My DIY Cage !

ChiefRedman

ChiefRedman

Member
Hey guys ! This is my first post , and before anything , I want to thank everyone who has posted before hand! This website has helped me tremendously! This will be my first chameleon and the posts on this website has made these first steps go by smoothly ! Anyways this is my cage I built ! Hoping to be posting some DIY mister/dripper . Enjoy !!
 

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Thanks !!! Now I'm getting a 2-3month old baby veiled , as of now I have two hibiscus plants along with some fake vines For the cage , would you think this cage would be too large , or with enough greenery and climbing items would it be okay to cup feed ?
 
ChiefRedman said:
Thanks !!! Now I'm getting a 2-3month old baby veiled , as of now I have two hibiscus plants along with some fake vines For the cage , would you think this cage would be too large , or with enough greenery and climbing items would it be okay to cup feed ?
Click to expand...

you dont say how big it is, but I would not go to huge at first - they need to be able to find their food- I cup feed from day one - :) but you will also want to offer free range food for him to hunt - :)
 
With it being cedar , it won't be as bad on rotting in the long run , I've considered putting weather strips across it to soak up done moisture , also if we sealed it, could it harm the chameleon if he was to come into contact with it during feeding ?
 
It looks really, really good! What size lumber did you use? I like how you sandwiched the screen between the wood. Makes it look very "clean".

How are you going to drain away excess water?

You can seal the wood. As long as you give it the proper amount of time (or longer) to cure it won't be a problem. I think potential wood rot or mold from moisture is more of a concern, which may not be an issue with cedar (I'm not sure, I don't now much about the different wood types).

It looks good though! I think the biggest concern with having a big cage for such a little guy is whether or not they will be able to find their food. I have my 3-month old veiled in a 24x24x48 and he does just fine! I put the crickets (10-15 to start) in an old Cool Whip dish wired to a branch, they stay in long enough for him to snag about half then the others get out and he gets to free range. I very rarely find any left at the end of the day and sometimes they're all gone by noon and he gets an afternoon snack.

I love enclosure pictures! You should definitely post pictures when you get the "furniture" loaded in!
 
Your cage looks very nice! Drainage is important not just because of wood rot but too much moisture in the environment can promote the growth of molds and bacteria; not to mention the risk for respiratory infections for the chameleon. I kept Omar in a cage this size from the day I got him. He will eat from a cup just fine. I used to take him out every day and put some crickets/bugs in a very small critter keeper, then he would walk the perimeter and shoot the crickets from the high ground! Now I just have a plastic container hanging in his cage and he eats at will. Clouseau is another story. He was about the size of a 20oz soda bottle cap when I got him so he went into a smaller cage and he really prefers to free range for his food.

Best of luck to you and your new friend!
 
BKFritz said:
It looks really, really good! What size lumber did you use? I like how you sandwiched the screen between the wood. Makes it look very "clean".

How are you going to drain away excess water?

You can seal the wood. As long as you give it the proper amount of time (or longer) to cure it won't be a problem. I think potential wood rot or mold from moisture is more of a concern, which may not be an issue with cedar (I'm not sure, I don't now much about the different wood types).

It looks good though! I think the biggest concern with having a big cage for such a little guy is whether or not they will be able to find their food. I have my 3-month old veiled in a 24x24x48 and he does just fine! I put the crickets (10-15 to start) in an old Cool Whip dish wired to a branch, they stay in long enough for him to snag about half then the others get out and he gets to free range. I very rarely find any left at the end of the day and sometimes they're all gone by noon and he gets an afternoon snack.

I love enclosure pictures! You should definitely post pictures when you get the "furniture" loaded in!
Click to expand...
I just went and picked up some fiberglass to do the bottom of the cage , then I'm going to lay newspaper down to catch messed , also thinking of putting a bath tub drain in the bottom
 
My idea for drainage is a piece of fiberglass bottom with a screen mesh underneath, then drilling holes into the fiberglass to allow drainage . The having the screen mesh to block any kind of Bugs from crawling through the holes , adding some PVC pipe to control the flow of water into a tub ? Any thoughts on this ?
 
ChiefRedman said:
My idea for drainage is a piece of fiberglass bottom with a screen mesh underneath, then drilling holes into the fiberglass to allow drainage . The having the screen mesh to block any kind of Bugs from crawling through the holes , adding some PVC pipe to control the flow of water into a tub ? Any thoughts on this ?
Click to expand...

That sound like it would work! Definitely put screen over the hole/s! Bugs are too costly to lose down the drain :)

I just used a washing machine drain underneath the enclosure. Made sure the cage was slightly off level so the water would flow to the back of the pan. Fashioned it up with a pvc pipe fitting and had a hose going straight to the sump pump so I don't have to drain buckets.
 
Nice ! I'm really hoping I can figure out a drip system I can make. I have a small fountain pump that pumps 60-80 gph , thinking of cutting holes In the tubing and making a rain/drop system. I can easily set a timer to it be hydrated for the day ! Or I thought about putting a mister nozzle on the end and cranking up the gph to full blast . And if that doesn't do the trick I'm going to make a fogger to go along with it ! :rolleyes:
 
ChiefRedman said:
Nice ! I'm really hoping I can figure out a drip system I can make. I have a small fountain pump that pumps 60-80 gph , thinking of cutting holes In the tubing and making a rain/drop system. I can easily set a timer to it be hydrated for the day ! Or I thought about putting a mister nozzle on the end and cranking up the gph to full blast . And if that doesn't do the trick I'm going to make a fogger to go along with it ! :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Check out this thread! I think the general consensus is that the chams enjoy rain more than mist (not all but most).

https://www.chameleonforums.com/diy-rain-attachment-128607/
 
No sweat! It was the inspiration for my rain system :) The AquaZamp rain dome I have is really nice and works well, but it only covers about an 8x8 inch area. I have a 24x24x48 inch enclosure and wanted to cover a larger area. It works really well!
 
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