Using Only Bamboo Dowels to contruct an enclosure

[DomsChams]

Hi everyone,

I recently rebuild the enclosure for my cham. I used all bamboo dowels and no natural branches at all. I also used some of those jungle vines for him to travel 360 around his home. I have had a really bad experience with natural branches as they always create mold and it makes it really inconvenient to switch them out when the enclosure is already constructed. Due to this, as stated above, I only used bamboo dowels as they don't really grow mold . I have them going all around the cage: vertically, horizontally, and at angles as well. My main question is if it is healthy for him to just have bamboo dowels in his cage or does he need natural branches as well for thinker diameters to work out his feet? I just want to make sure i'm doing this right. thank you. Oh and I also want to mention that I have two large pothos plants with a lot of vines that have been growing over a year now, and 3 other medium plants. Any help with this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Syreptyon]

Having perches of varying diameters is actually pretty important imo. Can we see a pic of the setup?

 

[Carlton]

Bamboo can be slippery and harder for the tips of their claws to grasp.

 

[SharpShooter]

If you dry natural stuff properly before use and peel it when needed, it won't cause problems.

I'm no fan of bamboo, it's generally slippery and generally the same size. It also has the most wicked splinters where you cut it if not very careful.If you want to do something like that, you can use different sizes of OAK dowels. Not the cheapest but way better than bamboo.

 

[Matt Vanilla Gorilla]

Size and texture variation is very important for chameleon feet and leg muscle health! O, and by the way, bamboo is natural! Lol. If you use some realy course sandpaper on the bamboo, sanding in a linear fashion allong the length of the bamboo it will make it much easier for the chameleon to hold on to the bamboo!

 

[RobTheChameleonLover]

I use bamboo just fine. I get the 1/4 from lawn and garden centers. And my chams have no problems. Don't sand them and they have never fell off

 

[Matt Vanilla Gorilla]

I use bamboo just fine. I get the 1/4 from lawn and garden centers. And my chams have no problems. Don't sand them and they have never fell off

Size and texture matters in the world of chameleon health!

 

[Beman]

If you dry natural stuff properly before use and peel it when needed, it won't cause problems.

I'm no fan of bamboo, it's generally slippery and generally the same size. It also has the most wicked splinters where you cut it if not very careful.If you want to do something like that, you can use different sizes of OAK dowels. Not the cheapest but way better than bamboo.

Hi there with the Oak Dowels will they mold? I am looking specifically to attach to dragon ledges for support of all my vines throughout an enclosure. I have had horrible luck with mold growing in small places that don't get the heat to dry out. Due to this I had to take out all of the wood I was using (from the pet store). With his new enclosure though I want to maximize space so I will need something strong to attach to. But since these would be the main structure to attach to I am leary on what to use because if it molds it would be a really big ordeal to replace parts of the main structure.

 

[DomsChams]

Hi there with the Oak Dowels will they mold? I am looking specifically to attach to dragon ledges for support of all my vines throughout an enclosure. I have had horrible luck with mold growing in small places that don't get the heat to dry out. Due to this I had to take out all of the wood I was using (from the pet store). With his new enclosure though I want to maximize space so I will need something strong to attach to. But since these would be the main structure to attach to I am leary on what to use because if it molds it would be a really big ordeal to replace parts of the main structure.

Same. I have used regular branches many times and every time they grow mold after a while. It was just not working for me so I switched to bamboo but I think im going to go up to the mountains and cut a ton of manzanita, bring it back, dry it out, and sand it down and use that instead of dowels. I do think that it is important for them to have a variety of diameters to grip and bamboo just doesn't cut it. I think Manzanita is pretty water resistant as well. I'm going to run a small fan at different times throughout the day on a timer to ensure there is air flow in the enclosure. I think that this would minimize the chances of mold growing as well. Try that! I would only use a small oscillating desk fan though. Anything else Is too big I think.

 

[salty dog]

Cage structure could be made of redwood, it is very mold resistant, with mulberry branches and fans for air circ. is what I use, and don't have any mold issues, I build my own cages out of redwood, cham branches etc.. attaches to it