How important is a 'solid bottom' in an enclosure?

[SliK JiM]

I know its an odd question, but I was wondering what people's thoughts are about the bottom of a cham's enclosure!? I'm in the process of designing my build, and am not sure whether to go with a wooden drainage bottom or just simply a mesh bottom? The mesh bottom would be significantly easier to make (would just have to put some supports underneath for the plant pots to sit on) but then there wouldn't be any 'solid' ground for the cham to stand on. I know this isn't a massive issue, but I just think it must be a little odd for the cham?

Also, for those with mesh bottoms, how is it to clean? I figure with a wooden one that drains away I can just 'hose' it down and it'll be simple, but with mesh it could take a while?

Thanks all!

 

[Docility]

unless you really sealed up that wood. it will mold like no other. i have a screen bottom, and as long as you just run a cross support. it wont rip. Are you going to hang yours?

also i made a tray out of wood, and put greenhouse grade plastic over it to keep the wood from being able to draw moisture , and fit it to the inside of my cage.

 

[BigBlue]

A piece of white plexi with holes drilled in it would work good. You could place it on top of the screened bottom as long as it had some support to hold it up. The cages from LLLReptile (which in my opinion make it not worth building your own because they are so good) have a piece of 1/8" plexi in the bottom. It's real easy to keep clean.

 

[nick barta]

I have built cages with hardware cloth (window screen is too easily ripped) as the bottom, with wood supports under the hardware cloth to support the plants. I would not do it again, cleaning is a pain. Rust appears, and even hardware cloth bends and looks like crap.

May I recommend what I just replaced all 6 of my LLL screen cages bottoms with. The problem I have with the LLL bottoms is that they stain and start looking really dirty. The material comes in 4 foot by 8 foot sheets, and is called fiberglass board. It is used as a maintenence-free wall covering in bathrooms, and Home Depot and Lowes sell it. The finish side is shiny and has small bumps on it. The finish surface is non-penatrable by stains, and looks brand new all the time. The board is only about 1/8 inch thick, so if you have plants on the floor, you might want to put a support or two to hold the plants weight.

The 4 by 8 sheet is about $35.00, and you have to cut it yourself, the hardware stores won't cut it. It comes in white, although I have seen a beige color in restrooms, so it is available somewhere.You can drill holes in it for water drainage, and you can screw through it if you use it for the visual barrier between cages.

Nick

 

[Murrdox]

Are the LLL cages that you're referring to the type with the plastic tubing surrounded by the screen mesh net?

I really couldn't stand those cages. I had all sorts of problems, plus I hate how they look.

 

[siz]

Those are Flexariums and yeah I don't like them either. They worked well for my 3' foot ig because they are strong but there are lots of downsides to them.

 

[SliK JiM]

I suppose I should have put more information down about the wooden base idea. I was going to cover it with this plastic sealant stuff (I can't remember the name of it, but its like shrink wrap, you cover the surface you want, and use an iron or something similar to heat it and it sticks to the surface) I was then going to seal it with aquarium silicon (the bits where it joins the main frame etc) so it should be pretty water tight! Hopefully at least! - pretty similar to your approach docility

Plexiglass is something I thought of, but didn't know how easy it would be to work with and create a sloping effect to drain the water out with. Also, how reflective is it? Will the cham see a reflection or will it reflect a lot of UV instead of absorbing it?

I would by an LLL one if I was in the USA but us UK folk aren't so lucky! Besides, I'm hoping to build something roughly 1m x 1.2m x 1.8m which you just can't buy.

Nick - I know the stuff you're talking about but it's pretty expensive here and you can make your own (pretty much what I intend to do with the shrink wrap stuff) for a lot cheaper!

 

[nick barta]

No, the cages I am talking about are the totally screen cages, 2x2x4 and 2x2x3. They have a floor made out of plastic that stains.

Nick

Are the LLL cages that you're referring to the type with the plastic tubing surrounded by the screen mesh net?

I really couldn't stand those cages. I had all sorts of problems, plus I hate how they look.

 

[nick barta]

Cheaper is good!!

Nick

I suppose I should have put more information down about the wooden base idea. I was going to cover it with this plastic sealant stuff (I can't remember the name of it, but its like shrink wrap, you cover the surface you want, and use an iron or something similar to heat it and it sticks to the surface) I was then going to seal it with aquarium silicon (the bits where it joins the main frame etc) so it should be pretty water tight! Hopefully at least! - pretty similar to your approach docility

Plexiglass is something I thought of, but didn't know how easy it would be to work with and create a sloping effect to drain the water out with. Also, how reflective is it? Will the cham see a reflection or will it reflect a lot of UV instead of absorbing it?

I would by an LLL one if I was in the USA but us UK folk aren't so lucky! Besides, I'm hoping to build something roughly 1m x 1.2m x 1.8m which you just can't buy.

Nick - I know the stuff you're talking about but it's pretty expensive here and you can make your own (pretty much what I intend to do with the shrink wrap stuff) for a lot cheaper!

 

[sandrachameleon]

I have solid bottom cages (painted wood - its doesnt rot, but I dont have water sitting around either). Very easy to clean, especially as I usually have papertowel on the bottom.

 

[lanceman]

styrofoam board you can get at homedepot, wich you can contour to any shape and make sloap and then covered with thinset mortar works very well and gives a natural look as you can color the mortar to any color.
just let me know if you want beter details.

 

[Syn]

styrofoam board you can get at homedepot, wich you can contour to any shape and make sloap and then covered with thinset mortar works very well and gives a natural look as you can color the mortar to any color.
just let me know if you want beter details.

If you color it make sure there's none of those bad fumes!!

 

[SliK JiM]

styrofoam board you can get at homedepot, wich you can contour to any shape and make sloap and then covered with thinset mortar works very well and gives a natural look as you can color the mortar to any color.
just let me know if you want beter details.

I know what you mean! I was thinking about that too (bookmarked a few good examples but this was the best: http://www.captivebredreptileforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6932) My problem with this was the way I'm going to have to build my enclosure, and I didn't know if I'd be able to seal it properly (when building the base like this anyway) so water might be able to seep underneath the mortar/grout mix then I'd be done for....

If you color it make sure there's none of those bad fumes!!

I'll definitely give it time to air before I give it to my cham! Otherwise he might get paint on his feet too!

 

[sandrachameleon]

If you do something similar to bathroom building code, you shouldnt have water leakage issues. There is an orange colour plastic /rubber boundary mat that is used under tile in shower stalls. On top of it goes thin-set or whatever then tile. Tile is grouted and sealed.

Or just control where the water goes.

 

[SliK JiM]

If you do something similar to bathroom building code, you shouldnt have water leakage issues. There is an orange colour plastic /rubber boundary mat that is used under tile in shower stalls. On top of it goes thin-set or whatever then tile. Tile is grouted and sealed.

Or just control where the water goes.

The problem is, I'm going to build this enclosure in panels (as I wouldn't be able to get it into the room otherwise! ) so I'll have a base, two sides, a back and a top. I'll fix everything together, but I doubt I'll be able to seal anything once its all screwed together as I won't be able to get to it (there are bits that lock into each other for structural stability, so I won't be able to get at the joints! Do you think just treating the wood would suffice? Also, what would be the best to use? A stain then a coat of varnish or two?

Cheers

 

[lanceman]

I have a would partition in my home made enclosure that i just laqured several times you could stain it before hand if you wanted a color then just laquer several times let dry for 3-4 days outside very strong fumes! Mine gets very wet havnt had any problems bout a year old now.
laquer - varnish are the same thing i think lol

 

[SliK JiM]

I have a would partition in my home made enclosure that i just laqured several times you could stain it before hand if you wanted a color then just laquer several times let dry for 3-4 days outside very strong fumes! Mine gets very wet havnt had any problems bout a year old now.
laquer - varnish are the same thing i think lol

That's ok then! I'll make sure the bottom is fully sealed as the majority of water 'should' not stray too far from the middle, but for any that does I'll make sure the rest of the cage is well varnished/laqured anyway! Thanks for all your help everyone! I'll probably create a new thread in a few days with my final design idea so any advice would be greatly welcomed!

 

[Pieces]

if you use malmine wood to build the bottom of the enclosure then just go up from there with just supports and mesh.. you can drill 6 (depending on size) holes kinda like a swiss cheese effect with the supports in batween paint all cut sides of malmine to prevent swelling drop in funnels in each hole (make the hole like 3/8's smaller then top of funnel) so the flange will sit flush down... use caulking to seal them in (top and bottom) viola! you got drainage.... thats what im planning to do for my guy then you just have a wire rack as the base (canadian tire have thease 3 tier shelves 299 holds 200+ pounds) and then set a big tupper wear container below... empty every few days...

 

[SliK JiM]

if you use malmine wood to build the bottom of the enclosure then just go up from there with just supports and mesh.. you can drill 6 (depending on size) holes kinda like a swiss cheese effect with the supports in batween paint all cut sides of malmine to prevent swelling drop in funnels in each hole (make the hole like 3/8's smaller then top of funnel) so the flange will sit flush down... use caulking to seal them in (top and bottom) viola! you got drainage.... thats what im planning to do for my guy then you just have a wire rack as the base (canadian tire have thease 3 tier shelves 299 holds 200+ pounds) and then set a big tupper wear container below... empty every few days...

Brilliant, Thanks for the idea mate. Funnels are something I didn't think of. Are you going to put anything over the funnels to stop insects climbing out?