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Post by slamander77 on Feb 23, 2015 19:52:58 GMT
Im thinking of getting a european lizard species to go outdoors and just wondering what species are the most hardy and best style enclosure wood, greenhouse, ect.any advice is much appreciated.harry
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Post by chrisd on Feb 27, 2015 22:30:17 GMT
Hi Harry,
Personally I would consider Lacerta Billineata as they are quite hardy with the right care and probably one of more available species. It is up to you which direction you go when purchasing an enclosure. If you down the aluminium route with a coldframe or greenhouse then you will have to consider replacing some or all of the glass with UV transmitting perspex. It will last longer than a wood one but end up being quite dear in price. If you go with the cheaper wooden option then you could either buy a coldframe but you will need to adapt it to make it escape proof and let the sunlight in, for example the gap between the lid and main body part and then cover part of it with fine mesh. You will have to consider the weather, I don't like my cages to be open fully to the elements and have a piece of double glazing panel above propped up with a piece of wood. It lets the sun in but keeps the worst of the wet out (and it won't be blown down with the wind as it is heavy). I'm sure other people would argue a soak away in the bottom would be better. In my opinion the wooden coldframes only last a few years before they need replacing. You could build your own enclosure that is what I'm considering at the moment you can then custom build it to your own specification, intergrating mesh and Perspex exactly where you want/need it and it should be cheaper than the aluminium option. Another thing I do with my cages is line them on three of the insides with thick polystyrene for insulation against the winter frosts. In the past I have also kept my enclosures on concrete near the house against a wall I just sealed the bottoms with a piece of wood then to keep them from the damp I placed them on bricks and another piece of polystyrene and then made sure that the enclosure was extra insulated inside on the bottom with another piece of polystyrene. For your information thick polystyrene can be bought from builders merchants pretty cheap.
I hope this was of help. Hopefully other people with more experience will give you the benefit of their experience too.
Chris
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