building a better cage

[buick455]

ok I'm a total noob with chams to start off so please go easy on me, lol.. I have a few questions (and I am sure I will have more).

my brother found this cham walking very slowly down a seawall in an undevloped area of town (SW Florida) and as useual, picked it up took it home and called me to rush over to see what he found (I am 30 hes 21, some things never change) we posted in the paper about finding it but nobody replied (its been 3 weeks, if they ever do they are buying this cage I'm working on, lol). from what i have been told by local pet shops i guess we have them wild here like the iguanas..

Right now the cham (veiled) is living a half indoor, half outdoor life in what is best described as a 3' wide x 1.5' deep x 2' tall pile of 1/4 mesh cage (has all the branches and leaves my brother could fit in there and seems ok with its space for now but im sure its getting old, its far smaller then I would want to live in. So I am building a new cage for lil guy. It is prolly going to end up staying at my house since my brothers soon to be wife doesnt like reptiles very much (shes a chicken & thinks they are creepy).

the cage (minus base) is about 30" wide x 26" deep x 46" tall. all 2x4 frame (its what I had on hand) with wheels so it can be rolled out to the back porch for nice days. The mesh is alum screen for the 4 sides & 1/4" wire mesh for the top. The floor will be a V shape with small drain to a bucket (like a pic I saw here someplace). I also bought a ficus (weeping fig) tree for the cage, its kinda narly so im going to trim it up a lil.

Ok, on to the questions that I can think of right now: (I'm sure I will have more soon)

1. The ficus came from the H-Depot with the potting soil filled with the little balls of crap in it. are these balls ok to be in the cage? is a ficus ok from h-depot at all?

2. I want to have as much climbing stuff as I can inside the cage, whats these vines (viney branches maybe) I see in peoples pic's. example: https://www.chameleonforums.com/additions-free-range-33230/. I'm not super interested in showing the cham off or having it scared by traffic in the house. I want the cham to be happy

3. I want to close off the back of the cage with a rock wall. I was lookin at the foam and morter method (spray foam just isnt the look im going for). Are there any downfalls to this tile morter idea besides the weight?

4. Could I get some links to temp/humidity gauge (last one I had was a peel'n'stick on a glass tank, lol.

I'm really think these lil guys are neat, and its been a long time since I had a pet that needed so much attention. My last reptile was a collared lizard named tequila, but that was a long long time ago...

Thanks

 

[Zeke20]

It sounds like you have sat down and done a little reading. Excellent. I can only answer a couple of the questions as I dont have much experience myself. But the ficus should be just fine, only thing I would do is re-pot it in 100% organic soil, and give it a good rinse down before it goes in. As for the vines you can get "bio vines" (I think thats what they are called), from almost any pet shop. Just look around the reptile accesories sections im sure you will find some. You will also find a selection of hygrometer/thermometers there as well. I was recomended to get a digital one, mine reads both humidity and temp and is much more acurate than an analog im sure. The other questions you will have to wait for a more experienced person. Good luck with the little guy.

 

[buick455]

thanks zeke, I picked up a bag of organic soil for the ficus, started the faux rock wall (kinda hit a snag tho) I bought a package of eyehooks for attaching vines when I get them, looked at the biovines ( $9 for 6 feet ) but they will have to wait since im about out of money for the next week or so... I have the cham here with me now, but its in its temp cage still while things I did today dry and air out a bit. I also got a basking lamp w/dimmer and a "all living things" 60watt bulb. until I can get the reptisun 5.0 the trips outside will have to continue. all the needed stuff like lighting, and stuff to climb on is going to be my first things bought, then ill get back to the rock backdrop

1. What sealers can I use for the grout? I am having a hell of a time finding one I feel safe with.. Minwax Polycrylic is at my hardware store but its uber $$$, is it safe to use?

2. Are there any DIY vine instructions anywhere?

3. Where did all my money go? I only have had the cham for 5 hrs, lol

 

[pssh]

Chameleons are expensive! Welcome to the addiction!!!

Your chameleon will need three types of supplements, calcium w/ d3, calcium w/o d3 and a multi vitamin. I buy mine from www.lllreptile.com they have the lowest prices for most things. You can also buy a repti sun for cheap there as well, same with biovine. For vines, they have this green tomato plant plastic wire that some people use I stead of vines. I believe if you look through the last page or two in enclosures, there's a thread about it.

Also, you can buy a digital thermometer/hydrometer for about 12 bucks at home depot. Make sure to spray him at least 2-5 times a day.

 

[gwjones777]

try wal mart or ace harware is where i bought some of the stuff pictured in the link below, its cheap and works great and you can twist a couple into a braid for wider vines

https://www.chameleonforums.com/green-bendable-vine-things-33014/

and congrats on being a new chameleon owner!

 

[buick455]

Just an update... (Longer then I thought this would be)
The cage is finished and I moved him into it. I think he likes it, but I can tell he wants more to climb on (the one piece of driftwood I have is way to short, it will lie down in the cage, lol). I need to get higher so he can get closer to the basking light. I was worried about him climbing the alum screen. he must not mind climbing it b/c he’s been hanging there all day other then when I sent crickets to the slaughter, lol... my wife saw him grip a cricket for the first time and just walked away going "ewwwww" so all the money and time was well spent as far as I'm concerned

My DIY dripper is drying as we speak, should be safe in a day or two. I made it with a big Gatorade bottle, fish tank silicone, and these tubes and valves made by "Mister Landscaper" they have soooo many diff parts for this system & available at H-Depot that when I build an auto mister I'm trying this first. The tube & valve was only like $3.50.

I also picked up a 12" clay pot to sit my ficus on top of (it was wayyy to low in the cage).

When I went to the pet store to get supplements all they had was the multi-vita shake & bake in stock so I grabbed it and I'm going to order the other 2 online from lllRetp (got a brand suggestion anyone?). I even got some freebies when I was there. I guess when people buy clip lamps they forget the shrouds or just don’t need them b/c when I asked how much the girl told me everyone already bought them for me so I got 3 lamps for the cage now 1 that I bought and 2 linked together on one switch and cord.

I picked up an 18" florescent tube, plant grow light at h-depot for 14$ with the fixture (its for under cabinet lighting) I know this isn’t what he needs, and I'm guessing it isn’t worth the plastic it was made out of, but until I get my order from lllReptile put together (and a pay check) it and the real sun will have to do.

I went to true value hardware lookin for the bendy plant ties mentioned above and they had nothing... Then I had a light bulb pop up above my head (love it when that happens, mines usually burnt out), I ran over to the electrical section and bought 12ft of 14awg solid core, then over to the tube & hose and grabbed 1/2" clear food grade hose (hope he will be able ot see it). I'm going to fish the wire through the hose and attach to the million eyehooks in the gage. I'll let you all know how this goes... I want to find some brown or dark green dye or paint I can coat the inside of the hose with to make it more plant like, but it will be easy to clean on the outside..

Again thank you all, this has been a RE-learning experience for me...

 

[Chase]

I must say... You are impressing me... You are a great example of how new owners should act towards caring for the animal.

LPR08

 

[buick455]

thanks LP.. I just remembered another question.. No, my questions will not end

I bought a Acu-Rite Digital Thermometer (good idea Pssh, much cheaper then the pet store) and it has a 40mile long probe sensor on it. Wondering how and where I should mount it.. There is a humidity & temp sensor in the main base and then (I think) just a temp sensor in the probe...

My idea was to put the base inside the cage near the middle (top to bottom) and oppsite side of the basking lamps and then the probe on the basking area side (10" from the bulb?). Is this a good way to do it?

thanks again

 

[Chase]

thanks LP.. I just remembered another question.. No, my questions will not end

I bought a Acu-Rite Digital Thermometer (good idea Pssh, much cheaper then the pet store) and it has a 40mile long probe sensor on it. Wondering how and where I should mount it.. There is a humidity & temp sensor in the main base and then (I think) just a temp sensor in the probe...

My idea was to put the base inside the cage near the middle (top to bottom) and oppsite side of the basking lamps and then the probe on the basking area side (10" from the bulb?). Is this a good way to do it?

thanks again

Are you keeping the thermometer inside the cage?

 

[buick455]

Are you keeping the thermometer inside the cage?

Yeah, I dont think it will read humidity otherwise.. It looks as though on this thermometer the probe only reads temps

If your looking at the cage (picture 4 uprights / corner posts) door on right side, basking lamp on left rear corner lid. I was going to mount the base for the thermometer 24-"ish from the top, 24"-ish from the bottom on the rear-right corner upright of the cage.

Then mount the probe (at the end of the wire) 10" below the basking lamp or top (where I think my basking perch will end up) on the oppsite side (left-rear corner upright).

Then the thermometer will give me the inside temp and humidity, and then also give me the perch temp... I think/hope

 

[lucky]

i bought two hygro/temp guages, no sensor, and put one in basking spot. and one towards bottom/mid of cage. stuck top one to screen using velcro right thru the screen.

 

[lucky]

oh and i use all zoo med suppliments. calc with d3 and calc without. and reptivite.

 

[buick455]

morning everyone <wipes sleep out of eyes>

I need to cheat of somebodys test. I think I have an idea of a schedule for "Snot" or "Booger" (whichever sticks, no pun intended). What is your weekly schedule for your male veiled?

I'm still not crystal on how much I should feed him and when I should. Will he stop when he is full?

I'm thinking: (prolly all wrong)
(Fill in the feedings below If you can)
( example: Sun: (8am) 3 - 1" crickets, w/MultiVita Powder )

*denotes everyday
* All lights on at 8am
* Hand Mist @ 8am, 1pm, 7pm
* Clean out the dead (leaves & food he didn't touch)
* All lights off at 8pm

I tried to fill this section in but I'm prolly so wrong I will leave it to ya'll
Sun:
Mon:
Tues:
Wed:
Thurs:
Fri:
Sat:

I think he was rather thursty this morning b/c I misted and he has been drinking for like 45mins (lapping from leaves). Is it ok to mist after lights out? Will he drink or eat after bed time? (He hasn't left a live cricket in his cage to spend the night, if its moving its lunch )

I just went out to look at him and he's in his ficus I thought he was never going to get off that screen

 

[pssh]

If your lights go out at 8, no feeding or misting after 6. Also, mist 1/2 hour to 1 hour after lights come on.

Feed 6-8 large crickets ( or equivalent of) Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Supplement plain calcium w/o d3 lightly Monday and Fridays. Use calcium w/d3 twice a month, and multivitamins once a month. I use the first, third, and fifth supplements on the supplement page at lllreptile.com

If he's climbing th screen, he probably needs more places to climb.

 

[buick455]

Plant question...

I know pothos is safe for a cage, but I dont know if thats what I got
This is pothos right?

Its growing wild up my parents screen porch. I measured the biggest leaf and its 6 1/2" wide & 8" long. The vine is like 1/2" thick. I havent ever seen it this large

Also my father has these:

We call them pepperoni, lol. I don’t know what the real name is, but I do know they really grow like crazy in the shade. Any idea if their safe?

 

[buick455]

Just an update the dripper is working well... had a problem yesterday with it stopping and not dripping while I was out of the house (I was soooo pissed when I walked in the door and it was stopped). He is a smart lil guy though, he doesn’t even wait for it to hit a leaf. He eyeballs it then moves into position and opens his mouth and the drops fall right in

As for getting a jungle gym into the cage, it’s been a task... I put my DIY tube/wire vines in and he wants nothing to do with them. So I took them out and will be hunting down something else. I have a few pieces of driftwood, but there a lil long and honestly to nice to cut up for making horizontal branches. I’m sure I’ll think of something, lol...

Hope ya'll had a Happy Turkey Day!! I felt bad giving some scraps to the dogs and not Booger

 

[pssh]

You can use wooden rods or dried bamboo sticks. Just put them in and stick tacks in the sides from the outside of the screen to hold it up. Really easy and really cheap.

 

[buick455]

You can use wooden rods or dried bamboo sticks. Just put them in and stick tacks in the sides from the outside of the screen to hold it up. Really easy and really cheap.

I would have never thought of that, if I did, it would have been screws threw the screen and into logs.. I over engineer, and over complicate everything

I have these bamboo stick in the garage, but they are green, like a white-wash not the rubber/plastic coating. You think its safe?

 

[buick455]

First.. I'm sorry for posting all the questions in one thread under enclosures, If this isnt ok just say so Easier for me to look back on from work this way...

Well Wednesday or Thursday I will be getting new stuff for his cage (I hate waiting for paychecks). I will need to remove him from the cage for a few. If it’s nice out I want to get him outside for a while. The weather has been crap (no sun) or I wasnt home the past few afternoons. His temp outside cage will be done tomorrow afternoon I hope.

I have a lil problem though, maybe I'm just too frightened to hurt him or upset him, you tell me... I try to go into his cage b/c I see him perched in a way that scares the crap out of me. He was hunting down a cricket and fell to a lower branch of his ficus which hurt me more then him I think b/c he finished his mission while I freaked out and picked my stomach up off the floor. He fell 8" and is walking and climbing fine, I'm positive he is ok

Its like he wants nothing to do with me. He just turns and gives me stink-eye and darts for the furthest branch from me. I really feel like he does not want to be bothered in anyway Not wanting to be bothered at all is fine, I dont like to be bothered either but sometimes its needed.

Is there a method for grabbing them without breaking them or my heart in the process?

 

[pssh]

Use a clean stick! That's what I do! My fella wants nothing to do with me unless I have food in my hand. carefull slide the stick under him and lift gently until he has all four limbs on the stick, then make sure his tail isn't atached to anything and lift him out of his cage. At this point. He may or may not let you hold him on your hand for a second.


A drop of that height should be okay for a healthy chameleon, just make sure you start to supplements as soon as possible so he gets enough calcium!