Hesitant about buying a screen cage

[KatelinLovesCommah]

Lots of Questions about Making the Ultimate Enclosure For Commah (4m/oVield):

1) Screen Vs. Glass/Plexi. My Situation: I live in a finshed basment. It gets as low as 40 degrees inside. We have room heaters (and of course- he would have his basking lamp) BUT i don't want to fight with my temps/humidity forever!

2) Drainage systems. Why do we have them? I know they are useful...but I don't understand how to make one.

3) How small is TOO small for a full sized cham. I was looking at a 2x2x4tall enclosure. Not sure if it's big enough for him.

THANKS ALL! I am so thankfull I have you guys!

 

[CaliChameleon]

Some members that use screen cages wrap three sides of the cage with clear plastic and that usually holds in the humidity I am sure a member has done that and can show you what they did

 

[absolutbill]

Lots of Questions about Making the Ultimate Enclosure For Commah (4m/oVield):

1) Screen Vs. Glass/Plexi. My Situation: I live in a finshed basment. It gets as low as 40 degrees inside. We have room heaters (and of course- he would have his basking lamp) BUT i don't want to fight with my temps/humidity forever!


In your situation I would definately think about wrapping 2 or 3 sides of then enclosure to hold the warmth. Try it on a day where you'll be home all day to continually monitor his temps and humidity and then go from there. I use a temp gun so I can "shoot" all nooks and crannies of the cage so I can adjust things from there.


2) Drainage systems. Why do we have them? I know they are useful...but I don't understand how to make one.

Drainage systems are fantastic - I went to Lowe's and bought a plastic utility sink and placed my 2x2x4 cage on top. I attach it with zip ties through holes I've drilled through the sink. At the bottom of the sink is a hole for drainage - I place a bucket or a carboy under that and empty when needed. That saves a LOT of papertowels as well as muss and fuss. The bonus to that is that the cham gets about 2 1/2' extra space to roam around, if they need, and if you have a female it's easier to place in a laying bin. I'll try to add a pic, but no guarentees

3) How small is TOO small for a full sized cham. I was looking at a 2x2x4tall enclosure. Not sure if it's big enough for him.

THANKS ALL! I am so thankfull I have you guys!

For an adult veiled your cage would be just fine. Sure you'll have people claiming that in the wild they have lots of trees and open space, but honestly we do the best we can in captivity, and I've never had a problem with that size cage.



OK, well the pic is there but is sideways. BTW, as a sidenote there is a divider between the two cages, however you can't see it from this pic. If anyone can advise me on how to flip this, I'd be grateful!

 

[KatelinLovesCommah]

Thanks for all the advice/info!