Aluminum Screen for Cage

[Little Hat]

Hi Everyone,

Finishing up the cage I'm building for my chameleon and I'm going to enclose it with aluminum screen, same stuff on windows and door. I didn't want fiberglass because of crickets eating through it and heat lamps burning through it. My only problem is the aluminum screen size holes, I'm concerned my cham will rip a nail off. Thought about running chicken wire on the inside and the aluminum screen on the outside. Any thoughts? Recommendations?

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

All 3 of my cages are aluminum screening and my guys crawl on it plenty without losing toenails. My panther scratches at the door when he sees me so his nails are filed down to nubs, but they don't get ripped off. Even if you put the chicken wire on the inside, unless it's actually at a different level than the screen they'll still grab onto the screen in between the chicken wire holes. The solution would be to have a densely planted cage with lots of climbing vines/branches so they feel comfortable and don't want to crawl around on the screen. Putting more foliage in my veiled's cage help discourage that behavior.

 

[junglejoe]

the only time you really need to worry about them getting screen stuck is when they are young.. im talking 2 onths and under.. they can get their tails and nails stuck.. but usually not an issue.. if your cham is a few months old, your just fine.. all of my cages are small screen..