over crowded cage?

[dectr6]

Do you think you can have too many plants in a veilds cage? Not knowing exactly what the veilds natural habitat in Yemen looks like, do you think they prefer a very crowded cage as far as live plants are concerned? My cage is about 44 inches tall and the bottom 2/3 is VERY dense with plants and the upper 1/3 has an abundant supply of natural vines and sticks. Just wondering if I'm overdoing it. Sorry, but I don't have any pics to post.
David

 

[Justin Carl]

well if its a male it cant be to crowded. he will bump his head on everything.

 

[BIGGUN]

Does anyone have a pic of a cage that they'd consider to be at the limit of plants?

Kevin

 

[dectr6]

good idea , Kevin!

 

[Kent67]

Not knowing exactly what the veilds natural habitat in Yemen looks like

Ever been to So. Cal.? Kinda reminds me of the natural areas around here. Some areas where the trees are sparse and areas of dense brush and trees along the rivers. And veileds are found in both. From the pictures I've seen, it seems like most adults were found rather high up, in mature acacia or similar trees. So, think tree-top areas. not too dense, but certainly lots of branches and leaves.

 

[dectr6]

Well, I've never been to S. California, but You've given me a pretty good idea. I may have too much in my cage. Thanks

 

[dectr6]

Kent, Maybe when your taking some pics of your chams, you could include a few of your cages.

 

[Kent67]

Cages....Yeah, I don't take many pictures of cages and I almost hesitate to post some of them. After this much time and keeping different species....to explain it best, there's just some intuition involved. For instance, with smaller chams, like my sub-adult Jackson's, the cage is pretty big and very well planted. I think juvenile animals don't live as high as adults in most species so I give the young ones more of a brushy environment. When they get bigger I think more tree-top habitat for anything as big as or bigger than say.... Jackson's or Fischer's? Indoor cages for adult veileds and panthers are not all that nice to look at honestly. Usually just one plant that reaches almost to the top of the cage and fills in a lot of the vertical space within the cage plus some dead branches for climbing. Right now I have an adult male veiled and an adult male panther who take turns free-ranging on a potted tree I bring in while the temps are too low to be outside because I'm short a cage. Again this goes back to the intuition thing, both of these guys are solid and won't have any ill effects from moving around. Oh, and btw while they seem very functional, I hate hate hate how fake Biovines look and don't use them. Dead branches, live plants. Consider the age and size of the chameleon being kept in it, and adjust density of foliage accordingly. I prefer Schefflera and don't have a lot of luck with Ficus unless they're outside. I've heard the frequent watering is why I kill Ficus indoors. I think I'll have some nice sun this weekend so I'll try to get some good cage pics then.

 

[davemailcall]

I've got 4 plants in my cage. I have three pothos. They are medium sized. One hangs from the roof of the cage, the other is mounted on the back right corner. The third pothos is on the floor of the cage, and stands about 30inches high. Its got a post in the center to keep the vines up. The fourth plant is a weird benjamina plant. Its about 3 and a half feet tall. Ficus are extremely hard for me to find around here so I don't have one.

I also had a rubber tree in there. Good size one too. I eventually pulled it because a dense jungle of plants was limited the growth of all the ones sitting on the floor. Not enough light was reaching them.

I let Clyde roam on the rubber plant from time to time, but its not in the cage. More plants is good, just watch them and make sure they can get the resources they need and aren't competing against each other. My benjamina lost all the limbs on the lower half because of the rubber plant. But its still nice!

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Does anyone have a pic of a cage that they'd consider to be at the limit of plants?

Kevin

I think this is quite good for a male veiled.
(it's mine! )

All kidding aside...I do like the way this 2'x2'x4' enclosure is planted.
Very open at the top for basking and UVB. Much denser in the middle and bottom for shade/security.
My male Veiled utilizes the entire habitat...and always sleeps deep in the foliage toward the back.

-Brad

 

[dectr6]

Mine actually is quite a bit denser than yours brad. He does use the entire habitat though, and like yours, sleeps very deep in the bottom part. Mine is completely open at the top except for all the vines I have. I may need to do a little thinning tomorrow. Thanks for the reply. David

 

[summoner12]

Try making a barrier of foliage. I have a ficus in the middle that reaches to the top of the cage. Then I have vines running all around and over the ficus tree. From the top of the cage I hang fake stuff along the sides to kind of create a barrier, this makes Fred safe... well I can only assume.

 

[summoner12]

oops double post