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Old 15-01-2012, 09:08 PM   #1
pwinkie03
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Default Pancake table design.. is this ok?

Hi all, im currently planning my pancake tortoise table as im hoping to get a pair soon. My husband has very kindly used sketchup to draw my plans for me and i would like to see what people think before we actually make it

so as the floor space we have is limited, and pancakes love to climb, i have devised a 3 level table to fit in the under-stairs hole in our lounge (with space all around it and no door obviously.. )

ill talk you through it, so the sides will be wooden, the front (long side) is a pair of glazed doors (for access of cleaning), there will be a wide holed mesh covering the top (as pancakes are notorious escape artists and therefore i'm not risking leaving it open).

the bottom level will be lined and covered in soil/sand, with logs, hills, rocks and a few plants to climb through. the back area will be for basking on an oyster shell substrate. then the ramp, made from cork bark, will lead up to the dining area. this will have food slate, water dish and lots of flattish stones and slabs. The top level will be a hide, again with a cork bark ramp, with orchard bark substrate.

the top levels will have a wall to prevent falling made from plexi glass and along the ramp also (this will be covered partly at the bottom to reduce stress but we wanted it transparent to let extra light through). there will be 2 uv strip lights one on the ground floor and one on the first floor. i will also be grouting the wooden sides to make them look like sandstone to make the environment more natural.



Have i missed anything? im really excited about getting torts and want to give them the best possible home! once this is sorted ill have to get to work on creating a lovely outdoor enclosure too

thanks for looking, feel free to comment or criticize or ask any questions.. it will help me to make sure ive covered everything!

Louise
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Old 15-01-2012, 10:44 PM   #2
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I think that looks great Don't forget to add lots of logs and rocks as well, and some spider plants
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Old 15-01-2012, 11:04 PM   #3
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I think that looks great Don't forget to add lots of logs and rocks as well, and some spider plants
oh thanks! the slopes wont be quite so steep and yes ill be adding lots of loveliness in the form of logs, plants etc...

when i build ill put up lots of pics too!
Louise
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Old 15-01-2012, 11:43 PM   #4
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You've certainly put a lot of thought into this.
I don't know much about pancakes but you seem to have considered their needs. Looking forward to seeing a photo of the finished article.
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Old 16-01-2012, 12:01 AM   #5
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the only 2 comments i'd make are if they fell of one of the ramps they could be injured if they fall arkward , the other thing is how would you get to clean them out , also where would you put the basking lamps
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Old 16-01-2012, 12:38 AM   #6
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the only 2 comments i'd make are if they fell of one of the ramps they could be injured if they fall arkward , the other thing is how would you get to clean them out , also where would you put the basking lamps
thanks for your reply, the basking lamp will be above the back corner of the bottom level (sort of next to the ramp). the doors on the front will give me easy access to clean and the back panel will also slide up to clean the deepest part. Its mounted on castors so i can pull it out and move it round to get to all the sides. also there will be a higher banister than on this pic, which should prevent any falls!

i appreciate criticisms, they make me think about it really thoroughly!
thank you! Louise
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Old 16-01-2012, 12:48 AM   #7
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Originally Posted by pwinkie03 View Post
thanks for your reply, the basking lamp will be above the back corner of the bottom level (sort of next to the ramp). the doors on the front will give me easy access to clean and the back panel will also slide up to clean the deepest part. Its mounted on castors so i can pull it out and move it round to get to all the sides. also there will be a higher banister than on this pic, which should prevent any falls!

i appreciate criticisms, they make me think about it really thoroughly!
thank you! Louise
cool sounds like you've thought it through look forward to the picture's
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Old 16-01-2012, 01:11 AM   #8
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it might help if i explain in pictures as im not very good at describing....

thanks red foot marg
Louise!
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Old 16-01-2012, 09:01 AM   #9
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It looks a great idea but there are one or two things that perhaps wouldn't work well in reality. The basking area needs the UVB bulb to be beside the basking bulb so that when they are basking they are getting UVB.. and keeping it under the stairs it would be difficult to maintain a cool end as the heat would build up with the high sides and be trapped under the 'ceiling' part of the bottom level
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Old 16-01-2012, 11:56 AM   #10
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Originally Posted by caledonia View Post
It looks a great idea but there are one or two things that perhaps wouldn't work well in reality. The basking area needs the UVB bulb to be beside the basking bulb so that when they are basking they are getting UVB.. and keeping it under the stairs it would be difficult to maintain a cool end as the heat would build up with the high sides and be trapped under the 'ceiling' part of the bottom level
thank you, i didnt think about the uv heat getting trapped, so the solution, would this work better....



the uv lights can be placed anywhere on the sides really, ill have to do some trial runs to check temps before fixing it in place so i can find the best spot for them.

Thank you! Louise
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