Aluminum cages, pros and cons.

[camaleonverde]

Aluminum screen cages; Pros & Cons;
Pros;
Ones of the most used cages for chamaleons, it is elegant, black, brown or silver, inexpencive, functional, easy to clean, light and right size for almost all chameleons, a perfect enclosure for a home with one or more animals, and no cats or dogs>>>Near.

Cons; fragile aluminum mesh, can be cut or bend easy, is a soft metal, deteriorate in weeks for the foggers, water evaporation leaving calcium deposits, hard to clean, dripping water mix with the trees potting mix, producing phosphoric acid corroding the lower metal frame. All aluminum but not the screws, the oxidize fast, To light bottom plastic, bend at the pressure of the decoration pots, even the softy organic compost is at least two to four lbs. ????Some other notes?????/
If you have a solutions or more tips to help please replay.

 

[SonRunner]

perhaps you could post some pictures.

 

[chams1]

Aluminum screen cages; Pros & Cons;
Pros;
Ones of the most used cages for chamaleons, it is elegant, black, brown or silver, inexpencive, functional, easy to clean, light and right size for almost all chameleons, a perfect enclosure for a home with one or more animals, and no cats or dogs>>>Near.

Cons; fragile aluminum mesh, can be cut or bend easy, is a soft metal, deteriorate in weeks for the foggers, water evaporation leaving calcium deposits, hard to clean, dripping water mix with the trees potting mix, producing phosphoric acid corroding the lower metal frame. All aluminum but not the screws, the oxidize fast, To light bottom plastic, bend at the pressure of the decoration pots, even the softy organic compost is at least two to four lbs. ????Some other notes?????/
If you have a solutions or more tips to help please replay.

I am curious to know which aluminum screen cages you are referring to in your "cons" section. I have used aluminum screen cages for years and still have some of them which are in tip top shape. They are not/should not be fragile and/or bend easy. Mine have never rusted, even the ones I use for outside time in the summer. (having said that, I do have some of the really old style ones that have rusted but they are eons old and they have stayed outside through Chicago winters and summers for years) If you are getting calcium deposits or other water marks, perhaps you should check your water source and filter the water. The water I use for my reptiles does not leave water marks.

 

[Julirs]

I agree with Julie-I have never had any of the issues with aluminum cages. Now I did inherit a Reptibreeze, and that thing is rusting and held together with tape.

 

[chams1]

Now I did inherit a Reptibreeze, and that thing is rusting and held together with tape.

HA HA HA!! Touche.

 

[ChamChick]

I agree with Julie-I have never had any of the issues with aluminum cages. Now I did inherit a Reptibreeze, and that thing is rusting and held together with tape.

LOLZ!!!


One thing I do like about MESH cages like the Reptariums, is the ease of attaching vines to it. I just use UV resistant zip ties, and off we go. I also like the fact that they are so light...make great "let's go outside for awhile" cages.

 

[aliguori]

Aluminum screen cages; Pros & Cons;
Pros;
Ones of the most used cages for chamaleons, it is elegant, black, brown or silver, inexpencive, functional, easy to clean, light and right size for almost all chameleons, a perfect enclosure for a home with one or more animals, and no cats or dogs>>>Near.

Cons; fragile aluminum mesh, can be cut or bend easy, is a soft metal, deteriorate in weeks for the foggers, water evaporation leaving calcium deposits,

I've had aluminum mesh cages for many years. Even with being almost constantly wet, they haven't deteriorated at all. Look at your exterior windows, the stuff clearly doesn't degrade in any short period of time (it's the same screening).

It certainly is pretty easy to accidentally poke holes in but it's also not so hard to repair.

hard to clean, dripping water mix with the trees potting mix, producing phosphoric acid corroding the lower metal frame.

Unless you're using far too much fertilizer, I cannot see this happen in practice. The metal frame (and screen) is coated to make it rust proof. If you have this level of fertilizer in your enclosure, then I suspect it's quite dangerous to the inhabitants.

All aluminum but not the screws, the oxidize fast,

I've never had rust on the screws. The screws heads are all exterior facing.

To light bottom plastic, bend at the pressure of the decoration pots, even the softy organic compost is at least two to four lbs. ????Some other notes?????/
If you have a solutions or more tips to help please replay.

I tend to prefer hanging plants instead of using trees such that the bottom can be easily removed for cleaning. I've found the plastic used in a lot of popular cages do stain easily (especially in the presence of hard water). I do wish they used a plastic that was more stain resistant.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

I have a little bit of rust on my oldest cage where the humidifier fog flows into the cage (certainly not from just a few weeks, talk about a few years!), but not any of the other problems you describe.

If you have water deposits that has absolutely nothing to do with the aluminum screen - that's entirely to do with your water supply and you would have deposits on anything from it (plastic, glass, plant leaves, etc).

I have also not experienced easy bending or especially cutting. I've dropped a cage or two during moving to no effect. And my cat has launched herself at the cage and been hanging from the screen by just her claws until I remove her and the screen wasn't even bent in the individual squares, much less broken by a sharp object (claws) inflicting a lot of weight (cat).

If your cage is oxidizing from fertilizer I would have to ask why you would use chemicals that are toxic in a cage with animals to begin with. Especially when the crickets could run around and eat that before being eaten by your cham.

If you find the plastic bottom can't support pots then just put your cage on a solid surface...problem solved!

Sorry, but I just don't see all the flaws you are mentioning.

 

[jdog1027]

Just out of curiousity, why did you put under pros,"Easy to clean", and then under cons put, "Hard to clean" I don't think I'll ever use anything but aluminum cages. No issues at all so far. And Ferritinmyshoes hit the nail on the head when she said that water deposits are from your water source, not from the fact the cage is aluminum.

 

[camaleonverde]

thanks for the input

I have my place at the south end of the Colorado river water supply, and my chameleons cages are outside in the garden ,
the dripping and foggers are with filtered by osmosis. but the garden watering is not, the amount of calcium is high. and leave hard deposits after evaporation, my neighbors cats are wild and some nights try to catch the dormants chameleons (have patch some cuts) and my doberman playing push easy the side (of course is and accident). .
at any pot even without fertilizer, the compost bacteria have runoff tannins, nitric and phosphoric, is part of the decomposition for the plants rooting system.
any way THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PARTISIPATION.
\congratulation for not having the same problems I have.
but still the aluminum cages are the best