Planter box bottom Vs potted plants. New vivarium question

[tylerx700]

Hello everyone! first post here. Ive had my Veiled chameleons(1.1) for just about a year now. its about time i upgrade their enclosure.
I recently scored an old bird cage, roughly 4x3x5, And am planning to make it my next vivarium project. Since it has just large bars on the sides i will be putting screening around on the inside.

My only problem is I am debating on if i should use the metal tray in the bottom for potted plants all through it.
OR
I'm considering going all out, building a planter box to sit in the bottom, as well as building a complete background with aquarium spray foam, smaller potted plants, and even a waterfall feature.

Yea the second option will take much more effort, time, and money. But my real question is will it work ok? I've seen a few people say it is just better to do potted over actually planting for reasons such as feeding issues, which mine are tong trained and have no issue "hunting" them when loose in the cage.

Thanks in advance!!
any tips will help

 

[jpowell86]

Hello everyone! first post here. Ive had my Veiled chameleons(1.1) for just about a year now. its about time i upgrade their enclosure.
I recently scored an old bird cage, roughly 4x3x5, And am planning to make it my next vivarium project. Since it has just large bars on the sides i will be putting screening around on the inside.

My only problem is I am debating on if i should use the metal tray in the bottom for potted plants all through it.
OR
I'm considering going all out, building a planter box to sit in the bottom, as well as building a complete background with aquarium spray foam, smaller potted plants, and even a waterfall feature.

Yea the second option will take much more effort, time, and money. But my real question is will it work ok? I've seen a few people say it is just better to do potted over actually planting for reasons such as feeding issues, which mine are tong trained and have no issue "hunting" them when loose in the cage.

Thanks in advance!!
any tips will help

Hello and welcome to the forums!! Glad to hear that you are upgrading the enclosure for you veiled. I would build seperate planting areas inside the cage or even just leave them in pots and use the metal tray for drainage. Can you post a pic of the cage? I think a foam background would be awesome!!

 

[Gwendalyn.brock]

I think the second options sounds amazing but I would leave out the waterfall unless you are willing to clean/ sanitize it everyday. If you feed them with tongs there should be no issues with worrying that your cham cannot find its food but if you let the crickets loose and are worried about hunting I would just keep an eye on the cham or use a feeding cup.

 

[tylerx700]

Hello and welcome to the forums!! Glad to hear that you are upgrading the enclosure for you veiled. I would build seperate planting areas inside the cage or even just leave them in pots and use the metal tray for drainage. Can you post a pic of the cage? I think a foam background would be awesome!!

Each side unbolts so i can individually wrap each side. It also will be great to get actual bird cage perch holders on the sides to hold different branches or vines!

sorry for the bad pictures. The bark is what im thinking of using as parts of the background.
and you can see the bottom of the cage inside it.

Thats a great idea to just leave the plants potted. make it easier in case i needed to change the soil for some reason. I think the metal tray may be to small to use as the drainage with the planter box in. i may come up with something inside the bottom of the planter box that drains it out the bottom into a separate tray on the side? still working on that part

I think the second options sounds amazing but I would leave out the waterfall unless you are willing to clean/ sanitize it everyday. If you feed them with tongs there should be no issues with worrying that your cham cannot find its food but if you let the crickets loose and are worried about hunting I would just keep an eye on the cham or use a feeding cup.

I've had waterfalls before and the don't seem to get to dirty. and i use only filtered water so there is no calcium build up like tap water causes. Is there something about waterfalls im unaware of that is not good for chameleons? It wouldn't be like and intense flow over an edge type fall but more of a stream/trickle down the backdrop.

 

[tylerx700]

Oh also just remeasured. Its only 36"x25.5"x48"

 

[Gwendalyn.brock]

Each side unbolts so i can individually wrap each side. It also will be great to get actual bird cage perch holders on the sides to hold different branches or vines!

sorry for the bad pictures. The bark is what im thinking of using as parts of the background.
and you can see the bottom of the cage inside it.

Thats a great idea to just leave the plants potted. make it easier in case i needed to change the soil for some reason. I think the metal tray may be to small to use as the drainage with the planter box in. i may come up with something inside the bottom of the planter box that drains it out the bottom into a separate tray on the side? still working on that part



I've had waterfalls before and the don't seem to get to dirty. and i use only filtered water so there is no calcium build up like tap water causes. Is there something about waterfalls im unaware of that is not good for chameleons? It wouldn't be like and intense flow over an edge type fall but more of a stream/trickle down the backdrop.

Waterfalls can build up bacteria but with filtered water, you may not have that issue. If you know it's clean and your cham drinks out of it, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Decadancin]

Is that for both chameleons? I would definitely suggest separate enclosures if that were the case. That is an O.K. size for one, but if you were to house them together (and I wouldn't find many here who would recommend it) you would need a much bigger enclosure. If not the female would be constantly harrassed by the male and they possibly could compete for food and territory. As for water features, I don't recommend them unless they are easily cleaned. That goes for almost all the items inside. The easier it is to clean and maintain the better!

 

[oneillchameleons]

How wide are the spaces between the bars? If female I'd be concerned about her getting stuck in them than anything else. Looks like they're small enough for a male though but I'd keep an eye on him for a few days to make sure.

 

[tylerx700]

Is that for both chameleons? I would definitely suggest separate enclosures if that were the case. That is an O.K. size for one, but if you were to house them together (and I wouldn't find many here who would recommend it) you would need a much bigger enclosure. If not the female would be constantly harrassed by the male and they possibly could compete for food and territory. As for water features, I don't recommend them unless they are easily cleaned. That goes for almost all the items inside. The easier it is to clean and maintain the better!

It will just be for my male. and put my female in the males old one which ill just revamp for her. but its a basic mesh cage. probably 1.5'x1.5x3
Okay ill rethink the waterfall then. or maybe keep it super simple just so its easy to clean and a constant sorce of dripping water. I have the monsoon mister system ill be using for it as well

How wide are the spaces between the bars? If female I'd be concerned about her getting stuck in them than anything else. Looks like they're small enough for a male though but I'd keep an eye on him for a few days to make sure.

I will be putting screening on the inside so they actually wont even have access to the metal bars.

 

[urawrath]

This is what i did with mine, i fully planted to bottom with a ficus and pothos. First picture is when I got the cage and then how I changed it if this helps.
Goodluck
p.s. I can take better picutres if you need i turned his lights back on to take these. oops

 

[tylerx700]

This is what i did with mine, i fully planted to bottom with a ficus and pothos.

Oh wow that looks really good!! Did you just use plexy glass all the way down? how deep is your dirt, is it potting soil topped with coconut fiber and do you have a drainage system set up in it, if so how? thanks. I think i am going to rig up a bracket to hang my bar lights over. as well as a few on the side like yours.

 

[urawrath]

I have tinted plexi glass halfway up and across the bottom and sealed it together then I have about 7inches of dirt then 2inches of coconut fiber. Not I don't have a drainage system I just done overwater too much all allow the dirt to dry some before watering down there I mostly mist the top half of the cage and the bottom half every other day to water the plants and moisten the dirt. For the lights I just used eye hooks and string

 

[tylerx700]

I have tinted plexi glass halfway up and across the bottom and sealed it together then I have about 7inches of dirt then 2inches of coconut fiber. Not I don't have a drainage system I just done overwater too much all allow the dirt to dry some before watering down there I mostly mist the top half of the cage and the bottom half every other day to water the plants and moisten the dirt. For the lights I just used eye hooks and string

Okay cool. I think i'll be fine with out a drainage too since i'll have a lot of dirt as well.

I'll post some pics here when im done to show you what i came up with!

 

[gotwqqd]

I have plants in about 3.5 inches of soil mixed with spaghnum and vermiculite ..... This is covered with Mexican pebbles

It sustains the plants yet is very dry to the touch except for short time after watering

 

[KrinsCham]

A tip on screening the bird cage, take it apart and screen each side individually. You can also generally lower the wire bottom so its sits just inches above metal tray giving you more space. I used my metal tray and lined it to funnel the water to a drain so that I would have good drainage. Having a soil bottom increases your chances of bacteria growth, it is easier to keep cage clean without soil. I have had soil in the past and it always becomes a problem without neurotic cleaning habits. I have a couple large plants in 15gal pots, and then a wire plant hangers for the other plants. I have not lined the cage with anything but screen but plan on lining the back of the cage with polywall a sanitary wall paneling material that doesn't mold or absorb water. I got it at homedepot it was less expensive than buying plexiglass and easier to cut. I left the top of the cage just wire because mine was not wide enough for an escape, plus the lights are mounted to it. I don't have many insects running around as I feed by tongs or I use the bowls that the bird cage had on the sides already. Mosts insects can't get out of those bowls that is unless the cricket just jumps straight up.
Things I would change are only the things that make it more difficult to clean, I mounted manzanita branches all around my plants and now have a tough time moving the plants around. If I want to take the plants out I will need to start the whole design over. Other than that the cage works great and there is a lot of living space. Cheers good luck!

 

[jajeanpierre]

The cage bottom tray will rust eventually. Depending on who manufactured the cage, it was probably originally coated with a powdered finish, which is pretty tough.

I hope you have a cage for each chameleon.

 

[Carlton]

Each side unbolts so i can individually wrap each side. It also will be great to get actual bird cage perch holders on the sides to hold different branches or vines!

sorry for the bad pictures. The bark is what im thinking of using as parts of the background.
and you can see the bottom of the cage inside it.

Thats a great idea to just leave the plants potted. make it easier in case i needed to change the soil for some reason. I think the metal tray may be to small to use as the drainage with the planter box in. i may come up with something inside the bottom of the planter box that drains it out the bottom into a separate tray on the side? still working on that part



I've had waterfalls before and the don't seem to get to dirty. and i use only filtered water so there is no calcium build up like tap water causes. Is there something about waterfalls im unaware of that is not good for chameleons? It wouldn't be like and intense flow over an edge type fall but more of a stream/trickle down the backdrop.

The problem with waterfalls isn't the calcium buildup, its the risk that bits of leaves and bark keep dropping into it, that your cham's fecal matter gets into it, or that loose feeders drown in the basin. All these things will contaminate the water very quickly, so unless you are dedicated to cleaning the thing every day or so it can do more harm than good. And, unless you install a bio filter as part of the waterfall it won't keep itself clean. Your cham may not learn to drink out of the basin but if it does there's your problem.

 

[Carlton]

Hello everyone! first post here. Ive had my Veiled chameleons(1.1) for just about a year now. its about time i upgrade their enclosure.
I recently scored an old bird cage, roughly 4x3x5, And am planning to make it my next vivarium project. Since it has just large bars on the sides i will be putting screening around on the inside.

My only problem is I am debating on if i should use the metal tray in the bottom for potted plants all through it.
OR
I'm considering going all out, building a planter box to sit in the bottom, as well as building a complete background with aquarium spray foam, smaller potted plants, and even a waterfall feature.

Yea the second option will take much more effort, time, and money. But my real question is will it work ok? I've seen a few people say it is just better to do potted over actually planting for reasons such as feeding issues, which mine are tong trained and have no issue "hunting" them when loose in the cage.

Thanks in advance!!
any tips will help

I've tried both planted cage floors and potted plants. Most of the time I ended up liking individually potted plants for several reasons. If the plants are large or tall such as Ficus alli, it was easier to keep them stable and anchored with a heavy deep pot rather than a shallow cage bottom tray. Sometimes I want to move my plants or swap them out for some time outdoors (to treat pests or give them a lighting boost). It was easier to remove or add individual plants at any time.

IMHO, cage bottom plantings would seem to work better for groups of pygmy species.

 

[tylerx700]

The problem with waterfalls isn't the calcium buildup, its the risk that bits of leaves and bark keep dropping into it, that your cham's fecal matter gets into it, or that loose feeders drown in the basin. All these things will contaminate the water very quickly, so unless you are dedicated to cleaning the thing every day or so it can do more harm than good. And, unless you install a bio filter as part of the waterfall it won't keep itself clean. Your cham may not learn to drink out of the basin but if it does there's your problem.

Alright I'll probably just go without a waterfall then... I know I could keep it clean because I spend a lot of time every day with my animals. But unless I can think of a way to filter it well then I don't think it would be worth risking my chameleons health.
And thanks for the advice Carlton! I think I've decided to go with keeping them potted.