Are big cages really needed

[wow]

The recomended sisze for a full grown male panther or veiled chameleon is 24 24 48 and for the smaller female it is reomended to use a 16 16 36 is this really necessary to have such a big cage or can you get away with a smaller cage mounted higher on the wall to give the elution of a large cage also if the chameleon is not climbing on the cage itself and seems content do you need to fork over the dow to buy a huge cage. i just want to now some opinos on the subject and what the avarage sisze cage people are using for there chams.

 

[curly]

Mine doesnt even use the bottom of his cage. He doesnt go any lower than a foot or two from the top. I think if it was long enough it would be okay..

 

[Brad Ramsey]

The idea when keeping one of these animals in captivity is to provide them with the best possible conditions we can.
Whether they use the entire cage or not is not as important as them feeling like they could if they wanted to.
The more you contain them the more anxious and stressed they may feel.
These measurements weren't just made up, they are minimum requirements based on years of experimentation and study.

-Brad

 

[wow]

i see whear you are coming from and i agree 100 percent but i have been watching my chameleon for about a month now and the only time he has gone to the bottom was when i first put him in the cage. also if the cage was monted right to the celling they wouldent feel as threatened because they would be a half a foot over your head. also if you densley planted your cages they could hide more readaley.also another advantage of a smaller cage would be that food wouldent distribute as easly through out the cage.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Wow,
How old is your chameleon?
Kitty is 5 months and he explores every inch
of his 30x30x48 enclosure every day.
It's almost like he patrols it to make sure
there are no intruders or to otherwise know what's
going on in his territory.
They're all different!

-Brad

 

[wow]

They're all different!

-Brad[/QUOTE]

exactlly they are all different so one chameleon who sees fit to walk all over his cage to reasure himself hes safe should not bet put in a smaller cage but some of the less active ones that rely on there camoflage more would benifit from a higher and more densley planted cage.

 

[Jewel]

My adult veiled is in a 24x24x48 which is densely planted and he still explores every inch of his cage all day long.

 

[Fate X]

they need lots of room especialy when they are adults. my veiled sonic makes his cage look small .his cage is 18x30x30 its the minimum cage size if it was higher it would be better.i plan on upgrading to a 2x2x4 or2x3x4 cage next yr.maybe sooner.

 

[fabos]

my male panther used to live in a 1.5x1.5x3 foot cage and everyday i would see him try to get out all the time!!! I just built him a brand new cage at 3 feet wide by 2 feet depth and 6 feet tall and my cham frickin loves it!

 

[Marc10edora]

wow, that looks like a nice cage. Do you have any blueprints drawn out or tutorials on how to make that? I'm going to start on my veild's new cage next month. I want to start early before she grows out of the one she is in now.

 

[Brad]

Nice cage fabos!

One advantage to using a larger cage is that it allows for more gradual gradients (temp/uv, humidity).

 

[FaunaBgirl]

I'd give my cham my whole 6' by 8' and 2 ft deep closet if I didn' t need to have SOME clothes. lol
I imagine someday, building a whole wall unit. Or if I were to build a house, a whole wall would be for the chameleon and another for desert spinys. (because they do push ups) lol

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Brad,

Great point!
It would be very difficult to provide them the range of temps they need in a small enclosure.

-Brad