Question about outdoor enclosure idea

[twatts704]

I have been talking to a friend about helping me build an outdoor enclosure for my chameleons (panthers). We have all the supplies and ideas but am wanting to make sure it will work the way I want it to. Now I know that housing two or more chameleons in most cases is always going to be frowned upon but I am not talking about housing them permenantly.

I have a secret garden that is gated off from the rest of the back yard behind our garage apartment. We grow watermelon, strawberries, carrots, etc. My idea is to build an enclosure over the entire garden which I am guesstimating the dimensions are 15x20x10. I will meassure out entirely again tomorrow as well as post pictures. But if I were to build this over the garden with some trees in there and ropes going across the entire thing and equipped with a misting system to cover the whole thing, do you think it would be possible to use it to put both my chams in there together to soak up some sun during the day time for a couple of hours?

 

[ibdragons]

I would only do it under close supervision separate when u leave , even though they can tolerate each next to each other in separate cages , together in the same enclosure they might go at each other , one of them can get hurt. Also make sure all the plants in there are on the chameleon safe plant list.i would put a screen barrier between them . Good luck.

 

[laurie]

Just a couple questions, are your panthers the same sex? If it is 2 males most likely they will fight and one could get hurt. If they are male and female, it is likely they will breed. If there is 2 females they may get along or one could bully the other, and cause problems, like not eating, drinking, etc.

Last question, how are you going to water& harvest your garden with the chams over them?

 

[twatts704]

Just a couple questions, are your panthers the same sex? If it is 2 males most likely they will fight and one could get hurt. If they are male and female, it is likely they will breed. If there is 2 females they may get along or one could bully the other, and cause problems, like not eating, drinking, etc.

Last question, how are you going to water& harvest your garden with the chams over them?

The garden has been a "wild" garden over the past couple of years just producing what it can without much help from us. It is a thought to just uproot all of them and plant nothing but trees in there.

I also house a male ambanja and a female ambilobe. The enclosure I am talking about making is a walk in enclosure. The watering system will be rigged through my already established sprinkler system throughout the front and back yard. I will have a seperate system set up to go off only on these misting systems that will go throughout the entire enclosures with a controlled pressure. I understand the concern for both of them finding each other and the possible concern of them hurting one another but since it is so hot right now in Texas I don't plan on leaving them alone unsupervised. Also I am equipped and setup with a laying bin in my females cage and was debating whether or not I should set up 3-4 different bins in this outside enclosure too.

I will take pictures of where I want to put it tomorrow to give y'all a better idea.

 

[DeremensisBlue]

15x20x10 feet?!?! That is the size of the cage you are building?! If that is the case then you have a heck of a lot of space to work with. Just make two 4x4x6 cages and they will be very happy. If you build a walk in enclosure of the dimensions you quoted you will be lucky to see a two panthers in there (unless they are tame) and, unless you hand feed you will lose the ability to monitor their food intake.

That said, a walk-in that big would be downright awesome!!!

As for two panthers
Male/male: even though it is a big space they will find each other and fight. But if you plant it right, the loser will be able to get away. You just have to check every day that the loser is not being bullied. Make sure you have that time.
Female/female: you are okay
Male/Female: you will get mating, she will lay; if she lays outdoors then you have to be lucky to catch her.

Using this enclosure for daytime use only would be problematic only in that you have to find them.

But all this is if I understood your dimensions correctly. I have constructed huge walk-in enclosures and the dynamic of chameleon behavior is very different from individual cages.
Bill

 

[twatts704]

15x20x10 feet?!?! That is the size of the cage you are building?! If that is the case then you have a heck of a lot of space to work with. Just make two 4x4x6 cages and they will be very happy. If you build a walk in enclosure of the dimensions you quoted you will be lucky to see a two panthers in there (unless they are tame) and, unless you hand feed you will lose the ability to monitor their food intake.

That said, a walk-in that big would be downright awesome!!!

As for two panthers
Male/male: even though it is a big space they will find each other and fight. But if you plant it right, the loser will be able to get away. You just have to check every day that the loser is not being bullied. Make sure you have that time.
Female/female: you are okay
Male/Female: you will get mating, she will lay; if she lays outdoors then you have to be lucky to catch her.

Using this enclosure for daytime use only would be problematic only in that you have to find them.

But all this is if I understood your dimensions correctly. I have constructed huge walk-in enclosures and the dynamic of chameleon behavior is very different from individual cages.
Bill

The dimensions are correct and thank you for your feed back. It is something that I will think about and consider before moving forward.

 

[twatts704]

This is the area that I am talking about putting.. could also do two seperate walk in enclosures too.

 

[voodoochild863]

I keep a single male veiled in an extremely large enclosure. I don't see him every day bc it's so easy to lose him in there. I have planted a variety of flowers and plants to attract wild insects. He has stayed fat and looks great. I was also thinking about hanging feeding cups in the trees. You would pry have enough room for a mulberry tree. You could maybe raise silkworms on the tree and plant eggplant for hornworms.

 

[twatts704]

I keep a single male veiled in an extremely large enclosure. I don't see him every day bc it's so easy to lose him in there. I have planted a variety of flowers and plants to attract wild insects. He has stayed fat and looks great. I was also thinking about hanging feeding cups in the trees. You would pry have enough room for a mulberry tree. You could maybe raise silkworms on the tree and plant eggplant for hornworms.

Very nice! Whenever I get everything all set up ill let you know more. I plan on it being like a couple hour thing each day and not a full-time thing because the weather in Houston can get pretty unpredictable.