finally finished decorating my custom chameleon cage

[irishfan]

Took some time but finally finished decorating my cage for my jackson chameleon... has a built in drain and runs off a rs400 monsoon. Let me know what u guys think

 

[bookumdanom1]

Very nice..great job!

 

[Lathis]

Looks very nice! Do you have mulch or cocofiber in the bottom? You may find that it molds like crazy and it impossible to keep clean. If you don't want a bare bottom (which is easiest but I understand why folks don't like that) you could use large stones. Those you can throw in the dishwasher on high for a good sanitizing easily.

 

[irishfan]

Its that reptibark just to keep the humidity up since the cage is so big.. i have my monsoon going of every 2 hrs for 1 min but humidity is still a lil too low.... ive used the reptibark and as long as i change it out every 3 weeks it seems to not mold

 

[Lathis]

My cage is that size for my Jax and fully screen, so I understand the humidity concerns. The plants help a lot. Honestly, I run my mister for longer sessions to compensate and don't worry about ambient humidity except in winter. My lights run 7:00a to 7:00p.

8:00a 15 mins
10:30a 5 mins
1:00p 5 mins
3:30 15 mins
6:00 5 mins

In the winter, I run a small cool mist humidifier directed into the cage. It's a lot of water, about a gallon a day, but it works well.

I also provide my Jax with a dripper for a few hours most days. Sometimes he likes to sit under the drips. Seems to make him happy.

 

[irishfan]

Ya thats what i was thinking going up to about 2 min every other hr or maybe every hour i have 4 plants a full size ficus a pothos a Japanese araleia and a hibiscus i just added the last 2 so hopefully that'll help... i do have a reptifogger and a dripper was just thinking all that might be a bit excessive u know

 

[Lathis]

Ya thats what i was thinking going up to about 2 min every other hr or maybe every hour i have 4 plants a full size ficus a pothos a Japanese araleia and a hibiscus i just added the last 2 so hopefully that'll help... i do have a reptifogger and a dripper was just thinking all that might be a bit excessive u know

If you get your misting just right, you can use it to keep your plants watered too, but make sure you have good drainage out of the bottom of the pot. Root rot is nasty.

I agree re: mister/dripper/fogger - all at once might be too much but having the variety is nice for different times of year. I do like the humidifier in the winter time. It makes a nice gradient, so if my jax wants to be in the high humidity he can, but he can also get away from it to a drier area. It's high humidity here in the summer (thank you, Midwest weather), so I don't worry about it then. If you are in a much drier climate, you will probably want do things differently.

It's a really nice looking cage! I wish there were more/better options for furniture quality enclosures on the market. Unless you are willing to drop a couple of K$ for a custom build, you really have to DIY.