Building Cham home from scratch, need advice!

[shazz]

Hi,
I am new to the forum today. I am getting a chameleon after christmas he is only 6 weeks old at the mo.

Ive spent a few weeks reading about what enclosures are best to use. The room he will be in is a little cool at times so I feel a flexarium may not be the answer. Therefore I have decided to build one myself using wood and mesh. Can anyone advise me on a safe mesh that I can use, what type of wood is best? and how to treat the wood safely so it is waterproof. I am thinking of having the back out of wood with vents in. Wood sides with a mesh panel in and a completely mesh front. Any advice would be really appreciated.

Also is it ok to put a young cham in a large enclosure straight away?

Thanks Sharron

 

[joshua n janet]

i made my cage be side my tv were the dvd goes it should be eazy jux make sure its sealed right

 

[bimac6]

That's very young age to get a chameleon. The safe age to sell them at is 3-4 months.

I kept my veiled in a small bird cage for about 3 months, then I moved him into a bigger cage, to make him more comfortable. If you use a big cage, set everything up (vines, etc) close to the ground, so he won't get up high, and accidentally slip.

 

[panthercham]

Welcome to the forum

Talk to Miss Lily (Tiff) she is from The Isle of Wight like you. She also has many good threads on here with photos of her vivs so you could get some really good ideas from her.

Good luck with your new cham....thats a wonderful Christmas present!

 

[shazz]

Hi

Thanks for your reply, I am not getting him til the new year he will be about 3 months. Which are the best live plants for him? And if I keep him in a cage while he is young whats the best way to light and heat the cage?

 

[shazz]

Thanks panthercham, I shall look out for her! Its a small world after all! lol

 

[sandrachameleon]

Im very happy with my cages made of wood and using peg board for the sides. Painted with zero VOC latex acrylic.

There are a bunch of links to threads/sites regarding enclosures in this blog entry:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/82-enclosures-housing.html
It wont take long to snap through them. Several of them give very good cage building advice.

 

[bimac6]

Thanks panthercham, I shall look out for her! Its a small world after all! lol

I didn't even see that you were new! Welcome!
And oh! That's fine then I would think!

A lot of us stick with pothos plants, because they're really viney, and pretty.
Schefflara abricola is my choice and a lot of people's as well. Ficus, umbrella plants, etc.
Let me get you a link of the safe plants
http://flchams.com/safe_plant_list.asp
A lot of them are in scientific name, but if you look them up on google, and ask the guy at home depot for it, he'll know!

And you need to have a UVB/UVA source and a basking light.
Reptisun 5.0 is what is recommended for UVB, and for a widdle baby such as your's, i'd use a 40 watt house hold bulb for heating, get a couple digi thermometers to measure heat, and a hydrometer for humidity.
i'd say that your basking for a baby would be in the mid 80's, and the rest of the cage high 60's- mid 70's.

 

[shazz]

many thanks Bimac6 for the links, I shall have a read! It's really nice to have some proper advice as I have found the internet to be mis-leading at times! this seem's the right place for me to start, many thanks

 

[justjumpit621]

If you are lucky, you might be able to go online and find someone selling screened window frames. I build my 31 1/2 in X 32in x 32x cage using 5 screened windows, a long piece of 2x2 for support, a piece of particle board for the bottom, 2 hinges for the door and a lock. It only cost me $7 to build! I also live in a cold area in a drafty old apartment so I went to the store and got a $2 painter's plastic drop cloth. I stapled it to 3 sides (left,back,right) and it keeps the heat and humidity in great and also has ventilation for my female veiled.

For plants I went to home depot, they are really cheap at the moment on indoor tropical plants =), and I bought an umbrella tree for $9. I also bought a ficus at walmart for $10 but that was during the summer, ad I have a dracaena, a geranium, and a pothos. I also went to michael's craft store and bought some fake vines that she loves, they really add character to the enclosure, along with shade and hiding spots. Here is a picture of it:

 

[shazz]

Thankyou to everyone for your advice, I didnt expect so much response

 

[FAIL]

https://www.chameleonforums.com/finished-both-cages-d-33232/ mine.

 

[shanksfaml]

thanks for all the pics

I want to send out a generic thank you to all the gadget savvy members who have submitted pics of their enclosures. I have 3 chams and thus 3 homes for them, it doesn't matter how long I have had them, I am still figuring out ways to improve. I am a visual person and thus have borrowed a lot from many of you, especially as it is not every day that I come across other cham lovers as ourselves.

thanks, cheryl