Homemade Enclsoure/Vivarium

[Chopsterholic]

Hello all! I’m brand spakin’ new to this site this is my first post. I’ve recently become obessed with Chameleons and I’m trying to learn everything I can about them. I hope to get one soon (looking to get male Ambilobe Panther Chameleon)! But before I buy a cham I wanted to build my own enclosure/vivarium for him. In doing some research I came across this video of an awesome custom enclosure/vivarium (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcIbzeCQ0R8) this guy built an extra-large vivarium and split it in two to house two panther chams. Its got a misting system, small desk fans for air circulation (half mesh half glass enclosure) and all the other necessities. I plan to build an enclosure to only house one but I love a lot of the ideas this guy had. One of which was a built in planter’s box so the whole floor of the enclosure was made of happy frog potting soil with growstone (http://www.growstone.com/) mixed in for aeration/drainage for the live plants. Now here come my questions.

- Now I know that using any type of substrate is frowned upon due to compaction but for those who use live plants, have you ever attempted a “whole potting soil floor”? Any issues you’ve come across? Did your Panthers ever eat dirt? (Sorry, I don’t mean to discriminate against other cham breeds! But I figured I’d get answers more related to the cham I want to get) Is it just a matter of watching your cham as he eats and not letting him eat things that will jump onto the enclosure floor or hand feeding him?

- Would it be okay to let cham waste remain on the potting soil and mix it in like a natural fertilizer? Is there things I should worry about (health, disease, odor, etc.)? My idea is to try and make the habitat as natural as possible.

- Any other questions that I should have asked but didn’t??

Like I said I’m brand new so any thoughts and words of wisdom is greatly appreciated. Also, sorry if this post is in the wrong area…please let me know if it is!

-Chop

 

[Carlton]

In doing some research I came across this video of an awesome custom enclosure/vivarium I plan to build an enclosure to only house one but I love a lot of the ideas this guy had. One of which was a built in planter’s box so the whole floor of the enclosure was made of happy frog potting soil with growstone (http://www.growstone.com/) mixed in for aeration/drainage for the live plants. Now here come my questions.

- Now I know that using any type of substrate is frowned upon due to compaction but for those who use live plants, have you ever attempted a “whole potting soil floor”? Any issues you’ve come across? Did your Panthers ever eat dirt? (Sorry, I don’t mean to discriminate against other cham breeds! But I figured I’d get answers more related to the cham I want to get) Is it just a matter of watching your cham as he eats and not letting him eat things that will jump onto the enclosure floor or hand feeding him?

- Would it be okay to let cham waste remain on the potting soil and mix it in like a natural fertilizer? Is there things I should worry about (health, disease, odor, etc.)? My idea is to try and make the habitat as natural as possible.

- Any other questions that I should have asked but didn’t??

Like I said I’m brand new so any thoughts and words of wisdom is greatly appreciated. Also, sorry if this post is in the wrong area…please let me know if it is!

-Chop

I know some keepers have a living soil substrate with live plants though most of us don't. It can take a lot of trial and error to get the conditions just right so you don't end up with a boggy rotting smelly mess. If the soil stays too saturated from all the misting or dripping overflow you will smother your plants, create all sorts of fungi, fight molds and mildew on the cage accessories. Fungus gnats will escape the cage and be annoying.

It's true that there is a risk that your cham will ingest something that gets stuck in its GI tract. How often it happens...who knows. Probably more common if you are using chunky substrates like bark chips, not fine soil. Some chams are attracted by light colored soil additives like perlite, vermiculite, pumice that provide aeration for soils, so that's an issue. You could make sure those ingredients are not on the surface (they do eventually float up to the surface over time). Another concern would be parasites. Your cham will introduce some to the cage system simply because they occur in most feeder insects no matter what you use. Eventually they could be established in your soil. Free range feeders in the cage can pick them up over and over and your cham could be re-infected if he eats them.

I think if I was going to try this I would set the entire cage up without the cham, and run everything (misters, fans, lighting, etc) for say a month and watch to see how your plants and soil fare. Whether you don't mind the "living" smell of the setup, whether fungus gnats get going, and how easily you can maintain the system. You'll need your soil cleaner community established too, though without the waste from a cham to feed them it might not work. I think sometimes there isn't enough organic matter from one cham dropping into the soil to keep the community going.

 

[junglefries]

Might want to read some of the european posts and sites. A lot more common over there. We americans seem to like our cage floors bare, as do I. (Hello from another HR resident. Remember when we lived in Tidewater, not HR? )

 

[grimjob]

Hello all! I’m brand spakin’ new to this site this is my first post. I’ve recently become obessed with Chameleons and I’m trying to learn everything I can about them. I hope to get one soon (looking to get male Ambilobe Panther Chameleon)! But before I buy a cham I wanted to build my own enclosure/vivarium for him. In doing some research I came across this video of an awesome custom enclosure/vivarium (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcIbzeCQ0R8) this guy built an extra-large vivarium and split it in two to house two panther chams. Its got a misting system, small desk fans for air circulation (half mesh half glass enclosure) and all the other necessities. I plan to build an enclosure to only house one but I love a lot of the ideas this guy had. One of which was a built in planter’s box so the whole floor of the enclosure was made of happy frog potting soil with growstone (http://www.growstone.com/) mixed in for aeration/drainage for the live plants. Now here come my questions.

- Now I know that using any type of substrate is frowned upon due to compaction but for those who use live plants, have you ever attempted a “whole potting soil floor”? Any issues you’ve come across? Did your Panthers ever eat dirt? (Sorry, I don’t mean to discriminate against other cham breeds! But I figured I’d get answers more related to the cham I want to get) Is it just a matter of watching your cham as he eats and not letting him eat things that will jump onto the enclosure floor or hand feeding him?

- Would it be okay to let cham waste remain on the potting soil and mix it in like a natural fertilizer? Is there things I should worry about (health, disease, odor, etc.)? My idea is to try and make the habitat as natural as possible.

- Any other questions that I should have asked but didn’t??

Like I said I’m brand new so any thoughts and words of wisdom is greatly appreciated. Also, sorry if this post is in the wrong area…please let me know if it is!

-Chop

hey mate jump over and check out my post "Another New Cage Design"

if you like the look of this i can give you the run down, cost around $100 to build, all i need to do is stain it and put a door on the front
let me know as i dont mind helping were i can

 

[distortionz]

If your going to do a soil bottom you need to go bioactive.. Otherwise you will be dealing with a mess.. Rotted roots and stinky poo mess. I have switched ail my cham cages bioactive and could not be happier.. You don't even have to clean the cage unless poop builds up on branches or leaves.. The bottom of my cages are planted tubs.. A 50/50 mix of fine sphagnum peat moss and play sand.. Topped with leaf litter.. The leaf litter is important as it covers up the soil from consumption and provides food and cover for the isopods and springtails.. The isos and springs work as your clean up crew for decaying matter of the plant and poo variety lol.. I've actually recently introduced some millipedes for a better clean up job. People get worried about prolapses.. I've dealt with them and it isn't fun.. But as long as you used fine moss and sand and make sure it's covered with leaf litter you should be fine.. any time I have dealt with impaction it was due to feeders. Best of luck and make sure you post some pictures when you get set up

 

[CWarlord87]

If your going to do a soil bottom you need to go bioactive.. Otherwise you will be dealing with a mess.. Rotted roots and stinky poo mess. I have switched ail my cham cages bioactive and could not be happier.. You don't even have to clean the cage unless poop builds up on branches or leaves.. The bottom of my cages are planted tubs.. A 50/50 mix of fine sphagnum peat moss and play sand.. Topped with leaf litter.. The leaf litter is important as it covers up the soil from consumption and provides food and cover for the isopods and springtails.. The isos and springs work as your clean up crew for decaying matter of the plant and poo variety lol.. I've actually recently introduced some millipedes for a better clean up job. People get worried about prolapses.. I've dealt with them and it isn't fun.. But as long as you used fine moss and sand and make sure it's covered with leaf litter you should be fine.. any time I have dealt with impaction it was due to feeders. Best of luck and make sure you post some pictures when you get set up

Agreed. You could also use organic soil and sand mixture too. Just make sure you actually plant and set up everything a month or 2 before you get a chameleon and have it run the daily cycle you are going to use with chameleon. This gives your plants and isopod and springtails time to populate and set up in the soil, as well as letting your plants grow a bit and get accustomed. It's just never a good idea to put your animal in the cage the same day you put in plants if you doing bioactive setup.