Greenhouses in a Warm Climate?

[jannb]

My daughter will be bringing all of her panther chameleons back to me for a very long visit, until December or maybe longer. As most of you know I do not like to keep any animal in a cage for an extended amount of time. My husband and I are tossing around ideas of how we can house these chams. Do any of you have a greenhouse in a warm climate? If so what are your cooling and heating mechanisms to keep the temps right where you want them? We have also thought about building in are double garage but really like the idea of a greenhouse if we could control the temps.

 

[mardithepanther]

My daughter will be bringing all of her panther chameleons back to me for a very long visit, until December or maybe longer. As most of you know I do not like to keep any animal in a cage for an extended amount of time. My husband and I are tossing around ideas of how we can house these chams. Do any of you have a greenhouse in a warm climate? If so what are your cooling and heating mechanisms to keep the temps right where you want them? We have also thought about building in are double garage but really like the idea of a greenhouse if we could control the temps.

I love your theory ))) If I could I totally would buy a giant farm and let all of my pets just roam around?

 

[Chameleon Company]

My daughter will be bringing all of her panther chameleons back to me for a very long visit, until December or maybe longer. As most of you know I do not like to keep any animal in a cage for an extended amount of time. My husband and I are tossing around ideas of how we can house these chams. Do any of you have a greenhouse in a warm climate? If so what are your cooling and heating mechanisms to keep the temps right where you want them? We have also thought about building in are double garage but really like the idea of a greenhouse if we could control the temps.

I wish I had a book or such to recommend. I would recommend two on line sources: Hummert International and Growers Supply. Often just browsing the pages of equipment and options will give you an idea of what can be done.

You can cool greeenhouses in warm climates, where outside air is as warm or warmer than you want indside your GH, with the last cooling phase being evaporative cooling via a water wall, and shade cloths to reduce the sun's impact. Prior to those phases, while the outside air is still cooler than the temperature you want inside your greenhouse, pulling in outside air via vent and exhaust fans will do. All can be run on thermostats.

There are many heaters available for GH's. Google those two companies, and start window shopping !

 

[jdog1027]

I pondered the idea of a greenhouse type set-up in the past, but a divorce/lack of finances prevented it. The late Mr. Bert Langerwerf, owner/founder of Agama International in Montevallo Alabama housed 99% of everything he had outdoors. He had mostly these concrete mote style enclosures with screened tops, but he also had 2 large greenhouse type structures covered in a black mesh material. He had a few smaller ones that were maybe 10-12 feet wide at the base by about 16 feet long and maybe 7 feet high at its highest point. I think he covered them with plastic in the winter time, but if you did that, you'd have to address the UVB problem. The only chameleons that I ever saw him with were Bradypodion thamnobates, and they stayed outdoors year round. He was truly an asset to the herp community, a pioneer and an awesome guy, passionate about reptiles. If you've ever used superworms, you can thank Mr. Langerwerf.

 

[warpdrive]

hey Jannb,

if free ranging, how are you keeping the males and females apart in that green house?

Harry

 

[jannb]

I will find a place inside for the girls because they will need to be even cooler.

Thank you for the comments and Jim we will be checking out the websites.

 

[laurie]

I would so love to have a green house for my chams, but since it got to -38 this winter I can never do it.
Please post pictures, i love green houses. Also Elisa has a greenhouse where her chams live year round and it can get pretty warm where she lives. You might ask how she does it. Good luck.

 

[hemiram04]

Jannb,

I just have a 10x12 polycarbonate GH with a shuttered fan on the back and a evaporative cooler at the front. I also had it setup to where the misters would turn on at 95 degrees. The top panels on the roof are similar to the ones zoos use to not block uv.

 

[Motherlode Chameleon]

Greenhouses in warmer climates can be done. There are more than a couple ways to cool them as well (side shutter, swamp coolers, and misters). I would research the most prevalent designs (for your climate ) that are offered in your area and go from there. I hope this guidance helps. You can consider custom building your own as well.

 

[summoner12]

Evaporative cooling is a great way.... but it doesn't work well in high humidity places such as FL....

 

[melric]

What about an AC window unit. I know it would take some of the humidity out of the air too though.

 

[summoner12]

What about an AC window unit. I know it would take some of the humidity out of the air too though.

An AC unit would work... but it would also be a very inefficient way to cool a room that is made out of glass or plastic.... It would work better if the green house is shaded for the most part, externally. But that would be a VERY steep electric bill.

 

[Motherlode Chameleon]

An AC unit would work... but it would also be a very inefficient way to cool a room that is made out of glass or plastic.... It would work better if the green house is shaded for the most part, externally. But that would be a VERY steep electric bill.

Greenhouses in hot climates can be done. When we (my family and I) went to Saudi Arabia for Christmas a couple years ago they had rows of (not kidding) 200 foot greenhouses growing ornamental flowers and they said that they had to keep them always around 80F and for 4-5 months of the year the outside temperatures are regularly over 120F. If that can be done in Saudi Arabia, cooling a greenhouse in Florida absolutely can be done.

 

[summoner12]

Greenhouses in hot climates can be done. When we (my family and I) went to Saudi Arabia for Christmas a couple years ago they had rows of (not kidding) 200 foot greenhouses growing ornamental flowers and they said that they had to keep them always around 80F and for 4-5 months of the year the outside temperatures are regularly over 120F. If that can be done in Saudi Arabia, cooling a greenhouse in Florida absolutely can be done.

A man has been to the moon.... a lot of things can be done.

My point is that AC isn't efficient at cooling a building that by design flaw is to only get HOT when exposed to sun. Some thought need to go into the cooling process. Cooling in FL will require getting the GH out of direct sunlight and utilizing several GH cooling tricks. Evaporative cooling can work, but won't be nearly as effective as it could be if the air weren't already saturated with water molecules. That is how you can keep a green house cool in Saudi Arabia. The air is dry and a water wall can be used to cool the incoming hot air.

 

[DeviousMike]

I would so love to have a green house for my chams, but since it got to -38 this winter I can never do it.
Please post pictures, i love green houses. Also Elisa has a greenhouse where her chams live year round and it can get pretty warm where she lives. You might ask how she does it. Good luck.

I live in the same area as Elisa and it gets to be 100+ in our summers. On the chameo site, I believe she says she uses a swamp cooler but it states that when humidity is high, the cooling effectiveness goes down. I guess that won't work so well for Florida.

 

[james L]

Jann, Why not just build a huge screen enclosure outside. S.FL's weather is a bit extreme for a GH. The only ones ive seen down here are meant for growing tropical plants that need very high humidity. The ones ive seen were also partly or almost fully shaded. A large custom cage outdoors would also be much cheaper to build and easier to store in case of a stupid hurricane or whatever(maybe?). Goodluck!!!!

 

[jannb]

Thanks everyone for all the comments and suggestions. We are still checking into all options avaliable. I have cages for everyone, trees for free ranging that they take turns on and large outside sunning cages that they take turns in but I normally only keep them for a month or two at the time.

 

[Olimpia]

Perhaps a second outdoor cage like the one Luie has on your porch would be easier? If Jim keeps his panthers outside most of the year (something I'm trying out now with my panthers on one of my lanais this spring/summer) then it might be an easier option for you. Then with mistings and shade (artificial or trees, depending on what you have in your yard) it should stay pretty comfortable for them.

 

[Motherlode Chameleon]

A giant sun cage would be awesome in Florida. You would not have to worry about exposure to UV rays or overheating.

Here's one in Florida.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4vQuB-o2Is&feature=fvsr

 

[jannb]

It's impossible to control the temps in large cages or any size cage outside. We often get over 100 in the summer and sometimes very cold in the 30's at night in the winter and we're looking for something where we wouldn't have to be moving them all the time because that's what we've had to do in the past. Luie got up to 97 today on the screen back porch and I now have him back in the house.