My New Huge DIY Cage
- Thread starter Olimpia
- Start date
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Olimpia great cham house ya built. You said it gets plenty of sun light during the week, is that a necessity?My family is going to get a panther soon and I am not sure which room we are going to house in. If I put the cham in the basement it will be much easier to drain. Any suggestions would be great. Thanks.
Olimpia great cham house ya built. You said it gets plenty of sun light during the week, is that a necessity?My family is going to get a panther soon and I am not sure which room we are going to house in. If I put the cham in the basement it will be much easier to drain. Any suggestions would be great. Thanks.
laurie
Retired Moderator
I think going from free ranging to the great cage you built won't be a hardship for you cham. As many trees as he has he will still feel at home. You did a wonderful job. i hear you on vet bills, I have 2 dogs having one tooth each pulled and it will run slightly over $300. Both dogs are having the sams back tooth pulled - go figure.
bassjunkie
Member
Hey Olympia! Beautiful setups! I have a cham named Daedelus too- how cool. I just got him, he's only about 2 months. Just thought that was such a great name
Olimpia
Biologist & Ecologist
Olimpia great cham house ya built. You said it gets plenty of sun light during the week, is that a necessity?My family is going to get a panther soon and I am not sure which room we are going to house in. If I put the cham in the basement it will be much easier to drain. Any suggestions would be great. Thanks.
Thank you! Yes and no; Your chameleon can live a long and happy life with just his/her 5.0 UVB bulb, no question about that, but there are a lot of health benefits associated with taking them outside for even minimal exposure to natural sunlight. The sun packs a lot more UVB than our lights, and it seems to be really good for them, since it's more natural. And sometimes it's just what the animal needs to help kick ailments, from a hunger strike to a respiratory infection (along with meds, for the latter one).
He can be just fine living in the basement, but if you can (and weather permits) bring him outside for a little bit when you have a chance and he'll be happier for it, I feel. It's good for them on a mental level too, you can imagine.
Thanks Laurie! He seems to have settled in just fine, plus he still gets time to roam the house sometimes if he seems restless. Misery begets company, and I think pet bills do too! The wave of chameleon issues I've had this summer seems to have stopped now (knock on wood) but it definitely gets expensive. I have savings for the occasional bill of course, but when it's two-three chameleons at once it's more than I have saved up. It gets tough. Charlotte alone cost me over $500 when she swallowed her tongue and needed to have it amputated and treated for infection. Your poor doggies, did they crack a tooth or were they getting rotten?
Hey Olympia! Beautiful setups! I have a cham named Daedelus too- how cool. I just got him, he's only about 2 months. Just thought that was such a great name
Thank you! Nice to meet another one, not a very popular name! What type of chameleon is your little Daedalus?
Meow Kitty
New Member
omg a girl who can wood work!!! Its the apocalypse!!!!
Olimpia
Biologist & Ecologist
It's my secret dream to learn carpentry, and be good at it. Whenever I'm married, I want to be the one getting new tools for the garage workshop!
antithesis123
New Member
I like it! I use 5.0 florescent t 8's for the lights that are closer to my cages and 10.0 for the lights that are further from my cages.. then basking lights. It's nice that you have so many plants!
bigcappa
Avid Member
Carpentry is awesome and girls who do carpentry even more awesome!! So good luck!
Meow Kitty
New Member
im not hitting on you but girls who do manly things and are good at them are hot
okiroo
Avid Member
im not hitting on you but girls who do manly things and are good at them are hot
your a guy and your name is meow kitty?
Meow Kitty
New Member
im sorry did i do somthing wrong when i didnt name myself
"imamandefintlynotagirlserrisoulythoughimaguy"?
okiroo
Avid Member
just thought it was funny. nothing wrong with your name. the above would have been funny aswell tho. lol.
Olimpia
Biologist & Ecologist
Sometimes, more often than not I just hand feed though. They're all full grown so they aren't eating a lot, so it's easy to hand feed them a few worms or crickets.
Edit - Let me add that I could still free range crickets in there, because I believe in making them work for their food every so often, but the cage doors aren't exactly airtight so they can get out through the cracks. If it were perfectly sealed like commercial cages then I'd have no problem setting a handful of crickets loose and having him for to find them all. He is on a diet after all! lol He could use the exercise!
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Olimpia
Biologist & Ecologist
Thanks!
For the actual cage I used:
- 1.5" x 2" x 8' wood bars (I think calls strips? Not sure. From Lowe's)
- A power drill with a normal Philip's screw bit
- A long drill bit to pre-drill holes for the wood screws
- Lots of 2-3" wood screws
- And a small PVC saw. I have 3 other wood saws but my PVC one is the best and easiest to use, so I like it.
- I like the gray window screen, but you can use whatever screen you like.
- And a staple gun for the window screen.
For the actual cage I used:
- 1.5" x 2" x 8' wood bars (I think calls strips? Not sure. From Lowe's)
- A power drill with a normal Philip's screw bit
- A long drill bit to pre-drill holes for the wood screws
- Lots of 2-3" wood screws
- And a small PVC saw. I have 3 other wood saws but my PVC one is the best and easiest to use, so I like it.
- I like the gray window screen, but you can use whatever screen you like.
- And a staple gun for the window screen.
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