Wood & Vines... Fake or Real???

[VigilantSpearIII]

I second the use of bamboo, its a bit slippery at first for some chameleon, but they soon get the hang of it...hehe, puns. Anyways, I also use the $ store wreathe bundles, and I also use outside fruit branches. I was laughing hard at all the clorox-wielding oven-bakers... Overkill is indeed the word I would use. Just a simple scrub and hose rinse is just fine. Keeping an animal too clean will kill it. There needs to be a balance. Back on topic; I have used the store bought vines and they are nice, but too pricey for what they are. I cannot justify paying $19.99 for painted foam wire.

 

[VigilantSpearIII]

If you wish to make your own vines, many members over at dendroboards have adapted the background technique...


take SILICONE
add TOLUENE (or XOLUENE, but other thinners will NOT EVAPORATE OUT!! so dont use them)
this should water down your silicone nicely....

pour in DRY coco coir (i like to add shredded sphagnum too)

dip ropes of various thickness (bought by the foot from home depot or wherever)

VOILA!



An alternative to silicone is to use TITEBOND and thin it out, but I don't know if TOLUENE works with titebond or what other product should be used (you can just use the TITEBOND straightup, its just a bit thick is all)

Excellent! To make the vines have some malleable properties that hold, might I recommend using aluminum wire?

http://www.homedepot.com/p/OOK-50-ft-Aluminum-Hobby-Wire-50176/100192917#.Uf_l_JKThbE

Just stretch out an appropriate size of vine. Coat in Silicone 1 and then dip into the coconut shredded mixture. You might make a mess the first couple of times, but I think this could be a great DIY idea. I will try it out this week.

 

[EmmaChams]

I use jungle vines and shop bought wood. I've never had issues with wood moulding or rotting, if your wood is rotting and moulding, you aren't allowing your enclosure to fully dry out between misting which is gonna cause a issue.

 

[Restricted E]

A comment to not baking things from outside. It depends on where you live, climate zone, what type of environment you are getting these things. For example: where I live there are multiple places I could get things from outside HOWEVER out of those places, some of them are more infested. You wouldn't think so from the look of the place but they are. In addition a lot of insects here lay their eggs in branches and twigs and what have you. Some of these are potentiomally dangerous as they could all hatch and overwhelm your unsuspecting Cham. Same with mites. There are a variety here not just one kind. You can't always see them. I wouldn't have known if I didn't take an entomology class at my local college. We looked at all kinds of things under a microscope. So before you so easily dismiss it think about what could be in your area. Most local lizards avoid certain things because they have it encoded in their genes to do so. How could your Cham avoid it when you let him outside if they are not natural to that area? How could they avoid it if you stick it directly into their cage? Just be aware of what's in your area, some of us aren't so lucky to just put things straight into the enclosure.

 

[Restricted E]

Mite infested*