Nice looking lay bins ideas?

[bbyoda]

Hi all! I'm shopping around for a laybin for my new chameleon. Her name is Sabine and she's a carpet chameleon. Frank Payne's care sheet says he uses a 5 gallon plastic bin with 6-8 inches of a sand/soil mix for his carpet cham laying bins.

The laybin will be outside of the enclosure and I'll need to be able to clamp a heat lamp to the side. I want something that looks nice because I have to look at it every day in my home office. I'd love it to match my jungle / star wars theme if possible by adding decals to a green or black bin or something.

Kind of striking out on Amazon. I've searched for bins, tubs, wash bins, buckets. I'm probably over thinking this like usual or just using the wrong search terms. Or maybe I need to go somewhere to look at bins in person?

 

[AnamCara]

I use a large talavara flower pot. It's 6 inches deep and 8 inches across. It's very pretty. The first time my female laid she chose a potted plant on the side of her enclosure and some say they like to lay up against something hard like a root ball. When I switched to the pot she laid all the way at the bottom, against the hard bottom of the pot.

 

[AnamCara]

Sorry I skipped the part where you want it out of the enclosure and to be able to clamp a heat lamp. I can't do that with my current setup.

 

[bbyoda]

Sorry I skipped the part where you want it out of the enclosure and to be able to clamp a heat lamp. I can't do that with my current setup.

I could find another solution for that. Flower pots are a good idea to explore!

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

The laybin will be outside of the enclosure

Umm... what if she needs it?

I want something that looks nice because I have to look at it every day in my home office. I'd love it to match my jungle / star wars theme if possible by adding decals to a green or black bin or something.

You may have to do that. I wouldn't know where to start with what someone else thinks looks nice (except Van_&_Alec—make it black )

Kind of striking out on Amazon. I've searched for bins, tubs, wash bins, buckets. I'm probably over thinking this like usual or just using the wrong search terms. Or maybe I need to go somewhere to look at bins in person?

You may need to do that too. I went on a short 'safari' to find the right mister reservoir.
There were a lot of stores all within the same plaza that carried something...
Dollar store, Big Lots, Tarjhee, Wallymart, Home Despot...

 

[bbyoda]

Umm... what if she needs it?


You may have to do that. I wouldn't know where to start with what someone else thinks looks nice (except Van_&_Alec—make it black )


You may need to do that too. I went on a short 'safari' to find the right mister reservoir.
There were a lot of stores all within the same plaza that carried something...
Dollar store, Big Lots, Tarjhee, Wallymart, Home Despot...

If she's really desperate my enclosure is bioactive - and a safe mix of soil and sand. However, Frank Payne does a separate lay bin to keep a better eye on the girls and their eggs. Basically you pull them out during the day when they're about to lay and then put them back at night to sleep. I figured I'd give that a shot but also have the bioactive soil as a fallback option. There really isn't room in the actual enclosure to pop a separate laybin in there. We'll see how it goes...!

 

[AnamCara]

If she's really desperate my enclosure is bioactive - and a safe mix of soil and sand. However, Frank Payne does a separate lay bin to keep a better eye on the girls and their eggs. Basically you pull them out during the day when they're about to lay and then put them back at night to sleep. I figured I'd give that a shot but also have the bioactive soil as a fallback option. There really isn't room in the actual enclosure to pop a separate laybin in there. We'll see how it goes...!

Sometimes they will sleep in the hole they dug. You may know this but if she's digging don't remover her.

 

[bbyoda]

Sometimes they will sleep in the hole they dug. You may know this but if she's digging don't remover her.

Good point!

 

[bbyoda]

Here's what I landed on. It's not as big as one for a Veiled or Panther but that's OK because carpet chameleons are much smaller. I tweaked Sabine's habitat quite a bit so that I can put the laybin in when needed and pull it out when it isn't. Added in more branches, and the plants are growing in nicely now.

 

[MissSkittles]

If you use a mix of play sand and organic soil, you could put a plant in it and keep it in all the time. Just an idea.

 

[bbyoda]

If you use a mix of play sand and organic soil, you could put a plant in it and keep it in all the time. Just an idea.

Hmmmm...what about the bioactive soil underneath it? I feel like that probably needs air circulation too, right?

 

[MissSkittles]

Hmmmm...what about the bioactive soil underneath it? I feel like that probably needs air circulation too, right?

Ohhh…I forgot you’re bioactive. Really you don’t even need a lay bin then. Although they haven’t laid in almost forever, I’m just going to let my girls lay in their bioactive soil.

 

[bbyoda]

Ohhh…I forgot you’re bioactive. Really you don’t even need a lay bin then. Although they haven’t laid in almost forever, I’m just going to let my girls lay in their bioactive soil.

The substrate is a mix of organic soil and play sand but I was worried it's way too deep for her, hence the lay bin. I'm nervous and prepping way in advance because I don't want her getting eggbound.

 

[MissSkittles]

The substrate is a mix of organic soil and play sand but I was worried it's way too deep for her, hence the lay bin. I'm nervous and prepping way in advance because I don't want her getting eggbound.

Oh. Ok. I forget that she’s just a tiny little girl.

 

[bbyoda]

Oh. Ok. I forget that she’s just a tiny little girl.

Yah but at the same time don't they have the entire ground and earth to lay in in the wild?? I guess that's why they like laying next to root balls.

 

[kinyonga]

If she's really desperate my enclosure is bioactive - and a safe mix of soil and sand. However, Frank Payne does a separate lay bin to keep a better eye on the girls and their eggs. Basically you pull them out during the day when they're about to lay and then put them back at night to sleep. I figured I'd give that a shot but also have the bioactive soil as a fallback option. There really isn't room in the actual enclosure to pop a separate laybin in there. We'll see how it goes...!

IMHO it's stressful to keep moving them back and forth until,they lay. I have always kept a small laybin in the cage. When the female starts to dig I would move her to the bigger laybin which is set up in a way that she can live in it until she lays the eggs and then I move her back to the cage after she lays and returns to the branches in the big laybin.

 

[bbyoda]

IMHO it's stressful to keep moving them back and forth until,they lay. I have always kept a small laybin in the cage. When the female starts to dig I would move her to the bigger laybin which is set up in a way that she can live in it until she lays the eggs and then I move her back to the cage after she lays and returns to the branches in the big laybin.

Yeah maybe I should stick with that game plan then...that's originally what I was going to try.