got a good start on my custom cham cage! with pics

[SliK JiM]

Your aunt is coming to trim your plant????

Yeah, waiting for the varnish to dry is a pain. People normally say 2 weeks before the smell goes and it is safe (but even then, smell doesn't necessarilly prove anything!)

Yeah, trying to get him out will be an absolute nightmare! Now he has his giant enclosure, he just doesnt want to come out at all! Just gonna try to work at night and make as little noise as possible....

Seriously? You'll have to pos some pics! I just finished building a guinea pig run for my girlfriends folks! Its a long story, but I'll post a pic at some point!

 

[kingjohn]

lol yeh shes good with plants, and ive never ever owned one lol heres the umberella i got to put in

hope its the right plant i think it is

heres a link to my boa cage build where it stands so far http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/habitat/494950-my-boas-big-custom-viv.html#post6026162

waiting on materials or some sort for both cages atm, this weekend though im hoping to find some nice stones for my substrate and get a reptisun bulb although i may order my bulb off the net if the shops alot more expensive

sorry to be so long with my final updates lol just want to make sure this varnish has completely aired as the voc lvl was high so im going to leave it a week more to be on the safe side

atb
john

 

[SliK JiM]

Yeah mate! That's an umbrella! If you can find one, stick in a pothos (they're normally called "devils ivy" in places like homebase and b&q!) they're brilliant and grow really well!

You boa cage looks great! I quite fancy making one just to have a go at the whole rock wall thing! They look great!

Homebase do little bags of decorative stones that would suit your needs! The smooth black pebble ones always look good! Although, they can be quite expensive! You could you a bit of grass or moss! Moss works well if you can find it!

This is where I normally buy most of my stuff from as the guys are really reliable and the prices are good! http://reptilekeeping.co.uk/ Check it before you head out as the prices are expensive out there!

I'm hoping to get 2 coats of varnish on this weekend then give it 2 weeks to stand in the garage! Need to think about building the base soon, but it's not an immediate rush as it won't be used in doors for a month or so!

 

[kingjohn]

thanks alot matey! and cheers for the pointer ill check that site out before i buy anything, hows your cage looking atm then do you have any previews

 

[Tputtwhatwhat]

WOW! You definitely sparks ideas... but Im not the craftsman you are, haha. What did you use for the actual "pan" in your drainage system? I saw that you crafted the removable front panel, and the checkered floor... but what is collecting the water? Hardware stores I've been to didn't have anything suitable.

 

[kingjohn]

thanks mate! well i got a painters tray and some 1mm plastic that im goin to cut into strips and put around the bottom so the water will run into the middle and into the paint tray, but ive been looking for a plastic storage box a little bit bigger it doesnt really matter tho

btw the plastic grid is screwed in the sides low so theres a dip in the middle, you cant tell from pics tho lol

 

[kingjohn]

omg it seems like years ago i started this but its now finished!! and cham is inside! lol got lots of pics on my other halfs camera so ill try get them up tonight if not will be on there tomoro

i thought it would be a real struggle to get him in his new cage but i took his branch out her was on and when he see all the lovly real plants and nice vines he almost through himself in there lol and was a bright green with blue spots (dont often see him that colour) was really nice

will put pics up asap for everyone

atb

john

 

[Chameleon Estevez]

cage action

some nice enclosures there guys.
Slik, nice looking foliage in your cage plenty of great hiding places I bet.
ps, beauty grad picture, mother and chameleon must be very proud.

 

[Chameleon Estevez]

plant

Sweet. Will look forward to seeing some pics! The best place to get plants from at the moment is focus! They've been having a good slae on everything that's can friendly!

It's hard to see in mine, but the ficus tree is the back left, the umbrella plants are left and right at the front. The one in the middle is an acera palm (I think its that one) and the big on in the back right is a ficus lyrata (which has worked great even though I'm still keeping an eye on it as different websites said different things. The other plant you may want, which I now have in mine but haven't updated my pictures is pothos. It's normally labeled devils ivy and sold it pretty useful tower shapes. Like this:

What are you basing your rock background on? There are some great ones on http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/ just search around a bit if you havent already.

hope Im doing this quote thingy right. slik, that devils plant I have some that are huge, and would work well but Im told that plants with white veins like that are toxic. guess I could google that. thoughts?

 

[SliK JiM]

some nice enclosures there guys.
Slik, nice looking foliage in your cage plenty of great hiding places I bet.
ps, beauty grad picture, mother and chameleon must be very proud.

Cheers mate! The mother is proud but the cham is jealous as!

hope Im doing this quote thingy right. slik, that devils plant I have some that are huge, and would work well but Im told that plants with white veins like that are toxic. guess I could google that. thoughts?

It depends what plant it is. If it is "devils ivy" aka pothos then its fine and I'd bang it in. If not, give it a google and see what it says, but it should be fine. Post a pic on here and I'm sure we'll work out what it is!

 

[kingjohn]

heres the finished product hope you all like!

and heres him inside settleing in

 

[ChamOh]

ah fantastic! looks hella sweet. proper cage for the living room or something. How are the river rocks on the bottom working out? does it make cleanup difficult?

 

[kingjohn]

thanks alot mate! im really pleased with it

the rocks are great i simply spray water on them and washes any mess through down to the drainage pan as its all eggcrate under the stones

 

[ChamOh]

thanks alot mate! im really pleased with it

the rocks are great i simply spray water on them and washes any mess through down to the drainage pan as its all eggcrate under the stones

cool. what do you mean by all eggcrate under the stones?

 

[kingjohn]

its like a plastic grid type thing mainly used in fish tanks for custom filters and people use it for false floors in frog/reptile cages too you should be able to see it in some of my other pics on this thread

 

[ChamOh]

hey pretty nifty idea! i like that...

 

[kingjohn]

thanks matey

 

[Texas Panther Man]

Yeah kingjohn im going to have to lift that egg crate idea for my cage. Ive used it before for my reef tanks but never even thought about using it for a cham cage. great idea man.

 

[kingjohn]

cheers mate! glad this long old post helped some people i got all my ideas from looking through forums so its nice to give something back

but most importantly cham loves it hes showing colouring weve not or very rarely seen him!

 

[reptileman]

keep up the good work. That cage is amazing. I ordering a custom made cage online for like 200bucks and it wasnt even that nice.