My veiled Setup! Pics!

[plop9025]

Hey I didnt have a chance to get some pics up before but I got my veieled cham on wensday. He is my first cham and I hope I do everything right. Here are some pics to see my cage and the cham. If you guys can tell let me know how the setup looks and if you could tell what color you think hes gonna be when hes grown let me know please. Im hoping for a teal / yellow look.

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll222/plop9025/IMG_5620.jpg
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll222/plop9025/IMG_5628.jpg
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll222/plop9025/IMG_5640.jpg
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll222/plop9025/IMG_5621.jpg
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll222/plop9025/IMG_5644.jpg
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll222/plop9025/IMG_5633.jpg


Dont know how to add pics directly in here so here is the links. Take a look please and leave some comments. Thanks!

 

[Julirs]

Nice cage-but looks really large for that little one. Just make sure he is eating!

 

[Dave]

Nice setup ya got there Plop! So have ya named the lil guy yet?

The mesh looks a lil wide, you might have crickets gettin out of that habitat. Did ya build it yourself or did you inherit it with your new cham? What plants do you have it stocked with?

Good luck with the new guy, and don't hesitate to post any questions here, there are plenty of people here that love to help

-Dave

 

[Nicodemayo]

plop your setup looks good but not to rain on your parade but if that screen is metal it'll rip your cham up over time.

 

[plop9025]

His name is Yoshi. I have 1 Ficus, 1 Schefflera arboricola, 1 Pothos and 1 Corn plant in there. Yea the screen is metal. Should I replace the screen with something different? If so what kind and where could it be purchased.
I did build it myself and stained it, crickets do get out so I have been using a glad food cup for him to put them in. I just pull off the big legs of the crickets so they cant hop. I do want to rescreen it so smaller so crickets cant get out. If I do this tho to where I can just put crickets in there to roam freely to where he can catch them and run around to catch them would it hurt to do that sence my cage is tall and the crickets would prolly hang out at the bottom? Do you think the cham would go to the bottom of the cage even if there isnt much light at bottom to get the crickets?

Looking forward to some advice.
Thanks.

 

[Dave]

Just use some normal aluminum window screen. You can get a nice sized roll from Lowe's or Home Depot for a lil under $20. You could use the nylon window screen for the sides if you prefer, but at least use the aluminum for the top frame as your lights will melt the nylon. I just did mine in full aluminum, but it's up to you really. I've also heard that bugs can chew through the softer nylon. But as Nico said, that screen can be rather dangerous to Yoshi, so you might want to rescreen it ASAP.

-Dave

 

[plop9025]

OK, Ill defently rescreen... But i dont understand why aluminum is better then metal wire... both to me would seem to be very much alike to a cham but im not a pro at this so im listening to you guys. I just think metal and aluminum would be same because both would be hard to the cham unless the aluminum bens very easy.

 

[Dave]

It's mostly the spacing of the screen, how the cham has to grip it. Window screen is really narrow spaced, which the cham can grip as a whole, rather than wrapping it's grip around a single bar. You'll be a lot happier with the new screen, no more crickets around the house ;-)

-Dave

 

[plop9025]

Does anyone think they can guess at what color my baby cham will be when he gets older by lookin at the pics?

 

[westcoastchameleons]

I did build it myself and stained it, crickets do get out so I have been using a glad food cup for him to put them in. Thanks.

You can use weather stripping to make it so they dont get out through cracks in the door. And then just maybe use some smaller screen.

Jake

 

[plop9025]

What is weather stripping and how much does it cost?

 

[Dave Weldon]

Howdy Kyle,

There are many choices of screens available with pros and cons for each to sort out. A few examples of screen pros/cons:

Fiberglass fly screen: Less likely to be highly abrasive to chameleon feet but usually has a small weave that has the potential to snag toenails. Small hole size limits insect escapes. Some insects can chew through it.

Aluminum fly screen: May be a little more abrasive than fiberglass but otherwise effective at keeping insects inside with no chewing the aluminum. Still has the toenail problem.

Aluminum screen larger holes: Doesn't have the toenail problem. Doesn't keep in small insects.

Coated steel large hole: No toenail problem. Not insect proof. Be sure that it isn't the rough cold zinc coating. It's tough on chameleon feet. If it is smooth wire, it's ok.

Here's typical 1/16" aluminum fly screen. Note the crosspoints create a little bit of extra roughness compared to the 1/8" cages.net screen.

Here's the special 1/8" aluminum screen that eliminates toenail loss. Only seems to be available from www.cages.net It's a free upgrade. Note the crosspoints are "softened by the coating.

It's not obvious from the photos but the wire gage is actually the same. The photos are not to scale but the ruler can give you some reference. The ruler marks are spaced at 1/16"

 

[Dave]

Weather stripping is the stuff you find around the edge of your front doorjam. It's a rubber or foam strip that allows the door to fit snug against the doorjam. I personally used rubber weatherstripping, as it doesnt have as much give to it as even the high density foam stripping, but you may prefer something else depending on how big of a gap you have when your door is latched. It ran me about $6 for 17 feet at Lowe's.

-Dave