How could I make this work?

[Olimpia]

I have this cage, originally for a ferret. Five days into owning the little guy I realized I was extremely allergic. So I had to give the ferret away, but there was no way to give the cage back. So it's been sitting in a corner while I figured out how to get rid of it. And when I started considering a pet chameleon and thinking "where would I put him?" my roommate suggested I modify the cage.

So I've come here to see if I could, and how I could, modify it to work for a cham.

I would obviously remove the levels and make it one single 4 ft enclosure. I would have to to something to the bottom to make it solid (maybe tile?). But could I add some kind of mesh to the sides (does anyone know what type of mesh would be best, and where I could get it?).

I feel it could make a great cage, but I don't know. Let me hear from more experienced people first.

Thanks!

 

[sandrachameleon]

You may not have to modify it much at all. I've previously used large bird cages, and know others that still do with great success. How big is the space between the wire bars? Is the wire coated (or is it likely to rust)? Unless you are going to add mesh all over, you'll mostly want to cup feed. in which case you could leave one of the "shelves" in, and suspend a cup through one of the holes (a cup that's wider at the mouth and narrower at the bottom than the opening would slip right in). And if the shelf is fairly sturdy, you could put a plant pot on there too. Dont need a solid bottom either - it looks like there's a wire screen bottom with a plastic tray under - that could work for collecting dripping water.

 

[Rocky]

You may not want to keep a baby in there, but I think it would work well for an adult.

 

[chameleonman57]

You probably don't have to do to much to the cage. Just take the levels out and keep everything else. You can find mesh or screen at Home Depot, window screen works really well.

 

[lisa h]

Hey, I have the same cage sitting next to me. My rats are in it! Pets, not feeders, btw. You could take the ramps out and put a feeder dish in one or the other round holes in the shelves. Just take out the middle and you're good to go. You could probably put small potted plants where the shelves are, but I'd secure them to the sides just in case. The plastic bottom is fine as it is. You could easily drill a drainage hole in there and put a pan on the bottom wire shelf. Lots of room for a couple of big plants and a bunch of brances and vines. Hmmm ratties, might you be interested in a room mate (Just Kidding!!!).

 

[GooglezNvincent]

if you take out the plastic angles, not the flat pieces, buy bird ladders and use that for the angle. you would obviously have to cup feed, but after replacing the plastic angles just add plants and vines and itll be good.

 

[Olimpia]

You may not have to modify it much at all. I've previously used large bird cages, and know others that still do with great success. How big is the space between the wire bars? Is the wire coated (or is it likely to rust)? Unless you are going to add mesh all over, you'll mostly want to cup feed. in which case you could leave one of the "shelves" in, and suspend a cup through one of the holes (a cup that's wider at the mouth and narrower at the bottom than the opening would slip right in). And if the shelf is fairly sturdy, you could put a plant pot on there too. Dont need a solid bottom either - it looks like there's a wire screen bottom with a plastic tray under - that could work for collecting dripping water.

I'm not at home so I can't give you an accurate distance, but the space is not very wide, perhaps like a finger. Maybe less? I'd have to double check. And the bars are coated (I love how well made the cage is, I was sad to get rid of it but I just had nothing to put in it again. Until now hopefully!). Great, thanks!

 

[Olimpia]

Awesome everyone, thanks for the imput.

 

[Minihuey]

Awesome everyone, thanks for the imput.

Keep the upper levels and use them as pothos supports.

 

[GooglezNvincent]

LOL now that i think about it, you can get pots that ift perfectly for those 2 holes, and also with the rack underneath you can set up a nice and easy drainage system! this is turnung out to be a really accamodating cage!

 

[Olimpia]

LOL now that i think about it, you can get pots that ift perfectly for those 2 holes, and also with the rack underneath you can set up a nice and easy drainage system! this is turnung out to be a really accamodating cage!

lol Who'd have thought? This is awesome, I thought I was going to have to change all sorts of things.

 

[TheSaint]

Out of curiosity, how much was that cage?

 

[xanthoman]

i think it would work fine , for most adult (not counting dwarfs and pygmies )without a lot of modification , if you look in my public folder you will notice a couple of pics that show the larger mesh of my cages, that is 1/2" mesh, which is what i suspect the spacing is between the vertical wires of your cage , i actually looked at this same cage and considered it as a cham cage, the little pots in the holes of the platforms is a great idea, but i think as a cham cage it would be easier to clean without the internal structure. if you wanted to keep montanes you could simply cut an acrylic light panel and driil some holes in the edges, so you could use small plastic wire ties to fasten the panels on 1-3 sides, partially or all of the way up, or you could do the same thing with 1/4 or 1/8" mesh if you wanted to keep smaller chams, or if you wanted an all screen cage , you could simply do the same thing with aluminum window mesh ,then you would be able to feed blue bottle flies, a favorite feeder for most chams. if it has had a ferret in it i would take it to the diy car wash and give it a good rinse just to be safe, l, its even got a plastic molded bottom , which is a great start for a drainage system should you decide to get an automatic mister, now youve even got others curious about it , i would have bought one myself if it wasnt so pricey, i think they wanted $100 where i looked at it, but its actually a great cage, with a lot of versatility and potential,

 

[lisa h]

I'm in Canada and the cage was about $300 from Petland.

 

[Olimpia]

I think I paid something like $170 for it because I had one of those Petperks cards from Petsmart but I remember it being worth more like $199. So it wasn't a cheap cage, but it was great for ferrets because it's super sturdy and the doors lock really well. And since it's such a great cage I was sorry that I didn't have anything else to house in it (not that I'm getting a cham just because of the cage, mind you.)

 

[lisa h]

I think I paid something like $170 for it because I had one of those Petperks cards from Petsmart but I remember it being worth more like $199. So it wasn't a cheap cage, but it was great for ferrets because it's super sturdy and the doors lock really well. And since it's such a great cage I was sorry that I didn't have anything else to house in it (not that I'm getting a cham just because of the cage, mind you.)

This is one of the best cages I've bought for any of my critters. It is so easy to clean, which I find is difficult with a lot of large cages (bird and rodent).

 

[Olimpia]

i think it would work fine , for most adult (not counting dwarfs and pygmies )without a lot of modification , if you look in my public folder you will notice a couple of pics that show the larger mesh of my cages, that is 1/2" mesh, which is what i suspect the spacing is between the vertical wires of your cage , i actually looked at this same cage and considered it as a cham cage, the little pots in the holes of the platforms is a great idea, but i think as a cham cage it would be easier to clean without the internal structure. if you wanted to keep montanes you could simply cut an acrylic light panel and driil some holes in the edges, so you could use small plastic wire ties to fasten the panels on 1-3 sides, partially or all of the way up, or you could do the same thing with 1/4 or 1/8" mesh if you wanted to keep smaller chams, or if you wanted an all screen cage , you could simply do the same thing with aluminum window mesh ,then you would be able to feed blue bottle flies, a favorite feeder for most chams. if it has had a ferret in it i would take it to the diy car wash and give it a good rinse just to be safe, l, its even got a plastic molded bottom , which is a great start for a drainage system should you decide to get an automatic mister, now youve even got others curious about it , i would have bought one myself if it wasnt so pricey, i think they wanted $100 where i looked at it, but its actually a great cage, with a lot of versatility and potential,

I think I will end up covering it in mesh to that I can feed in a more natural way, so I'll look into getting a fine mesh at Home Depot or something. I cleaned out the cage with all sorts of products after I gave back the ferret because I was allergic and because I wanted to sell the cage. So it should be spotless, but I'll give it a last wipe down with some product and water to get rid of the dust.

 

[Olimpia]

This is one of the best cages I've bought for any of my critters. It is so easy to clean, which I find is difficult with a lot of large cages (bird and rodent).

Yes, it's an awesome cage. The fact that it opens up nice and wide is great.

 

[Olimpia]

I have another question about this cage, hopefully someone will see this lol.
I don't remember the typical age or size of chams sold at reptile shows, because I didn't have the money to get one, so I just didn't look at them so I wouldn't be tempted. But I know they aren't full grown, so I'm wondering if it's better to close off the top half of the cage and keep the little guy/girl in there until they get bigger?