Greenhouse Ideas?

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I am currently planning to build a 12x8 foot greenhouse for my chams and possible future chams. Does anyone have any extensive experience with the construction of a chameleon greenhouse? Such as... What equipment to get for humidity and temperature control/monitoring/auto-maintenance? I'm looking to build a fairly high-tech chameleon haven that can pretty much maintain itself. Any help/comments would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[heartben]

i dont know a whole lot about it but youre going to want to figure out how to let the sun in at least the top so the uv gets through..youll want good ventilation.. and of course a misting system.

i was going to modify a pop up green house (replace the plastic top with screen) but i never got that far. i can tell you it got WAY WAY to hot as it was unmodified. with decent ventilation it should be ok though. just one thing i noticed.

good luck, make sure to take pics/ video of the whole process once you get going so we can see the progress!

 

[Synapse]

i dont know a whole lot about it but youre going to want to figure out how to let the sun in at least the top so the uv gets through..youll want good ventilation.. and of course a misting system.

i was going to modify a pop up green house (replace the plastic top with screen) but i never got that far. i can tell you it got WAY WAY to hot as it was unmodified. with decent ventilation it should be ok though. just one thing i noticed.

good luck, make sure to take pics/ video of the whole process once you get going so we can see the progress!

Yes and thanks for the input! I am currently working on the blueprint and will take pictures of the process once the construction begins in a week or so. I want to make sure I have all the equipment needed to make my facility fully self-operational. I am going to make use of solar panels to help me cut down on the electric bill every month.

 

[RAFASTAR23]

That is awesome!!! ...have you thought about the material you'll be using for the walls? ....do you have a budget limit? ...the top has to be made of material that will not block uv light. Most glass tops actually block the uv rays, so make sure the glass/ acrylic etc you choose allows uv rays to go through.
I saw a custom made gigantic cage (greenhouse) with jackson's chameleons living in it. It was in the back yard of an acquaintance here in Southern Cal (San Diego). The weather as it is is no too bad for chams (except in winter because it gets a little dry humidity wise).
The frame was pine, heavy duty aluminum screen making-up the panels of the walls. and the top was a special kind of glass that allows uv to pass through.
A good misting system with automated timing can be purchased from MISTKING.COM several nozzles wer in place to water the entire cage for 5 mins every 2-3hrs.
You can have a custom made insect keeper compartment attached to the one wall of your chameleon heaven. there are a number of roboti mechanisms that can be attached to a timer to open a mini-door that will allow some crikets to move freely out of the keep and into the chameleon's space. the down side to this would be no specific count of crikets rouming free. Also, no dusting them with calcium / vitamins etc. before serving. So you would have to make sure your crikets in the keeper compartment are gutloaded with high nutrients and calcium. Or you would have to still feed your chams the old fashion way!
ventilation and climate control will depend greatly on the materials you use for contrution + the amount of vegetation you put in it.