Hi, this is my first post, so if I'm doing anything wrong, please let me know!
I recently finished (aside from the door) the construction of my first custom open Panther Chameleon Cage.
(please ignore the cords and mess)
Its dimensions are 3' x 3' x 8' with roughly 6' of lateral living space for the chameleon. The bottom 2 feet contain storage and a drainage bucket. The frame of the cage is made out of wood painted black and it is coated with black polycarbonate sheets. The walls around the corner to contain my cham are roughly 18'' high. Construction around took 4 weekends.
My cham will be a 4-month-old male Panther, and, while he may not be the first chameleon I've ever owned, it has been several years since and he will be the first I have owned as an educated owner.
I plan on making the enclosure fully bioactive with isopods and springtails upon completion. As of now, I am planning to have a drainage layer of around 2.5'' and a substrate layer of around 6''. For plants and decorations, I have 2 Madagascar jasmine vines, 1 rubber plant, 1 wandering jew, 1 ti plant, 2 bird's nest ferns, and a maidenhair fern. As a centerpiece, I am planning to have 1 giant branch around 4.5' high acting almost as a small tree for the jasmine vines to grow up. I also have artificial vines and some artificial foliage, but the foliage I only plan on using temporarily if my plants haven't grown enough to provide adequate shelter for my cham by the time he is ready to take home.
I have all other necessities such as appropriate lighting (34'' T5 HO), a heat lamp, feeders, supplements, thermometer/hygrometer, mistking, and more.
Really I just want to make sure I'm doing everything right and to see if anyone has any input/advice for my enclosure plan while it is still possible for me to make big changes before I start setting everything up. Right now I'm a little concerned about my plant selection because they are all very small right now and I'm concerned that I don't have enough plants or that they won't grow big enough to provide enough coverage for my cham. Any and all input is very much appreciated.
Thank you all so much!
I recently finished (aside from the door) the construction of my first custom open Panther Chameleon Cage.
(please ignore the cords and mess)
Its dimensions are 3' x 3' x 8' with roughly 6' of lateral living space for the chameleon. The bottom 2 feet contain storage and a drainage bucket. The frame of the cage is made out of wood painted black and it is coated with black polycarbonate sheets. The walls around the corner to contain my cham are roughly 18'' high. Construction around took 4 weekends.
My cham will be a 4-month-old male Panther, and, while he may not be the first chameleon I've ever owned, it has been several years since and he will be the first I have owned as an educated owner.
I plan on making the enclosure fully bioactive with isopods and springtails upon completion. As of now, I am planning to have a drainage layer of around 2.5'' and a substrate layer of around 6''. For plants and decorations, I have 2 Madagascar jasmine vines, 1 rubber plant, 1 wandering jew, 1 ti plant, 2 bird's nest ferns, and a maidenhair fern. As a centerpiece, I am planning to have 1 giant branch around 4.5' high acting almost as a small tree for the jasmine vines to grow up. I also have artificial vines and some artificial foliage, but the foliage I only plan on using temporarily if my plants haven't grown enough to provide adequate shelter for my cham by the time he is ready to take home.
I have all other necessities such as appropriate lighting (34'' T5 HO), a heat lamp, feeders, supplements, thermometer/hygrometer, mistking, and more.
Really I just want to make sure I'm doing everything right and to see if anyone has any input/advice for my enclosure plan while it is still possible for me to make big changes before I start setting everything up. Right now I'm a little concerned about my plant selection because they are all very small right now and I'm concerned that I don't have enough plants or that they won't grow big enough to provide enough coverage for my cham. Any and all input is very much appreciated.
Thank you all so much!