Everyone else is doing it?? Why not me.

[Ryan Jarosek]

Here is the start of my free range. Currently the area is 4.5' x 3.5' x 8' in an L shape in the corner of the room. I am going to be doing a lot of work on this. I will post updates here with photos as everything develops. I have a plan and I think everything I need besides a few more plants. I love the tree and so does he/she.

What do you think?

I also included some sneak peaks of our new guest. Enjoy

 

[Rocky]

neat! its like everytime you post something its of a new chameleon 0.0 good luck with your meller and his free range

 

[bigcappa]

Thats great Ryan, keeps us updated on the free range set up and is that just a guest or a new family member.

 

[Ryan Jarosek]

He is going to be sticking around as a family member.

 

[Kat77]

Ryan you got a Melleri?! When? From where? How old is he/she? Congratulations!

The free range looks like it will be really nice. How exciting!

 

[Dsignrguy]

Looks good so far, but I don't see any UVB though (I know you got it covered though). Nice cham, and nice ficus. I've found the biggest issue for me has been the excess water run-off. once you get that nailed it's smooth sailing

 

[Ryan Jarosek]

Ryan you got a Melleri?! When? From where? How old is he/she? Congratulations!

The free range looks like it will be really nice. How exciting!

Well I fell victim to LLL reptile . Funny thing is I went to LLL reptile to get a cage. This guy/gal was so impressive they had her/him outside sunning. My wife and I fell in love. I am guessing the age at around a year old or so. I will post some good pics when I get a chance.

Looks good so far, but I don't see any UVB though (I know you got it covered though). Nice cham, and nice ficus. I've found the biggest issue for me has been the excess water run-off. once you get that nailed it's smooth sailing

I have the UV just not mounted yet. For now I am using the power of the sun. My drainage strategy is going to take a little tweaking but it is turning out nicely.


Ok so I added a couple of plants. I am still going to get another tree next to teh benjamina.Where the lamp is sitting next to. I have a tarp that will line the entire wall line and around the ends. That will help with back splash and misting. A new herpmist will be taking care of the misting duties.

Here are some updated pics.

Total space is 126 cubic feet.

Added a new ficus , the ficus benjamina is over 6 ft tall and the other ficus is about 5 ft tall. Everything seems so much smaller in the pictures.

I am going to place a couple pothos around to hide the vaporizer and give it a little more climbing area. Here is what it will look like. I still need to wash them.

 

[chamelisa]

An idea to protect interior walls

When I kept my chameleons indoors during the winters, the walls (which were painted with semi-gloss paint) were covered with clear adhesive craft vinyl. It is used to cover school books or shelves and it is available at stores like WalMart in the section where you find shelf lining. I used this method for 2 to 3 years and it did a great job of protecting the walls from overspray and dripping. I don't know if this will work for you, but it's worth a try. Looks a lot better than tarp too because it's clear.

 

[Ryan Jarosek]

When I kept my chameleons indoors during the winters, the walls (which were painted with semi-gloss paint) were covered with clear adhesive craft vinyl. It is used to cover school books or shelves and it is available at stores like WalMart in the section where you find shelf lining. I used this method for 2 to 3 years and it did a great job of protecting the walls from overspray and dripping. I don't know if this will work for you, but it's worth a try. Looks a lot better than tarp too because it's clear.

Thanks! thats a great idea.

 

[Sepioteuthis]

First of all, a freerange is the way to go with melleri.

I've been using bathroom paint for my cham room for 3 years now and it works great. And with my misting system the walls get soaked twice a day. This is because all the misting nozzles are pointed towards the wall so the floor in front of the freerange doesn't get wet.

Like Dsignrguy said, drainage is the biggest challenge with freeranges. We actually installed a FloodStop in our misting system with sensors all around the back wall of the freerange, just in case the drainage system fails.

Also, count on your cham leaving the freerange. An adult melleri can climb down those shelves easily.

Lastly, make sure there is no way your cham can get to the heatlamp, and that includes from the floor.

Good luck with your new melleri!