suprdude
Avid Member
After 18 months of chameleon research and enclosure building, it finally came together. Here is a picture of the final enclosure. Below are details of the build. A lot of the plants are new, so more coverage will happen soon once they grow in.
The custom cabinets and enclosure were built under our staircase. You can walk behind it using a this door. Behind it is the electrical, Mistking reservoir, and drainage. The interior enclosure is 24" deep, 67" wide, and 36" tall. Taller would have been nice, but it's still much bigger than most enclosures.
Build:
The enclosure if made of wood and sealed with epoxy, with glass doors. The walls are foam with brown caulk covered with peat moss. Malaysian driftwood is gorilla-glued on to the walls. The temperature and humidly are controlled by two exhaust fans at the top back of the enclosure, where the chameleon can't get to. There are also two small computer fans inside (set on low) to keep the air from being too still or stagnant. The bottom is EPDM (pond liner) that slopes slightly to the back to two drainage holes:
The lights are hidden in a 14 inch tall section out of sight and inaccessible to the chameleon. I built 3 wire frames from the same material used to make window screens. They're very lightweight and strong and hold the lights. I "sewed" them in using very thin steel wire (wire is PVC Hardware Cloth).
They're held up by steel brackets
Lights:
I'm using this 48" length for the UVB / LED combo: (reptisun 48” T5 HO UVB 6%). I have a light meter and confirmed the UVB numbers are within recommended range (numbers per Bill Strand's recommendations).
I have a heat lamp with a 60 watt bulb several inches about his perch. It's 83-85 degrees at the top of his back when he sits atop his perch.
There are also two Full Spectrum LED Grow Lights (2 foot long each)
Misting:
I have 3 nozzle Mistking. I'm still working on a schedule that works best. The floor completely dries out between mistings.
Food:
I'm mostly using Dubias, which he loves. Occasional he gets superworms. Dust daily with EarthPro-A. Twice a month with Reptivite vitamins with D3. So far just hand feeding because he hasn't figured out the feeder thing yet.
The star of the show:
Special thanks for Gingero's youtube channel and all the members here for providing so much help and valuable information!
I'll post more info as an addendum, since you're only allowed 10 pics at once.
The custom cabinets and enclosure were built under our staircase. You can walk behind it using a this door. Behind it is the electrical, Mistking reservoir, and drainage. The interior enclosure is 24" deep, 67" wide, and 36" tall. Taller would have been nice, but it's still much bigger than most enclosures.
Build:
The enclosure if made of wood and sealed with epoxy, with glass doors. The walls are foam with brown caulk covered with peat moss. Malaysian driftwood is gorilla-glued on to the walls. The temperature and humidly are controlled by two exhaust fans at the top back of the enclosure, where the chameleon can't get to. There are also two small computer fans inside (set on low) to keep the air from being too still or stagnant. The bottom is EPDM (pond liner) that slopes slightly to the back to two drainage holes:
The lights are hidden in a 14 inch tall section out of sight and inaccessible to the chameleon. I built 3 wire frames from the same material used to make window screens. They're very lightweight and strong and hold the lights. I "sewed" them in using very thin steel wire (wire is PVC Hardware Cloth).
They're held up by steel brackets
Lights:
I'm using this 48" length for the UVB / LED combo: (reptisun 48” T5 HO UVB 6%). I have a light meter and confirmed the UVB numbers are within recommended range (numbers per Bill Strand's recommendations).
I have a heat lamp with a 60 watt bulb several inches about his perch. It's 83-85 degrees at the top of his back when he sits atop his perch.
There are also two Full Spectrum LED Grow Lights (2 foot long each)
Misting:
I have 3 nozzle Mistking. I'm still working on a schedule that works best. The floor completely dries out between mistings.
Food:
I'm mostly using Dubias, which he loves. Occasional he gets superworms. Dust daily with EarthPro-A. Twice a month with Reptivite vitamins with D3. So far just hand feeding because he hasn't figured out the feeder thing yet.
The star of the show:
Special thanks for Gingero's youtube channel and all the members here for providing so much help and valuable information!
I'll post more info as an addendum, since you're only allowed 10 pics at once.
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Beautiful and creative seem understatements. I can’t begin to imagine all of the time and work that went into that. Plus your chameleon is gorgeously handsome. Even the tiki god approves.
, just kidding (maybe not 
) great job, beautiful enclosure 
