Broken Nail :(

[wcoll325]

Karma has been in his new screen enclosure for about four days now and he has spent most of his time basking and not moving a whole lot. Today he has a totally different attitude and will not sit still! He‘s been climbing on the mesh and I have gotten him to walk out onto my hand and put him back in his foliage. I noticed the first time I got him into my hand one of his nails is bent/ broken!

Sorry for the subpar quality, he was on the move when I was able to get these photos. It doesn’t look like it tore or anything, there has been no blood that I can see on any of his branches or leaves, no traces when I have handled him since it happened. I know they don’t really grown back and screen climbing is a pretty common issue, but does anyone have any advice? Poor little guy

 

[Beman]

Hey there. looks ok and it is good that there is not blood. It should fall off on its own if it is going to. Just watch for swelling to the area.

I had to convert to a hybrid cage because my male would not stop screen climbing no matter what I tried. It is really hard with these guys because as they mature they will explore everything much more.

 

[wcoll325]

Hey there. looks ok and it is good that there is not blood. It should fall off on its own if it is going to. Just watch for swelling to the area.

I had to convert to a hybrid cage because my male would not stop screen climbing no matter what I tried. It is really hard with these guys because as they mature they will explore everything much more.

I was just looking at your post for your outdoor build! I was curious about chicken wire since I already have some, but I fear its still too large of a space and would still risk him hurting himself. I think I’m going to go get some hardware cloth and line the inside of the enclosure with that. I already planned on going to The hardware store to get some PVC to upgrade his fogger set up!

 

[Beman]

I was just looking at your post for your outdoor build! I was curious about chicken wire since I already have some, but I fear its still too large of a space and would still risk him hurting himself. I think I’m going to go get some hardware cloth and line the inside of the enclosure with that. I already planned on going to The hardware store to get some PVC to upgrade his fogger set up!

Yeah my outdoor one was nice. I mostly did the chicken wire to keep out predators. He never screen climbed when he was out in this cage. Probably because the cage was so huge. Also he was too busy basking and eating the flowers.

I did use coated hardware cloth. Like the green stuff that people use in gardens. Has a plastic feel to it. I used this on his door when it was screen. Because even after I modified the sides and back he insisted on climbing the door. It did help but they still get nails in the screen. For me, it made me crazy. I over think a lot. So I actually pulled the screen in the door and replaced it with 20 gauge marine vinyl. Put this in the same way you would rescreen a window. Took a bit of practice to get it right but now he can not climb it.
I have seen people do this with all the panels except the top and the service door at the bottom of the front. This creates a total hybrid as well. I chose to pull the screen from the back and two sides and then screw on pvc plastic sheets instead. I had multiple chams and it was easier to have them not see one another.

 

[wcoll325]

We’re making improvements as we speak. My hardware store only had the metal but the enclosure should be baby proofed once we’re finished!

 

[Beman]

View attachment 331217

We’re making improvements as we speak. My hardware store only had the metal but the enclosure should be baby proofed once we’re finished!

Feel it for sharps... Some of this is better than others but run your finger down it to ensure the inside where he climbs does not have sharp spots.

 

[wcoll325]

Feel it for sharps... Some of this is better than others but run your finger down it to ensure the inside where he climbs does not have sharp spots.

Luckily we were able to find it in 2 ft by 25 ft so the only places that run a risk are on the edges of the frame and hidden from him. We did try to do the service door but it didn’t fit right and didn’t want to risk him getting poked so that and the ceiling are the only places without it. Thanks for your help!

 

[Beman]

Luckily we were able to find it in 2 ft by 25 ft so the only places that run a risk are on the edges of the frame and hidden from him. We did try to do the service door but it didn’t fit right and didn’t want to risk him getting poked so that and the ceiling are the only places without it. Thanks for your help!

Perfect... I found that the service door did not make much of a difference since it is such a small space. Most of the time they climb higher than it as well. So hopefully this helps with him screen climbing. I am glad you did not do the top. Just because you do not want to cause any more reduction in UVI output in the cage.