# My Gongylus gongylodes Enclosures.



## T. sinensis (Jun 22, 2014)

Hello All,

Just wanted to share the enclosures I set up for my _Gongylus gongylodes_. I received eight sub-adults, four males and four females, in trade for some of my captive bred and born 5th "instar" _Damon diadema._

I chose two screen enclosures made by DIYcages.com that are 16 inches (40.64 cm) wide and deep by 30 inches (40.64 cm) tall. I have the males and females separated between the two enclosures.

After doing some testing, I covered the outside surface of the two sides, the cleaning doors (located on the bottom-front), and part of the roof on each enclosure with thin vinyl sheeting to assist in maintaining temperatures and humidity. This has done very well, without interfering with the inhabitants' ability to climb on the inner surfaces. I didn't need to do this to the back of the enclosures due to my addition of the backgrounds.

I wanted to use only one 75 watt incandescent light bulb to heat them so I picked up an aluminum cooking pan from Wal-Mart and cut a hole in it about half an inch (1.27 cm) smaller than the dome and used aluminum tape to secure the dome to it.

After that was finished and tested, I placed in some manzanita branches and covered the floor with pasteurized oak and hickory leaves. Finished!







*Cut to fit:*






*​Vinyl overlapping the custom shroud:*






*Inside view:*






*Finished:*






*One of the females:*


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## PlayingMantis (Jun 25, 2014)

Very cool enclosure! Thanks for showing us all the pics/details. Good luck with your gongy's!


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## gripen (Jun 25, 2014)

Looks like you are using metal mesh. That is a big "no-no" for gongys. They have a high chance of breaking their tarsis on the mesh.


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## hibiscusmile (Jun 26, 2014)

You are trying and koodos for that! Looking good, go with Gripens advice. Also Michiganmantisguy has some good advice too, maybe he will post.


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## Aryia (Jun 30, 2014)

What temperatures do you hit with this set up? I assume there would be a temperature gradient from the top to bottom.

The only thing I'd be worrying about is heat loss through the front? Which means the Gongylus would spend all their time near the heatsource up top which would kind of waste the size of the enclosure in general. Might be worth it to look into better insulation for the front while keeping up with ventilation somehow.

The enclosure looks great though! Nice work~


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## T. sinensis (Jun 30, 2014)

gripen said:


> Looks like you are using metal mesh. That is a big "no-no" for gongys. They have a high chance of breaking their tarsis on the mesh.


Thank you for the advice. So far, they have not shown any difficulty in moving along the screen. Though, I can place a sheer fabric on the inside to avoid the potential issues.


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## T. sinensis (Jun 30, 2014)

Aryia said:


> What temperatures do you hit with this set up? I assume there would be a temperature gradient from the top to bottom.
> 
> The only thing I'd be worrying about is heat loss through the front? Which means the Gongylus would spend all their time near the heatsource up top which would kind of waste the size of the enclosure in general. Might be worth it to look into better insulation for the front while keeping up with ventilation somehow.
> 
> The enclosure looks great though! Nice work~


Thank you. The highest temperature point is 106 degrees Fahrenheit (immediately below the light) but the coolest point is 82 degrees Fahrenheit (floor). The room that I have the enclosures in has an ambient range of 74-78 degrees Fahrenheit. They change positioning to the lowest branches, the door, sides, and ceiling. Due to these observations, I believe the thermal gradient is sufficient.


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## Aryia (Jun 30, 2014)

T. sinensis said:


> Thank you. The highest temperature point is 106 degrees Fahrenheit (immediately below the light) but the coolest point is 82 degrees Fahrenheit (floor). The room that I have the enclosures in has an ambient range of 74-78 degrees Fahrenheit. They change positioning to the lowest branches, the door, sides, and ceiling. Due to these observations, I believe the thermal gradient is sufficient.


That's really nice! I should give incandescent bulbs a try as well. The amount of wattage they use (with my already high electrical bill) is a little off-turning though :/


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