Cage advice: go or no go

[ojr5]

Hi folks, saw a cage on Craigslist available near me, and it looks like it could make for a really cool vertical chameleon cage. Before I return my reptibreeze and get this sucker, though, I wanted some input. It's mesh, which is good, and there's a removable bottom, but I'm wondering how well a wood enclosure will hold up in a high-humidity enviro (i'm planning on getting a jackson's).

Is there something I can spray the wood with to prevent it from molding?

Also, it's advertised as a bird/sugar glider cage, but do you think the size of the mesh will suffice for a chameleon?

Thanks

 

[Chameleopatrick]

It looks really nice but if you use house flies and fruit flies in their diet ( which I highly recommend you do), then the cell size of the screen will not be adequate for containment. Just something to consider.

 

[Lathis]

What are the dimensions? Is it real wood or particle board? If it's particle board, I would saw avoid it - more trouble than its worth to try to make it work.

You could probably replace the screen with little effort if you wanted a finer mesh. Otherwise, you will have bug escapees - not the end of the world, just something to be aware of. If it were me, I would probably also remove the bottom glass panels and replace with screen so that the bottom of the cage gets air circulation, too (no standing water).

I would actually line the bottom tray with something impermeable like heavy mil plastic sheeting. Everything else could be coated with a few coats of a clear urethane sealer. Do you have enough openings at the top for a UVB and a basking lamp?

If you are handy and want to put some work into it (and the cage is not 12" wide or something silly like that), that could be a really nice enclosure. Post pics if you decide to get it.

 

[ojr5]

thanks for the input. FYI, the cage is 70"h x 30"w x 20"d and the bottom half has acrylic panel lining

 

[ojr5]

I would actually line the bottom tray with something impermeable like heavy mil plastic sheeting. Everything else could be coated with a few coats of a clear urethane sealer.

Is the urethane sealer so the wood doesn't rot from water?

 

[Lathis]

Is the urethane sealer so the wood doesn't rot from water?

Exactly.

 

[werecat]

That cage looks cool. If you can get a good price then the mods to make it work for a chameleon (sealing the wood with urethane, changing the mesh size, and waterproofing the bottom and maybe creating a drainage system) would probably not add too much more to your total. In the end I think you would have a much nicer cage than a repti-breeze!

 

[J1635]

Thats definitely a custom built enclosure, doesn't look like there is any particle board on there, do you know what kind of wood it is? Certain woods handle water alot better then others, its stained already so the wood is somewhat waterproof, with proper positioning of a single spray nozzle (all youd need in a cage that size) then the amount of water getting on the wood is negligible, with proper airflow and lighting the water will dry up no problem. I agree you should get rid of the acrylic on the bottom half and replace it with screen, you dont even need the full height for the cham, you can leave a couple feet at the bottom for storage/drain pan area etc. And to be honest i would rip the mesh they have in there out and just replace it with screen, it would look alot better, but all in all a really good looking enclosure for sure

 

[Lathis]

you can leave a couple feet at the bottom for storage/drain pan area etc.

That's a good idea! It would lend itself well to concealed drainage at the bottom.