Going for a larger enclosure

[Ruganut]

Hi all. Currently I have Ringo in an 18" x 18" x 18" Exo Terra glass vivarium. I realise he will need a bigger enclosure in a few months (he is a 3 1/2 month old Panther) but was thinking about changing his enclosure now.

I must admit to struggling a bit with the amount of water collecting in the bottom, since I removed the substrate. I'm having to mop it out every day so its nice and dry for bedtime So I've been thinking about building an enclosure.

I'm fairly handy so I dont think it will be a problem. The only real issue I have is the size. I've been thinking about 40" (h) x 18" (d) x 30" (w). Do you think this would be too big for the little fella at the moment ?

 

[Giselle]

I use exo terra terrariums for my green tree pythons (I don't have any chams yet) and the water was a hassle for me too, I linked them all up with drainage. Drill into the base of the tank and just fix a bulkhead to it with some pipe. You won't really have to worry after that.

=)

 

[Midnighthwk]

if his food is easy for hm to get too then it should be fine.
if he cup feeds the bigger the better so u wont have to make a new one when he is full grown

i put my cham in a 6'x3'x3' when he was 3 months old.
he is now in a 5'x4'x4' cage (15 months old ) on a stand so the top is at 8'.
needed the room to breed crickets so they are in the stand along with the drainage "system" and storage for extra bulbs and what not

old cage

new cage

 

[maxttu]

if his food is easy for hm to get too then it should be fine.
if he cup feeds the bigger the better so u wont have to make a new one when he is full grown

i put my cham in a 6'x3'x3' when he was 3 months old.
he is now in a 5'x4'x4' cage (15 months old ) on a stand so the top is at 8'.
needed the room to breed crickets so they are in the stand along with the drainage "system" and storage for extra bulbs and what not

old cage

new cage

Nice set-ups!

 

[Midnighthwk]

thx,
waiting for the plants to fill in more. but in the mean time i am cloning more so that it makes a wall of plants

18'' plant 15$
size i want 60-80$ :*(

and the poor fig got eaten

and thats my beardie cage on the left. 3'x3'x4'

 

[Ruganut]

Thanks for the advice guys. Midnighthwk, thats a very nice setup

Plants are another reason I want to go bigger to be honest. Will be sourcing them today. Still not quite sure which ones to get, will have to see what the Garden Centre has in !

As for the 'drainage system', i was going to use plastic bowls at the bottom (mesh floor) to catch the water and empty it everyday. Do you think this would be ok ?

 

[ChamomilleCame]

I dont know about the bowls idea. It prob wont catch all the water and its a cham hazard. The plant might also leak a little so its really better to go with a drain. If the cage is meant to be on a table w/o a stand, put some bricks to lift it and put a pan under it
At the shop, ask if they have schefflera abricola. Chams love these and they look really nice
I am personally building a cage w pvc tubes. It wasnt so expensive, but all the connections made it bigger, so it took a little thinking

 

[Ruganut]

Thanks for the advice ChamomilleCame, although I should have been a bit clearer regarding the bowls. The enclosure will be raised so it has a gap underneath (I've seen this on several enclosures here). The flooring of the enclosure will be mesh so the excess water can pass straight through it, into the bowls underneath. I can then empty and clean these each day. So I guess in a way, it 'is' a drainage system !

I've nearly finished the enclosure, so hopefully tomorrow I can put some pictures up. In the meantime I went and bought some plants. I just need to repot them in Organic soil and give them a wash

I attached some pictures of the plants; Devils Ivy, Rubber Plant & Schefflera. The only one I'm not sure of is the Schefflera, as it didnt have the last part of the name with it. Do you know if it is the correct type ?

 

[ChamomilleCame]

Im not so sure if thats schefflera abricola cause I've seen abricolas and they have more leaves. It looks like the other type of species (I don't remember the name ill put it later ) The other type is toxic. Is that the full plant as it is? Or is it only half?
I guess you can leave the bowls then heehee

 

[Midnighthwk]

looks like schefflera arboricola capella
i have used them for 2 years with no prob when remembering to not water them so much. 2 times a week is plenty.
had 6 of them die on me last week cuz i spaced out what side i watered last time.

i added 9 more plants since i took the pics.
waiting on summer for the ones i was cloning to have enough roots to put in the cage