Building cage for 3-4 month old cham - need size suggestions?

[m1ndless]

I decided to ditch the 38 gallon glass aquarium I was planning on using seeing how "taboo" it is on these forums, and just build one myself.

I am buying my cham at 3-4 months old, and I am not sure what size I should make the enclosure.

Can I make a big one now, for when he is adult, or witll it be too big for the young cham?

This is how I plan on building it (See Attached)

I plan on building it out of the 1x1" pieces of wood that you can get in most lengths at home depot or lowes.

I am not sure what type of mesh/screen to use, I want something I can easily see through, and that crix wont escape out of. I plan on just stapling it to the wood.

I want to have it up about 2-3" off the ground supported by legs, so I can make the bottom mesh, and allow water to pass through, I will put a small tray or something underneath to catch the water.

I am going to make the door on the front start about 6" up so it can be cricket proof, I dont want any escaping when I open the door.

I an going to use some sort of latch to keep the door shut, and just some small hinges for the door.

How do you guys like my setup? Any suggestions? Anything I am overlooking?

 

[bg77]

Well I have a about a 5 month old Veiled/male, and he is in my 24x24x48 screen cage and is doing great. He started in a 16x16x30.

 

[m1ndless]

I am thinking of doing 24x24x42 is that big enough for an adult male veiled? Would it be too big for a 3-4 month?

 

[bg77]

I think that 48 is better than 42. I am sure 42 would be ok. As far as that size for 3-4 month old, I think I would go a little smaller. Or maybe try to partition some of it off. Mine is cup feed so that is the main reason why I switched him at his age. If he was a free roamer I would of waited.

 

[Nicodemayo]

That would be great for an adult veiled but a younger one might get lost and turned around in his cage while hunting for crickets, especially if you plan on putting in alot of plants. If you DO decide to go with the bigger cage(which i dont reccomend) make sure you at least have some plants near the TOP of the cage close to the lights. A couple hanging pothos plants would be perfect for this and you can gradually add more plants as he grows. You can add one more center beam on the top of the cage, screw in a couple of 50 cent hooks from home depot and pothos would look quite nice hanging from them. I just made a cage for my panthers of almost your exact design except i used 1.5 inch beams(https://www.chameleonforums.com/my-new-enclosure-my-8483/) and mine isnt cricket proof. I made a smaller cage for my female veiled(which ill be upgrading in 2 months or so) and i used normal patio screening. It works well but i dont care to much for small screening because as they get older sometimes they fall when theyre trying to climb it cause of their larger nails.

 

[m1ndless]

I only have enough money to build one tank, I probably wont be able to build another one in a month or two when he is ready for a bigger cage.

I think I will just use the small glass thank til he is a little bigger, then just build a new large home for him.

 

[Justin Carl]

cup feed! you can make a giant cage and it wont matter if you cup feed.
just dont move the cup around. i did this with my 2 month old veiled and had no problems.
dont use porch screen on you homemade cage. crickets can chew a hole in it.

 

[m1ndless]

cup feed! you can make a giant cage and it wont matter if you cup feed.
just dont move the cup around. i did this with my 2 month old veiled and had no problems.
dont use porch screen on you homemade cage. crickets can chew a hole in it.

I will try that, thanks for the idea!

At what age would he need a full size cage if I cant get this built before he gets here?

 

[Justin Carl]

i had my guy in a full size at 2 months. i just use cup feeding.
i did find out the hard way crickets chew holes in porch screen.
i then bought a 38 gallon cage when i built my custom cage.
then moved up to my big 20x20x50

 

[m1ndless]

I think I am going to 20x24x48, I have a box with those exact measurements laying around, it fits perfect on the stand I have.

 

[Justin Carl]

go for it!
you can make it taller too. i do like a really tall cage.

 

[m1ndless]

go for it!
you can make it taller too. i do like a really tall cage.

Is 4ft not tall enough? I think any taller, I wont be able to do anything around his cage! :lol:

The stand is about 2ft tall already, I am only 6ft tall, so it will be as tall as me!

 

[Justin Carl]

that should be perfect.
6 feet is a good standard