Parrot cage as a terrarium?

[JaysonDuque83]

I was thinking of buying an older parrot cage and modify it into a terrarium. I was just wondering what you guys thought of that idea? thanks.

 

[Metric]

You need to be careful with the spacing of the bars, if they're wide enough for the cham to get it's head through, you may need to wrap aluminum mesh around the entirety of the cage, also to make sure feeders don't escape.

Pictures would help.

 

[Olimpia]

Go for it. I used to use a huge ferret cage, and other members on here use parrot cages. There's nothing wrong with them

Edit - the gap thing is a good point. Keep that in mind. But it's easy to attach mesh/screen to the bars with some zipties.

 

[Syn]

It would probably be easier to get a screen cage, but if you are handy, go for it.

It will probably need modifications, though, especially if you are in a dry area.

 

[JaysonDuque83]

yeh, i was gonna put some mesh around the cage, and use cut up shower curtains to put on the sides and back, to create for better humidity.

 

[VeiledOwner87]

yeh, i was gonna put some mesh around the cage, and use cut up shower curtains to put on the sides and back, to create for better humidity.

this would be a fine solution. if you are going to use shower cutrains for any reason, make sure you buy ones that are meldew and mold resistant.

what kind of chameleon are we talking about anyways? bird cages turned into terrariums are great, and some keepers use large ones for bigger species like parsons and mellers.

 

[JaysonDuque83]

I have 2 panther's.. I am going to put in some sort of divider in the middle so i can house both of them. Thanks for all the ideas everyone..

 

[eisentrauti]

I can't believe what I read here ! Chameleons have lost their tongues because of those cages when they were trying to shoot a prey outside it !
Put some aluminium or pvc screen outside, without it, it's pure luck if your chameleon won't get massive problems !

 

[Texas Panther Man]

My question is why? A good quality parrot cage is going to set u back alot of $$$. I paid over a grand for my macaws cage. You can pick up 2 screen cham cages for less than 200 shipped. You wont have to do any retrofitting and jerry rigging of the cage to make it work either. And no worries about escaping feeders with a screen cage. I f you have an extra macaw cage laying around I could see using it possibly but otherwise your spending more $$ for a cage that wasnt designed for the animal your putting in it. JMPO.

 

[sandrachameleon]

I know someone who uses a large bird cage with complete success. Obviously, he mostly cup feeds.

The chances of getting its tongue hurt by the bars is very very minimal (they are adept at shooting around branches and bars, and most people dont have a lot of bugs travelling around outside indoor cages). Far more likely to harm toenails on a mesh cage.

 

[eisentrauti]

I know someone who uses a large bird cage with complete success. Obviously, he mostly cup feeds.

The chances of getting its tongue hurt by the bars is very very minimal (they are adept at shooting around branches and bars, and most people dont have a lot of bugs travelling around outside indoor cages). Far more likely to harm toenails on a mesh cage.

And I know people where the chameleons lost their tongue, just because of the bad construction of such a cage. The name is programm, it's for parrots not for chameleons.
To compete messing or other metall grills with branches from plants, which are very flexible doesn't reflect the features of those completely different materials. And as everybody knows, chameleons love flies, and I dont know many households which are flyless... A single one in a bad angular is enough to cause massive problems or in the worst case the amputation of the tongue. I don't see the point why to risk this even when the chances are minimal

 

[VeiledOwner87]

And I know people where the chameleons lost their tongue, just because of the bad construction of such a cage. The name is programm, it's for parrots not for chameleons.
To compete messing or other metall grills with branches from plants, which are very flexible doesn't reflect the features of those completely different materials. And as everybody knows, chameleons love flies, and I dont know many households which are flyless... A single one in a bad angular is enough to cause massive problems or in the worst case the amputation of the tongue. I don't see the point why to risk this even when the chances are minimal

i didnt know of this, but regardless, the smart thing would do would obviously screen it up anyways. first thing that came to mine, was escaping feeders, so not screening a bird cage with 1/2-1'' spaces in the bars wouldnt be a smart thing too do, upon the tounge risk, it'd be easy in some cases for the cham to escape?, i dont know why one wouldnt screen it up in the first place

 

[Syn]

I dont know many households which are flyless...

It depends on the area, really. My house never has flies. Mosquitoes, on the other hand... when it rains they "pour" into the house. However, it's different for everyone. My house is probably the exception.

 

[eisentrauti]

i didnt know of this, but regardless, the smart thing would do would obviously screen it up anyways. first thing that came to mine, was escaping feeders, so not screening a bird cage with 1/2-1'' spaces in the bars wouldnt be a smart thing too do, upon the tounge risk, it'd be easy in some cases for the cham to escape?, i dont know why one wouldnt screen it up in the first place

Well, if you cup feed everything the spaces wont be a problem but as I mentioned before, it's made for parrots. Not for chameleons. Like aquariums are made for fish and not for Rhampholeons.
To be honest I cant understand why not useing screen cages everywhere in the US. They are so cheap and from what I heard the ones from LLL are good quality too. So why make compromisses while the cheap way is the good way in this case.
If the money for the cage isnt there it's not a good idea to keep chameleons. The following costs are high too.