How to measure an enclosure for a custom background

The example measurements illustrate the method. Your order needs measurements from your own enclosure.

Measure the interior, access opening and fittings so a custom background can be installed without taking away needed animal space.

Measure the actual interior

Use the finished interior dimensions, because an enclosure’s advertised size may include walls, frames and fittings. Measure the opening through which the background will pass as well as the wall it will cover.

Decide how much depth the background can occupy while leaving the animal suitable floor space, climbing routes, hides and equipment clearance. Adjust the proposed design if those needs cannot be met.

Prepare to measure

Use a rigid tape or rule, paper, a pencil and photographs. A second person can help with a large enclosure. Move animals safely elsewhere and isolate equipment before reaching near fittings. Leave structural braces and seals intact.

Label every measurement and use one unit consistently. Millimetres are convenient for detailed fitting. If you also record inches, keep the original reading and identify the conversion: 1 inch equals exactly 25.4 mm.

Check the wall in several places

• Measure the internal width at the top, middle and bottom.
• Measure the height at the left, centre and right from a clearly marked starting level.
• Measure the interior depth and mark the deepest proposed projection.
• Record relevant corner angles and both diagonals. Unequal diagonals may indicate that the wall is not square.
• Mark the bare floor, planned substrate surface and drainage layer separately.

Keep every reading, including the smallest. Averaging them could produce a panel that will not fit the tightest point. For a bowed or irregular enclosure, ask whether a physical template is needed.

Record fittings and their clearances

Draw the wall as viewed from inside. Mark vents, braces, hinges, cable ports, door tracks, lamp guards, pipes and misting fittings. Record each fitting’s width, height, projection and position from the same two reference edges.

For example: “Cable opening: 35 mm wide × 20 mm high; left edge 160 mm from the left interior wall; bottom edge 420 mm above the bare floor.” Photograph the enclosure and label the corresponding points on your sketch.

Allow for operation as well as physical size. Doors need room to move, nozzles need a clear spray path and vents need airflow.

Check the installation route

Measure the narrowest clear door or lid opening, including fixed braces and tracks. Check whether a panel can pass through and turn into its final position. A panel that fits the wall may still be too large to install.

For an awkward shape, test a cardboard mock-up of the outline and depth in the empty enclosure, then remove it. Consider whether several removable sections would make installation and later maintenance easier.

Agree on manufacturing and fitting allowances during the design review. The mounting method, wall shape and sealing plan determine the gap required. Any remaining gap needs to be safely closed off or otherwise resolved for the animal.

Show how much space remains

If an enclosure is 600 mm deep inside and a background projects 80 mm at its deepest point, 520 mm remains there before adding other furnishings. A raised ledge also affects headroom and distance from lamps.

Use this calculation to show the remaining space, then check that space against the species’ needs. The example does not establish that 520 mm is sufficient for a particular animal.

Send a complete set of measurements

Include the enclosure make and model, animal species, adult size and mobility needs. Send labelled wall measurements, diagonals, access dimensions and photographs, together with substrate and drainage levels, wet areas, equipment positions and required clearances.

State the maximum background depth, routes and hide access you need to preserve, and your preferences for mounting, removal and appearance. Request a drawing showing fitted dimensions, panel arrangement and tolerances before production. Confirm which parts are decorative and which are designed to support the animal’s weight.

Check again after installation

In the empty enclosure, inspect seams, supports, doors, escape routes and cleaning access. Run the complete setup and measure conditions wherever the animal can reach before returning it.

Oonincx and van Leeuwen’s housing review explains why animals need access to suitable environmental choices. The measuring steps here are a practical planning method, and do not replace checks of structural support or species care requirements.