My Methods Part 5 Cheapest Cage Ever and Egg Laying Bins

[Seeco]

Guess how I discovered tube cages?

I was trying to put the pvc coated screen on a horrible wood frame I built. I already bought the chams and they were sitting in a houseplant. I was failing miserably with the cage so I put the plant in the unraveled cylinder of screen and covered the top with a piece of cardboard. As my wood cage continued to fall apart I kept looking at the improvised pen and that was the solution right there!

 

[clarkrw3]

Thanks Louis for the inspiration on these cages. I had a really hard time finding the screen and finally found 3ft/5ft sections at Ace. They are the perfect size for these except I would love them to be 4ft. The cage is awesome and these pictures were before the perch were placed....and I couldn't find a tall enough plant so this umbrella will have to grow. The whole thing is awesome and rock solid. I would also like to note for anyone interested that the Galvanized screen is toxic so go with the screen that Louis uses.

 

[Seeco]

Oh yeah! Nice work. Did the cage just slide right into the tub? Isn't it nice how it just squeezes in there?

One thing I have done for more security is run a bamboo dowel through the tub and cage as a pin to lock them together.

 

[clarkrw3]

Oh yeah! Nice work. Did the cage just slide right into the tub? Isn't it nice how it just squeezes in there?

One thing I have done for more security is run a bamboo dowel through the tub and cage as a pin to lock them together.

Great tip thanks!! Yeah it works awesome fits really nice and tight just wedges down in and with a few pin holes in the lid you could fill it and have an all day dripper. Thanks again for the ideas!!!!

 

[LILSTAROFLOVE]

neat but it kinda reminds me of a giant hermet crab cage lol

 

[Aloha808]

What size plastic planter do you use for the top?

 

[clarkrw3]

What size plastic planter do you use for the top?

LOL...a Really big one!! I honestly don't know and would have to check. It is a water tray for a big pot and I could only find them at Home Depot not Lowe's.

 

[yojon3000]

nice what would you do if you tried these inside cause of weather i want to try this but for inside. like lighting ect.

 

[Aloha808]

Oh great, I am about to make a Home Depot run now! I love that place.
Thanks!

 

[clarkrw3]

nice what would you do if you tried these inside cause of weather i want to try this but for inside. like lighting ect.

I wouldn't think it would be a problem to use them inside just wouldn't want to put holes in the bottom of the bucket like I did. Also I would cut the bottom out of the lid and replace with mesh and you could just set the lights on top. One of the great things about this set up outdoors is you can put a couple pin holes in the lid and fill the lid with water. It will act like a dripper for most of the day

 

[Zen Reptiles]

Cool innovations! I'll have to do this outdoors this summer too.


Why do you say Hovabators are worthless for chameleon eggs?

 

[Seeco]

Why do you say Hovabators are worthless for chameleon eggs?

Oh for Kinyongia they are useless because I incubate in the 60's. That garage where you see them gets up to 80 and the Hovbators can not force cool just passively cool over time.

 

[maxttu]

Dude! I just spent the last 30-45 minutes looking at your 5 methods and have come to a conclusion that you're INSANE!!! I love the ideas and vision that you have for your guys! BTW, I'm still waiting on my cham...

 

[Seeco]

. . . you're INSANE!!! . . .

DingDingDing! Correct Answer! We have a winner! Your prize is a bunch of garbage that is actually a chameleon cage!

 

[maxttu]

DingDingDing! Correct Answer! We have a winner! Your prize is a bunch of garbage that is actually a chameleon cage!

hahaha! it is what it is!

 

[Joshua91]

I like to do things my own way. The result is often failure, but sometimes I come up with some interesting innovations. I'll be posting a few threads of some things I have slapped together. Instead of explanatory captions I'll just answer any questions you ask. The closer you look the more you will learn. There is more on my blog.

If you learn anything or use these methods please credit me via my profile page url. Or better yet, use it to keep and breed Kinyongia species! As with a lot of home-made stuff it the little tweaks that make it function properly so don't assume your version is safe just because it looks similar.

So this is the cheapest cage ever. It is also the best cage ever for 95% of chameleon keepers. If you want, you can enhance it much more than I have. For me it is just an egg laying cage for my outdoor animals. Not much else to say. Every single thing available at big name hardware store. Total cost with plants and soil is under $75 and it is HUGE. The angle of the photos make it look too narrow. Totally suitable for adult veiled cham -- you just need big stout branches instead of a spindly ficus tree.

This here is the rest of my egg laying setup. Since most of my cages have zero substrate I just pay close attention to my females and transfer them to these bins filled with soil when the time is near. There are also 2 hovbators that are useless for incubating chameleon eggs but excellent for making fruit flies. What a mess...

How come you can't see the pictures?

 

[Decadancin]

How come you can't see the pictures?

My guess is some much older posts used platforms that did not agree with upgrades to the forums and the result is that the images are not supported.