My niece Sarah and I are setting up a Hybrid dual Reptibreeze XL enclosure for a future male Panther Chameleon. While I am new to reptiles in general, Sarah has been collecting reptiles and arachnids for years. This is however, her first chameleon. We have both been learning a great deal from this forum, the Chameleon Academy Blogs, and youtube videos. We are currently deciding on whether to pursue a bioactive enclosure design or not. Whichever approach we take we are going to make sure we have a stabilized and tested ecosystem in place with healthy plants and functioning hydration before adding a chameleon.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52711282509_fe4ccda4a8_m.jpg
As shown in the photo, we have assembled the two Reptibreeze XL cages.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52711022181_5125300296_m.jpg
We removed the screen from the two sides which will be mated, then created a 1/2" wide by 1/8" thick seal from a sheet of corrugated plastic and attached it to the open side of one of the two cages.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52711283194_75f64c1bd2_m.jpg
We then joined the cages together with 1" x 6' x 1/16" aluminum flats from Lowes cut to fit and attached with screws around the junction of the cages.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52711439385_07b33b8d0e_m.jpg
We have not yet secured the front of the cage together, but plan to do so with some 3D printed black brackets which will be 3/4" wide by approximately 6" long. We have not reversed one of the doors as we have seen others do. The image shows what the the latch clearance will be when we put the front brackets on.
We have two sets of Dragon Ledges on back order for the cages and when they arrive we will install them and then screw 2' wide black corrugated plastic panels above and below the Dragon Ledges to the back and sides. The black panels will only extend three feet down from the top.
The next step will be to remove the screens from the upper doors and replace them by cutting plexiglas to the openings size and silicon sealing in place.
Finding a drain pan which had just the right dimensions was difficult. I wanted one that the cage would fit inside of with no chance of misting or condensation dripping from the walls to the floor. I finally came across this drain pan from New Pig which looks like it will work well for us. It is made of LDPE (Low Density PolyEthylene) which makes it somewhat flexible which reduces the chances of cracking yet thick and strurdy enough to do the job. It is not super cheap but nothing is these days.
I found it on AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BUBQ46M?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1
The following pictures show details of the pan.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52711023191_ff37eff798_m.jpg
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52711501798_6f55478754_m.jpg
The dime shows the depth clearance at the front of the cage with the cage pushed all the way to the back. I measured the cage frame depth as 23 7/8".
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52711284189_c63b9bd8c6_m.jpg
The dime shows the width clearance at the side of the cage with the cage pushed all the way to the opposite side. I measured the combined cage frame width (including the seal) as 48 1/4".
This is about as far as we have progressed. We look forward to hearing from others. Questions or critiques are equally welcome. We wish to thank everyone who came before us and whose ideas we have pilfered and adapted to get us this far.
Phil and Sarah
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52711282509_fe4ccda4a8_m.jpg
As shown in the photo, we have assembled the two Reptibreeze XL cages.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52711022181_5125300296_m.jpg
We removed the screen from the two sides which will be mated, then created a 1/2" wide by 1/8" thick seal from a sheet of corrugated plastic and attached it to the open side of one of the two cages.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52711283194_75f64c1bd2_m.jpg
We then joined the cages together with 1" x 6' x 1/16" aluminum flats from Lowes cut to fit and attached with screws around the junction of the cages.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52711439385_07b33b8d0e_m.jpg
We have not yet secured the front of the cage together, but plan to do so with some 3D printed black brackets which will be 3/4" wide by approximately 6" long. We have not reversed one of the doors as we have seen others do. The image shows what the the latch clearance will be when we put the front brackets on.
We have two sets of Dragon Ledges on back order for the cages and when they arrive we will install them and then screw 2' wide black corrugated plastic panels above and below the Dragon Ledges to the back and sides. The black panels will only extend three feet down from the top.
The next step will be to remove the screens from the upper doors and replace them by cutting plexiglas to the openings size and silicon sealing in place.
Finding a drain pan which had just the right dimensions was difficult. I wanted one that the cage would fit inside of with no chance of misting or condensation dripping from the walls to the floor. I finally came across this drain pan from New Pig which looks like it will work well for us. It is made of LDPE (Low Density PolyEthylene) which makes it somewhat flexible which reduces the chances of cracking yet thick and strurdy enough to do the job. It is not super cheap but nothing is these days.
I found it on AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BUBQ46M?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1
The following pictures show details of the pan.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52711023191_ff37eff798_m.jpg
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52711501798_6f55478754_m.jpg
The dime shows the depth clearance at the front of the cage with the cage pushed all the way to the back. I measured the cage frame depth as 23 7/8".
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52711284189_c63b9bd8c6_m.jpg
The dime shows the width clearance at the side of the cage with the cage pushed all the way to the opposite side. I measured the combined cage frame width (including the seal) as 48 1/4".
This is about as far as we have progressed. We look forward to hearing from others. Questions or critiques are equally welcome. We wish to thank everyone who came before us and whose ideas we have pilfered and adapted to get us this far.
Phil and Sarah
