built my future panther a cozy home!

[goosay]

*scroll to the bottom if you just want to see the final product*
Wanted to share with you guys my little habitat I have been building over the past two weeks for my future 4 month old panther boy (name tbd). I have been studying these forums for a few weeks now with the intention of using all the info here to build the best habitat for my Cham... so just wanted to thank each and every one of you for all of your help! Initially I wanted to go bioactive, but since I'm a first time Cham owner, I'd rather get the husbandry down in a more controlled environment and then go bioactive in a year or so when I'm more comfortable.

Info:

Cage:
DIY Cage 24x24x48 (screen)

Lighting :
-Zoo Med T5 HO Reptisun Hood 24 inch w/5.0 ubv bulb
-95 watt incandescent bulb on a dimmer
-GE Lighting BR30 Full Spectrum LED Grow Light Bulb


Plants:
Ficus Benjamina, schefflera, Madagascar Jasmine & two small air plants (tillandsia)

Hydration:
Mistking (3 min @8am, 2 min @ 4:20 pm ;-) and 2 min @ 8pm
Homemade dripper

Temperature & Humidity
Basking: 82.7 degrees
Ambient: 72 degrees

Humidity: ~75%

Feeding:
Planning on doing a mix of Dubia, Superworms, BSFL, and hornworms on occasion..

Please let me know if I should change or adjust anything!
Now for the build..

Bought a cabinet off of Craigslist for the cage to go on, but it was a little to shallow (about 2 inches) So I build a small addition to the back. Below you can also see part of my drain system (drip pan and some plumbing)



This tray will go into the base of the cage.. Completed drainage from behind ->



Covered the back two walls with black vinyl and some waterproof tape @ the seams to keep humidity up as I live in SoCal..
here's an idea of how the drain tray will sit in the cage (going to put it at a bit of an incline to motivate water flow to the back holes)
Both holes were covered w/mesh drain thing I bought




NOW FOR THE FUN STUFF!!!

Covered the vinyl walls with Zoo Med natural cork tiles .. (using magnets ? to attach)
and added a bunch of branches that I found on walks over the past month...weirdly the most therapeutic part of the process was cleaning and sanding these branches down...could do it for days
Attached them all together using zip ties



Plants are in! ☘
Both pots are raised about 2 inches off the ground using small wedges
there's a little Madagascar Jasmine in the back corner under the air plant (wanted to give my chameleon a little plant that reminded him of home)


AND THE FINAL THANG w/mistking installed and all the lights:

overall, I'm stoked. It was a tough build and was super difficult not being able to run freely to Home Depot to buy random supplies but I couldn't be happier with the result!

I'd love to hear any feedback u guys have!


☮
goosay

 

[goosay]

Some more pics cuz they only allow 10 per post...

inside the cage & the plumbing below

 

[JuniorC]

Some more pics cuz they only allow 10 per post...

inside the cage & the plumbing below

Really like this build and set up

 

[Dbash44]

Some more pics cuz they only allow 10 per post...

inside the cage & the plumbing below

Looks good!

I love when people use their creativity to create a unique environment for their cham (or future cham).

Since you asked for feedback here you go:

If it were up to me, I'd add more branches up top and give multiple levels to regulate heat/uvb. I feel like that top portion of the cage has a lot of white space.

I also suggest getting some more plants for the mid section of the enclosure. Create some more hiding spots in the middle. I think you could probably drill a cheap plastic pot into the cork background and pot a pathos in there. As much as I try to be different with plants, I find the pathos makes a great place for a hiding spot.

If you get some plants in the middle of the enclosure, you'll also help the humidity.

You're misting schedule kind of seems like it needs a few more mistings scheduled. I suggest adding a misting around noon. That way, you have four hour increments during the day. You can add more shorter mistings, but just make sure the enclosure can dry out in between. You have a good drain so you can get away with all the water. I personally mist every few hours, but for around a minute. I live in SoCal and never had an issue misting that way, *knock on wood*, which is why I suggest this. Are you going to be using a dripper or a fogger?

Also, you'll want to keep an eye on those plants and make sure they have enough water. Unless you have the mister heads pointed perfectly, you might find the roots of the plants aren't getting enough water.

One thing with the drainage that may help is putting something underneath the front corners of the tray in the bottom. That way, all the water is pulled to the drainage holes with gravity.

How are you measuring the basking spot?

 

[goosay]

Really like this build and set up

thank you!

 

[goosay]

Looks good!

I love when people use their creativity to create a unique environment for their cham (or future cham).

Since you asked for feedback here you go:

If it were up to me, I'd add more branches up top and give multiple levels to regulate heat/uvb. I feel like that top portion of the cage has a lot of white space.

I also suggest getting some more plants for the mid section of the enclosure. Create some more hiding spots in the middle. I think you could probably drill a cheap plastic pot into the cork background and pot a pathos in there. As much as I try to be different with plants, I find the pathos makes a great place for a hiding spot.

If you get some plants in the middle of the enclosure, you'll also help the humidity.

You're misting schedule kind of seems like it needs a few more mistings scheduled. I suggest adding a misting around noon. That way, you have four hour increments during the day. You can add more shorter mistings, but just make sure the enclosure can dry out in between. You have a good drain so you can get away with all the water. I personally mist every few hours, but for around a minute. I live in SoCal and never had an issue misting that way, *knock on wood*, which is why I suggest this. Are you going to be using a dripper or a fogger?

Also, you'll want to keep an eye on those plants and make sure they have enough water. Unless you have the mister heads pointed perfectly, you might find the roots of the plants aren't getting enough water.

One thing with the drainage that may help is putting something underneath the front corners of the tray in the bottom. That way, all the water is pulled to the drainage holes with gravity.

How are you measuring the basking spot?

thanks for your feedback! I'll add a few branches and a pothos. I actually bought a pothos w/ the intention of hanging it from the ceiling, but it's way too big and takes up almost half of the cage.. so maybe ill look for a smaller one.
Thats awesome that you're from SoCal as well, I've been trying to figure out what the best schedule is for the misting to maintain good humidity down here but it sounds like yours works well- so ill adjust mine to mirror yours a bit more.
I made a homemade dripper - not sure what a fogger is?

As for the basking spot temp- I have two temperature/humidity monitors that each have a probe attached. One probe is zip tied to the basking branch and the other hangs on a branch about halfway up.
thanks once again-- very helpful!!

 

[henk]

This setup looks great! Looks like your future Cham will have a nice, cozy place to call home. Excited to see some updates when he arrives!!!

 

[Mrjamwin]

Wow, that's really impressive.

 

[goosay]

@Dbash44 took your advice and added two more branches and a Pothos to fill out the top area. love how it looks!

 

[salty dog]

It looks nice!! I'd put some more sturdy branches in for climbing on,, my chams go everywhere in their home