help me pik the correct setup

[Cambagger]

hey guys first of all i wanted to intro myself...

i am goin to be purchasing a Nosy BE panther 4 months old in about a month.
But first i want to setup my cage with all the right products atleast a week or two in advance. I dont want to be like the rest of the noobs and make my panther suffer a couple of days over my ignorrance.

I been saving for a while and money on the setup is not a huge problem since i plan to spend 250 bucks on a cham. For that type of money idont want it to die or sufffer any time soon.

Here is what i got so far...

i wanted a exo terra screen cage 18x18x18
the look is great and love the rock mirage look in the back. Also read about how it has a 3 inch depth on the bottom for water moisture. it looks great but i wanted to kno if anyone had one?? and how is it to clean? is it worth it or just a over priced cage?? I love how you can add the cool waterfall and mister but learned how its not ideal for chams do to bacteria build up.

Then i read some threads aabout how great lll reptile cages are. Sturdy, easy to clean, and great price. I noticed they had trays u can buy for water drainage or plants. I do want live plants for my cham, atleast two so i can switch them up for variety.

the cage is my main concern. i would spend the money on the exo terraium if its worth it. I am just looking for the best route for my cham at this point and not looks no more.

also any recomendations om misters, drippers, waterfalls, or other sources for humidity.

I think this would be the funnist way to put togther a great cage. i plan to start purchasing itmes this week. pleans shoot me ideas or recommendations on items you guys have or seen.

thank you i will post pictures of the process and every item you guys help me purchase.

 

[jessica]

Hi and welcome to the forums! Here are a couple links that have great information that may help with some of your qusetions and help you give your guy a healthy life.

http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/

https://www.chameleonforums.com/general-care-true-chameleons-5943/

 

[DJ Richey Rich]

You can also click on Forums second on tool bar and look at others ideas see what plants are safe gut loading food and problems people have had

 

[SpinyFranky]

18x18x18 will be a very short lived cage for your chameleon. In one or two months he would need at least 18x18x36 and nearing 8 months an adult cage of 24x24x48 ( females can live as adults in the 18x18x36 )

Your better off purchasing the 48 inch cage off the bat and sectioning it off at the bottom so that it becomes 36 inches tall.

no waterfalls, the chams poop in them and then drink the water... its just asking for trouble.

Live plants are good, and you can make your own drainage system, mine is just paper towels on the bottom that are changed every evening.

A terrarium is not really a suitable enclosure for a chameleon, which requires high amounts of available ventilation. They are also very expensive and very small, leave them for frogs and geckos.

Some people do raise their chameleons in terrariums, but that are usually very small species such as pygmy chameleons.

Here is the Ideal list of chameleon supplies:


Zoo Med 50 watt Halogen Heat Bulb
$11.99 each

$11.99

24 x 24 x 48 inch Aluminum Screen Cage
$79.00 each
Screen Cage Trim Color: Black

$79.00

24" fluorescent hood fixture
$26.99 each

$26.99

Zoo Med 18" Repti Sun 5.0 UVB bulb
$17.99 each

$17.99

Zoo Med regular black ceramic clip lamp
$12.99 each

$12.99

Exo Terra Jungle Vine Small
$5.99 each

$11.98

72 Inch tropical vine
$3.99 each

$7.98

Pressure spray bottle
$12.99 each

$12.99

Mini water dripper
$4.85 each

$4.85
Checkout
Printable page for money order
Continue shopping
Subtotal $186.76
Tax TBD
Shipping $19.95
Total $206.71

www.lllreptile.com - greatest reptile outlet store with great prices. If your In CA and don't mind the drive you can pick the stuff up and save on shipping.

hey guys first of all i wanted to intro myself...

i am goin to be purchasing a Nosy BE panther 4 months old in about a month.
But first i want to setup my cage with all the right products atleast a week or two in advance. I dont want to be like the rest of the noobs and make my panther suffer a couple of days over my ignorrance.

I been saving for a while and money on the setup is not a huge problem since i plan to spend 250 bucks on a cham. For that type of money idont want it to die or sufffer any time soon.

Here is what i got so far...

i wanted a exo terra screen cage 18x18x18
the look is great and love the rock mirage look in the back. Also read about how it has a 3 inch depth on the bottom for water moisture. it looks great but i wanted to kno if anyone had one?? and how is it to clean? is it worth it or just a over priced cage?? I love how you can add the cool waterfall and mister but learned how its not ideal for chams do to bacteria build up.

Then i read some threads aabout how great lll reptile cages are. Sturdy, easy to clean, and great price. I noticed they had trays u can buy for water drainage or plants. I do want live plants for my cham, atleast two so i can switch them up for variety.

the cage is my main concern. i would spend the money on the exo terraium if its worth it. I am just looking for the best route for my cham at this point and not looks no more.

also any recomendations om misters, drippers, waterfalls, or other sources for humidity.

I think this would be the funnist way to put togther a great cage. i plan to start purchasing itmes this week. pleans shoot me ideas or recommendations on items you guys have or seen.

thank you i will post pictures of the process and every item you guys help me purchase.

 

[summoner12]

Buy one of these:

Screen cage

And one of these:

Zoo Med Reptisun 5.0 (be SURE to ask for a T8 sized version of this lamp...not the T12)

Then go to Lowes or Home Depot and buy a dual 24" T8 fluorescent light fixture. While you are at either place, buy a 6500K 24" T8 fluorescent tube lamp (they come in pairs). Also buy a 60 watt Flood light and a 5.5" clip light (these will be over by the power cords). Then head over to the garden center and pick out a Ficus or Scheflera OR a Hibiscus plant. Buy a 6-8" terracotta plant pot and a bag of organic planting dirt. When you repot the plant make sure you get all of the perlite out of the root ball over the plant. I use a small garden tool to beat the dirt apart and separate the perlite. Get as much out as you can, don't be afraid of the root ball breaking up a bit, the plant will grow more once planted.

You can collect sticks around your house to be used as roosting and walking spaces.. but these work well too:

Vines

I use 22 gauge hanging wire to secure the vines to the screen. I also use it to hold sticks.

 

[pssh]

I recommend the lll aluminum 24x24x48 screen cage, or if you don't mind spending more money at about his tenth month, then buy an 18x18x36 cage.

As for drainage, I drilled a few holes in the bottom then I raise the cage up and stuck a catch tub under the holes. Works just fine!

Good luck.

 

[Dave Weldon]

...As for drainage, I drilled a few holes in the bottom then I raise the cage up and stuck a catch tub under the holes. Works just fine! ...

Howdy,

LLLReptile now carries a "water tray" (drain pan) that we first showed at a SBCK meeting a couple of months ago and again at the last Pomona Reptiles Super Show. It's about the 11th item down on this page. http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/reptile-supplies/reptile-cages-glass-and-screen/. They show it custom fit and available for their aluminum enclosure sizes listed. As pssh said, just drill a few well placed 3/16" drain holes here and there in the enclosure's PVC bottom. That will let the used water drain through to the drip pan (while keeping most feeders inside) where it can collect and drain out of a drain line. I think you are responsible for drilling and tapping a drain hole and fitting in the pan itself because it all depends on where you want your pan to drain from (I like a side corner.) I'm sure that there will be more info posted about the drain connection to the drip pan.

This picture is with the PVC bottom removed to show the drain pan: http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...screen/-/16-x-15-x-20-screen-cage-water-tray/

 

[pssh]

Woah, those look neat. Do the cages still come with PVC flooring?

 

[Texas Panther Man]

yes they are just showing you what the tray looks like and how it fits to the bottom of the screen cage. You will have to drill your own drain holes though.
Im so glad they started making these it makes my plans for my cage so much simpler now.

 

[summoner12]

Howdy,

LLLReptile now carries a "water tray" (drain pan) that we first showed at a SBCK meeting a couple of months ago and again at the last Pomona Reptiles Super Show. It's about the 11th item down on this page. http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/reptile-supplies/reptile-cages-glass-and-screen/. They show it custom fit and available for their aluminum enclosure sizes listed. As pssh said, just drill a few well placed 3/16" drain holes here and there in the enclosure's PVC bottom. That will let the used water drain through to the drip pan (while keeping most feeders inside) where it can collect and drain out of a drain line. I think you are responsible for drilling and tapping a drain hole and fitting in the pan itself because it all depends on where you want your pan to drain from (I like a side corner.) I'm sure that there will be more info posted about the drain connection to the drip pan.

This picture is with the PVC bottom removed to show the drain pan: http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...screen/-/16-x-15-x-20-screen-cage-water-tray/

wow it's out already? cool

To anyone planning to connect a PVC drain:

To hook up a side piece of drainage.... buy some PVC pipe glue.... buy a PVC piece of choice, drill your hole, then glue the piece on. I found you need to hold it for a bit.... and is best if you are generous with the glue

I will post pics of the demo I was testing.

 

[LLLReptile]

They are available now! I just added both the water trays and the substrate trays to our site yesterday (substrate trays are about 3" tall for moss, growing live plants, etc - pretty cool). The water trays go on the outside underneath the cage. The substrate tray slides in and out of the bottom for easy cleaning. Both are custom fit to all of our cage sizes. They come in both black and white for our silver or black cages.

Thanks for all the referrals here. We honestly really appreciate it!

Scott - LLLReptile & Supply
www.LLLReptile.com