Epic Parsonii Enclosure: Part 1

[Extensionofgreen]

Springtails, isopods, denitrifying bacteria, mycorrhiza fungi, and other types of microbes that are harmless, but inhabit plant root zones and composted soils. You can inoculate your substrate by adding some organic Plant Tone, Holly Tone, or a similar product, by Epsoma.

 

[Nicholasdeaan]

Springtails, isopods, denitrifying bacteria, mycorrhiza fungi, and other types of microbes that are harmless, but inhabit plant root zones and composted soils. You can inoculate your substrate by adding some organic Plant Tone, Holly Tone, or a similar product, by Epsoma.

 

[Extensionofgreen]

Today marked a record breaking 15 solid days of rain, making progress slow, but there are doors and supports for the lights and screen in place, at the top.

 

[jpowell86]

That is looking awesome Andrew!! You are going to have a ton of options with plants, which makes it uber exciting. Is the shorter area to the right part of the enclosure or does it serve another purpose?

 

[Extensionofgreen]

It's part of the enclosure. It's still 6' tall. The taller portion is 6' 10" tall. We had to accommodate the duct work that makes the ceiling lower there.

 

[Nicholasdeaan]

I'm more excited to see it finished than you are!

 

[cyberlocc]

It's part of the enclosure. It's still 6' tall. The taller portion is 6' 10" tall. We had to accommodate the duct work that makes the ceiling lower there.

will the cage be separated? So the female could go on the lower side?

 

[Extensionofgreen]

The intension is that the pair will cohabitate in the enclosure, though other provisions are ready, if needed. I have experience cohabitating melleri and parsons lend themselves to this arrangement, in properly orchestrated enclosures. I'm hoping that with the size of the enclosure and density of the plantings, along with being introduced at the same time and at a young age, things will work well.
The wellbeing of both chameleons will be priority and keen observation will be paramount.

 

[cyberlocc]

The intension is that the pair will cohabitate in the enclosure, though other provisions are ready, if needed. I have experience cohabitating melleri and parsons lend themselves to this arrangement, in properly orchestrated enclosures. I'm hoping that with the size of the enclosure and density of the plantings, along with being introduced at the same time and at a young age, things will work well.
The wellbeing of both chameleons will be priority and keen observation will be paramount.

Cool it is a fairly large cage. If you have dual basking spots and stuff I think it would work cant wait to see .

 

[Extensionofgreen]

This is NOT finished and not representative of how the cage will look, when finished, but it does show what and AMAZING job the lights from Todd, at lightyoureptiles.com can do in larger enclosures. I have a 7' ficus that is going I'm, you won't see those cords, I have lots of natural vines to install, the soil isn't in place, and the plants will be arranged differently and some will not fit, due to some construction missteps that eliminated 18 square inches of interior space. Some of the lights will actually be mounted inside the enclosure, but out of reach of the misters and the chameleons. The fixtures inside will do a better job of helping with plant growth and stimulating the chameleons. There's a 165 watt MV bulb and another dual tube T5 that aren't part of that photo and will be adding additional light to the cage and chameleons.

I'm leaving today, for Germany and when I come back, I'm 7 days, I'll be finishing the enclosure. There should be laws against life getting in the way of chameleons!

 

[Nicholasdeaan]

This is NOT finished and not representative of how the cage will look, when finished, but it does show what and AMAZING job the lights from Todd, at lightyoureptiles.com can do in larger enclosures. I have a 7' ficus that is going I'm, you won't see those cords, I have lots of natural vines to install, the soil isn't in place, and the plants will be arranged differently and some will not fit, due to some construction missteps that eliminated 18 square inches of interior space. Some of the lights will actually be mounted inside the enclosure, but out of reach of the misters and the chameleons. The fixtures inside will do a better job of helping with plant growth and stimulating the chameleons. There's a 165 watt MV bulb and another dual tube T5 that aren't part of that photo and will be adding additional light to the cage and chameleons.

I'm leaving today, for Germany and when I come back, I'm 7 days, I'll be finishing the enclosure. There should be laws against life getting in the way of chameleons!

Looks amazing! What are your plans for covering the 2X4 up? I definitely will be waiting eagerly for the end results.

 

[Extensionofgreen]

The 2X4s were to be used to screw handing pots and vines to, but they were installed vertically, by mistake. Once the foliage is grown in, you won't notice them, in fact, with the soil raising the plants up almost 2', much of that won't be visible, once the enclosure is finished. It's really frustrating to have vision and work with someone that doesn't see things through your minds eye. I have to have help, since I'm not such a confident handy man, though now, I could build this enclosure the way I imagines it, and give myself this 18" back. A simple frame, then framing out the top and sides with corner brackets and screwing them onto the main frame would have been simplicity in itself and how I thought things would be done, but sometimes you just take what you can get and move ahead with it.

 

[Nicholasdeaan]

The 2X4s were to be used to screw handing pots and vines to, but they were installed vertically, by mistake. Once the foliage is grown in, you won't notice them, in fact, with the soil raising the plants up almost 2', much of that won't be visible, once the enclosure is finished. It's really frustrating to have vision and work with someone that doesn't see things through your minds eye. I have to have help, since I'm not such a confident handy man, though now, I could build this enclosure the way I imagines it, and give myself this 18" back. A simple frame, then framing out the top and sides with corner brackets and screwing them onto the main frame would have been simplicity in itself and how I thought things would be done, but sometimes you just take what you can get and move ahead with it.

I only ask because if it's not treated lumber, and knowing parsons love their water, it will be wet a majority of the time. Meaning mold may be an issues. I know you've got plenty of ventilation added in from the fans and what not, and the air won't be stagnant, but I just thought I'd ask. If it were me I would be covering it with white pvc sheeting, with each seam of the pvc meeting on center of the studds. That way you know where to screw your plants in and etc. Just my .02

 

[Action Jackson]

I only ask because if it's not treated lumber, and knowing parsons love their water, it will be wet a majority of the time. Meaning mold may be an issues. I know you've got plenty of ventilation added in from the fans and what not, and the air won't be stagnant, but I just thought I'd ask. If it were me I would be covering it with white pvc sheeting, with each seam of the pvc meeting on center of the studds. That way you know where to screw your plants in and etc. Just my .02

I agree. Seems like the white material should've been on the inside to prevent water build up and mold. I'm sure you know this but I would also provide plenty of shade so your parsons can get out of the light. It's my opinion that they prefer hanging out in the shade.

 

[Alexander1]

Today I began building my 8' Left to Right X 4' Front to Back X 6' 10" Tall on the Left and 6' Tall on the Right enclosure, for my Orange Eye parsonii pair.
The enclosure will be lined with pond liner and some trees will be planted directly in substrate, while others will be potted. I have a colorful assortment of variegated foliage and colorful blooming plants to make this a living, functional, work of art.
Here are the humble beginnings. More pics to come, including an ongoing update on the growth of the plants, using lights from our very own sponsor, Lightyourreptiles.com
Stay tuned!

That's gonna be sick! Can't wait to see it!

 

[Extensionofgreen]

My mist nozzles will be positioned to spray the foliage and center of the enclosure, with minimal overspray to the exposed lumber. The MistKing nozzles are very flexible. I have 2 20" fans, that will be on 24/7, drying things out and preventing heat build up or stagnation. I don't use treated lumber.
I had my melleri, as pictured in my profile, in a wooden cage, with lots of misting and there was no molding or problems.

Regarding the parsonii having shade, they T5 fixtures will be over 12" above them, on most cases, and the foliage density will be enough to provide all of the cover from the light they need. The lighting is bright, but soft. It appears bright to us, but even in a shaded forest, the lighting is much more intense than most any artificial situation indoors. They will do just fine with amount of plants and light.

 

[radstusky]

I also have a fully planted cage like this, although no where near as big of course. I built it (with the help of a carpenter friend) about 6 or so years ago. Here's the post about it: https://www.chameleonforums.com/thr...-a-question-about-lighting.43051/#post-400797

As you can see I used large stones and there have never been any problems with them. I've also never had any issues with bad smell. The stones at the bottom are now covered with isopods that I added. I've had to replace the trees it there several times, and I now have a hibiscus in there that has grown to the top, thanks in part to the quad fixture I got from Todd at lightyourreptiles of course (well worth the investment). I have a mistking as well, and I installed drainage under the soil, but I don't see water ever coming out of there since it has plenty of plants to suck up the moisture. The only issues I've had is that the wood has rotted a bit on the bottom, and the screen has rust holes in it in a few spots where it got too wet. I chose the wrong screen unfortunately. I've patched up the holes, but I will eventually just replace them.

Your cage looks great, can't wait to see it when it's all done, and with the parson's in there of course!

 

[cyberlocc]

Honestly I am with nick, but I would not use PVC sheeting. As if you do it that way moisture will still get in and rot the wood from the inside. Marine Grade Epoxy all the way, It will not only ensure a 100% waterproof barrier, it will strengthen the wood like a fiberglass layer over the top .

Even with the nozzles pointed in over time the humidity will rot that wood, is this a 3-5 year cage or a forever cage? If it is the latter, spend the doe and epoxy that sucker .

It is expensive and difficult to work with, but you just have some framing so it should not be too hard. A gallon would likely do it so like 200 bucks. I wouldn't use screws though if you do that, build your screen with metal framing and have it held in by those rotating clips (I forget what they are called). and use nuts and bolts for every screw, that way you can epoxy inside the holes. You could sink set the bolts in and after epoxying you could epoxy the nuts in. (Just for the stuff that needs to be removable, your current screws could be epoxied over and sealed.)

 

[Nicholasdeaan]

Pvc sheeting would not let moisture in. It's solid plastic. The same material that carries water through your house most likely. Unless you have pex lol Only think you would have to do is mount it to the 2x4 and silicone the seams. That would be super easy to do. And would look good IMO.

But if you're confident it won't mold, then that's good to! How long has your melleri enclosure been up and running?

 

[Virgil1972]

With all the ventilation and lighting I do not see any mold problems coming.