Help with cage project

[Luke Sippel]

Hello I am new to caring for chameleons. I have raised/ bred various other reptiles and fish and wanted to get into this hobby. Would a 24 X 24 X 60 inche cage be a good size for a veiled? I plan to build the cage and wondered if aluminum screen windows would work, because I have heard that certain mesh materials can harm a chameleons (hands) is this true or will this work? If not what would be the best material to use.

 

[Luke Sippel]

Anyone know about this who could inform me?

 

[nick barta]

Luke,

Welcome to the Forum. Screen can cause toenails to be "shaved down" and decrease a chameleons grip. That being said, if you have lots of branch and vine highways for the chameleon to travel, they won't spend much time on the screen.

Most US keepers use either all screen, all mesh, or a combination of screen and solid surface.

If you use the Search feature in the right top of the home page and key in building enclosures/cage builds etc, you will get a lot of ideas!

CHEERS!

Nick

 

[Luke Sippel]

Ok thanks for the help, I will try that option. Also I seen a picture where someone put plastic plants, covering the sides and the back of the cage which should solve my problem

 

[brownie64]

Hello I am new to caring for chameleons. I have raised/ bred various other reptiles and fish and wanted to get into this hobby. Would a 24 X 24 X 60 inche cage be a good size for a veiled? I plan to build the cage and wondered if aluminum screen windows would work, because I have heard that certain mesh materials can harm a chameleons (hands) is this true or will this work? If not what would be the best material to use.

The only thing is the aluminum is ok but it should be coated. Can't remember why at this moment, but I do remember it was important to me at the time I built my cage. The size you are making it will be more than adequate. Sucks getting old LOL.

 

[bob351]

Id just buy a screen 4'x2'x2', saves the hassle and they are fairly cheap and unless you are a savy d.i.yer its probably not going to turn out as well as you hoped. As far as size is concerned id say its more than fine as most would recommend a 4x2x2 for an adult veiled.

You can always take the bottom out and add an extension of some kind later on if you really want to, I think this will be the route I take, I might take a 2x2x2 aquarium and paint the sides and use it as a giant planter then have the screen over the foliage instead of unsightly pots in the enclosure.

 

[Lathis]

Size sounds great. Aluminum window screen, either bright aluminum or charcoal coated, is fine. Fiberglass screen is fine too, just softer and easier to damage. What you want to avoid is galvanized mesh, like some chicken wire or landscaping mesh. The galvanizing is very rough and can irritate or cut the feet. Some chameleons will climb the screen and they can get a nail caught and torn out, but I think if you have enough branches and vines, you can minimize that risk.

Building an enclosure is so much fun. Under the Enclosure sub forum, there are two sticky posts where people share their enclosures. There are some great ideas there. The first link is the post that I based my custom enclosure one, mine is the second:

https://www.chameleonforums.com/diy-chameleon-mansion-build-102657/

https://www.chameleonforums.com/thank-goodness-9-ft-ceilings-111618/

There have been at least two beautiful armoir conversions on the forum in the last two months, too.

Don't be married to the 24x24 size at first - figure out how you are going to handle water drainage, then base your cage size around that. If I were to rebuild my cage, I think I would do it around some sort of prefabricated drain - like a sink base or shower pan.

I agree that it definitely won't be cheaper than something you can buy, but honestly with a lot of care and planning, it's not too hard either. I did it without any power tools, just a lot of patience and elbow grease.

Welcome to the forum! Post photos of your new cage! I always love to see what people make.