Would this be a good adult enclosure?
- Thread starter Justin T
- Start date
Ya That's wat I figured
brownie64
Avid Member
You are going to get me in trouble with the other forum members here, but I have a substreight, and the only issue I had was drainage you fix that you're good to go. I like a substreight because it goes a long way towards keeping the humidity in check. I Just planted some baby tears, or you could place something like river stone that is big enough that your cham can't eat it if you are worried about impaction from dirt. I just don't see how all those chameleons live in the wild with all that dirt. It's a miracle. I say go for it! Good luck
Haha thanks!You are going to get me in trouble with the other forum members here, but I have a substreight, and the only issue I had was drainage you fix that you're good to go. I like a substreight because it goes a long way towards keeping the humidity in check. I Just planted some baby tears, or you could place something like river stone that is big enough that your cham can't eat it if you are worried about impaction from dirt. I just don't see how all those chameleons live in the wild with all that dirt. It's a miracle. I say go for it! Good luck
brownie64
Avid Member
No not right off hand I have seen sights that will do that with flightless fruit fly cultures, but haven't seen that for crickets. You will probably have to decide what the proper amount to keep on hand is and order that, but keep in mind that the shipping cost will be more than the cost of the crickets. So I would get enough to minimize the number of shipments if it were me. Your local pet store don't carry crickets?
FlChamMom
Avid Member
I agree, that is very cool. When you are finished, build me one- I'll buy the beer... Substrate is one of those constantly argues points; I don't have any just because I like to give the bottom a wipe daily but if I had Jax like brownie64 I would have it. Either way you can have healthy chams. If you notice you have a dirt eater you can cover it with rocks. With that enclosure your guy will be loving life either way!
Yes they do its just a pain to go every other day
brownie64
Avid Member
Well like I said your only other option is to decide how many you can keep at one time, and order that amount. Sometimes you can get your pet store to order in bulk for you then you don't have to worry about die offs do to the cold if it is cold where you live. But make sure the price is right some don't want to pass the savings of buying bulk on to you.
AlienCreeper
Member
You can try http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=6016+7891+8900+6462&pcatid=6462
I've never tried their crickets so I can't say anything about them, but I do know they have a ordering process at checkout where you can make your order a recurring order. And the 100 crickets price of 12.99 is with shipping cost already included. Hope that helps
I've never tried their crickets so I can't say anything about them, but I do know they have a ordering process at checkout where you can make your order a recurring order. And the 100 crickets price of 12.99 is with shipping cost already included. Hope that helps
AlienCreeper
Member
Just noticed, they don't ship the 100 in winter months :/ Sorry
Ok thanks I'll check it outYou can try http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=6016+7891+8900+6462&pcatid=6462
I've never tried their crickets so I can't say anything about them, but I do know they have a ordering process at checkout where you can make your order a recurring order. And the 100 crickets price of 12.99 is with shipping cost already included. Hope that helps
oneillchameleons
Established Member
The main reason I don't use substrate is because it's much harder to clean and sterilize cages. With a situation like this however, organisms and worms will break down any bacteria or droppings in the cage. I've never worried about impaction if basking temps and hydration are sufficient. This looks like a great build and in the end would likely be lower maintenance than most set ups.
trickedoutbiker
Avid Member
NICE CAGE IDEA! I wish I had the money, the tools, and the time to make one that nice. Unfortunately, I live in an apartment so an idea that extravagant wouldn't work for me at all right now. One day perhaps....
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As for the crickets, this is what I do to cut down on trips and costs: I have a two bait shops near me that sell live crickets... One sells crickets for 4 cents a piece, any size, and the other sells crickets for 5 cents a piece, any size. That is WAAAYYY better than the 13 cents Petsmart charges or the 15 cents that Petco charges. So I always have crickets readily available near me.
Anyways, I buy 50 small crickets and keep them in a bin. I also buy 50 medium crickets and keep them in a separate bin. I don't currently buy large crickets because my chameleon is only 7 months old right now. So, I go out and get all these crickets the day before I run out. Then, I gutload the medium sized crickets for a whole 48 hours before I start feeding them to my chameleon. It takes me about a week to go through all 50 of the medium sized crickets (because I throw in other insects here and there throughout the week for variety as well)
In the separate bin, I have the small crickets and I gutload them really good, always making sure they have plenty to eat. Since it takes me a week to go through the medium sized crickets, the smaller crickets have a bit more than a week of good eating before they become chameleon food. By that time, they all have grown a tad and are now about the same size as the medium crickets I buy. They have also been gutloaded for a week or more, so I know they are fat and full of nice healthy food.
You could do this with any size crickets. The reason I do it this way, is because, instead of me buying 50 medium crickets every few days and gutloading them, I only have to buy crickets once every two weeks, give or take a day or two. Saves me a trip to the store. It also allows me to fatten up the smaller crickets with lots of food of my choosing before they become chow. I can't buy 100 medium crickets because by the time I would go through them all, some of them would be too large for my panther chameleon to eat. That's why I fatten up the 50 smalls so that way they grow into medium crickets by the time I want to use them.
Lots of different ways to keep crickets. I find that the way I do it saves me money, so that's why I do it that way. When my cham is older, I will buy 50 large and 50 medium, and do the same principal with it.
Ordering them online tends to be costly unless you are buying often and in bulk IMO.
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As for the crickets, this is what I do to cut down on trips and costs: I have a two bait shops near me that sell live crickets... One sells crickets for 4 cents a piece, any size, and the other sells crickets for 5 cents a piece, any size. That is WAAAYYY better than the 13 cents Petsmart charges or the 15 cents that Petco charges. So I always have crickets readily available near me.
Anyways, I buy 50 small crickets and keep them in a bin. I also buy 50 medium crickets and keep them in a separate bin. I don't currently buy large crickets because my chameleon is only 7 months old right now. So, I go out and get all these crickets the day before I run out. Then, I gutload the medium sized crickets for a whole 48 hours before I start feeding them to my chameleon. It takes me about a week to go through all 50 of the medium sized crickets (because I throw in other insects here and there throughout the week for variety as well)
In the separate bin, I have the small crickets and I gutload them really good, always making sure they have plenty to eat. Since it takes me a week to go through the medium sized crickets, the smaller crickets have a bit more than a week of good eating before they become chameleon food. By that time, they all have grown a tad and are now about the same size as the medium crickets I buy. They have also been gutloaded for a week or more, so I know they are fat and full of nice healthy food.
You could do this with any size crickets. The reason I do it this way, is because, instead of me buying 50 medium crickets every few days and gutloading them, I only have to buy crickets once every two weeks, give or take a day or two. Saves me a trip to the store. It also allows me to fatten up the smaller crickets with lots of food of my choosing before they become chow. I can't buy 100 medium crickets because by the time I would go through them all, some of them would be too large for my panther chameleon to eat. That's why I fatten up the 50 smalls so that way they grow into medium crickets by the time I want to use them.
Lots of different ways to keep crickets. I find that the way I do it saves me money, so that's why I do it that way. When my cham is older, I will buy 50 large and 50 medium, and do the same principal with it.
Ordering them online tends to be costly unless you are buying often and in bulk IMO.
