New cage finished! And a question about lighting...

[radstusky]

So I finished this nice big cage for Leo (with a little help from a friend, OK a LOT of help!). I always hate that when you put potted plants in the cage, it seems the bottom portion of the cage is wasted space. So I designed this cage with some sunken tubs as planters so the bottom of the cage is where the plants start growing. I've seen some similar designs here. For drainage I put pea gravel on the bottom and added a spout in the back. The top has sand and river rocks on top of the soil.

My question about lighting: is one 36" Reptisun 5.0 enough, or should I get two? Or maybe I should get one Reptisun and make the second for plant growth? The cage dimensions are 24"W x 40"L x 60"H. Hopefully those Ficus will grow fast! I'll probably add another branch or two as well.

Also I'm thinking about getting the Exo Terra fixture that simulates dawn/dusk, anyone have experience with these?

thanks!

 

[Ocelot357]

you can buy a 36" if you want, but a 18" will still do ok, just make sure its a 5.0.

also about the exo terra light that simulates dawn/dusk, you can get if you want...but wont make any difference.

I think your cham would like more greenery up at top, they will feel more secure.

dont forget a heat lamp.......50 watt

 

[radstusky]

you can buy a 36" if you want, but a 18" will still do ok, just make sure its a 5.0.

also about the exo terra light that simulates dawn/dusk, you can get if you want...but wont make any difference.

I think your cham would like more greenery up at top, they will feel more secure.

dont forget a heat lamp.......50 watt

Well for now I am using the 18" bulb from his old cage as well as the heat lamp too. Because it's so small relative to the cage, I thought I should get a bigger one.

I agree about more greenery in the top, I'll add some soon. and thanks!

 

[Olimpia]

Wow that's awesome!
I think if you're able to hang plants from the roof, that's what would really finish off the cage. Maybe get a couple large pothos and hang them from baskets, and then some vines or natural branches and it'll be great. And as the plants grow it'll be fantastic.

So jealous!

 

[radstusky]

Thanks for your comments. I've added some fake vines near the top of the cage, but I may still add some more real ones. I also want to add at least one more nice branch in there, spanning the entire width.

Here is the picture of his last moments in his small cage, as you can see, he's starting to look a bit cramped in there!

I should mention that I've been tracking his growth and posting to my blog, check it out! https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/radstusky/

As I posted there he's grown a huge amount in the past 3 to 4 weeks, nearly doubling in weight. He's also starting to show more color, but I believe he'll still be showing more and more colors in the next few months. He's a sambava so he's slow!

 

[laurie]

The cage is killer! Great job. If I were using a cage that deep I would use the 10. not the 5.0. The 5.0 penetrates 10" and the 10.0 penetrates 20" so unless you are sure he will stay close to the top for uvb it might be a problem.jmo

 

[beavesss]

For drainage I put pea gravel on the bottom and added a spout in the back.

thanks!

Depending on the size of the gravel you may want to get something larger so your chameleon doesn't eat it accidentally and die of impaction.

 

[radstusky]

Depending on the size of the gravel you may want to get something larger so your chameleon doesn't eat it accidentally and die of impaction.

I've used large river rocks which are way too big for my cham to eat! Maybe it's hard to tell from the pics.

 

[draetish]

I love it and it's by a window, that is awesome. You can go to lowes or home depot and get a 4' dual fixture and a 6500k plant light to put on one side and a 48" Reptisun 5.0. My panther tends to stay up high with the basking light and uvb. I have the lights separate so he can choose. The 6500 will do wonders for your plants.

 

[Peter Kraemer]

Hi Stuart,

I think you need much more branches and plants!

Greetings Peter

 

[carol5208]

I have a sambava also, how old is he? just comparing!

 

[radstusky]

Hi Stuart,

I think you need much more branches and plants!

Greetings Peter

Peter, das stimmt!!! I'll be adding some soon, danke!

I have a sambava also, how old is he? just comparing!

He is about 7 months old. See my blog for some details about his growth: https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/radstusky/

 

[Little Hat]

What material di dyou use to construct your cage i.e. the frame and screen?

 

[radstusky]

What material di dyou use to construct your cage i.e. the frame and screen?

The frame is all made of wood. The bottom is made from strong particle board with casters on the bottom. The sides of the bottom are plywood, and I'm not sure what kind of wood the frames are made from. Basically we used what we had laying around where I work. I painted it all with some Benjamin Moore latex paint.

For the screening I looked around quite a bit for the best and some other people here suggested "insect screening" which is what I ended up getting. I believe it's made of galvanized steel. Actually here's the link to the exact stuff I used: http://www.mcmaster.com/#insect-screens/=7y7vcc. (the electrogalvanized wire screen at the bottom). There were some other screens with larger openings, but they were too costly. The screen alone would have been over $300 so that was a bit much I thought. I'm happy with this screen, as it's not too dark, and also I honestly haven't seen him climbing very much on it at all.

 

[DragonLady]

That cage is incredible!! Great job.

 

[carol5208]

I have a sambava too! I am curious, how old is yours? just comparing!

 

[carol5208]

OMG! I was just reading your blog and I think I have one of the brothers of yours! I also bought mine from Kammerflage and P theoncho was sire. Did you get the last bunch sired by Poncho? I bought mine in April and he was around 5 months old then so he is around 8 mos old right now. I can post a pic of him if you want.