outdoor housing

[sandra]

Hello, i am new to beardies and have a question i haven't seen asked on your site yet. i have two dragons,started with one, they are both adults, not sure of thier ages. I have followed the advise from your site as far as housing. they are each in a 4'x2'x2' enclosure. The lighting is the reptil 10.0 the heat is 105 to 80. i did blow it on the substrate, i have sand but will be changing to tile. now my question. i whant to move the enclosures to an exterior wall and have doors that they can go outside into a screened enclosure during the day. Will they be smart enough to go in if it gets to hot or starts raining? Will this new arrangement be to stressful for them as they are aduts. It gets very hot here in the summer 100-120 degrees. this would only work in the summers as it gets cold and snows in the winter. i'd appreciate your input on this.

 

[lexi]

You don't mention where you live, but the things that would worry me (besides escape) would be predators who could get through the screen or the dragons eating bugs from outside, particularly lightning bugs (fireflies) if you have them in your area, as they are toxic to dragons.

For an outdoor enclosure it is necessary to build a frame and then use a screening or hardware cloth or build an enclosure using a small gauge wire mesh to provide proper ventilation. You'll need to provide water and some shade so that your beardies can get out of the sun should they get overheated. Also, would they be on concrete, because that would absorb heat and cook your dragons. You'd also need to make sure there is some kind of barrier between them and any flower gardens, grass, etc. This will help prevent the risk of them picking up parasites, being attacked by fire ants, or bitten by other insects and from eating insects that have been exposed to pesticides that are harmful to your dragons.

 

[sandra]

thanks for the reply. no we don't have fireflies in our area. the enclosure would be up off the ground. as far as shade would they not go back into the enclosure if the door is left open? Just don't know how intellegent they are. these were not a planed pet.

 

[DragonMom]

:-X

 

[renich]

Wow, I think it is a great idea to have a little dragon door for your beardies to go out and catch some natural rays. Nothing beats natural UV for them.

Sandy pointed out all the area that I think of that you will want to ensure are considered when you build this. And yes, I agree that they will instinctively know when they are too hot and need to cool off. Offer some shade out there or allow them to enter their indoor viv.

Another thought that I just had is temps. Not sure where you are located, but if it gets cold at any time, you'll want to ensure that coldness doesn't come into the indoor viv.

 

[crypticdragons]

The other big thing i havent seen anyone comment towards is the "human" possibility. Do you know your neighbors well enough to know that they will not attempt to steal one of your pest if they see them in their outdoor playpen?

everthing else was covered quite well in this thread.

 

[sandra]

Thanks for all the input. As far as neighbors, we live in the country in the middle of 36 acears. No one close. we have 3 large dogs that let us know if anyone comes by. The dogs won't bother them. they have been living in the house with the dogs. they know to leave them alone. i will try to send some pictures when i get this done, if i can. not very computer savy. i was just born about 30 years to early.
sandra

 

[crypticdragons]

hows your housing project coming along?

 

[sandra]

working on it. of course could'nt be satified with just the doors. decided to redo the whole viv set-up. going slow as i only get home one day a week so its all falling on my husband to do. It's still freezing here at night so we have some time. will send pics when we get it done.