Eastern Water Dragon - Outdoor enclosure build.

[mad_at_arms]

I have been planning an outdoor enclosure for my female EWD for a while now, slowing collecting supplies to put towards the build. It has been finished for a couple of months and have been putting her out for day visits, until last week when she moved in permanently. I only have a small backyard area, and this is definitely the feature of it now. The real plants are well established now and I have managed to keep 2 of the 5 feeder fish I put in alive.

Overall dimensions are 1800H x 1240W x 1100D
I made it in three parts so it can be disassembled in an hour or so and each part will fit through a standard door width.
The base was made all out of timber I salvaged from packing crates and pallets - all hardwood.
The queblok frame for the mesh section is mostly used stuff I scored from a previous place of employment.
The back stud wall is made of 70mm x 35mm pine and 8mm ply, this and the mesh was the most costly part of the project.
I used a half tonne bulker bag (previously used to transport salt) to line the base.


Will update progress pictures as I pick out the better ones.
Cheers

 

[Stuart]

That looks phenominal. Well done mate!

 

[Justdragons]

cool, looks good, cannot wait to see a big overall picture. nice dragon too.

 

[RedFox]

Looks great I would love an outside enclosure but the Melbourne weather won't let me.

 

[mad_at_arms]

I used pvc coated 12mm mesh and riveted it on the frame using 25mm galvanised strapping.
A 5m roll of the mesh nearly did the whole job. (was about 20cm short!!)
I primed the frame with undercoat before spraying it green to match the mesh.
Pvc coated mesh wasn't that much dearer than normal stuff and when you factored in the cost of painting it, it was the logical choice.
I cut a section of the roof out to let in some more light at the back of the enclosure (I don't want the plants to only grow towards the front of the enclosure) before covering the roof with hot house plastic sheeting. I used some aluminium angle as trim for the roof.
All the timber has been sealed with marine grade varnish.

Looks great I would love an outside enclosure but the Melbourne weather won't let me.

I'm in Melbourne too Redfox.

I have a 150W flood light set up on a timer to come on for a few hours in the morning and again in the evening.
By the time it switches off in the morning there is a couple of basking spots that are getting good sun that she can move to. If the weather is less than ideal, at least she has had a chance to warm up a bit with the globe. Don't forget that UV rays are present even on overcast days so they will still get their UVB.

I chose a south facing placement for the enclosure as it was the best sheltered area in the backyard without tucking it in the corner out of prime view.
My backyard can get quite hot in summer and so the spot I selected will hopefully provide the enclosure with some protection from that, whilst still allowing for good access to the sun. For winter I will make a cover out of the hot house plastic to protect from frost.
I did some research into the sun at its peak and lowest angles, which I took into consideration when I chose the height of the enclosure and its layout.

Cheers guys!

 

[someday]

o wow looks great gives me ideas for my enclosure