Upgrade Questions

[Zilla23]

Ok, so I am ALREADY thinking about the upgrade for my panther boy Ripley. Right now he is in an 18x18 Reptibreeze. He is only 4 months old so I was going to upgrade when he is a tad older. I was initially looking at the 24x24 Repitbreeze but now I have found the Exo Terra 36x18x36, so basically it would be like two of the one I already have. Which would you suggest? I thought the 36 Exo Terra would give him more lateral room to explore. Also would I need to change out my UVB light? right now I have a Zoo Med 5.0 that takes the 18" bulb, it would fit on the 24x24 but be too short for the 36" would I need to go with a longer fixture and bulb? Thanks in advance!!

 

[James&Monet]

If you can swing it, I would go up to the 24x24x48. It isn't that much more in cost that the 36" reptibreeze. Your chameleon will even more space to grow into. The 36" is suitable for adults, but I think the extra space is worth it and I think your cham will appreciate it too. I use the 18" zoo med 5.0 bulb for my 24x48. It is what was recommended... though I have a bioactive setup and I am not sure how much UV my plants at the bottom are getting. So I am considering getting a small UVB bulb and clamped dome to place at the bottom of the cage just for some extra light.

 

[Beman]

If you have a boy I would do the 24x24x48. He will need the vertical space to climb along with the depth it provides. While the exo terra is nice because of the wide format you will not get the depth or height you need for him. Also depending on your enclosure and how much foliage you have and where your basking level sits when he matures you may want to kick up the uvb bulb to a 10.0 or 12% arcadia bulb to get the right UVI levels at basking.

 

[Beman]

If you can swing it, I would go up to the 24x24x48. It isn't that much more in cost that the 36" reptibreeze. Your chameleon will even more space to grow into. The 36" is suitable for adults, but I think the extra space is worth it and I think your cham will appreciate it too. I use the 18" zoo med 5.0 bulb for my 24x48. It is what was recommended... though I have a bioactive setup and I am not sure how much UV my plants at the bottom are getting. So I am considering getting a small UVB bulb and clamped dome to place at the bottom of the cage just for some extra light.

Just be careful doing additional lighting at the bottom this will mess with your ambient temp drop down to the bottom and throw your cham off since heat/light should be from the top. Also the compact bulbs are virtually useless. I would recommend going with a dual fixture and getting a T5 plant bulb for the top. They also have plant bulbs for the domes at any hardware store. You could add this to the top. Just get a lower wattage so your not creating too much heat at the top.

 

[JoshD49]

Personally I went with the 36*18*36 since it gives me the option of a left and right side. My veiled was in a 24*24 and he did a lot of walking. With the 36 long he seems happier since he was already as long as the cage was wide in the 24. Now he doesn't screen walk as much.

Before everyone beats me up, I still have the 24*24 but it's his outside cage now.

 

[James&Monet]

Just be careful doing additional lighting at the bottom this will mess with your ambient temp drop down to the bottom and throw your cham off since heat/light should be from the top. Also the compact bulbs are virtually useless. I would recommend going with a dual fixture and getting a T5 plant bulb for the top. They also have plant bulbs for the domes at any hardware store. You could add this to the top. Just get a lower wattage so your not creating too much heat at the top.

I agree. Lights go off at night anyways for temp drop down to 65 degrees. The extra UVB light shouldn't emit any heat. I already have a basking spot with a heat light up top. The extra light is simply for the plants, but it shouldn't mess with any temperatures. I will see what I can find. If it does put out extra heat, I won't use it.

 

[Beman]

Personally I went with the 36*18*36 since it gives me the option of a left and right side. My veiled was in a 24*24 and he did a lot of walking. With the 36 long he seems happier since he was already as long as the cage was wide in the 24. Now he doesn't screen walk as much.

Before everyone beats me up, I still have the 24*24 but it's his outside cage now.

No beating you up! I can see why you kept him with that one. That is why I went with the Dragon strand I just got because I wanted the width as well. I think honestly it depends on the Chameleon. Beman is a major busy body and is constantly exploring everything. Prior to this cage purchase I actually thought about doing two of the 36x18x36 and stacking them to get height... 18 is still a decent depth. I was going to build a frame around the two to make sure it was really strong.

 

[CC's Baby]

Ok, so I am ALREADY thinking about the upgrade for my panther boy Ripley. Right now he is in an 18x18 Reptibreeze. He is only 4 months old so I was going to upgrade when he is a tad older. I was initially looking at the 24x24 Repitbreeze but now I have found the Exo Terra 36x18x36, so basically it would be like two of the one I already have. Which would you suggest? I thought the 36 Exo Terra would give him more lateral room to explore. Also would I need to change out my UVB light? right now I have a Zoo Med 5.0 that takes the 18" bulb, it would fit on the 24x24 but be too short for the 36" would I need to go with a longer fixture and bulb? Thanks in advance!!

Honestly, the 48" height is what he would prefer. They like that heighth more than anything and 12" is ALOT less to them. So I think you were are better going with the XL Reptibreeze 24x24x48. That is the one I have and he loves it and he is 4/12 months old now. He loves going up and down. I also recommend getting the dragon ledges for this from Dragonstrand.com and the heavy duty drainage tray that they build to fit the reptibreeze cages. It makes life easy on me and works very well. Also, having 24" deep instead of 18" doesn't seem like a big difference but it really is. It will fit bigger in every way.

 

[Rst_Cham]

I also have the xlrg reptibreeze for my four month old male panther and he loves it, goes all over his highway of vines and plants.

 

[Zilla23]

Thank you so much for all your replies!! Going with the 24x24 Reptibreeze!!! I am also going to go the Bioactive route as well, wish me luck!!!

 

[Zilla23]

I had a bioactive question as well, on the leaf litter, I have a HUGE magnolia tree at my house, can I just get the leaves off the ground instead of buying them for leaf litter? can the be green leaves or do they need to be the brown ones?

 

[dshuld]

I had a bioactive question as well, on the leaf litter, I have a HUGE magnolia tree at my house, can I just get the leaves off the ground instead of buying them for leaf litter? can the be green leaves or do they need to be the brown ones?

As long as you're sure they are pesticide free go for it.

 

[amfire125]

Ok, so I am ALREADY thinking about the upgrade for my panther boy Ripley. Right now he is in an 18x18 Reptibreeze. He is only 4 months old so I was going to upgrade when he is a tad older. I was initially looking at the 24x24 Repitbreeze but now I have found the Exo Terra 36x18x36, so basically it would be like two of the one I already have. Which would you suggest? I thought the 36 Exo Terra would give him more lateral room to explore. Also would I need to change out my UVB light? right now I have a Zoo Med 5.0 that takes the 18" bulb, it would fit on the 24x24 but be too short for the 36" would I need to go with a longer fixture and bulb? Thanks in advance!!

The bigger the better, no matter if its female or male. These creatures are still designed for the wild, even though we've made them captive. They love space and more things to explore, so bigger is ALWAYS better!! Also I HIGHLY recommend a dragon strand. It's only a little extra money, but the whole design with the "dragon ledges" is WAY better for decorating a cage like hanging things and putting in vines and plants and things. It's a serious game changer!