nov 24, 2008)

Great enclosure.
Do those downlights throw out much heat?


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## herptrader (Nov 24, 2008)

Chrisreptile said:


> Great enclosure.
> Do those downlights throw out much heat?



50 watts a pop + 20 watts for the flouro. 100 watts total on the basking spot seems pretty reasonable. It can be adjusted if required by adding extra lights, reducing the wattages etc.

There is also heat tape under the tiles in the base. About 30 watts worth from memory. This helps set the ambient temperature for most of the enclosure.


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## Chris1 (Nov 24, 2008)

wow, very cool,..!!


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## Emzie (Nov 24, 2008)

Omg I love it!!!

Just 1 question – will you adopt me pleassee


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## Lozza (Nov 24, 2008)

That looks terrific! I bet the ackies love the climbing apparatus 
I like the idea of having the sand in the tub at the bottom - very good!


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## richardsc (Jan 23, 2009)

never seen ackies kept in an arboreal set up,seems to work well for you


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## Khagan (Jan 23, 2009)

Can i be your son too?


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## chiko48 (Jan 23, 2009)

WOW That is so cool


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## DanTheMan (Jan 23, 2009)

Wow... So I guess my parents really don't love me...
Iv always had my suspicions, but it has now been confirmed.


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## TWENTY B (Jan 23, 2009)

using the downlights what does the hotspot get to?


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## herptrader (Jan 23, 2009)

richardsc said:


> never seen ackies kept in an arboreal set up,seems to work well for you



In the wild they tend to live in rocky situations such as escarpments so I was trying to match that.

To go down they have a tendency to jump from the higher platforms which is a bit off putting but it is obviously intentional and had never done them harm.


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## herptrader (Jan 23, 2009)

TWENTY B said:


> using the downlights what does the hotspot get to?



The rocks below. It does not show very well in the pictures. They are not attached so can easily be moved around.


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## simonchristie (Jan 23, 2009)

nice enclousure!


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## Azzajay77 (Jan 24, 2009)

That's awesome. Wish i could make something like that. Well done.

I'm looking at getting some accies i didn't know they liked high enclosures either, i was going to go more for length ...


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## Mrs I (Feb 17, 2009)

Just wondering how this set up is going?

I have a 1200 x 1200 x 600 enclosure i am thinking of using for a pair of ackies, and wondering how you have found the height.

I am tossing up whether to suspend a light and just use the bottom of the enclosure or whether to use the height as well, as you have done.


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## herptrader (Feb 17, 2009)

They are doing fine with the height. My son has separated the pair on occasions to ensure that the female was getting enough to eat. They seem to enjoy the height.

In the wild they can live on rocky escarpments so height should not be an issue.

They will find the basking spot where it is, high or low... when they want to bask that is.


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## Mrs I (Feb 17, 2009)

Thanks for the reply.


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## TWENTY B (Feb 17, 2009)

herptrader said:


> The rocks below. It does not show very well in the pictures. They are not attached so can easily be moved around.


 I ment whattemp


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## herptrader (Feb 18, 2009)

TWENTY B said:


> I ment whattemp




Sorry. From memory it was not as hot as I was hoping. I think it was in the high 30's C. I usually like to set up the basking site at up to 50C. (For the parents I have and Aussie Sun MVB about 100mm above a brick stack the top of which gets to about 45C. I consider this pretty much ideal.) I could have added another halogen to my son's set up but elected not to.If they were failing to thrive it would be an easy retrofit. Sitting them on the aluminium wire mesh makes adding more and moving them around very straight forward.


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## TWENTY B (Feb 18, 2009)

i didn't think it would get that hot, 
i use a 100w tight beam basking light from exo terra, 
gets my hot spot upto 70 on a hot day, usually low 60's


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## mark83 (Feb 18, 2009)

nice enclosure.


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## JasonL (Feb 18, 2009)

Thats a nice looking enclosure, though I would be concerned about the ambient temps..I'm sure the basking area temps would be fine ( or could be without much effort) but ambients temps are just as ismportant, asp as you live in Melbourne.. for ackies, I'd still like to see ambients at 28 - 30 degrees all year round ( but just for a few hours during winter).


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## herptrader (Feb 18, 2009)

That is not the only heating in the enclosure. There is heat tape under the tiles below the sand pit at the bottom under thermostat control. The temperature in the sand pit is held fairly constant in the mid to high 20's... which of course radiates up.



JasonL said:


> Thats a nice looking enclosure, though I would be concerned about the ambient temps..I'm sure the basking area temps would be fine ( or could be without much effort) but ambients temps are just as ismportant, asp as you live in Melbourne.. for ackies, I'd still like to see ambients at 28 - 30 degrees all year round ( but just for a few hours during winter).


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## PhilK (Mar 2, 2009)

Wow very different!! How do you go with woodies in there? Feeding time hard?


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## bigguy (Mar 2, 2009)

Daavid,

Nice enclosure, but more suited for any of the tree climbing monitors. Try adding some crevices made out of ply for the ackies, they will feel more secure.

Its a mypth that ackies are rock monitors. They will live around rocky escarpments if they are handy, but mostly live on the flat soil plains across most of Northern Australia in tunnel systems they have dug. You can be 2 to 3 hundred miles from any rocky outcrops, put down sum tar drums and within a few days there are ackies under them. Its just easier to find the lazy ones living in the rock outcrops.


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## herptrader (Mar 3, 2009)

PhilK said:


> Wow very different!! How do you go with woodies in there? Feeding time hard?




The whole thing is woodie proof, something that was designed in from the start. However I believe my son is now feeding them mostly non live food these days.


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## herptrader (Mar 3, 2009)

bigguy said:


> Daavid,
> 
> Nice enclosure, but more suited for any of the tree climbing monitors. Try adding some crevices made out of ply for the ackies, they will feel more secure.
> 
> Its a mypth that ackies are rock monitors. They will live around rocky escarpments if they are handy, but mostly live on the flat soil plains across most of Northern Australia in tunnel systems they have dug. You can be 2 to 3 hundred miles from any rocky outcrops, put down sum tar drums and within a few days there are ackies under them. Its just easier to find the lazy ones living in the rock outcrops.



Bob,

I would love to be able to keep some of the small arboreal monitors but few, any?? are allowed on the Victorian books. Gavin did have some on display at Saturday's expo... actually he had a lot of things we cannot keep on display. (I think Gavin has a poor sense of humour!)

I will pass the crevice tip on to my son. His pair do not seem at all stressed but less stress is always a good thing.


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## taylor111 (Mar 3, 2009)

how much did that cost to build


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## reptiledude1 (May 10, 2009)

thats the best enclosure iv seen good job


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## Acrochordus (May 10, 2009)

Sweet enclosure, very lucky Ackie's, Thanks Tim.


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## LauraM (May 17, 2009)

Would you mind speaking to my parents for me, thats exactly what i want!!! lol Great enclosure!! love it.


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