Products...

[meow_mix450]

Hey, to all chameleon lovers

I wanna start a forum thats talks about products, so then we dont waste our money on something that doesnt work...also stuff that people make that works as well, If anyone finds a new product online, it would be nice to let everyone know...Hope this theard will save us money, and time.(We are not here to say that this persons idea doesnt work and its crap)

Hmmmm i was at a mall the other day, and i droped into the dollar store:p And i saw they had fake plants and stuff, such as vines etc, can i use them, or should i get them from the pet store???

Meow

[dank7oo]

michaels sells 6 foot long fake pothos for 15$ and 4 foot tall fake ficus for 30$ :)

[Trace]

Another interesting thread idea Meow!

I certainly don't want to take business away from pet stores, because there are some products you HAVE to buy from them. UV lights, bugs, supplements etc. You can not cut corners on things like that IMHO.

Things like fake plants though... yes you can get them at the dollar store. Before you put them into your cage, make sure that they are washed thoroughly! Sometimes the dyes that manufacturers use does come off the leaves when wet and then your chameleon may drink that. Try and buy the fake plants are a green plastic, not dyed green. Follow me? I still maintain that real plants are the best for chameleons.

Sticks! Sticks are free outside! They are just lying there on the ground! I do like the spongy bendy vines you can buy, but I prefer a real stick any day. Real branches are generally varying widths and thicknesses and this promotes good foot health in chameleons when they climb on them. Obviously, make sure that any natural wood is disinfected before using it in your cage. Also avoid the softwoods.

Ballasts for your UV tubes can be picked up at hardware stores for a quarter of the cost. Yes, they aren't as nice looking as the pet store variety, but they do the job. Same with the dome light fixtures. You have to be careful with those though. I'm using 60watt bulbs here so the hardware store domes are fine and CSA approved for that wattage. If I was to buy more of the PowerSun bulbs, I would invest in the pet store dome fixtures because those have a ceramic element that is made for the higher heat output of those bulbs. I'm not going to burn down my house to save a few pennies there.

I've picked up half-dead Pothos plants for almost nothing on the clearance tables at the floral departments at Home Despot and Loblaws. I figure A: they are going to be eaten or B: they grow like mad under the UV lights. Why invest in an expensive Pothos. When some of my Pothos gets big, I'll take cuttings off them, put the cuttings in water and re-root them, therefore I've always got spare plants for the nibblers here.

I'm sure I'll come up with some more cost/time savers.

Cheers!

Trace

[dank7oo]

:) i should really retry the whole real plant idea
i had a nice schefflera tree, which by my own fault (overwatering) got infested with gnats!

trace - can i purchase a 'clipping' pothos plant from you? i will pay you well, i swear :)

Jason

[meow_mix450]

lol ha ha ha
hmmmm im gonna add another thing"Cages"
A lot of people buy the cages, that cost up to $200 and up, why not make one??? Get your dad to help you out you might even learn a thing or 2.
I just made a cage not long ago, and it costed me 100 bucks, and i made 2 cages out of them, and they're still in good shape. All you have to do is, find the stuff you need and make a plan that will work. Im not agaisnt buying just trying to save money, if you got the money then you pretty lucky to get one.

Another thing that i find that will save you money is if you just used newspapers or rep carpit. Instead of buying wood chips, plus they arnt any good if a cham ate one....could even kill it.

In the end the only thing that will really cost you are the crikets, meal worms, silks, and wax worms....(they eat a lot)!!!O ya and mayb the chameleon too lol

Plus feel free to put any products that you used, that work great! cause you dont wanna buy stuff that breaks like i already said:p

Meow

[dank7oo]

here is a way to save a fortune on food (if you do this properly)
buying silky eggs online for 60$ for 3000 is a great way to save $$ ... it works out to 2 cents per silky, and i know people that have lost 0 eggs, and hatched out about 3000 silkies .. having said that, the eggs do require very specific temperatures and conditions, but once you research and master it, it is a great money saving idea
i prolly would have by now, but my mom is AFRAID of eggs - LOL

Jason

[meow_mix450]

o WoW kool where can i buy these eyes???? a site or a store

[Trace]

www.silkworms.ca

[meow_mix450]

lol thanks, i went to the dollar store and bought some fake plants, i put it in his cage and he LOVING IT!!!!(no dyes)

[choriona]

If you are lucky, you may find a dome light fixture in the hardware store that supports up to 100watts. I just bought one from Totem that cost $9.99! It is ment for working in the garage I think, it comes with an extra long cord (3meters) and a clamp device.

[choriona]

When the pet shop is low on food supplies, I sometimes buy my mealies from the bait shop (where they are a lot cheaper.) I take them home and put them in a container with oats and a carrot and some dirt. Then I leave them for a week, not in the fridge, so they can flush their systems and be yummy to eat!

[meow_mix450]

o wow thanks choriona, never knew that lol

[meow_mix450]

Has anyone bought something online that is trust worthly???? i kno silkworms.com is a good one, but im trying to find sites like products that you can trust, and if you buy at silkworm.com how much do u usually have to pay for delivery??

Meow

[Wuntu Menny]

ESU Reptile has an interesting new product. Its a powerbar with a built in timer. As if that wasn't slick enough, the unit has two output circuits. When the timer cycles the day lights off it automatically trips the nocturnal lights and /or heat pad on. I thought it was a brilliant concept, but I haven't heard any reliabilty reports yet.

WM

[meow_mix450]

ooo u got an idea of the price???

[dank7oo]

make good friends with petstore employees
we go in and order 100 crix, and we get 300+ everytime

[meow_mix450]

ya i have a good friend at the pet store, he gives me more then hes suppose too:p

[meow_mix450]

hey
guess what i found today http://www.globalexoticpets.com/Product_pages/products_zoomed.htm a bug napper lol, i dont think its any good tho what if the bugs were sprayed with chemcials, then you got a problem...What do you think???
Meow

[meow_mix450]

WM: is this what you were talkinga bout???http://www.zoomed.com/html/rheostats.html

[dank7oo]

that bug napper is prettly darn cool - is there a way to catch bugs that maybe have been sprayed, and deinfect tham so you can feed them to your cham?

[meow_mix450]

if there is such a thing then, it would be awesome to have...but i dont think there is.....:( but that can attract, a lot of moths and stuff, lots of nutrience.

Meow

[dank7oo]

ooo - everyone knows, but branches from outside are the same as branches from the store - lol
make sure they are clean .. i was told to mix 1:1 ratio of bleach to water, put in in a garbage bag with the branch and shake then let it sun dry ... rinse off after as well
however, i suppose if there are no bugs/bug holes in/on it, then just a scrubbing in necessary

Jason

[meow_mix450]

Found aa price of mister called Habba Mist from Zoo Med. Its expenive tho CrAzY!!!! $63.99 CDN

http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/science/10/17/offbeat.twoheaded.snake.ap/index.html

[meow_mix450]

Errrrr I forgot one thing, can anyone tell me if these are any good???
Exo-Terra Fogger

http://www.petsmart.com/reptile%5F%5F%5Famphibian/shopping/cage%5Faccessories%5F%5F%5Fdecor/products/product%5F35469.shtml

Exo-Terra 250 Circulating Pump
Is this just to make water falls work??? or can i put it in a tank and it just keeps the water moving??

http://www.petsmart.com/reptile%5F%5F%5Famphibian/shopping/cage%5Faccessories%5F%5F%5Fdecor/products/product%5F34012.shtml
Thanks

Meow

[meow_mix450]

srry this is the site to the habba mister

http://www.petsmart.com/reptile%5F%5F%5Famphibian/shopping/cage%5Faccessories%5F%5F%5Fdecor/products/product%5F35890.shtml

[Trace]

Hi Meow!

I use foggers during the winter to boost humidity in some of my cages. I find them very useful. Problem with these items is you have to keep them spotlessly clean! The minerals found in regular tap water tend to gum up the working parts of the fogger, thus shortening the life. Some people will use bottled water with their foggers and this prevents a mineral buildup, but it is still recommended that you clean them periodically. Oh, and buy them at Lee Valley Tools (mail order or in one of the shops). They are about half the price of the ones in the pet stores.

As for the waterfall... hate those things. Chameleons usually don't drink from them, and again, you need to clean SO CLEAN, to prevent and bacteria growths in the water. I would avoid them at all costs.

Just my 2 cents.

Trace

[Ryan71]

i have purschaes some pcp tubng about 100 feet of it off a friend of mine i have made 5 cages
1 large on for my jacksons
2 larger ones for my nile a peachthrote
another for my veilds and 1 to sell this all cost me $ 37.76
teon cage i sold i got 125 $ for it

[meow_mix450]

o wow not bad

Meow

[meow_mix450]

Hey
Trace: i go with my dad to Lee Valley Tools once in a while, and i think im going to, so i was wondering if you know where i can find it??? in the garden section??? do you know the code number or the name.... LOL srry im talken about the fogger here if your lost:p Do you know the cost

Meow

[Trace]

You betcha!

http://www.leevalley.com/garden/page.asp?SID=&page=44044&category=2%2C42194&ccurrency=1

In case that link doesn't work. It's called the Mist Maker and it is found in the garden section. Product number: DB421 and it's $39.95CAD. You can also buy replacement discs (DB423) for $4.95CAD.

Have fun!

Trace

[J-Man]

Hey Jason, are yo usure about the 1:1 bleach to water ratio? I always heard it as like 1:10 bleach to water...? That could be bad!

[meow_mix450]

Hey thanks Trace, wow i like these fourms saves me some money lol:p

Meow

[Geofft]

This was probably a fluke! but i picked up a 5 foot ficus tree from home depot for 10 bucks! It was marked at 40, but when she scanned it, it came of as 10!!!

[meow_mix450]

HA HA HA HA wow your pretty lucky, i had to pay $14 bucks for a 4 foot ficus tree:p

Meow

[Collide]

Yea home depot has sales all the time on ficus plants whenever i catch that i pick up a few extra plants usually anywhere from 10 to 15 and some times they have 6" pothos that are just huge long good veins and the plant is only 6 or 7 bucks

[meow_mix450]

Anyone intrested???
http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=29171

Meow

[Trace]

Yeah, Grant has got some great prices on those items! I'm tempted to try the Habba Mist thingy and the timer/powerbar is interesting as well. Realistically, considering the amount of chameleons I have, it would be smarter if I invested in a proper misting system that would do ALL my cages at once.

Cheers!

Trace

[Oliverian]

i have purschaes some pcp tubng about 100 feet of it off a friend of mine i have made 5 cages
1 large on for my jacksons
2 larger ones for my nile a peachthrote
another for my veilds and 1 to sell this all cost me $ 37.76
teon cage i sold i got 125 $ for it

Hey now, that's really interesting. How did you go about making cages out of pcp tubing? If you have any pics, that would be great too. :)
-Tammy R

[meow_mix450]

http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=30257

Greg West is selling a misting system if anyone is intrested

Meow

[meow_mix450]

If anyone is intrested in jacksons cham, there selling them jsut to let you guys know

http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=32022

Meow

[gfisher2002]

Cool site. Nice topic man. Everything is almost covered so I don't have much to add.

[Jazzey]

WOW!
I never thought of buying a fake plant not at a petstore.
That would save me lots of cash:p
Oh, and another thing 2 add on my x-mas list for my bf o>
Jazzey

[gfisher2002]

I bought all my plants from Walmart and a craft store. Never silks(the silk is dyed green) but the plastic one. If you buy a bunch you can take the "tip" off the plant and add onto it with the base of another. I bough a bunch(12) of fake ferns 12" long for $1.20 ea. at walmart and made it into 3 that were 48" long.