New friend

[cornelius.rex]

Hi all, I'm new here but have been lurking for about a month. This community seems really great! My family has a new Veiled friend, and I was hoping to confirm gender and possibly a rough age. I'm almost certain he(?) has tarsal spurs and a somewhat thicker tail base, but I'm not confident enough in my eyes. Pics on hand for rough scale. If anyone can confirm and/or give me a rough age that would be amazing

From what the wife and I can tell, we're thinking male, roughly 3-4 months?

Thank you!

 

[Eileen]

I'm too new to give any help.. but "he" is really adorable.. tame! you need to give him a name.. if indeed it is a "he"

 

[cornelius.rex]

[removed double post]

 

[cornelius.rex]

I'm too new to give any help.. but "he" is really adorable.. tame! you need to give him a name.. if indeed it is a "he"

We named him Cornelius Rex! I know you've heard of T-Rex.... meet C-Rex! We fell in love with this guy immediately. Trying to give him a better home than the pet store we found him at

 

[Gloriawood]

I’m terrible with age, but he looks like a he in my opinion!

 

[elizaann2]

Oh my gosh what a little darling!!! I believe you have a male as well. He is less than a year, its hard to guess ages because their size will be determined on the environment they grew up in...more food = bigger. How is your husbandry? Care to do a review to ensure you have everything dialed for this little one?

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with, and what is the schedule?
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long do you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
• Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high-traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
• Location - Where are you geographically located?

Current Problem -

 

[Beman]

Welcome to the forum. I am not sure that is a little boy. Males at that age have more pronounced tarsal spurs at that size. See images below. Females can have little nubs that are not as pronounced.

I am a bit concerned about the front and back limbs on babies left side of the body. I am seeing some pretty extreme bowing indicating MBD. I would fill out the form above by copying and pasting it into your reply. Include pics of the entire cage so we can see the lighting on top as well.

 

[elizaann2]

Welcome to the forum. I am not sure that is a little boy. Males at that age have more pronounced tarsal spurs at that size. See images below. Females can have little nubs that are not as pronounced.

I am a bit concerned about the front and back limbs on babies left side of the body. I am seeing some pretty extreme bowing indicating MBD. I would fill out the form above by copying and pasting it into your reply. Include pics of the entire cage so we can see the lighting on top as well.

Go with what Beman suggested, she is the veiled male expert here and would know best

 

[Beman]

Go with what Beman suggested, she is the veiled male expert here and would know best

lol my suggestion is they have a 50/50 chance of a boy or a girl. I can not determine for sure based on the tarsal spur pics. And I can not see the tail base well enough. More concerned with the signs of mbd though.

 

[cornelius.rex]

Welcome to the forum. I am not sure that is a little boy. Males at that age have more pronounced tarsal spurs at that size. See images below. Females can have little nubs that are not as pronounced.

I am a bit concerned about the front and back limbs on babies left side of the body. I am seeing some pretty extreme bowing indicating MBD. I would fill out the form above by copying and pasting it into your reply. Include pics of the entire cage so we can see the lighting on top as well.

Hello! We have the same concerns actually. I noticed the 'double elbows' and have been reading quite a bit on MBD. He/she has only been in our care for about 2 to 3 weeks, during which time we've been doing daily calcium dusting and have done 2 multivitamin dustings (reptivite + D3). He is quite active and a skilled climber and doesn't seem to show any weakness/wobbliness associated with later stage/worse MBD. This is our first cham, but have had other reptiles and amphibians.
Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Veiled, ~3-6mo old, 2-3weeks in our care.
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Not at all in the first several days. Approximately 5-6 times in the last 2 weeks, he's been held while various enclosure activities are done (cleaning, draining plants). While out, colors change to vibrant almost neon green and he's very active (climbing to top of head, sitting on hand by window, etc.) he seems to enjoy it but I know this is rare.
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? ~15 crickets/day at around 10am. Crickets are kept in a separate cage, gutloaded from the store with apple, and sweet potato from me. Crickets are about the width of his mouth (~.75inch). He has a very strong appetite and moves quickly when it's time to eat. Tongue shoots out at least the length of his body and with force, has no problems eating. He eats from a glass (cricket-escape-free) in the base of his Schefflera plant but has eaten/will eat directly from hand. We have a shooting gallery which we plan to put other feeders in when we have them - Dubia, Hornworm, etc. when the time is right.
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with, and what is the schedule? ExoTerra Calcium daily, Reptivite multivitamin+D3 once per 15 days (not on 1st and 15th, but planning to move to these days when I'm sure he's fully healthy)
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long do you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? Hand misting twice/day at recommended times for approximately 5-10min - before lights come on and after lights go off. I also have a Little Dripper which I activate for ~2-4 hours/day. I have witnessed him drinking a few times actually and have video/photos of that if you'd like to see He also seems to enjoy the shower very much. I've also read in several places that they can be taught to drink from standing water or that it's at least good to offer, so he's got a clear glass which is full to the brim, and while I move the dripper on the top of the enclosure, it is commonly made so that it drips into the glass. Fogger/automatic mister are en route and will be set up in the next 2-3 days.
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? Looks as I believe it's supposed to. Brown on one half, white on the other. No real traces of orange or yellow. No parasite test yet.
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. Unfortunately, this little guy/gal came from a big box pet store where husbandry is notorious. I've worked adjacent to exotic animal husbandry and conservation, and could not bear to leave him in the conditions we found him in.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? 4x2x2 Reptibreeze XL Deluxe (mostly screen, with the acrylic front upper panel+LEDs) - the Reptibreeze XL was so hard to source in my area that I had to settle for the Deluxe LED combo. I do not use the red LEDs as I've read they can damage Cham eyes and disrupt sleeping cycles.
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? We were provided with the Fluorescent housing seen in the photo - the bulb is brand new out of box (also provided) and is a Zilla T8 15W 18". There's a chart on the box which indicates the UVB intensity/UV index and the light is arranged so that he's in 2-5uv index while basking. ~8-10" from bulb. He's positioned next to a large window upstairs to receive as much ambient sunlight as possible. Arcadia T5HO should be here this weekend. The basking lamp itself came with the deep dome housing, it's a blue daylight UVB+Basking bulb. Lights on roughly 9AM, off roughly 8PM
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? Awaiting the proper tools to fully measure the enclosure, but the home is kept at 72F and commonly 70F at night. Basking spot feels warm to the hand and in my absolutely unequivocally expert hand-measuring experience I would say 80F. I've got a shipment with some items coming to incl. the correct measurement devices so I can get accurate readings inside his enclosure, but at the moment he's positioned about 10ft away from our home thermostat which measures Temperature and RH at its location. He's positioned next to a large window upstairs which I've been opening at nighttime to tank the temperature to around 63-65F, as well as provide air flow through the cage. Due to nighttime drops here being around 50F, I close this window at around midnight.
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? We live on the Gulf Coast of the US, so daytime RH hovers around 55% and nighttime is generally 70%+. I've got a shipment with some items coming to incl. the correct measurement devices so I can get accurate readings inside his enclosure, but at the moment he's positioned about 10ft away from our home thermostat which measures Temperature and RH at its location.
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? Only live plants. Schefflera, Pathos. Bendable branches provided by an acquaintance. The enclosure in total will be updated more this weekend but some things have been surprisingly hard to source in our area. Planning to build wooden upright supports inside the corners this weekend to hold the pathos plants at the top and add more branches in the higher regions. Then another tall growing plant (taking recommendations!) in the bottom with the Schefflera.
• Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high-traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? Located in an upstairs office. This is not a high traffic area, but I'm commonly in the room. It is a calm and quiet area of our home. There is a ceiling fan and floor air purifier in the room, both remain on most of the time. Cage is located on a stand ~3ft high, putting the entire 4ft enclosure at ~7ft at the top. He looks down on me from his basking spot and I'm 6ft tall.
• Location - Where are you geographically located? Gulf Coast, USA
  
  
  I was planning to make this post today, but I knew I would type way too much. This community seems really awesome, and I'd love to learn more from you all! Thanks in advance for helping us take care of C-Rex

 

[cornelius.rex]

lol my suggestion is they have a 50/50 chance of a boy or a girl. I can not determine for sure based on the tarsal spur pics. And I can not see the tail base well enough. More concerned with the signs of mbd though.

We have been in the same boat the whole time. Some days I see spurs, some days it's not clear. And same in most photos I've tried to use to confirm, the spurs are much more prominent on Chams this age. Leads me to believe C-Rex may be a girl with chubby toes

 

[cornelius.rex]

Although, I've been seeing alot of what I believe to be male colorations actually. Not sure though!

 

[Eileen]

Although, I've been seeing alot of what I believe to be male colorations actually. Not sure though!

he is really beautiful!!!!!

 

[cornelius.rex]

he is really beautiful!!!!!

If he could thank you I'm sure he would! we think so too

 

[cornelius.rex]

I just saw him come down from his basking spot and shoot his tongue into the water glass!! Side eying me the whole time, but not so shy and looks like he found his water buffet lol

 

[nightanole]

Am another vote for a a girl. I mean, dat tail taper...

 

[elizaann2]

Hello! We have the same concerns actually. I noticed the 'double elbows' and have been reading quite a bit on MBD. He/she has only been in our care for about 2 to 3 weeks, during which time we've been doing daily calcium dusting and have done 2 multivitamin dustings (reptivite + D3). He is quite active and a skilled climber and doesn't seem to show any weakness/wobbliness associated with later stage/worse MBD. This is our first cham, but have had other reptiles and amphibians.
Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Veiled, ~3-6mo old, 2-3weeks in our care.
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Not at all in the first several days. Approximately 5-6 times in the last 2 weeks, he's been held while various enclosure activities are done (cleaning, draining plants). While out, colors change to vibrant almost neon green and he's very active (climbing to top of head, sitting on hand by window, etc.) he seems to enjoy it but I know this is rare.
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? ~15 crickets/day at around 10am. Crickets are kept in a separate cage, gutloaded from the store with apple, and sweet potato from me. Crickets are about the width of his mouth (~.75inch). He has a very strong appetite and moves quickly when it's time to eat. Tongue shoots out at least the length of his body and with force, has no problems eating. He eats from a glass (cricket-escape-free) in the base of his Schefflera plant but has eaten/will eat directly from hand. We have a shooting gallery which we plan to put other feeders in when we have them - Dubia, Hornworm, etc. when the time is right.
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with, and what is the schedule? ExoTerra Calcium daily, Reptivite multivitamin+D3 once per 15 days (not on 1st and 15th, but planning to move to these days when I'm sure he's fully healthy)
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long do you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? Hand misting twice/day at recommended times for approximately 5-10min - before lights come on and after lights go off. I also have a Little Dripper which I activate for ~2-4 hours/day. I have witnessed him drinking a few times actually and have video/photos of that if you'd like to see He also seems to enjoy the shower very much. I've also read in several places that they can be taught to drink from standing water or that it's at least good to offer, so he's got a clear glass which is full to the brim, and while I move the dripper on the top of the enclosure, it is commonly made so that it drips into the glass. Fogger/automatic mister are en route and will be set up in the next 2-3 days.
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? Looks as I believe it's supposed to. Brown on one half, white on the other. No real traces of orange or yellow. No parasite test yet.
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. Unfortunately, this little guy/gal came from a big box pet store where husbandry is notorious. I've worked adjacent to exotic animal husbandry and conservation, and could not bear to leave him in the conditions we found him in.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? 4x2x2 Reptibreeze XL Deluxe (mostly screen, with the acrylic front upper panel+LEDs) - the Reptibreeze XL was so hard to source in my area that I had to settle for the Deluxe LED combo. I do not use the red LEDs as I've read they can damage Cham eyes and disrupt sleeping cycles.
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? We were provided with the Fluorescent housing seen in the photo - the bulb is brand new out of box (also provided) and is a Zilla T8 15W 18". There's a chart on the box which indicates the UVB intensity/UV index and the light is arranged so that he's in 2-5uv index while basking. ~8-10" from bulb. He's positioned next to a large window upstairs to receive as much ambient sunlight as possible. Arcadia T5HO should be here this weekend. The basking lamp itself came with the deep dome housing, it's a blue daylight UVB+Basking bulb. Lights on roughly 9AM, off roughly 8PM
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? Awaiting the proper tools to fully measure the enclosure, but the home is kept at 72F and commonly 70F at night. Basking spot feels warm to the hand and in my absolutely unequivocally expert hand-measuring experience I would say 80F. I've got a shipment with some items coming to incl. the correct measurement devices so I can get accurate readings inside his enclosure, but at the moment he's positioned about 10ft away from our home thermostat which measures Temperature and RH at its location. He's positioned next to a large window upstairs which I've been opening at nighttime to tank the temperature to around 63-65F, as well as provide air flow through the cage. Due to nighttime drops here being around 50F, I close this window at around midnight.
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? We live on the Gulf Coast of the US, so daytime RH hovers around 55% and nighttime is generally 70%+. I've got a shipment with some items coming to incl. the correct measurement devices so I can get accurate readings inside his enclosure, but at the moment he's positioned about 10ft away from our home thermostat which measures Temperature and RH at its location.
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? Only live plants. Schefflera, Pathos. Bendable branches provided by an acquaintance. The enclosure in total will be updated more this weekend but some things have been surprisingly hard to source in our area. Planning to build wooden upright supports inside the corners this weekend to hold the pathos plants at the top and add more branches in the higher regions. Then another tall growing plant (taking recommendations!) in the bottom with the Schefflera.
• Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high-traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? Located in an upstairs office. This is not a high traffic area, but I'm commonly in the room. It is a calm and quiet area of our home. There is a ceiling fan and floor air purifier in the room, both remain on most of the time. Cage is located on a stand ~3ft high, putting the entire 4ft enclosure at ~7ft at the top. He looks down on me from his basking spot and I'm 6ft tall.
• Location - Where are you geographically located? Gulf Coast, USA
  
  
  I was planning to make this post today, but I knew I would type way too much. This community seems really awesome, and I'd love to learn more from you all! Thanks in advance for helping us take care of C-Rex

Give me a minute to review your husbandry unless someone on here can get to it sooner

 

[Beman]

Give me a minute to review your husbandry unless someone on here can get to it sooner

I have a bit of time this morning. I will go through husbandry now.

 

[Beman]

@cornelius.rex Please see my feedback in Red bold. let us know what questions you have. I am going to split this into two posts because I talk too much for the character limits in the forum.

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Veiled, ~3-6mo old, 2-3weeks in our care. Based on the image of baby on your hand I am betting somewhere in the 4 month age. Too small for a 6 month old and not showing the maturity you would expect to see.
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Not at all in the first several days. Approximately 5-6 times in the last 2 weeks, he's been held while various enclosure activities are done (cleaning, draining plants). While out, colors change to vibrant almost neon green and he's very active (climbing to top of head, sitting on hand by window, etc.) he seems to enjoy it but I know this is rare. Watch its colors when you interact. Very vibrant can indicate stress colors. It will take time to learn the behaviors and colors and what they mean. As they start to mature more muted greens indicate calm resting colors."enjoying" being out of the cage is more linked to something missing in the cage at this age.
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? ~15 crickets/day at around 10am. Crickets are kept in a separate cage, gutloaded from the store with apple, and sweet potato from me. Crickets are about the width of his mouth (~.75inch). He has a very strong appetite and moves quickly when it's time to eat. Tongue shoots out at least the length of his body and with force, has no problems eating. He eats from a glass (cricket-escape-free) in the base of his Schefflera plant but has eaten/will eat directly from hand. We have a shooting gallery which we plan to put other feeders in when we have them - Dubia, Hornworm, etc. when the time is right. Perfect keep in mind at this age they can easily take down 2 dozen insects per day. Might add in some black soldier fly larvae. These are great with their calcium levels. Expand your gutload see image.
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with, and what is the schedule? ExoTerra Calcium daily, Reptivite multivitamin+D3 once per 15 days (not on 1st and 15th, but planning to move to these days when I'm sure he's fully healthy) Can you post pics of your supplements? They are probably good but this is something I like to double check for people that they are adequate with what is in them. I would suggest a change to repashy versions as their multivitamin does not have added phosphorus like the reptivite does. Let me know if you are interested in this option. Your 1st and 15th plan is correct for the multivitamin but this should start now. Remember dusting all feeders that day lightly.
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long do you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? Hand misting twice/day at recommended times for approximately 5-10min - before lights come on and after lights go off. I also have a Little Dripper which I activate for ~2-4 hours/day. I have witnessed him drinking a few times actually and have video/photos of that if you'd like to see He also seems to enjoy the shower very much. I've also read in several places that they can be taught to drink from standing water or that it's at least good to offer, so he's got a clear glass which is full to the brim, and while I move the dripper on the top of the enclosure, it is commonly made so that it drips into the glass. Fogger/automatic mister are en route and will be set up in the next 2-3 days. So no standing water... this is not recommended for chameleons they respond to moving water and that triggers a drinking response. hopefully you are getting a mistking starter system. This is the way to go and allows you to have more freedom and baby to have an extremely fine mist. Foggers should be cool mist only and can only be used at nights when temps are below 67. The cooler the better for this. I try to aim for no higher that 65 with a fogger.
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? Looks as I believe it's supposed to. Brown on one half, white on the other. No real traces of orange or yellow. No parasite test yet. I do recommend this. The last thing you want is to invest in tons of plants and add real branches to then find out there is a parasite load. Not all parasites are treated and cleaned for in the same way. So ruling this potential risk out is a very good idea.
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. Unfortunately, this little guy/gal came from a big box pet store where husbandry is notorious. I've worked adjacent to exotic animal husbandry and conservation, and could not bear to leave him in the conditions we found him in. So big box does not mean short life... I just want you to know that. Once husbandry is on point and baby is treated medically for the MBD It can live a long healthy life. But the MBD does need a good reptile vet as you will need to supplement baby with liquid calcium to build bone strength faster and stop the progression.

 

[Beman]

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? 4x2x2 Reptibreeze XL Deluxe (mostly screen, with the acrylic front upper panel+LEDs) - the Reptibreeze XL was so hard to source in my area that I had to settle for the Deluxe LED combo. I do not use the red LEDs as I've read they can damage Cham eyes and disrupt sleeping cycles. Perfect you are on point with everything you have learned for this.
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? We were provided with the Fluorescent housing seen in the photo - the bulb is brand new out of box (also provided) and is a Zilla T8 15W 18". There's a chart on the box which indicates the UVB intensity/UV index and the light is arranged so that he's in 2-5uv index while basking. ~8-10" from bulb. He's positioned next to a large window upstairs to receive as much ambient sunlight as possible. Arcadia T5HO should be here this weekend. The basking lamp itself came with the deep dome housing, it's a blue daylight UVB+Basking bulb. Lights on roughly 9AM, off roughly 8PM. Ok this is what I wanted to double check. So UVB needs to be upgraded asap. you want a T5HO fixture and a 5.0 or 6% bulb strength. I only recommend the arcadia ProT5 kit or reptisun brand name. This fixture sitting directly on the cage top you want to then measure down 8-9 inches that is where your highest branches should start to put baby in a 3 UVI level. Unfortunately with that T8 the output they say is not correct. They do not account for the screen in between which reduces the UVI output by about 40%. So you actually have to have a branch 5-6 inches down from the screen to get baby into a 2-3 UVI. Where baby is at right now it is not getting the UVI levels needed to slow down the MBD so it will continue to progress.
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? Awaiting the proper tools to fully measure the enclosure, but the home is kept at 72F and commonly 70F at night. So to fog at night you have to drop your ambient house temp. Basking spot feels warm to the hand and in my absolutely unequivocally expert hand-measuring experience I would say 80F. I've got a shipment with some items coming to incl. the correct measurement devices so I can get accurate readings inside his enclosure, but at the moment he's positioned about 10ft away from our home thermostat which measures Temperature and RH at its location. He's positioned next to a large window upstairs which I've been opening at nighttime to tank the temperature to around 63-65F, as well as provide air flow through the cage. Due to nighttime drops here being around 50F, I close this window at around midnight. So I would not position the cage right next to a window. It is fine being in the room with an open window but right next to a window you will have the exposure influencing temps season to season. Sun coming through a window can drastically increase ambient temp.
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? We live on the Gulf Coast of the US, so daytime RH hovers around 55% and nighttime is generally 70%+. I've got a shipment with some items coming to incl. the correct measurement devices so I can get accurate readings inside his enclosure, but at the moment he's positioned about 10ft away from our home thermostat which measures Temperature and RH at its location. With living in a high ambient humidity level you will want to watch how long you mist in the morning time. You will more than likely have to reduce this or eliminate it all together because you need your daytime ambient level to stay lower. Hot moist air with chameleons can lead to respiratory infections. Really looking for a 40-50% range daytime. Night can be up to 100% with cold temps.
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? Only live plants. Schefflera, Pathos. Bendable branches provided by an acquaintance. The enclosure in total will be updated more this weekend but some things have been surprisingly hard to source in our area. Planning to build wooden upright supports inside the corners this weekend to hold the pathos plants at the top and add more branches in the higher regions. Then another tall growing plant (taking recommendations!) in the bottom with the Schefflera. So for anything wood structure wise... You want to use something like flex seal to totally seal the wood. This will contain VOC's that cut wood can produce which can be harmful for their lungs. But also it is going to keep your structure from degrading. There are lots of ways to attach to a cage. I like the vinyl lattice cut to size and slid in along the sides and into the back panel. then you can secure it to the screen with floral wire (sharps on the outside) or zip ties. This can also help prevent screen climbing which can harm their nails breaking them off as they get larger. Keep in mind flex seal still has to gas off before you can put the structure into the cage.
• Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high-traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? Located in an upstairs office. This is not a high traffic area, but I'm commonly in the room. It is a calm and quiet area of our home. There is a ceiling fan and floor air purifier in the room, both remain on most of the time. Cage is located on a stand ~3ft high, putting the entire 4ft enclosure at ~7ft at the top. He looks down on me from his basking spot and I'm 6ft tall. Sounds great.
• Location - Where are you geographically located? Gulf Coast, USA