getting a veiled

[davieb769]

hey, i just finished building a 24x12x24" wooden cage for my soon to be new chameleon. i just had a question about the lighting situation. I have a florescent top that came with my 30gallon oceanic cube aquarium, but since i use a metal halide for the tank i still have the lamp that it came with, could i use this for my chameleon? im guessing if i can i would most likely need to replace the build at least, and then get a heat lamp for heat. if im missing something here please let me know

 

[beeze]

What is your cage made of besides wood? Where do you live? Could you post a picture of your cage? You will need a UVB tube light. The Reptisun 5.0 in the best. If you're not in a cold climate you probably want need a heat light......unless it fall to 60 or lower at night.

 

[beeze]

Also, check out this site. It will give you allot of the information that you will need to care for your veiled. http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/

 

[davieb769]

well its mostly all wood made with 2x2s, and i just stapled a screen in the inside of the cage on the front and sides. ill take a picture of it once i get a chance. i live in the suburbs of chicago, so it gets pretty cold. thanks for the link!

 

[davieb769]

heres some pictures... dont know why they are sideways, sorry

 

[Julirs]

Hard to tell from the pic, but the top needs to be screen also as that is where your UVB tube and heat lamp will go. This would be fine for a young chameleon, but an adult would certainly need more room-adult Veileds are best kept in 24X24X48 if not larger. You would need to completely waterproof all of that wood as it will get exposed to a good soaking every day. You also need lots of live plants.

 

[Sang]

julirs any suggestion on what would be best for a water sealent? like safe and long lasting, something that won't eventually erode away.

also, with plywood like that make sure it has AMPLE time to dry out mold will grow easly on the bottom and in seams of that were there is no finish. mold thrives on wet moist wood, adding a heat lamp will make that stuff just take off.

 

[davieb769]

as for the top, i will be making holes on that piece of wood that you see in the picture, and as for the wood growing mold, i already coated the entire thing with a sealant, and will most likely try to fill the inside of the cage with plexiglass so water will never touch the wood.

 

[jannb]

I would replace the wood on top with screen. In fact if you could use screen on the two sides also and only have the wood on the back, that would be even better for a young chameleon. Jann

 

[davieb769]

i think i might just be cutting a rectangle in the top piece and putting a metal screen on that then ill probably put a hinge on it so it lifts up. as for the sides, they already do have screen, just the back and bottom of the cage have wood panels