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.

 

[VForOzi]

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.

Thanks to everyone for the answers. First of all, what you said about moisture retention makes a lot of sense; I’m thinking of cutting a piece of polycarbonate—which is a simple, inexpensive material—and covering it with a matte black cloth to use. That should work well for moisture control.

 

[MissSkittles]

I’ve tried a few different things on my all screen enclosures - shower curtain outside, coco coir panel inside, created 3D backgrounds with Great Stuff foam and other materials. The coco coir panel was just temporary as I suspected in time it would mold, but I didn’t care much for that look anyhow. The benefit was it solved the issue of screen climbing. I put a ton of work and $$ into the foamed 3D backgrounds, but in addition to taking up valuable space, they made everything so dark. I’ve since come to suspect that some of the products I used may have been the causes for 3 of my chameleons all dying within a 6 month period - 2 from cancer and 1 from kidney failure. (Freakin’ chemicals!) I have since settled on using fabric shower curtains on the outside which have a blue cloudy sky print (not that it is really seen well). This blocks my chameleons from seeing each other, prevents water overspray to the walls, allows for good air flow and ventilation and keeps everything bright and a bit more natural looking.

 

[VForOzi]

I’ve tried a few different things on my all screen enclosures - shower curtain outside, coco coir panel inside, created 3D backgrounds with Great Stuff foam and other materials. The coco coir panel was just temporary as I suspected in time it would mold, but I didn’t care much for that look anyhow. The benefit was it solved the issue of screen climbing. I put a ton of work and $$ into the foamed 3D backgrounds, but in addition to taking up valuable space, they made everything so dark. I’ve since come to suspect that some of the products I used may have been the causes for 3 of my chameleons all dying within a 6 month period - 2 from cancer and 1 from kidney failure. (Freakin’ chemicals!) I have since settled on using fabric shower curtains on the outside which have a blue cloudy sky print (not that it is really seen well). This blocks my chameleons from seeing each other, prevents water overspray to the walls, allows for good air flow and ventilation and keeps everything bright and a bit more natural looking.
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I definitely think the most logical option is to stretch a shower curtain over a rigid plastic surface for the background. I’m going to get an anthracite or black curtain that matches the color of the terrarium and do just that.

 

[Sonny13]

This is how I build my enclosure and after 4 years the enclosure ecosystem is just as much fun to look at as the inhabitant itself. https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/just-one-more-time-going-for-the-ultimate-build.185998/

 

[Carlton]

I definitely think the most logical option is to stretch a shower curtain over a rigid plastic surface for the background. I’m going to get an anthracite or black curtain that matches the color of the terrarium and do just that.

Just watch the shower curtain for reflections...pick something low gloss (maybe "satin" finish?). I've also hung a clear shower curtain on the outside of the mesh with a foliage pattern fabric hung outside of that. A complex pattern blocks the view and helps break up any reflection. IME, if a cham has a very generous cage with lots of foliage and a branch network that lets it reach anywhere it might want to go, it limits how much screen climbing they do. Can't avoid all of it but minimize it quite a bit.

IMHO and no offense meant to any DIYers here, the majority of cham setups aren't generous enough. They either end up being narrow tall columns or shallow "shadowbox" shapes without enough depth. The last couple of cages I built/had built were 5' tall, 4' deep, 4' wide. I free ranged my Melleri on a cluster of potted trees set on pond liner in a bedroom. Lighting hung from the ceiling. No cage.