New Enclosure, Please Check My Work

[mae_day]

Hello all!

I have been lurking for a while (though I only recently signed up as a user) and I'm finally putting my research time to good use!

I have a ~4.5 month male ambilobe YBBB panther coming to me late next week or early the following week (weather permitting). I am so excited but I need to make sure everything is perfect!

Here are the stats:

-24"x 24"x 48" DIYCage screen enclosure.

-Cage sits on a 30" tall cabinet where I have a drainage bucket and a clean water reservoir (closed). I made sure that the drainage bucket exceeds the volume of the water reservoir

- 22" Arcadia 6% UVB light in the proper fixture (from Lightyourreptile)

- 50w Halogen floodlight as a basking light. It is rated for outdoor use, so it should be reasonably waterproof. It is set in a plain shop lamp

-(Not Shown Here) MistKing Starter set with corner brackets and double headed mister. I upgraded to the repeating seconds timer with ZipDrip

-LED aquarium light for the plants. I can't recall now what the wavelength range is, but it was great for my freshwater aquarium plants

-Live plants: Schleffera (x2), pothos (x3), Hibiscus, Croton, prayer plant. All of the plants were washed and had their soil swapped for organic. All of the soil has been covered with smooth river rocks.

-Other decorations: several Fluker vines of various sizes, cotton wood branches (washed and allowed to dry completely), natural grapevine, bamboo stakes

-Other: Full Throttle Feeder Cup, a ceiling mounted curtain to ensure darkness at night

I am making sure the temperature gradient is correct. I think it'll need some adjusting.

Enclosure

• mae_day
• Oct 6, 2018

Enclosure Close Up 1

• mae_day
• Oct 6, 2018

Enclosure Close Up 2

• mae_day
• Oct 6, 2018

Enclosure with Closed Door

• mae_day
• Oct 6, 2018

Enclosure with Curtain Drawn

• mae_day
• Oct 6, 2018

What do you think? What can I improve?

Btw, here's a pic of my new baby, Paisley.

Paisley at ~4.5 months

• mae_day
• Oct 6, 2018

 

[ERKleRose]

Hello all!

I have been lurking for a while (though I only recently signed up as a user) and I'm finally putting my research time to good use!

I have a ~4.5 month male ambilobe YBBB panther coming to me late next week or early the following week (weather permitting). I am so excited but I need to make sure everything is perfect!

Here are the stats:

-24"x 24"x 48" DIYCage screen enclosure.

-Cage sits on a 30" tall cabinet where I have a drainage bucket and a clean water reservoir (closed). I made sure that the drainage bucket exceeds the volume of the water reservoir

- 22" Arcadia 6% UVB light in the proper fixture (from Lightyourreptile)

- 50w Halogen floodlight as a basking light. It is rated for outdoor use, so it should be reasonably waterproof. It is set in a plain shop lamp

-(Not Shown Here) MistKing Starter set with corner brackets and double headed mister. I upgraded to the repeating seconds timer with ZipDrip

-LED aquarium light for the plants. I can't recall now what the wavelength range is, but it was great for my freshwater aquarium plants

-Live plants: Schleffera (x2), pothos (x3), Hibiscus, Croton, prayer plant. All of the plants were washed and had their soil swapped for organic. All of the soil has been covered with smooth river rocks.

-Other decorations: several Fluker vines of various sizes, cotton wood branches (washed and allowed to dry completely), natural grapevine, bamboo stakes

-Other: Full Throttle Feeder Cup, a ceiling mounted curtain to ensure darkness at night

I am making sure the temperature gradient is correct. I think it'll need some adjusting.

Enclosure

• mae_day
• Oct 6, 2018

Enclosure Close Up 1

• mae_day
• Oct 6, 2018

Enclosure Close Up 2

• mae_day
• Oct 6, 2018

Enclosure with Closed Door

• mae_day
• Oct 6, 2018

Enclosure with Curtain Drawn

• mae_day
• Oct 6, 2018

What do you think? What can I improve?

Btw, here's a pic of my new baby, Paisley.

Paisley at ~4.5 months

• mae_day
• Oct 6, 2018

AMAZING! Your cham is lucky to have you! If you want, you could add some more horizontal branches in the middle part of the cage. Do you have your supplements, gutload, and feeders yet?

 

[JacksJill]

I was always planing to name a chameleon Paisley. People plan and the gods laugh and it never really fit any of mine. I'm glad to see the name go to such a cutie.
You clearly did you home work. Paisley is going to love that habitat.

Edit- might need a paisley curtain.

 

[mae_day]

Thank you! I want to five my little dude the best life possible!

I have 1/4" crickets gutloading with collard greens, oranges, cricket crack, and a little bee pollen. I plan on getting some superworms next week. Following that, I plan on mostly swapping between dubias and crickets at the bulk of his diet with silkworms, superworms, and hornworms as available/for treats

I have all Rep-Cal supplements: Herpivite, Calcium w/o D3, and Calcium w/ D3. I plan on doing Calcium w/o D3 6 days a week and then Calcium w/D3 + Multivitamin every two weeks to start.

 

[ERKleRose]

Thank you! I want to five my little dude the best life possible!

I have 1/4" crickets gutloading with collard greens, oranges, cricket crack, and a little bee pollen. I plan on getting some superworms next week. Following that, I plan on mostly swapping between dubias and crickets at the bulk of his diet with silkworms, superworms, and hornworms as available/for treats

I have all Rep-Cal supplements: Herpivite, Calcium w/o D3, and Calcium w/ D3. I plan on doing Calcium w/o D3 6 days a week and then Calcium w/D3 + Multivitamin every two weeks to start.

You’re awesome!!! I’m so excited for you and your cham! He will be lucky to have you!

 

[mae_day]

might need a paisley curtain.

Ha! That's genius! What a brilliant idea!

 

[Alexander1]

Great job on your set up, you got it down. Just keep an eye on those temps with the young Cham, the Arcadia lights might be enough to keep him warm while he’s a little guy. Otherwise lookin great

 

[mae_day]

Great job on your set up, you got it down. Just keep an eye on those temps with the young Cham, the Arcadia lights might be enough to keep him warm while he’s a little guy. Otherwise lookin great

I have the enclosure in my basement apartment and it's pretty chilly down there. The spot just under the basking light is ~85°F. Overnight should be ~60°F.

 

[Chromatic Chameleons]

Perfect setup!! Great work researching before you got your new addition!

 

[Brodybreaux25]

Are you sure this is your first attempt? I’m struggling to find anything to pick at here, excellent job!

I was tempted to say maybe some more horizontal branches in the center but you really don’t even need that. I’ve been on this forum for quite a while and this is the first newby viv I’ve seen that’s truly flawless. Congratulations, you’ve done this forum proud already!

 

[mae_day]

Are you sure this is your first attempt? I’m struggling to find anything to pick at here, excellent job!

I was tempted to say maybe some more horizontal branches in the center but you really don’t even need that. I’ve been on this forum for quite a while and this is the first newby viv I’ve seen that’s truly flawless. Congratulations, you’ve done this forum proud already!

Oh wow, thank you! I am humbled by the depth of knowledge of the members of this forum. I literally couldn't have done any of this without y'all.

I did put another horizonal branch in the middle last night based on suggestions made. I'll look at it again today and see if any other dead ends jump out at me.

Thank you so much for your vote of confidence!

 

[Decadancin]

Great Job!

Obviously you did a bunch of research prior to getting your cham. Love the way this looks. Only critique I could add is something that is almost impossible to avoid in a well planted enclosure, and something I would just deal with as best you can, but it can be difficult to spot clean the enclosure with all the plants and vines in there. I try to position my vines so that I can easily navigate the enclosure.

Like I said though, I would not likely change anything here...

 

[mae_day]

Great Job!

Obviously you did a bunch of research prior to getting your cham. Love the way this looks. Only critique I could add is something that is almost impossible to avoid in a well planted enclosure, and something I would just deal with as best you can, but it can be difficult to spot clean the enclosure with all the plants and vines in there. I try to position my vines so that I can easily navigate the enclosure.

Like I said though, I would not likely change anything here...

I had that thought while I was settings things up. The good news is that I can pull out all the plants at the bottom without wrecking the layout of the branches. Worse comes to worse, the whole thing is held together with approximately one billion zip ties. I can always move stuff if necessary.