Custom Terrarium Build

Oct 27, 2016
4 min read

I have come to terms with the fact that I am now a reptile person. Don't worry, I know it's weird. But when you're engaged to someone as allergic to cats as my fiance is and your landlord doesn't allow dogs, what else can you do? Get a fish? Pffft... Yeah, ok, I guess get a fish.

Only we didn't get a fish. We got a freaking dragon.

Enter our bearded dragon, Titty Sprinkles Elliot (aka T.S.Elliot, named on national poetry day and lovingly nicknamed Sprinkles or Sprinx). Not going to lie, he is so damn adorable. Bonus points for the fact that he's also the easiest thing to care for on the planet.

Except he grew. He grew fast. We had him in a 40 gallon tank right off the bat, but that didn't last for long. So we did as one does and bought a 75-gallon tank off Craigslist.

Below is Sprinx in his 40 Gallon tank on the left, and his 75-gallon kingdom on the right. Notice the size difference of the log- that's the same log.

The 75-gallon tank did us well for a time. Until we broke it. Back to Craigslist I went, this time looking for a new project. I didn't want a tank. I wanted a dresser. So that's what I got.

Well, technically, I got a changing table. (That was fun to tell my future MOL!)

So this was my plan. I would take out all the drawers on the left, sand the finish off, and paint it white. Or stain it grey? Or maybe spray paint it all black? Honestly the hardest part was picking the style.

Sanding this thing was a B***H. I used a hand held rotary sander over the entire thing and it took hours. Days. The shot above shows what exactly I was dealing with in terms of the raw wood- which was gorgeous. I removed the drawer and door on the right and sanded those, too. I sanded the tops, the sides, the nooks and crannies. Not going to lie, I did not sand this very well. Many parts it was very difficult to get perfectly down to the natural wood, but I figured it would be enough to get my new stain to penetrate.

My final decision was a rich dark wood, black, and copper accents. I carried this theme throughout the rest of our apartment (post to follow on that!) so I was really excited to make this match.

There was no method to my madness. Much like my other wooden furniture, I grabbed an old rag and slopped on two different stains, walnut and gunstock. Once I realized I didn't sand well enough and the stain wasn't darkening the wood in all areas, I decided NOT to rub off the stain. I let it sit for a few days, really soaking into the wood and the old finish.

To my relief, it came out AWESOME. The poor sanding job on my end almost looks premeditated, giving the wood a really nice vintage look. The darker black areas contrast beautifully with the lighter more red areas, and the natural grain of the wood gives it a unique touch. I finished it up with some brushed bronze hardware, spray painted a copper color, and put 3 coats of polyurethane on the top. A few plants and knickknacks really finished it nicely.

For the interior, I used the left area with the drawers removed to create the living space for Sprinkles. I removed one of the wooden drawer supports, but left the top support for a light mounting area. I put three vents in the back wood, using a 3-inch circle drill bit, and added two more on the bottom right, where the cabinet door is. This area would serve as his hideout, and is accessible by a painstakingly hand drilled and sanded passageway. The upper portion is used for storage, and the drawer above has additional storage.

My favorite part about this is how easy it is to take him out or put him back, since it's a simple cabinet door. Sometimes we leave it open so he has free range of the house, with easy access back into his tank.

I had grand plans for the main living area in the tank; bi-levels, hammocks, climbing and basking areas, a watering hole, you name it. But this was going on long enough, and I just wanted to be able to get rid of the old broken tank. I bought 3-clip on lighting fixtures and attached to the top wooden support. To close that area, I grabbed some screen material, cut to size, and screw it into the front of the dresser (using copper painted screws!). Next was the doors.

For the doors I used plexiglass sheets I got, like everything else, from Lowe's. We cut those to size using an exacto knife and our amazing risky method of bending and snapping it on the scores. It worked, luckily! The doors fit in place on a plastic track attached to the top and bottom of the opening with epoxy. Voila! Sliding plexiglass doors.

The finished product serves as not only a new home for Sprinkles, but doubles as a space saver- we can put our turtle tank (ugh, i know, reptile people..) on top! The both hook up to one timed outlet bank and they look fabulous!