Finished Cage

[DkRhodes]

Here's some pics of the finished cage, this before i filled it a few more plants.

Miss Chamille seems to be really happy with her new cage.I since hung
pothos hanging from the mesh to help avoid actual contact with the mesh.
Will post pics again soon

 

[Julirs]

Wow--I love your cage! Great drainage and the whole thing looks very nice, much better than the screen cage look. I would get a flouresent tube UVB light. People are not having the best of success with the compacts and in the pics it doesn't look like she gets close enough for it to do any good. With a 5.0 tube they need to be able to get within 10" for it to work. A 10.0 tube will penetrate deeper into the cage.

 

[DkRhodes]

^^^ thanks any suggestions are appreciated . that's a 10.0 UVB light and
the bulb is too big to sit it on top the cage.I face the cage toward the window
during the peak natural sun hours which i hope helps her too.It faces west
and from like 2pm till dark ,the sun really rocks that side of the house.Thanks
Again

 

[pohchunyee]

Really nice cage... I love it.

 

[Dave Weldon]

...I face the cage toward the window
during the peak natural sun hours which i hope helps her too.It faces west and from like 2pm till dark ,the sun really rocks that side of the house...

Howdy,

Looks good! Speaking of sunshine, if you are looking for that window to be a source of UVB then it'll need to be an open window. Normal house glass filters out nearly 100% of the UVB. You'll get the visible spectrum and the infrared warmth but not the UVB. It's the same problem with the plastic lens covering many pet store UVB fixtures .

 

[DkRhodes]

Thanks Dave, yeah, i had a feeling that would be the issue as far as the UVB.
I plan to get another 10.0 tube light now too.Is there such a thing as too
much UVB???I don't want to have both lights going and it be to much.

 

[Ren]

Nice looking cage, it looks really great the drainage system is sweet as well, just one thing, i would try and hook up some sort of plumbing to it so you can set your catch pail sloser to one side and that way use the rest for storage, crickets, supplies and whatnot, thats what i do , wife likes it better that way. I used to have 3 vitamins and calciums on the fridge as well as a mister worms, and other various things.. haha she no likey... nicely done, and I also dig your dripper shelf, I intended on making one like that for a waterfall before i found out what sort of cesspool they turn out to be.Also I dig the blanket man, I have one just like it lol

 

[Dave Weldon]

Thanks Dave, yeah, i had a feeling that would be the issue as far as the UVB. I plan to get another 10.0 tube light now too.Is there such a thing as too much UVB???I don't want to have both lights going and it be to much.

Howdy,

Yes, it is quite possible to have too much artificial UVB (especially with compact tubes). Your single 10.0 tube is probably ok. Even though the sun will supply a lot more uW/cm2 of UVB, it has a different balance of UVB1/UVB2 and a high visible light content than our artificial sources. With a Reptisun 5.0 linear tube (not coil) most would agree that if your critter can get hours of exposure to it at a distance of 6"-12" then you are doing ok. The Reptisun 10.0 is more powerful and has less data behind it for us to have as much confidence in its long-term use. One concern with some 10.0 sources is that at close distances, it may tend to irritate eyes (snow blindness) in some reptiles. It's visible spectral output is less (phosphor changes to produce more UVB) since more of it is UVB and this can lead to the critter not averting its eyes from it. There are studies that show that with panthers, 5 to 15uW/cm2 is the UVB level to use. That's roughly around the level achieved using a Reptisun 5.0 at about 6"-12" when the tube has been burned-in over 100 hours (They come out of the box running "hot".) A Reptisun 10.0 will be more, even double the amount. One might think that double just means that it reaches farther into the enclosure's depths. That's true except that if your critter is not restricted to only the deep zones of his enclosure. It may be quite possible that he could easily get too close in the same enclosure. (I'm including the losses of the UVB light having to go through typical aluminum screen.)

Some summary thoughts:

Always have all of your light sources aimed down from the top of the enclosure to minimize the chances of your critter staring at the UVB source.

The minimum distance is just as important as the maximum distance.

Aluminum reflectors will almost double the energy directed into the enclosure.

Reptisun 5.0 tubes have a good history of success.

Read through http://www.uvguide.co.uk/ and specific tube tests: http://www.uvguide.co.uk/fluorescenttubes.htm

Got an extra $160 bucks? Feeling paranoid about your UVB levels? Buy a Solarmeter 6.2 at: http://www.beardeddragons.biz/solarmeter_6.2.htm Tough to beat that price (includes shipping!) for what has been the "standard" for the reptile keeper. Don't bother looking at any other mfgr than Solartech.

 

[John33871]

question, where did you get the black drainage contaier? sorry dont know the right name for it but where did you get it? ive looked everywhere home depo lowes

 

[booshified]

question, where did you get the black drainage contaier? sorry dont know the right name for it but where did you get it? ive looked everywhere home depo lowes

were did u get it and what are its dimensions.

thanks

 

[Scooter]

Hey, it looks great !!!!

 

[DkRhodes]

here guys is the link to another thread where i show it used for just sitting
your cage in it:https://www.chameleonforums.com/drainage-screen-enclosure-5220/. Its a mortar pan from HomeDepot, made for mixing bags
of concrete ,probaly right next the bags of concrete and it cost like 3.97.I cut
a whole in it a bought a sink screen catch ,bent a paper clip and hung a 3oz.
fishing weight from it to catch leaves and other matter .here's a pic of that

Also, I believe the dimensions of the pan is like 20" X 27".They make a bigger
one too if your trying to have a bigger spread. It's plenty roomy as far as
floor space and, like I've been told ,height is the most important thing and
she's got 4 feet from the bottom of the pan. I had fun building it and will be
more then happy to answer or help anyone with theirs. thanks YaL

 

[booshified]

cool thanks

 

[Dankmeleon]

if it costed 8 dollars I don't think you would have been conceived

 

[booshified]

if it costed 8 dollars I don't think you would have been conceived

this is true.....but how often can one just jump into bed with someone without spending a little cash. (dinner, movie, etc.......or just paying for the act it self)

 

[Scooter]

I believe at today's economy, that would be $80.00

 

[DkRhodes]

conceived ???I'm uh hella confused ???

 

[bluegoldfish]

lol, dkrhodes, dankmeleon is referring to the quote at the bottom of booshified's posts.

 

[Ren]

otherwise known as thread hijacking. hahaa

 

[Vegas Chad]

Best just to ignore him; Back on topic... Cage looks great man!