Hello all, this is my first post to the forum...so excited 
I am getting a veiled chameleon soon (Tuesday) and I am in the process of setting everything up. I purchased a bundle of bamboo reeds from Michael's for around $13. I placed some whole reeds in the enclosure but I had SO many left over so I decided to make something. I built a bridge using two of the larger reeds and one thinner reed. I cut the larger ones so they were two feet long (width of my enclosure) and the smaller into twelve 4-inch pieces. I hot glued the small pieces to the larger pieces and voilà! A ladder/bridge was born. I've decided to use it as a bridge because of my lack of horizontal pieces. I'm pretty happy with it and I hope it holds up well. It should last a while because my cham will be a baby. Does anyone else have any other suggestions of something I could make? Here are some pictures of my enclosure. 2x2x4 Reptibreeze. I'm happy with it so far....hopefully no rusting occurs. I have a 10" dome with a 50 watt basking bulb from ZooMed and a 20" hood with a reptisun 5.0. My basking temps aren't high enough (75-80 at most--hopefully my cheap zoo-med thermometer/hygrometer isn't lying to me). I thought the 50 watt would be at least 85. temp in my house is usually around 70. I ordered another bulb....same kind but 75 watts. hope that brings me to around 95 at the basking spot. However, is 95 too high for a baby? Or should I use the 50 watt for now? I purchased a timer from harbor freight for around $6 that turns the lights on at 7 am and off at 7 pm (give or take). I plan on misting before I leave for school in the morning (college student) and setting up a drip system (plastic cup) for when I leave and misting again at 4:30. Do you think that is enough water? I'll probably purchase an automated mister later. I also have an 8" ficus to be delivered soon from LLL and a 24" surreal vine I'm waiting for. Everything was purchased from LLL (even the cham and 1/8 size crickets) except for the cage (Petco--probably should have gotten that from LLL also didn't read about rusting on reptibreeze till after purchase). I have a 72" FLuker's red coleus repta-vine wrapped loosely around a small exo-terra jungle vine. I also have a large hanging plastic amapallo plant. I also plan on getting a nice hanging plant that looks like it will hold and drip water very nicely that I will put partially under the drip system. For drainage, I'm hoping the ficus weighs down the bottom enough to drain the water into a hole in the center and through a bulkhead with a hose into a bucket. Do you think that will work? Any other suggestions? The cage is sitting on an end table I bought at wal-mart for around $13. not quite as high as I wanted but it will do for now. I know my cage looks pretty barren right now but I plan on adding to it! It's no where near the way I want it to be. Any suggestions for vines, fake plants, real plants, misting systems? I live in New Orleans, Louisiana and it's quite warm and humid. I would put my cage outside, but I have four dogs that would stress my cham out As you can see in the picture there is a window I plan on opening to let some heat in. However, I can't open it now because it is still boarded up from hurricane Isaac I'm pretty new to this and any feedback is welcomed!! thanks so much for reading!
Edit: I also plan on putting up a shower curtain or aquarium liner or something to stop moisture from hitting the walls in the back so disregard that mirror I'll probably move it anyway.
I am getting a veiled chameleon soon (Tuesday) and I am in the process of setting everything up. I purchased a bundle of bamboo reeds from Michael's for around $13. I placed some whole reeds in the enclosure but I had SO many left over so I decided to make something. I built a bridge using two of the larger reeds and one thinner reed. I cut the larger ones so they were two feet long (width of my enclosure) and the smaller into twelve 4-inch pieces. I hot glued the small pieces to the larger pieces and voilà! A ladder/bridge was born. I've decided to use it as a bridge because of my lack of horizontal pieces. I'm pretty happy with it and I hope it holds up well. It should last a while because my cham will be a baby. Does anyone else have any other suggestions of something I could make? Here are some pictures of my enclosure. 2x2x4 Reptibreeze. I'm happy with it so far....hopefully no rusting occurs. I have a 10" dome with a 50 watt basking bulb from ZooMed and a 20" hood with a reptisun 5.0. My basking temps aren't high enough (75-80 at most--hopefully my cheap zoo-med thermometer/hygrometer isn't lying to me). I thought the 50 watt would be at least 85. temp in my house is usually around 70. I ordered another bulb....same kind but 75 watts. hope that brings me to around 95 at the basking spot. However, is 95 too high for a baby? Or should I use the 50 watt for now? I purchased a timer from harbor freight for around $6 that turns the lights on at 7 am and off at 7 pm (give or take). I plan on misting before I leave for school in the morning (college student) and setting up a drip system (plastic cup) for when I leave and misting again at 4:30. Do you think that is enough water? I'll probably purchase an automated mister later. I also have an 8" ficus to be delivered soon from LLL and a 24" surreal vine I'm waiting for. Everything was purchased from LLL (even the cham and 1/8 size crickets) except for the cage (Petco--probably should have gotten that from LLL also
didn't read about rusting on reptibreeze till after purchase). I have a 72" FLuker's red coleus repta-vine wrapped loosely around a small exo-terra jungle vine. I also have a large hanging plastic amapallo plant. I also plan on getting a nice hanging plant that looks like it will hold and drip water very nicely that I will put partially under the drip system. For drainage, I'm hoping the ficus weighs down the bottom enough to drain the water into a hole in the center and through a bulkhead with a hose into a bucket. Do you think that will work? Any other suggestions? The cage is sitting on an end table I bought at wal-mart for around $13. not quite as high as I wanted but it will do for now. I know my cage looks pretty barren right now but I plan on adding to it! It's no where near the way I want it to be. Any suggestions for vines, fake plants, real plants, misting systems? I live in New Orleans, Louisiana and it's quite warm and humid. I would put my cage outside, but I have four dogs that would stress my cham out As you can see in the picture there is a window I plan on opening to let some heat in. However, I can't open it now because it is still boarded up from hurricane Isaac I'm pretty new to this and any feedback is welcomed!! thanks so much for reading!Edit: I also plan on putting up a shower curtain or aquarium liner or something to stop moisture from hitting the walls in the back so disregard that mirror
I'll probably move it anyway.
