Should I buy this?

andrearamirezo91

andrearamirezo91

Avid Member
I’ve been looking for an outdoor enclosure for my chameleon but hadn’t found anything I liked so far. I just found this on craigslist. This would not be his permanent home but more of a place where I can leave him outside unsupervised for a couple of hours. Right now every time I take him out I have to basically be there with him the whole time to make sure that he doesn’t go anywhere so I can’t really leave him outside for long. The cage is 5 ft tall and 2 ft wide. The screen holes look a little big though, what do you guys think? My chameleon is around eight months old.

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This is just gonna be an outdoor cage. Right now its hard for me to take him out for some sun because I’m extremely busy and can’t just sit out there with him. I’m a full time student and work full time as well lol. I figured this way I could safely leave him out there for an hour or two while I study.

Hopecully he won’t have sold it by next week. I had to leave the city for a week due to some work stuff :unsure:
 
I wouldn’t. Main concern would be cham crawling up the screen constantly as the holes in the mesh are easy to grab- but that metal will cut their feet. Consider removing the hardware cloth, spraypaint the wood black and then re-screen with aluminum window screen; just use a staple gun. It’s hard to find “black” aluminum window screen at Home Depot / Lowe’s; it’s always bright aluminum. Pickup about 4-5 cans of black spraypaint and paint all of the aluminum screen after its stapled to the cage (hence painting the cage black). If you don’t paint the aluminum it’s a-ok but the visibility looking into the cage isn’t that great. Once you paint the screen black it’s amazing how it almost becomes invisible. I always use window screen because of the small holes. If the Cham crawls up the screen, the worse thing to happen is hurt toenails. Also the small holes prevent unwanted bugs getting in or feeders getting out. You can also build a cool misting setup at Home Depot/Lowe’s that uses your outdoor hose, a $25 automated controller and some misters. (Search my posts on here and you can see exactly what I’m talking about for the mist setup.) Good luck!
 
Bammer said:
I wouldn’t. Main concern would be cham crawling up the screen constantly as the holes in the mesh are easy to grab- but that metal will cut their feet. Consider removing the hardware cloth, spraypaint the wood black and then re-screen with aluminum window screen; just use a staple gun. It’s hard to find “black” aluminum window screen at Home Depot / Lowe’s; it’s always bright aluminum. Pickup about 4-5 cans of black spraypaint and paint all of the aluminum screen after its stapled to the cage (hence painting the cage black). If you don’t paint the aluminum it’s a-ok but the visibility looking into the cage isn’t that great. Once you paint the screen black it’s amazing how it almost becomes invisible. I always use window screen because of the small holes. If the Cham crawls up the screen, the worse thing to happen is hurt toenails. Also the small holes prevent unwanted bugs getting in or feeders getting out. You can also build a cool misting setup at Home Depot/Lowe’s that uses your outdoor hose, a $25 automated controller and some misters. (Search my posts on here and you can see exactly what I’m talking about for the mist setup.) Good luck!
Click to expand...

I noticed after creating the thread that the screen has a small hole on one side so I was gonna have to change it regardless. Good call on the black spray paint.. I would have for sure not thought about doing that lol. Do I need a special type of spray paint? Also, will the window screen keep the chameleon safe against racoons or outdoor animals? I'm not planning on leaving him out there for more than 1-2hrs a day and where the cage would be we'd be able to see him through the window, but I rather be extra safe.

@Rorschach what did you use on your cage? That looks pretty good too. What a beautiful boy by the way :)
 
andrearamirezo91 said:
I noticed after creating the thread that the screen has a small hole on one side so I was gonna have to change it regardless. Good call on the black spray paint.. I would have for sure not thought about doing that lol. Do I need a special type of spray paint? Also, will the window screen keep the chameleon safe against racoons or outdoor animals? I'm not planning on leaving him out there for more than 1-2hrs a day and where the cage would be we'd be able to see him through the window, but I rather be extra safe.

@Rorschach what did you use on your cage? That looks pretty good too. What a beautiful boy by the way :)
Click to expand...
Aluminum window screen will offer descent protection from predators but the nylon window screens might as well not even be there.
 
andrearamirezo91 said:
I noticed after creating the thread that the screen has a small hole on one side so I was gonna have to change it regardless. Good call on the black spray paint.. I would have for sure not thought about doing that lol. Do I need a special type of spray paint? Also, will the window screen keep the chameleon safe against racoons or outdoor animals? I'm not planning on leaving him out there for more than 1-2hrs a day and where the cage would be we'd be able to see him through the window, but I rather be extra safe.

@Rorschach what did you use on your cage? That looks pretty good too. What a beautiful boy by the way :)
Click to expand...
Thank you i use Plastic chicken wire for the outdoor enclosures
 
Had to go to Orlando for the whole week to a fishing convention center.. hopefully the guy will still have the cage by the time I get back. I’ll keep you guys posted :)

Thank you!
 
Bettina said:
That looks great. Can you tell me, has ever a bee or wasp slipped through the screen? What happens? Can it hurt your Cham? It looks so healthy and happy.
Click to expand...
Yes they can hurt your Cham but my veilds probably eat 2-3 a day when they are outside. I don’t know how they manage to avoid getting stung but they do. I can only think of one time when the male got stung on his upper lip, he still ate the wasp but did shake his head for a few seconds. Other than that it did not seem to bother him too much. Their skin is tougher than ours.
 
Bettina said:
That looks great. Can you tell me, has ever a bee or wasp slipped through the screen? What happens? Can it hurt your Cham? It looks so healthy and happy.
Click to expand...
No problems with bees or wasp they love to eat them as well as the june bugs and cicadas where im at is pesticide free so im safe from that worrie
 
I built a cage very similar to this. I Plasti-dip sprayed the hardware cloth. After a year, it's still holding up.
I like the cage, just go over every inch and make sure nothing is loose, sticking out, or rotted. Make sure the door can be secured.
If you have him outside, you must make sure the cage is strategically placed so he doesn't overheat in direct sun! I'm in MO, USA, and my boy is outside full time. He's doing quite well and seems very happy. Although, I'm around most of the day to check in on him. Also, make sure the cage itself is secure and can't blow over in a surprise storm if you aren't home.
 
Thanks @BeeIinn, hadn't heard of Plasti-dip, I had be considering Flex seal to make metal hardware safer for cham feet but this stuff is cheaper, assuming I can get it in my area. Thanks for sharing :)
 
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