Bottom pan?

[Lucille]

My chameleon is being shipped in a small cage, I have already ordered a larger screen cage for him which will arrive hopefully in a week or 10 days.
I was thinking of getting a plastic pan to fit the dimensions of the bottom of the cage do catch drips. I love the pic I saw of one of the cages here (Heika's) where there was a built in drain.
Do y'all have pans on the bottom?

I have read a lot of stuff, honest; I know it sounds like I am asking a lot of questions but it isn't because I didn't do research.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

I don't use a drainage system and haven't really had a problem.
The bottom of Kitty's cage is 4" high and silicone caulked and sealed with about 6 coats of poly. When there is excess moisture down there I just wipe it out with paper towels.
The viability of of a drainage system is going to depend somewhat on this cage you are having built. Will the bottom be screen as well?

-Brad

 

[Lucille]

It will not be screen but I did not specify plastic. I was thinking something maybe just an inch or so high, just to catch drips from the sprayer and drippers. Maybe like those plastic ABS pans they have on the bottom of dog crates.

 

[Heika]

Who did you order your cage from? Most of the major screen cage builders use a hard plastic for the floor of the cage. I use misting heads in my cages, and wiping up water isn't an option.. there is too much of it. On the generic screen cage that I have, I cut a hole in the plastic floor and dropped in a sink drain. I set the biggest plant in the cage directly on top of the drain so that the plant slopes to the drain. If I had to do it again, I would use a funnel and some screen.. a lot cheaper, and it works really well. All of the cages in my rack system use these, and they have been great so far. I built a pretty basic stand for the screen cage, just legs attached to a square made out of 2X4's with a couple supports in the middle so that the floor can flex. I use a bucket under the drain to catch the water.

Heika

 

[Will Hayward]

More importantly, who is shipping chameleons inside a cage?! If the chameleon has not been shipped yet, show them this article: www.melleridiscovery.com (CLICK TUTORIALS) for proper chameleon shipping methods.

 

[Brian S]

True, if please don't allow him/her to be shipped in a cage.

 

[Jordan]

I think a good drainage plan is commonly overlooked by most first time chameleon owners. I know it was by me. I ended up ruining a nice looking dresser because of lack of drainage with my first chameleon. It is good to see this is on your list of concerns.

I think with some pictures, a link to where you bought the cage or a better description someone can help you out there. Probably will require some customization but most are very doable even with the mechanically inclined.

 

[Lucille]

True, if please don't allow him/her to be shipped in a cage.

What was I thinking, he will be shipped WITH a small cage. I should have read better before I hit the submit button.
I just went to take a look at the website and the bottom of the cage will be plastic..

 

[Lucille]

I think with some pictures, a link to where you bought the cage or a better description someone can help you out there. Probably will require some customization but most are very doable even with the mechanically inclined.

Jordan here's a link to where I'm getting my cage, they are absolutely the nicest people to deal with and they are making the cage now and will ship it next week:
http://www.screencages.com/index.html

I will take pix once I get it and it is set up in my home. There won't really be room for any custom cabinets underneath because I have to have space for basking lights and the cage itself will be 7 feet tall.

 

[Heika]

That is a fantastic company to deal with. Hope you went with the 1/8" vinyl coated aluminum mesh..

Heika

 

[Lucille]

There were 2 different sizes of mesh and I wanted the larger at first but they suggested I go with the smaller, so that's the one I went with.
I'm so excited about getting the little guy I can hardly wait.

 

[Brian S]

Tis a very exciting hobby, and as you can see it has sucked a lot of people into it!