First Cham, in the research phase, trying to set up enclosure

[Camel Leon]

Looking to get my first cham.......I've kept beardies for 20 years and a uromastyx for the last 7 years....trying to do my due diligence before getting one. I'm mentally building my enclosure......it will be at my work office, just to my right, on a 2'X4' stand that used to hold my beardie/uro tank. Where I live (West Texas) the humidity is very low, especially in winter, and my concern is in keeping up a good humidity level. Between that and having the enclosure right next to me, it seems like a glass/plexiglass enclosure might be best......I looked at the Reptibreeze 48" open air, but I just don't know that it would keep humidity. I plan on using an auto mister and also live plants. Anyone living in a drier climate that could chime in on this issue? I also thought about the Reptibreeze and adding plexiglass back/sides inside the mesh.....have also considered just building one from scratch.

Cham will probably be one of the following.....Panther/Veiled/Jackson

Another issue is drainage......but that is going to depend somewhat on the enclosure style......I might have more questions about that later. Thinking about slightly slanted bottom, into a sink drain, then out the bottom and into a bucket below.

Thanks for any advice!

My beardie/uro enclosure that I built about 15 years ago:

 

[Gingero]

Jackson's require pretty significant temperature drops at night so you'll want to consider that when deciding on what species to get. If building one from scratch is an option for you (I personally am not great at that kind of stuff) then I would think about going big! Something like 4'x2'x4'. The reason why 2x2x4 is recommended is because that is what is readily available on the market but I promise you your cham would LOVE a bigger enclosure. You'll find lots of build threads here on the forums.

As far as drainage goes, there are multiple ways people solve for this. The common solutions are going bioactive or drilling holes in the bottom with a bucket underneath to catch the water.

 

[Camel Leon]

Thanks for the reply....great YT channel BTW! Subscribed

 

[Camel Leon]

My biggest question right now is a subjective one I guess.....but really wanting to figure out if I need a screen or glass enclosure......if someone has had a screen and then went to glass, maybe they could tell me what difference it made. Also, since I will be sitting right next to it at work, seems like the misting (and humidity) would be a problem.....

 

[suprdude]

Personally, I like glass over screen, but you need to really get the ventilation right and keep the air moving a bit so it doesn't get stagnant. Your uro enclosure is beautiful, but chameleons like branches (which you could add to your existing enclosure)

 

[Beman]

So I prefer full hybrid in low humidity areas... I have a dragonstrand enclosure and am in northern Arizona. My ambient room level sits at about 14% So with the hybrid I am able to not only get airflow but I am able to get much higher stable humidity levels within the enclosure. I have a drip pan for mine that I wet vac. If I could do my drainage again I would have plumbed the pan and had it drain into a bucket in my cabinet.

If looking to buy check into dragonstrand hybrid and Tamura Designs. Tamura already has drainage done for you. Dragonstrand you have a drainpan you have to wet vac or modify.

I have had both screen and hybrid. I personally would not go glass. You can not get the larger sizes that an adult cham really needs. Also balancing out your levels in glass can be much harder. Next it is glass... So your going to get a reflection inside the cage with all the lights on it. Veileds and Panthers can be very sensitive to seeing their reflection. This can cause undo stress.

 

[Camel Leon]

suprdude,

Thanks......if I built one for a cham, it would probably be 2'X2'X4'.........I still have the uro so no intentions of repurposing that enclosure.

Personally, I like glass over screen, but you need to really get the ventilation right and keep the air moving a bit so it doesn't get stagnant. Your uro enclosure is beautiful, but chameleons like branches (which you could add to your existing enclosure)

 

[Camel Leon]

So I prefer full hybrid in low humidity areas... I have a dragonstrand enclosure and am in northern Arizona. My ambient room level sits at about 14% So with the hybrid I am able to not only get airflow but I am able to get much higher stable humidity levels within the enclosure. I have a drip pan for mine that I wet vac. If I could do my drainage again I would have plumbed the pan and had it drain into a bucket in my cabinet.

If looking to buy check into dragonstrand hybrid and Tamura Designs. Tamura already has drainage done for you. Dragonstrand you have a drainpan you have to wet vac or modify.

I have had both screen and hybrid. I personally would not go glass. You can not get the larger sizes that an adult cham really needs. Also balancing out your levels in glass can be much harder. Next it is glass... So your going to get a reflection inside the cage with all the lights on it. Veileds and Panthers can be very sensitive to seeing their reflection. This can cause undo stress.

Thanks for the info.......I looked at the Dragonstrand, Tamura, and Zen Habitats. The Tamura may be more than I want to spend on an enclosure....but they ARE nice.

 

[Camel Leon]

I ended up buying an old liquor cabinet....it has the bottom section for my drain bucket/supplies.....it's not as deep as I wanted, but maybe the width will make up for that.....interior is 47"H, 47"W, 17"D