I'm contemplating...

Jammonlee

Jammonlee

New Member
I realize if my Cham, Waldo, ever grows....He is eventually going to need a much bigger home than his current enclosure.

After going through many threads here looking at some DIY ideals, I decided to spend way to much time thinking and creating this rough draft layout of what I would like to have.

How many of you have built your own Cham homes and where the costs of doing so as expensive as Im thinking they may be?
I went to Home Depot online and just added supplies into a cart to see what the price may be (rough estimate without taxes and exact sizes of cuts, etc.) it was well over what I was expecting it to be...

Anyways, here is my thoughts. I want the drainage drawer on the bottom to pull out like a normal kitchen drawer with a removable plastic tub inside, but I also want plenty of livable climbing space in his home. Is 4.5' High and 3' wide/deep enough room for a full grown Cham to live in? Or does the cage need to be expanded some?

Cageblueprint.png
 
I built my own and I have found that the cost is not much less then buying a 2x2x4 screen cage. You can definitely build a very large cage cheaper then buying a built one. There are some great deals on the internet for normal cages though. I found it fun building my own, but I'm not the best handyman. I went the easy route and just bought the rest of my cages.
 
I just seen the prices of the wood, decorative trim, mesh screening, door hinges, handles, stain, water sealer....it was up in the 150$ + range
 
I'm looking at custom build wooden cages for sale. They are near $1000 for something similar that you are trying to build. You're saving a ton!
 
true true. i dont have the tools, but I work with a guy who would help build it (with his tools) all for the price of a case of beer....in which im sure he would drink before he finished, as long as I can get the supplies.

I think Im going to get this rolling....

I'll post my parts list just in case there are any builders out there who want chime in on something I'm missing..
 
When I built my first cage, I had the same deal with my friend who had all the power tools. Case of beer is the ultimate bartering tool.
 
The size the cage you plan to build is good for a full grown adult. You would only want to expand that size if you were planning on having a female living in the same cage. A lot of vegetation would be needed in that case (for the female to "hide from the male when desired). Otherwise, any large cham would be happy. :)
 
Good news, thanks to both of you I will soon be spending over 100$ on supplies on a new home for Waldo....haha
 
Could you actually keep a female in a large cage with the male? In thinking about getting Thor a lady friend, and I've been trying to figure out exactly how to proceed.
 
stringfellow said:
Could you actually keep a female in a large cage with the male? In thinking about getting Thor a lady friend, and I've been trying to figure out exactly how to proceed.
Click to expand...

You should not house them together. Get a separate cage. Putting the two together puts pressure on the female to breed and if she is not receptive, bad things will happen.

On a side note, I'm also from the SFV...
 
DeviousMike said:
You should not house them together. Get a separate cage. Putting the two together puts pressure on the female to breed and if she is not receptive, bad things will happen.

On a side note, I'm also from the SFV...
Click to expand...

...Thats why you should include more vegetation so the female can "hide" when she wants to. But it also depends on the species you are keeping. some species welcome other chams (of the opposite sex) within a certain distance.
 
Ahh, yeah that's what I thought. I have also read that the cages should not be where they can see each other all the time. I'll research a lot before I do it.

Where in the valley are you? I'm near Sherman Oaks/NoHo
 
RAFASTAR23 said:
...Thats why you should include more vegetation so the female can "hide" when she wants to.
Click to expand...

It's not like the wild where they can run away in a large tree or go to another tree. It's an enclosure. The male can chase her around all he wants and she will have nowhere to go. Unless your enclosure is a whole room, I don't see how a female would be able to hide from the male. You're just going to bring undue stress on her.

stringfellow said:
Ahh, yeah that's what I thought. I have also read that the cages should not be where they can see each other all the time. I'll research a lot before I do it.

Where in the valley are you? I'm near Sherman Oaks/NoHo
Click to expand...

The west side. If you are of beer drinking age, I hang out in that area frequently. We can talk lizard shop at a bar!
 
DeviousMike said:
You should not house them together. Get a separate cage. Putting the two together puts pressure on the female to breed and if she is not receptive, bad things will happen.

On a side note, I'm also from the SFV...
Click to expand...

DeviousMike said:
It's not like the wild where they can run away in a large tree or go to another tree. It's an enclosure. The male can chase her around all he wants and she will have nowhere to go. Unless your enclosure is a whole room, I don't see how a female would be able to hide from the male. You're just going to bring undue stress on her.



The west side. If you are of beer drinking age, I hang out in that area frequently. We can talk lizard shop at a bar!
Click to expand...

Well, like i said, SOME chams and certain species will do it. I had seen a group of Jackson's (1 male, 4 females) in an enclosure 10' X 5' X 5'.
and a couple of panthers (1 male and 1 female) in a cage 8' x 5' x 5' live their entire adult life without a problem.
 
Ive been searching for a grid light cover, like that used in the DIY enclosure builds. I wanted to place it 1.5' high from the bottom of the 6' enclosure and cover it in mesh to allow drainage. Cant seem to find it at any of the Home Improvement stores near me, Lowes, Home Depot. Any other suggestions? I thought about BBQ cooking grids for the grill, but nothing seems to be eactly what I need....36" x 36". Any other suggestions? Needs to be pretty sturdy, for pots/plants, etc
 
Parts List so far.....

6' tall
3' wide
3' deep
-4.5' climbing space
-1.5' drainage area
_____________________________________________________________
Parts List:

1. Eight 6' pieces of 1x2" wood
2. Nineteen 3' pieces of 1x2" wood
3. Six 6' pieces of decorative wood siding
4. Nine 3' pieces of decorative wood siding
5. One 3'x 3' sheet of plywood
6. Three 1.5' panel for drainage side/back
7. One 4.5' x 3' panel for back
8. 2 Door Hinges
9. 1 Cabinet doorknob
10. 36" x 25' of aluminum mesh
11. Grid light cover/grill grid rack (not sure what to use since i cant find one and not sure i can cut the other to fit)
12.
 
Jammonlee said:
Ive been searching for a grid light cover, like that used in the DIY enclosure builds. I wanted to place it 1.5' high from the bottom of the 6' enclosure and cover it in mesh to allow drainage. Cant seem to find it at any of the Home Improvement stores near me, Lowes, Home Depot. Any other suggestions? I thought about BBQ cooking grids for the grill, but nothing seems to be eactly what I need....36" x 36". Any other suggestions? Needs to be pretty sturdy, for pots/plants, etc
Click to expand...

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs...ooglebase-_-D30X-_-202653781&locStoreNum=2740
 
exactly what Ive been looking for, just typing in the wrong keyword.....but Holy Sh*t! cant i buy just one...for less then 74$ wow
 
Jammonlee said:
exactly what Ive been looking for, just typing in the wrong keyword.....but Holy Sh*t! cant i buy just one...for less then 74$ wow
Click to expand...
search around online for "plastic egg crate" and other variations. found some aquarium related ones and other things.

just because that is all that is listed online, doesnt mean that's what the stores will have either. at least that may give you a reference to show them, or more keywords like you said. idk where others get it or what they call it, this is just what i found for ya.
 
ryno202 said:
search around online for "plastic egg crate" and other variations. found some aquarium related ones and other things.

just because that is all that is listed online, doesnt mean that's what the stores will have either. at least that may give you a reference to show them, or more keywords like you said. idk where others get it or what they call it, this is just what i found for ya.
Click to expand...
ditto....we have been building custom "stands" for our cages (we have 9) and similar to what you wanted, a plastic tub underneath you could pull out for emptying drained water...that's been a difficult one to match our sizes....the "small/medium" cement mixing tubs at home depot are awesome for smaller cages, but for awhile, they had a typo on the site listing different specs for the small and the medium... the one on the site listed as a "medium" would've been perfect, but i guess they stopped carrying them and now only have the small/medium...and the large is way too big for what we're doing...so very frustrating with the difference in online vs what is actually carried in the store. finally found one that would work well, but with shipping, for the 6 we needed....$250!!!! soooo, no. lol.

as of right now, with all of the mats and tubs and such (again for 9 cages) and without the cost of staining, we're definitely over $200, without even discussing how much we'll pay the person doing them..... quite the expensive venture....

but based on the pictures i've seen, the specifications discussed and everything else, it's going to make life a WHOLE lot easier AND it will be more uniform with "furniture" in the house, too...

good luck with your adventure! :)
 
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