chameleon enclosure

[manville]

What do you guys keep your chameleons in? Is it possible for them to live in cages? It would be nice to see some pictures of your enclosures

[tHeGiNo]

I keep my chameleons in custom built screened enclosures. What exactly do you mean by cages? If you mean a tank / aquarium, then no. I don't have any pictures, lacking a digital camera, but I am sure others on the site will have some photos for you.

[manville]

i mean those cages you keep your birds in

[kidchameleon]

i think a bird cage might work, but there might be a couple problems. first off, unless you cup feed him/her, all your crickets are going to get out. secondly, if the gaps between the bars are large enough, and your chameleon is still small, it might even be able to get out.

[manville]

I know thats the only problem is feeding....i wont put it in if it is too small...i am gonna have to think of a way...

[drewlowe]

If Neo didn't come with his cage i would have made my own screen enclosure. I house him in a 260 gallon repterium, there are pics in my gallery.

Jamie

[manville]

What would be the best and cheapest way of making/buying an enclosure for a chameleon

[kidchameleon]

well, definately making one is cheaper. i made both of mine from 1x2's, which are very cheap. for the screen i used this fiberglass screen, which is sturdy and smooth. the best way to go about making one is to draw a few pictures of what you want it to look like, and then get to work.

[manville]

How much do i need to make one?

[carl]

I wanted to build my own cage.but with the lack of tools and time I ended up buying one online from Chameleon Condo.Com they made the exact size I needed to fit on the stand it sits on[25in wide,20in deep by 48in high].It took one week from the time I ordered it to delivery.It`s a very nice enclosure.Total cost under two hundred Canadian.So thats one way you could go.They will custom build what ever size you need.

[Solomon]

Keep an eye on the classifieds.... good deals are coming.....

[manville]

Lets see some pictures

[kidchameleon]

well, my one cage that measures 2x2x4 cost me about 45$ to make, but that is because i had to buy a 25 foot roll of screen. the other cage i built (2x3x5) only cost me about 25$ because i had enough screen left over to screen that cage also.

hopefully ill have some pictures by this weekend.

[meow_mix450]

haha, o.k well i just posted one not long ago, so chekc out my post. The total cost of that was around 40 bucks. Thats just for the wood, wood glue, screws and staple's. Mesh cost around 15 bucks, i had a lot left so i enver got any. It took me a day to do none stop. I didnt make a door on my cage, so i used velcrow(sp). In total i guess it would cost around 100 or less, its pretty big, it can fit 2 chams, if they got along. Its taller then me and im around 5'8. ill get measurments once im home

meow

[bonniejoe]

i have hear that if you use screen get the pvc coated mesh
don't use fiberglass screen
it is bad for chameleons (fiberglass splinters)
i am using aluminum screening(which i know is not the best, butit is what i got for now and is better than fiberglass)
go to home depot wood is cheap and let your imagination soar
i had fun doing mine

[Collide]

Here are some pics of my enclosures but everyone has slightly different needs

http://www.elev8r.com/chams/enclosure08.jpg
http://www.elev8r.com/chams/enclosure10.jpg
http://www.elev8r.com/chams/enclosure12.jpg
http://www.elev8r.com/chams/enclosure14.jpg

[manville]

thats a nice enclosure, I dont know how to build one but i need one..lol

[huhet]

i recently posted a thread on my enclosure. use the search feature, and you can find pics of mine and probably many others.

[blazinreps]

Hey i found how to build this cool table top cage doesent look like it would cost to much heres the link http://www.chameleonnews.com/year2002/july2002/vivarium/table_top_vivarium.html

and check out the rest of this site for soem great info.

[manville]

woah, that is really helpful! THANKS!

[panther_dude]

First of all I myself was planning to use the big parrot cages you described erleir but that fact that they are not made of rust proof materials broke me away from that idea. Secondly fiberglass screen will splinter if its bent and moved around alot, being motionless on the sides of the cage should not cause them to splinter. But i could be wrong. Any thoughts? One last thing what size are the holes in the aluminum screen? are they small? do you have any probllemes with toes being caught in the screen?
thank you all
wade Shaw

[panther_dude]

anouther thing that I have just learned from Chris Anderson dealling with the pics posted aboveis that using an all soil bottom especially with all the little white foam things I can see on the bottom is not good for your chameleon. They can ingest those little foam balls and even the soil. This can cause to impactation in the stomach making it very difficult and nearly impossible for your chameleon to pass on waist. This can very undoubtibly lead to death. I would sudjest using a combination of compact mosses and largish river stones to cover the soil.

[panther_dude]

anouther thing with the pics Collide posted above i just found out that using an all soil bottom especially with all the little white foam things I can see on the bottom is not good for your chameleon. They can ingest those little foam balls and even the soil. This can cause to impactation in the stomach making it very difficult and nearly impossible for your chameleon to pass on waist. This can very undoubtibly lead to death. I would sudjest using a combination of compact mosses and largish river stones to cover the soil.

[huhet]

a lot of stores sell "top soil" in the summer months that doesn't have the perlite (white foam things). that's what i'm using in combination with sphagnum peat for my big girl. i'm using the coconut fiber substrate for my little guys. i've never had any problems with my any of chams eating dirt though.

on fiberglass screen, it won't deteriorate just sitting there, but chameleons like to climb on anything and everything, and that's what causes the trouble. also, crickets can chew through the stuff. i speak from experience.

i'd use petscreen over aluminum. more durable than fiberglass, and you don't have to worry about lost toenails.

[panther_dude]

crickets cant chew through the pet screen?

[huhet]

i have no experience with crickets and pet screen, so i can't say. all i know is they tore through the fiberglass

[kidchameleon]

really? your crickets have eaten through the fiberglass screening?

[huhet]

not on my cage, but i was trying that screen method for breeding crickets (laying it across the substrate so they can't dig it up and eat the eggs as they tend to do when there's a thousand of them running around), and they demolished the screen. it didn't believe it either until i saw it. they'd probably have to be pretty purpose driven (ie eating a delicious meal of freshly layed eggs) for them to actually get the gumption to gnaw through it, but the ability is definately there.

[panther_dude]

Just wondering what the experience s that you speak of, because Chris Anderson is probably one of the most experienced persons I've talked to in my time. It was he who told me about the soil, but hey you never know. ONe guy cannot know everything, its nearly impossible. Unless your 50 years old orsomething and have decades of experience.

[panther_dude]

Just wondering what the experience is that you speak of, because Chris Anderson is probably one of the most experienced persons I've talked to in my time. It was he who told me about the soil, but hey you never know. One guy cannot know everything, its nearly impossible. Unless they're over 50 years old and have decades of experience.

[kidchameleon]

oooo, alright. im not that worried then. i thought that they chewed through the screen in your cage and i was lik ahhh nooooo. but you said there were thousands of them trying to get at eggs, so thats a relief.

[meow_mix450]

That has also happened to me as well, crikets chewing through the mesh. i was breeding and i used a a mesh on top as a lid, and the next day there were a couple of holes:S, but what i find is that if they have a lot of space they wont chew your sceen cages, so dont owrry:)

Meow

[huhet]

was that double post directed at me panther_dude? when i said "i speak from experience" i was just talking about crickets and screen. i'd say i'm as well researched when pertaining to crickets and fiberglass screening as a fellow needs to be...

on the subject of the soil bottom, my senegal doens't spend time on the bottom of my cage, nor does she eat off of it. there is no perlite in my soil which was what you expressed concern about in the first place. i didn't say you were wrong, i just gave another option.

[panther_dude]

What do you mean there is no perlite in hte soil whats all those little white things in the soil in your pic?
Anyways this has nothing to do with anything

[meow_mix450]

correction thats not huhet's pic....

Meow

[xdiversichicx]

i house one of mine in a 65g reptarium and one in a custom built enclosure that would equal about 75g. i like the custom one the best.. cant go wrong with making your own. ive got pics of mine somewhere. ill post when i can locate them.