DIY Duplex Furniture Type Enclosure - Any suggestions

[ncosper]

Just got my plans all drawn up for a side by side panther enclosure. This is going to be for an adult ambilobe pair. I used to keep chameleons about 8 or 9 years ago, a bunch of them and bred them, this is my trip back to chams now with a family so the cage must look nice! I just purchased a router to help with some of the finishing touches and I know this cage is going to be quite the undertaking, but I think it will be well worth it once complete.

I attached several photos and any suggestions anyone has on how to improve upon the design would be great.

First of all, I plan to 'tray' feed. I plan to feed mostly dubia and plan to get a somewhat shallow dish that will go in through each sides 'side hatch' for feeding only. Although not in the design I plan to use bamboo dowels that are suspended horizontally from the middle supports/screen holder across to each side creating a nice branch/vine support and feeding tray holder. I will be sure I create a way to secure the tray to prevent any accidents.

Next step that isn't shown is to create a traditional screen that will slide in and out from the top (which will be hinged) with hopefully only two layers of screen. I want to keep it screen so I can maintain airflow, but use enough layers of screen to prevent a view from one cage to the other. This will be removable in case I ever decide to use the cage for one cham or removable for breeding purposes.

I will be mounting reptisun bulbs from the ceiling on each side, along with the circular cutouts for hooded backing lamps.

You will also notice a 2" area between the bottom screen and the cabinet. I plan to do two things here. I am going to have a 1/4" or 1/2" wire mesh as the base screen, then below that a removable from a front small hatch of fine screen. This will be the poop tray keeping it out of the drainage and making things a piece of cake to clean. Secondly I am going to use some type of drainage system, I'm looking into options from plexiglass to and angled system draining directly through a drain in the wood into a bucket.

Past that there will be some storage in cabinet doors and drawers, depending upon what I ultimately decide for the drainage system.

The dimensions are 6" tall overall, 45" of cage height and the male side 24" wide and deep, the females side 18" wide and 24" deep.

There will be at least 1 misting nozzle per side (mistking nozzles). Should I add two?

The back of the cage will be foam covered in silicone/ cocofiber. I've done this several times on dendrobates cages and love the look.

Can't decide on what screen to use. I might go with a traditional screen, aluminum or fiberglass, but I'm also considering a 1/4" vinyl covered wire mesh. This is the biggest debate in my head right now. I am going to create something similar to the channels on a screen in the wood and use a rubber spine to hold it all in, I hate the stapled screen look!


Any suggestions would be great!

View from top without the top in view

 

[TonyRockyHorror]

Great design! But - as everyone else will tell you - housing 2 chameleons together is a bad idea and is asking for trouble.

 

[ncosper]

I definitely know that. As I mentioned in the first post there is going to be a traditional style screen that slides in and out from the top that fits snugly between the dowels that are shown in the plans. It will contain enough screen to blur any view between the cages, meanwhile leave a little room for some air to pass through.

 

[mrvoodoo]

That looks like a great plan. That is something I had considered at one time with my cage - the ability to slide a "wall" between the two sides. I simplified it and made it a bit smaller (used a premade cabinet base for the water/pump and storage)

I do suggest having something available to cover the game where the screen wall slides in so that if you ever have the wall out and don't cup feed - the crickets or whatever else won't escape.

As for screen - I used an aluminum mesh screen, but just inside that I hung some plastic chicken wire (forget what it was called - green stuff) for the chameleon to climb on without any issues of his nails getting caught in the aluminum screen material. *this might be difficult for your setup if you don't staple - stapling the plastic stuff was easiest that I could find (other than using a smaller sliver of wood to cover up and secure the end pieces)

For the drain I used some flexible material over the "counter top" and the bathtub drain I attached pulled it down at an angle to pull the water in (I also covered the drain with aluminum mesh to keep critters out, but that's a bit more difficult to clean)

 

[ncosper]

Good suggestions! I do plan to cup/tray feed always as I'm sure I won't be able to make my dual bottom/removable poop tray completely inspect proof. I am going to feed primarily roaches, so cup feeding is a necessity anyway.

I think I'm leaning more towards the aluminum screen, but I am really leery of using another material inside for cosmetic issues. I also really like the functionality and rigidity of a 1/4" vinyl coated wire cloth, but I don't like the look as much.

I am leaning towards something just like the design you mentioned for the drainage. But what do you mean by over the "counter top" for a material? I've seen shower curtains and things similar to that, but want to explore every option for this simple design.

Thanks!

That looks like a great plan. That is something I had considered at one time with my cage - the ability to slide a "wall" between the two sides. I simplified it and made it a bit smaller (used a premade cabinet base for the water/pump and storage)

I do suggest having something available to cover the game where the screen wall slides in so that if you ever have the wall out and don't cup feed - the crickets or whatever else won't escape.

As for screen - I used an aluminum mesh screen, but just inside that I hung some plastic chicken wire (forget what it was called - green stuff) for the chameleon to climb on without any issues of his nails getting caught in the aluminum screen material. *this might be difficult for your setup if you don't staple - stapling the plastic stuff was easiest that I could find (other than using a smaller sliver of wood to cover up and secure the end pieces)

For the drain I used some flexible material over the "counter top" and the bathtub drain I attached pulled it down at an angle to pull the water in (I also covered the drain with aluminum mesh to keep critters out, but that's a bit more difficult to clean)

 

[mrvoodoo]

for mine I used a cabinet base to start - put a sheet of cement board (tile backboard) on the top of the cabinet, then I put 1x1 inch ceramic tiles over the board. In the middle of the cabinet I left out a square area and cut out a drain hole for the tub drain. The material I used for the bottom was a corrugated plastic for extra rigidity. I made little walls to have a makeshift tub (probably not most efficient bottom, but looked good when cutout properly - cut half way through the board and fold up - silicon the cut area and had that on the outside of the tub).

The fact that the whole bottom was sitting on the tiles gave the outside a little added height compared to the middle. The bath tub has 2 peices that screw together - the top peice over the "tub" pulled the middle of the tub down to the cement board to make the middle area lower than the outside area by about 1/4"

you can also add a little 1/4" shim around the outside to give it a little more slope

edit: https://www.chameleonforums.com/dexters-laboratory-finally-finished-17011/ that's the one I did

 

[ncosper]

Voodoo, I'm sure you wouldn't have mentioned your design if you would mind that I steal it... so as you can guess I'm going to do something very similar inside. My cabinet is going to be solid black, along with the cage, but for the drainage the tiles are perfect! I will just use the tile backboard and cut it up slightly so that is angular towards the back and put the drain in the very back, this way it will maximize my cabinet space by keeping the drain bucket in the back..

Great idea, thanks!

 

[Lizardlover]

itd work for mellers.

 

[SliK JiM]

Sorry if I'm a bit late to wade into this discussion (only briefly flicked through the other posts as they were quite large), so I thought I'd give you my two cents as I've been looking at building an enclosure for a while now, just haven't had the time to do it! I will have in a week or so though!

Anyway, to the matters at hand!

For the dividing screen, look for something called privacy screening. It's pretty much impossible to see through (hence privacy) but does let air through. I saw a friend of mine using it between something they built similar to this (although, much simpler!)

For the mesh, the only way to go is black aluminium mesh; well, on the sides anyway, could use a normal galvanised mesh for the top, but you may as well just use the same all over. Black, because it increases the visibility into the enclosure and aluminium because fiberglass will melt/tear/be eaten by crickets!

My plan for my drainage base, is to build a 'floor' from polystyrene sheets and carve into it using a stanley knife (so I can direct the flow of water, and yet have level bits to stand the plant pots on etc), then cover it with a mixture of tile grout and cement (about 3 layers). I got the idea from a friend of mine. It washes down just like a patio (my friend literally just sprayed a hose at his) and is a really good way of keeping a solid bottom that is water tight (except for at the drainage point which will be covered with the aluminium screening and cemented into place so no critters can escape)

I hope those ideas help.

Just one question, are you planning to make the top out of wood and cut holes into it for the lights? It's probably a bad idea as it will get very hot, and could be a fire hazard. Just, use mesh on the top, then it saves a lot of hassle.

 

[ncosper]

itd work for mellers.

I know, I'd love to get a mellers. I used to have one that was a MBD rescue years ago. It was by far my favorite Chameleon of the 20 or so I owned. It was in a 8' x 4' x 4' enclosure and just loved its setup. It always ate out of my hand and just had a great personality.

 

[ncosper]

Sorry if I'm a bit late to wade into this discussion (only briefly flicked through the other posts as they were quite large), so I thought I'd give you my two cents as I've been looking at building an enclosure for a while now, just haven't had the time to do it! I will have in a week or so though!

Anyway, to the matters at hand!

For the dividing screen, look for something called privacy screening. It's pretty much impossible to see through (hence privacy) but does let air through. I saw a friend of mine using it between something they built similar to this (although, much simpler!)

For the mesh, the only way to go is black aluminium mesh; well, on the sides anyway, could use a normal galvanised mesh for the top, but you may as well just use the same all over. Black, because it increases the visibility into the enclosure and aluminium because fiberglass will melt/tear/be eaten by crickets!

My plan for my drainage base, is to build a 'floor' from polystyrene sheets and carve into it using a stanley knife (so I can direct the flow of water, and yet have level bits to stand the plant pots on etc), then cover it with a mixture of tile grout and cement (about 3 layers). I got the idea from a friend of mine. It washes down just like a patio (my friend literally just sprayed a hose at his) and is a really good way of keeping a solid bottom that is water tight (except for at the drainage point which will be covered with the aluminium screening and cemented into place so no critters can escape)

I hope those ideas help.

Just one question, are you planning to make the top out of wood and cut holes into it for the lights? It's probably a bad idea as it will get very hot, and could be a fire hazard. Just, use mesh on the top, then it saves a lot of hassle.

Thanks Slik, I was checking out some mesh today at Home Depot and saw some sun screen. It looked almost perfect for the divider. If I can find a small amount of it, it would be ideal. I didn't see any privacy screening, but I didn't look everywhere.

I think I am now convinced to go with the aluminum mesh for the screening.

For the top I am stuck on using a wood top. I am worried about heat, and I am going to be checking into different ways to either keep it cool or mount the the light somehow to keep it cool and inaccessible for the chameleons.

That is another good idea for the drainage. I'll definitely give that some consideration, it sounds much less time consuming than laying small tiles, but probably not as attractive.... hmmmmm

Thanks!