Sticks for Cham cgae

I am looking for commercially available Cham ready sticks. Does anyone know a good source? Also is the diameter important! I am going to start working on Herman's big boy cage. I would like something ready to put in the cage.

Over here in the UK local garden stores have Willow Sticks which are very cheap and come in all sorts of shapes and sizes.

Might be worth a look?

ChameleonLady said:

I am looking for commercially available Cham ready sticks. Does anyone know a good source? Also is the diameter important! I am going to start working on Herman's big boy cage. I would like something ready to put in the cage.

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I might be able to help you out. We make all our own sticks for inside our panther packages so I can just cut some to fit inside your current cage. Shoot me a PM when you have a minute and we can discuss

NHenn said:

I might be able to help you out. We make all our own sticks for inside our panther packages so I can just cut some to fit inside your current cage. Shoot me a PM when you have a minute and we can discuss

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I emailed you Nick.

ChameleonLady said:

I am looking for commercially available Cham ready sticks. Does anyone know a good source? Also is the diameter important! I am going to start working on Herman's big boy cage. I would like something ready to put in the cage.

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Do you have a garden or yard? Many common ornamental tree branches without irritating runny sap can be used. Dried willow, alder, oak, maple, pines, fruit trees, magnolia, all sorts of types. Don't use cedar or redwood. The rougher barked surfaces will keep claw tips worn down a little more. Just scrub the branches with a 1:10 bleach to hot water solution to remove decaying patches and dirt, rinse, and air dry thoroughly (so you can't smell bleach). You do want variations in diameter to keep feet exercised.

Be aware that the commonly available sandblasted grapevine will absorb water like crazy. It will eventually mold if it isn't watersealed. Manzanita bark is hard and slick, so some chams may have more trouble keeping their grip on larger diameter branches.

A lot of the pleasure of cham keeping is designing a habitat with "natural" features like real branches.

Don't pay for sticks/branches. Go on a hike or do a little pruning to to some overgrown trees. I get all the branches I need in my yard. I'm lucky to have 3 different maple trees on my property.

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I am always afraid of the branches poking through the sides. Any suggestions?

Don't put them so tight. I use flat thumb tacks and small zip ties to hold all my vines and sticks.

Stainless screws and washers work well for heavier chams. If you want to get really creative you can add and additional aluminium strip as a support.

mvad said:

Don't pay for sticks/branches. Go on a hike or do a little pruning to to some overgrown trees. I get all the branches I need in my yard. I'm lucky to have 3 different maple trees on my property.

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What do you have at the bottom of your cage. I have one from the same maker and its a pain cleaning the bottom every week but if i put down some paper towels the crickets and roaches fine their way underneath them.

rkruse3 said:

I am always afraid of the branches poking through the sides. Any suggestions?

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Use a small pruning saw and cut the ends of your branches flat or at the angle you want. I loved this part of setting up my cage.

Will do. Thanks!

Dagreek, it's the pvc bottom that came with the cage. I have hot glue gunned a drainage piece that also goes through the stand and into a bucket. At all four corners I have small wood blocks that raise the corners enough to allow the water to move towards the drain hole. At night before lights out I squeegee any remaining water into the hole. I don't free range feed unless I'm home and even then I don't let crix stay in the enclosure for the night.