# Need advice as about to buy a vivarium for my to be 2 CWD



## loopylew1987 (May 30, 2011)

Hi there im new here  ans was just going to ask about housing for a cwd there is a lot on here but i wanted to see if this would be ok for 2. I have previous experiance with snakes, geckos etc but these guys are diffrent and seem a lot more intresting  now i put a link up of this vivarium im looking at and was wandering if this would be ok for 2 CWD looking forward to hearing from you guys.

thanks Lewis x 


http://www.supapet.com/reptile-vivarium-terrarium-housing/65-vivexotic-ax-36-arboreal-vivarium.htmlhttp://www.supapet.com/reptile-vivarium-terrarium-housing/66-vivexotic-cax-36-cabinet.html


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## bw89 (Jan 11, 2010)

Hi Lewis, welcome to the forum.

Honestly, that vivarium will only house two small Water Dragons. This is a lizard that can drow to 3ft including the tail, and as you said they are fascinating, and one of the reasons they are is because they like move about a lot. 

2 Adult WD's will require something more like 6 x 6 x 6 ft at minimum, and many keepers devote houses and greenhouses to there Lizards. If you went for a slightly larger vivarium, such as in my pic below, you would be able to keep them happily in there for a year and a half or so, but the will still require more depth, height and length.

If you buy this vivarium then you should have the money and space to buy, or build, a larger vicarium down the line. I prefer to build vivariums, because it is cheaper. 

Here is a picture i have of my old WD viv (the viv is 4 x 4 x 2', and the WD was about 3'). I may have been more comfortable with a larger viv if i had 2 in there.










Feel free to ask any more questions, coming on here and asking is the best thing to do:2thumb:. I wouldn't let this discourage you, as they really are beautiful Lizards.

Bill


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## loopylew1987 (May 30, 2011)

Hey Bill thank you very much for the reply  
I know what you mean about people making them as it is very hard to buy housing for them as i dont believe in the aqariums people use as i feel they need to have the freedom they would in there own enviorment of climbing etc... im going to be buying 2 juveniles and was thinking of making my own viv but i havent a clue where to start  lol. as you said i was thinking of buying a viv to last them for a while. while i attempt and i mean attempt to make my own one. 
I have seen people buy wardrobes and convert them into a viv for them is that what you have done? and i got to say that is a lovely housing you have there aswell for them  and no its defo not discouraged me they are beautifull and after looking around at something i would like and my prefrences the WD defo tick the boxes .

Thanks again 

Lewis


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## bw89 (Jan 11, 2010)

Hi Lewis, yes it can be a bit daunting, but it can be simple, and fun, with only the minimal tools required.

I have made 3 different types of vivariums. Whilst the wardrobe idea didnt work out for me, as the glass needed wasnt found cheap enough in time, I have had good success building vivariums with a timber frame, and also with melamine wood (like most sold in shops).

I find the timber structures very useful for vivs that i want to stack and need to be nice and sturdy (the one in my previous picture was 2 x 4" frame with mdf walls, and the base got very mouldy over time), and the melamine vivs are better (in my opinion) for nice feature vivarium. It is totally up to you what method you use. 

I will try to talk you through the process of a melamine vivarium, and i suggest you write the term melamine vivariums into google so you can get some good ideas and see actual pictures, as this may be confusing through just text. But if so i will be happy to go into further detail. It may also be a good idea to inspect how another vivarium is assembled, the way the glass lifts out, etc.

If you are going for the melamine type of vivarium you can get the wood itself from places like (i dont know where you live, in the UK?) B&Q, Totem Timber, and other such places, and many shops will have different colours in stock, and some will even cut the wood for you if you work out the sizes you want before hand. As this wood only comes upto a certain width, a large vivarium will warrant 2 pieces for the back, and even 2 seperate sliding glass doors. So you wll need 2 sides, a top and bottom piece, the back panels, and the front panels to which the runners will be glued.

Vivariums in shops use small dowels to hold the vivarium together, but this requires more tools, and i have had perfect vivariums using glue, screws and pins and covering them well. A second person will be helpful here, and you want to join and pin or screw the pieces into place, carefully making sure the ends match up. The next piece is the back which should be inserted into the back so that no sides can be seen and seccured. 

Now the vivarium will be fairly sturdy and it is time to insert the front strips. The top and bottom strips should be about 2" thick, and the middle about 5 or 6". The strips should be seccured and the middle one especially as it will be this supporting the top glass, should you wish to have it. Once these bts are done it is time for the glass and odd bits and bobs.

As i said before, i dont know where you are, but where i used to live in plymouth there was a brilliant little shop called Cabinet Supplies that sold runners and the vivarium vents and other bits and bobs, and there was also a glazier i eventually found that sold glass cheap, he even threw in free handles, nice guy:2thumb:. If you cant find a place like this, b&q may have them or they can be found on ebay. Measureing glass can be a bit tricky, as you need to account for the lift of the glass, but i feel it is better to be able to remove the glass so you can properly get in the viv to clean, and to clean the glass. The glass needs to be toughened, and the edges need to be polished (customary with toughened glass i think). Runners can be super glued on, as can the air vents. As melamine is waterproof, all you need to keep the wood good is some aquarium sealant along the joins. Aquarium sealant can be found at most good pet fish shops, or as always online. Be sure to air the viv out properly before introducing the animals

And that is pretty much the basics, again i am happy to go over things again, and go into better detail. The great thing about building your own viv, apart from it being cheaper, is that you can make it your preferred size and colour, you can add features like shelves, corner vivs, stands, etc, and you have more satisfaction afterwards.

BTW thanks, the picture doesnt do the vivarium justice, i had a female Chinese Water Dragon and a Tokay in there, with a mixture of real and fake plants and, especially after a mist, it looked stunning.:lol2:
Bill


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## loopylew1987 (May 30, 2011)

heyyy bill sorry not got back to you work been hectic  lol well i have had a couple days to think about this so here goes...... ive to wait to get a CWD for the reason im going to build my own vivarium as you said ^^ somewhere lol the viv i showed would last roughly 1yr -yr half in my eyes = no good i think putting some extra time and my personal intrest in building something new and most importantly building a housing in the CWD best intrest and happiness is what its all about for me thank you for the advice on the wood etc but.... there is a little something i may need extra detailed help on something lol heres my addy address and maybe we can chat a bit easier on there. [email protected]

Thanks 

Lewis


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## bw89 (Jan 11, 2010)

Hi mate, i sent you an email, 

cheers
Bill:2thumb:


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