DIY Bearded Dragon Enclosure

Bearded dragons need a big enough home to live in. While it is ok to use a small tank (20 gallons) when they are juveniles, they will outgrow it fast.  Many people use a glass aquarium or terrarium for their dragons, but there is only so much you can customize with them.

We wanted to have a big space for our Bearded Dragon (Rex), something big enough that he can grow into and not have to replace within the next year when he got bigger.  

We decided that a custom built enclosure would be the best for us.  We created our own enclosure using an old wood and glass display case.  You can use just about anything to build your own enclosure. We had this laying around and it was just collecting random junk. Instead of throwing away a perfectly good piece of furniture, we decided to transform it into something useful for us. 

First, we removed the shelves and cut 1/4 of it down. Pretty much just removed the bottom cupboards. Once that was removed, we sanded it down so it was nice, smooth and even. 

Next came measuring, cutting a hole in the back panel (for wiring) and the side walls (for ventilation). We decided early on that we would put floor vents into the sides for airflow.  Sanded down the holes and installed the vents to make sure they fit properly. 

Once we knew everything fit properly, we cut and installed foam board.  The foam board is to ensure the enclosure retains heat.  Once the foam board was down, we installed tiles.  We decided to go for vinyl tiles from the dollar store because they are cheap, easy to install and clean and no need of a special tool to cut them.

They are easy to clean when Rex does his business on the tiles. A quick wipe daily with a damp cloth or paper towel will be good enough till the weekly deep clean. 

Next came the lights. You can use heavy duty velcro for this, but we screwed in the light fixture for extra security. Some will use heavy duty velcro, but I have heard of the velcro giving out over time and injuring the pet. This was not something we wanted to risk, so we opted out of the velcro. 

We decided to use the Nocturnal Infrared Heat Lamp  & ReptiSun® 10.0 UVB T5 HO made by ZooMed

Once everything was ready, it was time to add hides, branches and decorations.  It’s important for your Bearded Dragon to have hides and places to climb. We are using Mopani Wood for him to climb and bask.

And This is the finished product. 

Simple and everything is easily removable.

Take a look at our reviews of the ZooMed and PetValu products we are using in our custom enclosure.