our attempt at a DIY chameleon enclosure
- Thread starter sb714
- Start date
janjan20
Chameleon Enthusiast
Wow, looks pretty darn good and what a handsome little guy Marty is 
If you are open to suggestions, I would ditch the dome light and get a linear uvb T5HO. This will maximize the uvb for the entire length of the enclosure or close to it. Also, what is the light sitting on, screen? If so it will reduce uvb output so you will need to bring a basking branch a little higher up. I would get a solar meter (pricey but worth it) to measure uvb output so you can make sure the branch is in the right area.
I would ditch the eco carpet, once He starts pooping on it the bacteria will flourish. This can cause problems later on even if you think it’s clean enough. Is that a water bowl he is standing in? Lastly, I would add more horizontal branches/vines that span the length of the enclosure.
Sorry, to bombard you! Again, nice work and welcome!
If you are open to suggestions, I would ditch the dome light and get a linear uvb T5HO. This will maximize the uvb for the entire length of the enclosure or close to it. Also, what is the light sitting on, screen? If so it will reduce uvb output so you will need to bring a basking branch a little higher up. I would get a solar meter (pricey but worth it) to measure uvb output so you can make sure the branch is in the right area.
I would ditch the eco carpet, once He starts pooping on it the bacteria will flourish. This can cause problems later on even if you think it’s clean enough. Is that a water bowl he is standing in? Lastly, I would add more horizontal branches/vines that span the length of the enclosure.
Sorry, to bombard you!
Again, nice work and welcome! 
Kaizen
Chameleon Enthusiast
Well done on the Cham mansion! It’s beautiful and Marty’s going to be living the dream! As @janjan20 said, if you are interested in some husbandry upgrades to go along with your awesome caging upgrade, please let us know. Otherwise, very cool of you to treat your little guy like this!
Tihshho
Established Member
Nice DIY! I was looking into something like this with the off the shelf wire rack system a few months back. One thing I could never really figure out was how to mount the screen tightly enough without zipties causing too much strain, looks like you found something that worked!
Have you noticed much if any feeder escapees?
Have you noticed much if any feeder escapees?
sb714
New Member
Wow, looks pretty darn good and what a handsome little guy Marty is
If you are open to suggestions, I would ditch the dome light and get a linear uvb T5HO. This will maximize the uvb for the entire length of the enclosure or close to it. Also, what is the light sitting on, screen? If so it will reduce uvb output so you will need to bring a basking branch a little higher up. I would get a solar meter (pricey but worth it) to measure uvb output so you can make sure the branch is in the right area.
I would ditch the eco carpet, once He starts pooping on it the bacteria will flourish. This can cause problems later on even if you think it’s clean enough. Is that a water bowl he is standing in? Lastly, I would add more horizontal branches/vines that span the length of the enclosure.
Sorry, to bombard you!
oh no, you’re good. always open to suggestions. i actually have the hood light you’re referring to. I have that for UVB and the dome light has a daylight balb in it. sorry, I should of posted a pic of that too lol
The screen the light is sitting on is like a stiff coated mesh i got from Home Depot. also, the big bowl isn’t meant for a water bowl. I have a mister installed that mist his cage every 3hrs on a timer. also have lights on timer as well. the bowl was meant to be like a mini swimming pool for him, just to be extra/extra decor lol I leave about a centimeter of water in there n he’ll dip his feet in every once in a while. And i’ll definitely look into adding diff/more foliage and diff liner. thank you so much!
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sb714
New Member
Thank you! installing the screen is definitely a 2 person job and takes a lot of finesse as too much pressure can make the screen break. we were trying to find a way to do it without the zip ties simply for looks but if you can get over the look of it then the zip ties are fairly good and easy to use. No feeder escapes...yet, but Marty has been very picky lately, he’s been on a dubia and superworm diet and I have a special bowl meant for dubias so they can’t escape(ordered from amazon). No problems since. hope this helps! n thank you again
