New guy with cage question

jomalo1970

jomalo1970

Member
I am new to the hobby and new to the forum, so hello to everybody. Although I am new to chameleons, I have kept lizards and snakes off and on for the past 40 years. I did quite a bit of reading and research on keeping chams before making a spur-of-the-moment purchase of a grumpy little veiled at Petco. I bought him a medium Reptibreeze cage and set it up with multiple branches and fake foliage for him to hide in. He has been doing really good for the month or so I have had him and has been eating really well. I feed him about 7-10 crickets daily (dusted with repticalcium NO D3) and 2 or 3 superworms each week, also dusted. I live in Florida and our humidity lately has been staggering...but I still mist at least twice daily. Needless to say, he has grown like a little grumpy weed. Anyway...on to my question....

I decided it was time to upgrade his enclosure to a nice 2x2x4 screen cage. I initially bought another Reptibreeze from Petsmart but it came destroyed, as did the replacement they sent. I got my money back and decided to buy one from FLChams since DIY was out of stock and I did not have the funds for a Dragon Strand. I read multiple reviews on FLChams and felt comfortable buying one of their cages as it seemed to be a good solid middle ground between the cheap Reptibreeze and the high-priced Dragon Strand or custom cages. Unfortunately, after waiting about two weeks for my new cage to arrive...I received a Reptibreeze. Luckily, it was not destroyed like the previous two, but it was also not what I thought I was buying. The panels are slightly warped, the door doesn't fit well and the whole thing is just kind of flimsy. Mike explained via text that he was having supply issues for his regular cages and apologized for my displeasure about receiving a Reptibreeze instead. It is not worth my time or effort to send it back at this point, as my cham needs it. However, I am still looking for a good mid-range cage that won't break my wallet. Other than those I already mentioned, are there any other decent cage builders out there?
 
jomalo1970 said:
I am new to the hobby and new to the forum, so hello to everybody. Although I am new to chameleons, I have kept lizards and snakes off and on for the past 40 years. I did quite a bit of reading and research on keeping chams before making a spur-of-the-moment purchase of a grumpy little veiled at Petco. I bought him a medium Reptibreeze cage and set it up with multiple branches and fake foliage for him to hide in. He has been doing really good for the month or so I have had him and has been eating really well. I feed him about 7-10 crickets daily (dusted with repticalcium NO D3) and 2 or 3 superworms each week, also dusted. I live in Florida and our humidity lately has been staggering...but I still mist at least twice daily. Needless to say, he has grown like a little grumpy weed. Anyway...on to my question....

I decided it was time to upgrade his enclosure to a nice 2x2x4 screen cage. I initially bought another Reptibreeze from Petsmart but it came destroyed, as did the replacement they sent. I got my money back and decided to buy one from FLChams since DIY was out of stock and I did not have the funds for a Dragon Strand. I read multiple reviews on FLChams and felt comfortable buying one of their cages as it seemed to be a good solid middle ground between the cheap Reptibreeze and the high-priced Dragon Strand or custom cages. Unfortunately, after waiting about two weeks for my new cage to arrive...I received a Reptibreeze. Luckily, it was not destroyed like the previous two, but it was also not what I thought I was buying. The panels are slightly warped, the door doesn't fit well and the whole thing is just kind of flimsy. Mike explained via text that he was having supply issues for his regular cages and apologized for my displeasure about receiving a Reptibreeze instead. It is not worth my time or effort to send it back at this point, as my cham needs it. However, I am still looking for a good mid-range cage that won't break my wallet. Other than those I already mentioned, are there any other decent cage builders out there?
Click to expand...
Build one, if you have time it’s easy. And some knowledge
 
Honestly all of the cages are a little flimsy, they are made to be built and never moved lol. I have yet to see a cage that doors works perfectly all that have seen at least need a little lift or pull to open and close the doors etc... on the other hand you do get what you pay for when it comes to materials that won’t rust or fall apart immediately ie screen comes out or screws strip out during assembly. Iv found that cages that have a few solids sides seem to be way more sturdy.
 
Built this cage and it has worked really well for 3.5 years.
24x24x72 the front door opens all the way so easy to access
240926
 
Thanks for all of the suggestions! I may break down and just build one... Or just bite the bullet and save to get a dragon strand. I'm not so pressed for time now that I have the reptibreeze I paid way too much for. In for a penny, in for a pound I guess.
 
jomalo1970 said:
Thanks for all of the suggestions! I may break down and just build one... Or just bite the bullet and save to get a dragon strand. I'm not so pressed for time now that I have the reptibreeze I paid way too much for. In for a penny, in for a pound I guess.
Click to expand...


I recently built a 2x2x4 for my veiled (he’s a little over a year) and made it bioactive. All in all I’m around 100$ into it with everything. But depending on how handy you are and how comfortable you are with tools it’s fairly easy to do. I used a miter saw and a nailer and that was really it
 
jomalo1970 said:
Thanks for all of the suggestions! I may break down and just build one... Or just bite the bullet and save to get a dragon strand. I'm not so pressed for time now that I have the reptibreeze I paid way too much for. In for a penny, in for a pound I guess.
Click to expand...
Hello and welcome to the forums! If you don't mind me asking, how much did you have to pay for the reptibreeze xlrg? That seems odd that they just sent you that without notifying you first!

For what it's worth, I have the same cage for my cham, and it works fine. You can still setup the interior really nicely, and just be gentle with the doors. I only paid $60 for mine on sale and I've had it for about six months. So far so good.

Here's a pic of mine for reference.
 

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DIY cages had their 2x2x4 back in stock. It is better then the reptibreeze. But the keepers line of dragon strand are soooooo much better and you can not beat the dragon ledges and drip pans. If you don’t want to build and want something that will last then the DS is worth the extra money.
 
Rst_Cham said:
Hello and welcome to the forums! If you don't mind me asking, how much did you have to pay for the reptibreeze xlrg? That seems odd that they just sent you that without notifying you first!

For what it's worth, I have the same cage for my cham, and it works fine. You can still setup the interior really nicely, and just be gentle with the doors. I only paid $60 for mine on sale and I've had it for about six months. So far so good.

Here's a pic of mine for reference.
Click to expand...

All in all, it totaled to $159. 76. $115 for the cage, $35 shipping, and $9.76 tax. They are only $105 with free 2 day shipping from Amazon. Regardless, I made the purchase believing I was getting a cage with a fixed top panel. I got a Reptibreeze instead. Had I known I would be getting the Reptibreeze, I would have bought fun Amazon. Anyway, it's water under the bridge and I am just looking for my next upgrade, as it were.
 
jomalo1970 said:
All in all, it totaled to $159. 76. $115 for the cage, $35 shipping, and $9.76 tax. They are only $105 with free 2 day shipping from Amazon. Regardless, I made the purchase believing I was getting a cage with a fixed top panel. I got a Reptibreeze instead. Had I known I would be getting the Reptibreeze, I would have bought fun Amazon. Anyway, it's water under the bridge and I am just looking for my next upgrade, as it were.
Click to expand...
Ouch! Well, you have a way better attitude about it then I would have, lol
 
I guess. I'm not happy, but there's nothing I can do and no sense dwelling on it. If that's the worst thing that happens with my Cham keeping adventures then I count myself lucky. I now know at least one vendor to avoid in the future and I am glad it was just a cage and not a high dollar lizard that needs vetting or died shortly after receipt. If they want to sell those cages, that is fine but they should change their site to reflect what they are actually selling. I doubt they could sell many of those at that price though. Anyway, I think a Dragon Strand is in my future now since I'm not really good with building stuff. The more I think about it, the more I feel that.
 
jomalo1970 said:
I guess. I'm not happy, but there's nothing I can do and no sense dwelling on it. If that's the worst thing that happens with my Cham keeping adventures then I count myself lucky. I now know at least one vendor to avoid in the future and I am glad it was just a cage and not a high dollar lizard that needs vetting or died shortly after receipt. If they want to sell those cages, that is fine but they should change their site to reflect what they are actually selling. I doubt they could sell many of those at that price though. Anyway, I think a Dragon Strand is in my future now since I'm not really good with building stuff. The more I think about it, the more I feel that.
Click to expand...
Welome! Right there with you...ordered an XL reptibreeze by mail to replace the medium- it came a little dinged up (still completely functional) but I needed it so I kept it. Installed some dragon strand ledges, which are great and bring the enclosure waaay up. Built a rolling cart to size to hold it (my carpentry skills and tools are pretty rudimentary) and I'm satisfied. There comes a point when you reach saturation and that place is different for everyone. Chams are a black hole for money, right? Anyway...gotta run to the post office to pick up some bugs now, lol ;)
 
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