Zerah Morris
New Member
Weekend Project ***UPDATE PG2***
Hello all,
Thought I would share my little weekend project. I have always struggled with outdoor housing and all its problems. So I set out to solve them. I designed this enclosure such that I can free range colonies of chameleons outdoors and simply put young and small chams in their cages inside the enclosure to keep them safe from the other chams. I will post more as I get it furnished over the week and move my animals into it. The end goal will be to build three of these and use them to house large breeding colonies of single species together when weather is good. The design also allows one to cover the enclosure with 6mill poly during the colder months and create a greenhouse that will create and hold its own heat. I am going to install a misting system on a hydrant timer as well as use a fan type yard sprinkler to literally rain on the cages during the day. The ground will be left natural dirt/grass. The design is light enough that one person can move it easily, so I will move it around my back yard in and out of shade as the weather demands. Feedback is welcome.
The day started with lots of PVC!
That was cut up into more PVC!
Test fitting and gluing.
1"x1.5" hardware cloth was ran around the bottom edges 2' high to help keep any curious critters out, I live in town and have three dogs but better safe than sorry.
Lots of zip-ties. I sprung for the UV resistant type so that the sun would not break them down as quickly, the white ones will need to be replaced once a year these are rated for 10 in full sun!
I choose a medium shade cloth as my covering and like the green as it gives the light a good feel. It is rated at 15 years in the sun, and has a special thread in it that makes it bird proof.
It took two panels to go the 12' length so I stitched then together with zip ties first then with a "blind" upholstery needle and UV resistant twine.
As the stitching progressed the desired tautness was achieved.
The end-wall were covered in the same fashion and then the upholstery needle was used to seal the enclosure.
Finally the doors were built and covered with 1/2"x1/2" pvc coated hardware cloth. The door is simply hinged with large zip-ties and latches with 2 velcro zip-ties. I left an overhang on the PVC coated hardware cloth to act as a door stop and seal all gaps between the door frame and door.
Finished dimensions are 12'x5'x6' the doors are 5'x2' it is comfortable to walk in since I am only 5'11" but the design is very flexible and can be easily modified smaller of larger.
Hope you enjoyed!
Hello all,
Thought I would share my little weekend project. I have always struggled with outdoor housing and all its problems. So I set out to solve them. I designed this enclosure such that I can free range colonies of chameleons outdoors and simply put young and small chams in their cages inside the enclosure to keep them safe from the other chams. I will post more as I get it furnished over the week and move my animals into it. The end goal will be to build three of these and use them to house large breeding colonies of single species together when weather is good. The design also allows one to cover the enclosure with 6mill poly during the colder months and create a greenhouse that will create and hold its own heat. I am going to install a misting system on a hydrant timer as well as use a fan type yard sprinkler to literally rain on the cages during the day. The ground will be left natural dirt/grass. The design is light enough that one person can move it easily, so I will move it around my back yard in and out of shade as the weather demands. Feedback is welcome.
The day started with lots of PVC!
That was cut up into more PVC!
Test fitting and gluing.
1"x1.5" hardware cloth was ran around the bottom edges 2' high to help keep any curious critters out, I live in town and have three dogs but better safe than sorry.
Lots of zip-ties. I sprung for the UV resistant type so that the sun would not break them down as quickly, the white ones will need to be replaced once a year these are rated for 10 in full sun!
I choose a medium shade cloth as my covering and like the green as it gives the light a good feel. It is rated at 15 years in the sun, and has a special thread in it that makes it bird proof.
It took two panels to go the 12' length so I stitched then together with zip ties first then with a "blind" upholstery needle and UV resistant twine.
As the stitching progressed the desired tautness was achieved.
The end-wall were covered in the same fashion and then the upholstery needle was used to seal the enclosure.
Finally the doors were built and covered with 1/2"x1/2" pvc coated hardware cloth. The door is simply hinged with large zip-ties and latches with 2 velcro zip-ties. I left an overhang on the PVC coated hardware cloth to act as a door stop and seal all gaps between the door frame and door.
Finished dimensions are 12'x5'x6' the doors are 5'x2' it is comfortable to walk in since I am only 5'11" but the design is very flexible and can be easily modified smaller of larger.
Hope you enjoyed!
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