Trying to setup my reptibreeze for veiled cham, safe trees? lighting?

[LizardGurl]

Hi all I've got a 8 month old Veiled chameleon and I'm upgrading his tank. I've never made a setup on my own but have no choice due to the pet shop letting me down on upgrading him!
I've bought an x-large reptibreeze and have a 5% arcadia uvb light with a reflector on to double the output.
I want to build his cage with branches from the woods near my house as I don't know where I could get ones to fit such a large cage otherwise. I live in the UK and the trees I have near me are; oak, beech, pine, willow, elder etc. Does anyone know which ones would be safe or unsafe to use? Including fruit trees as I'd buy one of those!
Also can anyone advise me how the thermostat probe actually gets into the repibreeze? do I have to cut a hole in the mesh somewhere?
Any help would be appreciated
Thanks!!

 

[Devokid]

Hi all I've got a 8 month old Veiled chameleon and I'm upgrading his tank. I've never made a setup on my own but have no choice due to the pet shop letting me down on upgrading him!
I've bought an x-large reptibreeze and have a 5% arcadia uvb light with a reflector on to double the output.
I want to build his cage with branches from the woods near my house as I don't know where I could get ones to fit such a large cage otherwise. I live in the UK and the trees I have near me are; oak, beech, pine, willow, elder etc. Does anyone know which ones would be safe or unsafe to use? Including fruit trees as I'd buy one of those!
Also can anyone advise me how the thermostat probe actually gets into the repibreeze? do I have to cut a hole in the mesh somewhere?
Any help would be appreciated
Thanks!!

Oak is fine, so is pine. I'm not sure about the others. Somebody else will probably chime in a give you the answer. I would make sure that the sap has stopped flowing on the pine as that may cause irritation and sticky feet . Also, I would cook or bleach the branches to kill anything that may be living inside. Most fruit trees are fine to use, although with him being a veiled, I am not sure about citrus. My panthers do just fine, but then, they do not eat the leaves. I would try to use hibiscus. They have beautiful flowers and are eatable, even enjoyed.

Yes, you must make a small hole in the screen for the probe.

 

[Psychobunny]

I dont know about the type of wood being safe or not, I would guess they are all ok.
I try to pick branches that have very little bark or loose skin, like smooth.
I cut them to size, and clean them with hot soapy water and let them dry.

I have been using limbs from my backyard dogwood tree. Nice smooth surface on the branches. They last a long time too.

 

[chameeeleon]

If you want the thermostat mear the bottom of the cage you could cut a small notch in the plastic bottom on one of the edges and feed the wire through.

 

[LizardGurl]

Thanks everyone!
I went for a walk today in the woods and theres some really interesting zig zagging beach branches I think I'll use and I have an apple and pear tree that could do with a trim
They won't fit in the oven but I'll make sure to clean them with soapy water rinse them leave them outside to dry.
As for cutting holes in my brand new cage.. gutting! haha
Thanks again!

 

[Carlton]

Thanks everyone!
I went for a walk today in the woods and theres some really interesting zig zagging beach branches I think I'll use and I have an apple and pear tree that could do with a trim
They won't fit in the oven but I'll make sure to clean them with soapy water rinse them leave them outside to dry.
As for cutting holes in my brand new cage.. gutting! haha
Thanks again!

I will never understand why commercially made cages don't provide openings for probes, cords, or at least provide a way to place them yourself!

However, other than building my own USEFULLY designed cages, I have found a way to get past that gut wrenching decision to cut the mesh of a brand new one. Check the size of your probe or whatever you need to put through the mesh. Buy a pair of plastic or metal flat washers that the probe will fit through. Find the place you want to put your probe cord, cut a slit in the mesh, thread the probe cord through the mesh and the washers...one on each side of the mesh. Glue the washers to the mesh. It will look nicer and also help keep the mesh from fraying. I've also used a trimmed piece of black electrical tape like a patch over the slit in the mesh...again, a piece on both sides.

 

[LizardGurl]

Thanks! That advice is really useful! I don't understand why they don't have holes for them either
I've cut down some beech branches and peeled the bark off of them, since the cage is so humid it would be a good idea to varnish them but I don't know of any safe varnishes, does anyone have any suggestions?
Also, I've bought some chameleon safe live plants but I'm worried they die in the cage, will the uvb light work ok for them or do I need to provide some other source of light?
Aaand lastly I have a 24" 18W 5% uvb with a reflector on, does anyone know if this will be sufficient?
Just want to make sure everything is perfect!

 

[reptoman]

Thanks! That advice is really useful! I don't understand why they don't have holes for them either
I've cut down some beech branches and peeled the bark off of them, since the cage is so humid it would be a good idea to varnish them but I don't know of any safe varnishes, does anyone have any suggestions?
Also, I've bought some chameleon safe live plants but I'm worried they die in the cage, will the uvb light work ok for them or do I need to provide some other source of light?
Aaand lastly I have a 24" 18W 5% uvb with a reflector on, does anyone know if this will be sufficient?
Just want to make sure everything is perfect!

Dont varnish. Just use branches as they are or wash them off or bake them in the oven for 10 minutes at 350 to kill any mites, spiders, ants etc. They are better if they are rough so he can grip as he would in the wild. Natural branches offer a varying diameter of climbing surfaces which is preferable over artificial vines in my opinion.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/need-help-pothos-plant-please-102714/

 

[LizardGurl]

They are too large for my oven as they have been cut to fit the full size of my X-Large reptibreeze and I took the bark off because it had green stuff on it that wasn't coming off!
I will look into maybe just varnishing the bottom half of the stick that goes into the mud or just putting a plastic bag/clingfilm on it.
Thanks for pointing out that it would be more difficult to grasp a varnished branch! I feel silly for not even thinking about that haha
I also like him to have a choice with branches but he seems to love his jungle vines in his current enclosure
I'll post pics of his new cage when I'm done if anyones interested to see the final product

 

[Hoj]

As for light for the live plants you want to prive light around the 6500k color range. A linear floureceant buld and fixture will do the trick. I really like the jungle dawn led lights if you want to spend a few more $$

 

[LizardGurl]

So I should provide his heat lamp, his uvb and something like this lamp:
http://www.arcadia-aquatic.com/original-tropical-lamps/

Can anyone advise me on what actual one of these lights to get? I know basically nothing about lighting..
This cage upgrade is just getting more and more expensive!