spatulars
New Member
My boyfriend and I have been building a new cage for our chameleon Walter, and it took us 5 days of work! I'm not a great or experienced wood-worker or cage-builder and the only tools I had at my disposal were a miter saw, a drill, and a nail gun (although I don't doubt some people could do more with less.) It was quite a project for me (fairly new to chameleons) and some things turned out less finished and "professional" than I would like, but it functions great and I couldn't be happier with the custom size.
I documented the costs of the cage just so someone who has never built their own can get a rough idea of the price they're looking at if they want to build their own, but my cage is pretty plain. If you want to decorate the base, stain the wood, and buy matching decorative hinges and latches and trim for the outside, you'd have to dish out mo' money.
Total Height: 72"
Cage Dimensions: 24" deep x 36" wide x 48" high
Ingredients:
8 2x2s @ $2.00 each (Home Depot)
4 1x2s @ $.99 each (Home Depot)
1 Maccourt's Super Tub @ $13 (Lowe's)
1 36" x 25' roll green plastic poultry fencing @ $11 (Lowe's)
1 Schefflera @ $10 (Home Depot)
2 pkgs 3-screw hinges @ $3 (Home Depot)
1 3 pk hook and eye latches @ $3 (Home Depot)
1 can of sealant @ $14 (Home Depot)
1 paintbrush good for sealant @ $4 (Home Depot)
a bunch of screws and long finishing nails
a leftover 3'x2' piece of aluminum screen
What I haven't gotten yet is something to raise the height of Walter's plants while they are relatively small for the cage. I want to grow them into bigger pots so that I won't have to waste the bottom of the cage.
After all the work I can say that buying a screen cage from a supplier is definitely worth it. However, for custom large sizes, building is fun and pretty rewarding.
This is the cage a few nights ago:
We built cross-bars to support the plant stands to facilitate a screen bottom:
We bought a super tub for drainage and used 1x2s as sliding rails:
Finished product:
Bottom View (removable screen piece is cut to fit the bottom):
Top View (shows aluminum screen top; hopefully not too disorienting)
Walter climbs good!
Neon chin.
I knew they would be too short, but I couldn't wait... dang midget plants up in this house:
So yeah! Long thread! Tomorrow the place is getting plant stands, temps and basking/uv spots adjusted, two large feeding cups, and a few good rains. In a few weeks I hope to gradually upgrade the pots and hopefully add a hanging pothos that I have been growing from a cutting.
I documented the costs of the cage just so someone who has never built their own can get a rough idea of the price they're looking at if they want to build their own, but my cage is pretty plain. If you want to decorate the base, stain the wood, and buy matching decorative hinges and latches and trim for the outside, you'd have to dish out mo' money.
Total Height: 72"
Cage Dimensions: 24" deep x 36" wide x 48" high
Ingredients:
8 2x2s @ $2.00 each (Home Depot)
4 1x2s @ $.99 each (Home Depot)
1 Maccourt's Super Tub @ $13 (Lowe's)
1 36" x 25' roll green plastic poultry fencing @ $11 (Lowe's)
1 Schefflera @ $10 (Home Depot)
2 pkgs 3-screw hinges @ $3 (Home Depot)
1 3 pk hook and eye latches @ $3 (Home Depot)
1 can of sealant @ $14 (Home Depot)
1 paintbrush good for sealant @ $4 (Home Depot)
a bunch of screws and long finishing nails
a leftover 3'x2' piece of aluminum screen
What I haven't gotten yet is something to raise the height of Walter's plants while they are relatively small for the cage. I want to grow them into bigger pots so that I won't have to waste the bottom of the cage.
After all the work I can say that buying a screen cage from a supplier is definitely worth it. However, for custom large sizes, building is fun and pretty rewarding.
This is the cage a few nights ago:
We built cross-bars to support the plant stands to facilitate a screen bottom:
We bought a super tub for drainage and used 1x2s as sliding rails:
Finished product:
Bottom View (removable screen piece is cut to fit the bottom):
Top View (shows aluminum screen top; hopefully not too disorienting)
Walter climbs good!
Neon chin.
I knew they would be too short, but I couldn't wait... dang midget plants up in this house:
So yeah! Long thread! Tomorrow the place is getting plant stands, temps and basking/uv spots adjusted, two large feeding cups, and a few good rains. In a few weeks I hope to gradually upgrade the pots and hopefully add a hanging pothos that I have been growing from a cutting.
