About the Cage Background

[VForOzi]

Hello everyone.
I am looking for materials for the background and base of a custom-built enclosure.(50x45x75h cm I have set things up to raise a young panther chameleon. Once it is about a year old, I will prepare a larger and taller enclosure.) Has anyone used composite materials before? I liked this particular color today, but I wondered if light transmission or reflection might be an issue. How can I achieve a flat, matte black look? I don't want to use polycarbonate; it looks too basic. I need a matte material that offers a sleeker, more aesthetic appearance. Would you recommend using the material shown in the photo?

 

[Motherlode Chameleon]

You look to be off to a great start to making a great enclosure fora young Fucifer pardalis.

I haven't used composite materials for making enclosures. However I recall other chameleon keepers using that material for an enclosure build. I hope that helps.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich

 

[Carlton]

I haven't put solid surface backgrounds on cham cage walls unless I had to block the cham's view of another animal that would stress it out. A simple piece of cheesecloth hung on the outside of the cage frame would accomplish that. I've hung a panel of camo-print T shirt fabric too. It can handle occasional overspray and dry quickly. Looks a little bit more natural. I prefer arranging a cage to look more like a section of a larger tree or bush the cham happens to inhabit. I want the cage itself to be less noticeable, not more. I know many keepers like applying moldable, three-dimensional background materials to the back or sides of cham cages, but I've always thought they ate up space larger bushier plants could expand into, giving the cham more choices for moving around. Giving my chams every inch of living space inside its cage was more important. Solid textured backgrounds can also make the cage darker overall. If I needed to improve the cage's humidity retention, I did that by hanging low gloss but clear vinyl shower curtain material from the cage frame instead of covering one or more sides with physical structure.