New !!! And Questions!!!

buttons

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Hi;All; I am new to this forum and to chameleons. I will be bringing my baby home this week-end. I purchased a 16-16-30-to start with as he is 7-weeks at present and captive bred. I am looking to start making 2-more homes for him.1-for outside on my balcony for summer time and a larger 1-for in my home. What I would like to know is 1/4 round ok to use for the base??ie; frame and can the back of tank be wood and then 3-sides screen and top?/ Appreciate any help-thanks so much buttons.
 
Buttons,

Welcome to the forum. The solid back is fine, you will still have plenty of airflow.

I have built dozens of cages, and have found wood and water are not the best combination, even if you seal the wood, water tends to travel, and mold will often be the result. I have moved to plastic shelves from hardware stores to be my bases, and buy screen 24x24x48 cages. You can get all the screen pieces at hardware stores and build your own custom cage.....

I am not sure what you mean by 1/4 round, 1/4 round to me is moulding around a floor, you may want to clarify that term for others.

That being said, if you want to build a custom enclosure, think about water management first;are you going to use automatic misters or drip containers, how much water are you flowing through the cage daily, how will you collect it so it does not end up on your floor, and what container will the waste water end up in.

One other thought is to have one cage for the balcony that rolls or is easily carried, that can serve as both the big indoor cage and the balcony cage.

Enjoy the process of making your habitats for your new dinosaur!:D

Nick
 
Thanks Nick; Just trying to get some idea's as to how to make one for the little guy so i will be ready when he grows.Yes, i had planned on wheels as it would be good to move and as far as water goes i will use some kind of bucket to catch drops.And due to the fact i am retired i would be home most of the time and can look after any water works lol. thanks again buttons.
 
My DH and I are in the process of building a big screened enclosure with a fairly heavy base, and we felt being able to move the enclosure easily might be a good plan--we never know what the future holds! He wanted something fast, so I bought four small furniture moving dollies from Harbor Freight, the ones about 18 x 12. We put them together in a square (the narrow end of each dolly matches to part of a wide side of each other dolly in a sort of circle; I know there's a name for this pattern, but I can't for the life of me think of it!). He then used zip ties to secure them to each other. We put the base on top of that. It rolls very smoothly and is very easy to move around even with weight on it.

Have fun building your enclosure!

Sandy
 
New And Questions!!!

Hi; All; I am new and have a few questions-First i have a 16-16-30-screened cage and lots of foilage and perches for my baby-he is a veiled and maybe 6-7-weeks old. I am going to be blunt here. What is the survival rate of these babies.This will be my first chameleon and i would like him to survive.He is no bigger then my little finger- if that. He is captive bred and i have bought from this breeder before[different species] and young but chameleons are new to me and he will be my first.I was also told he is translucent.Is there any different care for these babies. I have a leopard gecko and crested gecko and 3-beardies 2-birds, 2-fish, and 3-small dogs. So i am devoted to all their care.My temps i am just adjusting now as i pick up baby tomorrow and hope all temps will be effective for him.I am using a dig; probe to measure temps with.And i noticed all these babies crawl around up top where lights are. So i have purchased an arm so baby can't get burned by being to close to light.It extends light away from cage. Any help would be greatly appreciated. As i only want the very best for my baby and i will be working on a bigger cage for baby but had read that they are better in a smaller one until older. Thanks to all that respond buttons.
 
Yes, Sandy; I have been reading your posts and build. I don't think i will be going quite that big lol-but big enough thanks again for sharing your build-buttons.
 
Cham; 6-7weeks Handling-not often just for care.Feeding;crix;silks, butters, phoenix; and some salad if he will eat it.Watering will be misting 2-3-times daily. fecal; not done yet. CAGE: TYPE; 16-16-30-screen type and lots of foilage and climbing areas.lighting 50 watt;coil uvb; and incasedent bulb for basking still playing with wattage.Temps shooting for 85-90%Will be in my hall way by bathroom and just myself here.Live in canada/. And no problem so far.Sorry and cool side 78-80% hope all this helps and please let me know if anything should be changed as i want this little guy to thrive and be healthy most of all.Buttons;
 
Cham; 6-7weeks Handling-not often just for care.Feeding;crix;silks, butters, phoenix; and some salad if he will eat it.Watering will be misting 2-3-times daily. fecal; not done yet. CAGE: TYPE; 16-16-30-screen type and lots of foilage and climbing areas.lighting 50 watt;coil uvb; and incasedent bulb for basking still playing with wattage.Temps shooting for 85-90%Will be in my hall way by bathroom and just myself here.Live in canada/. And no problem so far.Sorry and cool side 78-80% hope all this helps and please let me know if anything should be changed as i want this little guy to thrive and be healthy most of all.Buttons;

Sounds really good. Veileds will sometimes eat fruit and veg. For a baby I wouldn't let the basking temp get higher than 84. Haven't used coil uv myself but hopefully someone will help with that. What supplements will you use?:)
 
I will use plain calcium daily and d-3-twice a month and reptivite for his vitiamins 2-times for the month.Hope this is correct. As i don't want any over doses. As i had a baby with MBD; and its very hard to watch them suffer and go downhill so fast even with vets help and she passed anyway. And i will be keeping a log book with everything in it. IE; supplements, eating, ect; buttons
 
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