Building my own

[thedestroyers]

non-toxic poymere is more the standard than an extra expense. Just make sure you read the labels. you don't want to put a toxic poly on your wood and get your cham sick when he drinks dripping water off of it or snatches some food from it. So if you ARE going to seal it PLEASE us non-toxic

As for the drainage, I'm sure that will be ok. Will you have a small drainage hole to gather the excess water in a bucket?

The non-toxic polymere is for making the wood in the cage water resistent, so it will not rot right? Didn't look up how expensive it is, you say it's standard material, sounds good enough to me.

Thanks for the tip, will definitely use non-toxic!

I'm thinking for a solution for this 'problem' I've red on Jonrich's topic about 'natural forrest floor terrarium' that he uses a pipe to drain the excess water. I was thinking about doing the same. Just remove one pot and drain the water into a bucket. Or I can drill a small whole at the side to make it easier to drain excess water, like a small water tap.

Not sure what to do with this, yet!

 

[chameleonkev]

Thanks for your reply!

I was also thinking about useing screen, but doesnt a full screen cage result in a cold, less humidity environment?

The grey areas on my drawing are represented as to-become-ventilation, I've red on ( I thought chameleonnews) that this setup makes the chimney effect possible. Are they wrong about that?

Is it less expensive to buy your own cage? I just love the idea to create this by myself, and thought it would be cheaper, same costs if I would buy a cage.

Very usefull tips Will definitly bake some wood in my oven.

Check out my album there are a few pics of my vivs that I built, back an sides are wood ant front and top are mesh with great drainage, in my opinion these are perfect for chams as they keep the correct amont of heat in an allow for plenty of air flow, also it's white furniture board to allow for plenty of light, since using these my chams are so much brighter because of the light, any questions pm me

 

[thedestroyers]

Check out my album there are a few pics of my vivs that I built, back an sides are wood ant front and top are mesh with great drainage, in my opinion these are perfect for chams as they keep the correct amont of heat in an allow for plenty of air flow, also it's white furniture board to allow for plenty of light, since using these my chams are so much brighter because of the light, any questions pm me

Looks very nice! I'll pm you right away

 

[FrankTheTank]

The non-toxic polymere is for making the wood in the cage water resistent, so it will not rot right? Didn't look up how expensive it is, you say it's standard material, sounds good enough to me.

Thanks for the tip, will definitely use non-toxic!

I'm thinking for a solution for this 'problem' I've red on Jonrich's topic about 'natural forrest floor terrarium' that he uses a pipe to drain the excess water. I was thinking about doing the same. Just remove one pot and drain the water into a bucket. Or I can drill a small whole at the side to make it easier to drain excess water, like a small water tap.

Not sure what to do with this, yet!

Yes the poly is for water resistance so it won't rot or get mold and mildew. Around here you can pick up a small can for about $5. As for the drainage, it's pretty much whatever you can figure out that works best for you and your setup. Alot of people do it differently. Some put a lot of small holes, some put bigger ones in the center covered with a screen, some slope the bottom so it runs down to one side in to a catch pan. As long as you make it to where there is no standing water in the bottom, then it doesn't really matter how you do it. Hope this helps!

 

[thedestroyers]

Yes the poly is for water resistance so it won't rot or get mold and mildew. Around here you can pick up a small can for about $5. As for the drainage, it's pretty much whatever you can figure out that works best for you and your setup. Alot of people do it differently. Some put a lot of small holes, some put bigger ones in the center covered with a screen, some slope the bottom so it runs down to one side in to a catch pan. As long as you make it to where there is no standing water in the bottom, then it doesn't really matter how you do it. Hope this helps!

Thanks Frank!

This info is very helpful

I'll take all the info I get in to practice, to make it as good as it can be. Keeping in mind that everything actually is healthy for the chameleon at first place!

Tomorrow is shopping time, gonna visit a few stores for all the essential parts I can get my hands on. Wish me luck!

 

[thedestroyers]

So.. I've shopped for the basic things I need for my cage, and I already bought some plants! Check 'm out!



2 nice begonia's for on the bottom.



In holland the plant in the middle is called the zebra-plant, going to rip it apart en place small 'bushes' off it on the ground and other surfaces(like on the backwall).



This one is going to be ripped apart aswell, gonna hang it on the back wall, and between branches.



I'm going to make this plant my big one in the cage.



This plant is going to be at the wall en one somewere on the floor.

What I also want to place in my cage is moss, did anyone tryed this before?

 

[thedestroyers]

So.. I've been busy working on my chameleon cage.

This is a foto of what I have so far.


This is how I made the top off the cage.


And this is the bottom of the enclosure..



Next thing is.. getting some glass and make it fit for the sides and the front!

 

[danfree33]

i made my two cages out of a old drinks unit with drainage and i used arcyrlic for the front with vents built in and its cheap to buy.

 

[djfishygillz]

So.. I've shopped for the basic things I need for my cage, and I already bought some plants! Check 'm out!



2 nice begonia's for on the bottom.



In holland the plant in the middle is called the zebra-plant, going to rip it apart en place small 'bushes' off it on the ground and other surfaces(like on the backwall).



This one is going to be ripped apart aswell, gonna hang it on the back wall, and between branches.



I'm going to make this plant my big one in the cage.



This plant is going to be at the wall en one somewere on the floor.

What I also want to place in my cage is moss, did anyone tryed this before?

I am not sure if you have yet, but research these plants a lot and make sure they are non-toxic chameleon okay plants. I don't have the list on hand but there is a list of okay plants somewhere on this site.

Other then that, this cage is going to rock!

 

[thedestroyers]

I've done some research before I bought them, the only thing with the begonia is that it could be that some crickets pollute the water that stays between the leaves. I'm going to spray a lot so I should be fine! The rest is all non toxic.

Thanks men, this cage is definitely going to rock!

 

[EvilLost]

I love do-it-yourself builds!

Make sure to seal your wood somehow

I don't understand how you plan to do drainage? That is, what is the reservoir made of?

This is how I ended up doing it on my build, slight elevation and used a laundry plastic tray. I drill a hole in the side and underneath i put a bucket that collects the drain water (I empty it about two times per week).

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/...lbums/5647652851478928897/5709144832156529426

It "works" but I feel there is a much more elegant solution out there.

 

[thedestroyers]

I love it too!

Working on my cage made me think again about doing it different. Im going to put substrate on the bottom(bottom gets sealed with epoxy so its going to be waterproof) Gonna go for a 15-20 cm layer off this substrate, plant mosses that suck up a lot of water and plant enough plants to do the same.

I've red that if you pick the right substrate it will be fine(you wont get a swamp or swimming pool in your cage).

Going to post some new pics soon.

 

[thedestroyers]

I've been working on the background. Used this isolating foam( 4 large cans(750), and tile adhesive( 5 kilo). And some glas cans for holding plants in.

This is the result:

In this pic u see some green spots, i've just made sure every foam is covered with tile adhesive.

The result is awesome!!! When its dry it will be lighter though..