I'm contemplating...

[sdheli420]

Im still liking the black mesh screen better than the metal like I have now. i might go and grab a roll and replace a side (back if I decide to go with painted plywood back instead of screen) just to get an ideal. The metal screen is just a mess to deal with and punctures easily...

i like the look of black mesh too..only issue ive had is viewing..its kinda a dark look with the black mesh comapred to the silvered versions..

 

[laurie]

Just a helpful hint. it is always good to know what you are saying is correct.
In you first post on this thread you said any adult cham would be happy it the cage being planned. i can name several who would NOT be happy is a cage that size, we can start with Parsonii & melleri.
The statement below is heading into the same territory. I don't know your experience level but not all these questions are as cut and dried as they might seem. In the one below it would take an experienced keeper to know how to tell if those chameleons were stressing BEFORE there is a problem. jmo

Well, like i said, SOME chams and certain species will do it. I had seen a group of Jackson's (1 male, 4 females) in an enclosure 10' X 5' X 5'.
and a couple of panthers (1 male and 1 female) in a cage 8' x 5' x 5' live their entire adult life without a problem.

 

[Midnighthwk]

unfortunately, I also have built my enclosure 2 inches too big to fit through the door...Mo^$*^@#*^%!@_ !!

i did the same with mine. it fit though the garage door just fine but was bigger than my bedroom door. for some reason the frount door is 38'' wide, all the downstairs doors are 36'', other bedroom doors are 34'' but my bedroom door is only 29'' :*(

so i took the frame off, put cage in room, then put the frame back in. took me some time but i didnt break anything or have to repaint after. justed needed a few finish nails.

 

[randomryan007]

Update, bought the rest of my supplies today, but I'm not sure how I want to do the door. I'll figure it out with some thinking. Here are my updated pics, enclosure is fully painted with two sides of screen put in. Its kind of sloppy and will be touched up. I am going to coat this thing in so much paint that it ends up looking more smooth. I need to find a way to hide the frayed ends of the wire after cutting, maybe some weather stripping (black in color).

Back of Cage (I'm still deciding whether to do a black plywood backing)

Went with grill grates rather then egg carton cover because of price

Grill grates again, not secured yet

Some frayed wire before covering with wood

Frayed wire screen after covering with wood

Half-done Cage from unscreened side

Half-done Cage from screened side

What type of paint did you use for this?

 

[Jammonlee]

Before getting too far I took the frame apart into a few peices and cut short the depth, so turning length wise the cage fits through all doors now, then I just put it back together. Easy fix, just bad measurements on my half.

The paint is an Interior/Exterior Black Latex paint from Home Depot - rought 20+$ per gallon

 

[randomryan007]

Before getting too far I took the frame apart into a few peices and cut short the depth, so turning length wise the cage fits through all doors now, then I just put it back together. Easy fix, just bad measurements on my half.

The paint is an Interior/Exterior Black Latex paint from Home Depot - rought 20+$ per gallon

only reason I ask is because I was told not to use paint what so ever. or stain or anything unless it was eco friendly yet I see all these threads where people painted stained poly coated ect. I am Sooooooo Confused.

 

[Jammonlee]

I dont remember the thread, but I seen where somebody poly coated and I guess you have to let it dry for 48 hours and yet it still has some strong odor to it. Soon after in the same thread a reply said to use exterior latex paint - dries quicker and etc. Sure hope I didnt read wrong! But something must be done to keep the wood frame water treated with the mist/water thatis going to be hitting it. I plan to add a lot more coats once the entire thing is together.

 

[randomryan007]

I priced out all the eco friendly stuff water proffer primers stains everything it was like 250.00

 

[Jammonlee]

2nd page, 2nd and 3rd post. Its where I got my exterior latex paint idea

https://www.chameleonforums.com/my-new-cage-so-far-55399/index2.html

 

[Jammonlee]

UPDATE: All sides except door, top and bottom screened. Multiple thick coats of paint applied. Door built (need to reinforce and shave a little of edges to fit easy) and installed

To Do: Need to reinforce the door a little as it feels really unstable. Need to screen the door. Need to secure grill grates to bottom and cover with screen. Need to screen top. Need to add floor of water drainage area as well as walls. Going to add weather stripping around door frame and where the screen meets the wood on the sides.

 

[Midnighthwk]

I dont remember the thread, but I seen where somebody poly coated and I guess you have to let it dry for 48 hours and yet it still has some strong odor to it. Soon after in the same thread a reply said to use exterior latex paint - dries quicker and etc. Sure hope I didnt read wrong! But something must be done to keep the wood frame water treated with the mist/water thatis going to be hitting it. I plan to add a lot more coats once the entire thing is together.

that was probly my thread. someone said same thing.
but u have to wait till 0 fumes. took about a week.
about the 4th day waiting for the fumes to be gone i was thinking i should have used the latex paint that i used for my room.
all my walls and what not have latex paint cuz of my aquatic animals ( 300 or so galons of water in my room ) but as soon as it gets warm enough outside the turtles and frogs are going back in the yard.

 

[Jammonlee]

Well, it's been a long time since I've been here - busy working, house up-keep, family issues, etc. Just wanted to give everyone an update on my little guy Waldo. By little, I mean little.....I didn't recognize his growth until coming back to see his old pictures, but he still seems to be a small one. Guess I got the runt of the group? He's 5 months old, received Feb 28 at 4 weeks old. he is a bit bigger, I guess I just expected a little more.
He's doing great though, he's not slow. He's a daredevil. He scares the crap out of me most of the time. He's on a great cricket diet, cup fed but still able to hunt down the ones that get out. He's taken to wax worms quite well, and he's also had some Dubai roaches. I've got a shipment of Madagascar hissing coming in shortly and cant wait to see how he likes those.
This cage has been built for some time and sitting in the garage. I measures the door frame without accounting for the door overhang being that it doesn't open fully, so the cage was still about 3/4 inch to big, today I decided to remove the two doors to pass through and bring the cage inside. Still plan to put a hinged cover on the bottom to cover the water tub....and pant the wood that the light is on up top, other then that Its as good as it will get. He likes it though, its the first time I've seen him sleep in the open and not hiding in a corner. Still think he needs to adjust to the new climbing areas and find his way around, but overall i believe he will take to the new cage quite well.

These were taken just 20 minutes ago or so

 

[seanUTD]

Some things I thought I would throw in because I'll be starting an identical project in the fall is
1) If your thinking you'll ever get another cham, increase the width of the enclosure to 4 ft. and add a rail in the inside to create an optional split that can be removed to open up even more space for one or equal livable space for two...
2) Add a cabinet on top to house the lighting.. Hiding everything from view while still being easy to reach... This will also help with fixing nozzles and such...
3) At the drainage point on the cages add a layer of PVC liner that loosens to a center point where you can literally fit a drain... That way all water goes to a much smaller area and doesn't just pour into your drainage area, decreasing the life of the wood...

Just some of my ideas I've added to my design

EDIT: WOW!! I totally JUST noticed the start date of this thread.. My bad... Looks outstanding though..Awesome and what a gorgeous cham

 

[Jammonlee]

The drainage area is something I really want to improve. It collects much of the water but I could ot find a tub large enough to cover the entire area. A gutter system is what I want to have. or something that allows all the water to collect and drip into the tub.

Dont think I will have another cham. My work schedule (24hr on and 24hr off plus the three kids I raise single handedly make one Cham difficult to keep up with). Waldo will be my one and only and when his time is up I'll move on to another.

Upstairs is not pretty at all, a cabinet would be a great addition to pretty the enclosure up. I may start drawing something up for that.

Thanks

EDIT - and your rain system is something I would like to create. a rain forest on a timer is in my head rather then a fine mist all over the cage (sometimes out of it)

 

[seanUTD]

The drainage area is something I really want to improve. It collects much of the water but I could ot find a tub large enough to cover the entire area. A gutter system is what I want to have. or something that allows all the water to collect and drip into the tub.

Dont think I will have another cham. My work schedule (24hr on and 24hr off plus the three kids I raise single handedly make one Cham difficult to keep up with). Waldo will be my one and only and when his time is up I'll move on to another.

Upstairs is not pretty at all, a cabinet would be a great addition to pretty the enclosure up. I may start drawing something up for that.

Thanks

EDIT - and your rain system is something I would like to create. a rain forest on a timer is in my head rather then a fine mist all over the cage (sometimes out of it)

PM me and I can show you about that PVC liner thing its ingenious.. I got my current drainage table from a forum member who also got the idea from yet another forum member... Zero excess water and you can use something as small as a bucket and have no spilling... Epic is the only word for it

 

[Jammonlee]

Ficus?

I just want to confirm this - a Ficus and Creeping Willow are the same thing, correct? There were stickers that were labeled both Creeping Willow and Ficus on the plant, I assumed it was the correct one to get (that everybody suggests using) Anyways, I potted it, watered it, covered the soil in rocks, and placed it in the middle of Waldo's cage.

And here is the little daredevil scaring the shit out of me hanging on a leaf while I put the plant in his mansion

 

[Jammonlee]

Finally got a Big Dripper hooked up to the cage, one tube running near his favorite chill spot in the UV area and one tube running near the suntan spot at the favorite basking area. Each with a slow constant drip with All day available water for drinking. yay!

though he didnt like the fact that when i first turned the nob on it was a stream straight to a leave he was observing me from under....he got a quick shower lol

 

[Jammonlee]

Humidity Problems

So, I'm having trouble keeping the humidity up in the cage.

I've got the mister to spray for 1 minute every hour and its only sitting at 30-35% Humidity.

Suggestions?

I added a Cool Mist Humidifier, just not got it cleaned, hosed and running through the top of the enclosure going down. I'll keep updates on the humidity from that addition, but does anyone have suggestions to keep it up without it? 2 minute mist ever hour? Temperatures are sitting at 83 in basking, 77 away from basking and 72 lower cage

 

[Jammonlee]

Bump

The cool mist humidifier is out of question. 1) I had it run a full 1.2 gallons gal of water for misting and the humidity rose 1%. 2) It scares the crap out of him

I've adjusted misting from 2min mist every hour to 2 min mist every two hours. No humidty change.

I CAN NOT get my humidty to 50% and need help.

Also, my temperatures at night do Not drop below 75°F. Only way I can manage the drop is setting my A/C to high 60's as the outside temperature at night in TX stays about 73°-75°
Any suggestions to drop night time temperature to the high 60's with adjusting my A/C and freezing my entire house?

 

[Carlton]

The cool mist humidifier is out of question. 1) I had it run a full 1.2 gallons gal of water for misting and the humidity rose 1%. I CAN NOT get my humidty to 50% and need help.

Also, my temperatures at night do Not drop below 75°F. Only way I can manage the drop is setting my A/C to high 60's as the outside temperature at night in TX stays about 73°-75°
Any suggestions to drop night time temperature to the high 60's with adjusting my A/C and freezing my entire house?

From looking at your cage pics I can't tell if there is any sheet plastic on any of the sides. You may have to add some especially when you are using an AC in summer. It will help in two ways...slow down evaporation of mist droplets and provide more surface area droplets can be deposited on. Both will raise cage humidity. You have just one potted live plant right? There is a lot of air space in the cage that could be filled with live plants. They not only release moisture through transpiration and evaporation of potting soil, but hold droplets longer.

I routinely use an ultrasonic humidifier/fogger in my cages, used vinyl shower curtains on my cages to varying degrees, hand misted, and have done this successfully in bone dry CO where my normal house humidity wanted to sit at 20%. I've even made "humidity boxes" out of vented plastic storage boxes filled with wet Care Fresh newspaper pulp cage bedding or something like cypress terrarium bedding. Set the boxes in the cage and let the moisture evaporate.

For nighttime cooling you could try a couple of things. Set some blue ice packs on top of the cage and drape something over the whole cage at night. Cool air moves down. If you do run your AC at night can you isolate the room at all? Where's your thermostat? If it is in the same room as the cage try closing any doors so just this room is cooled. If you could even get it to 68 it would help.