How to raise 80 babies individually…

Kaizen

Chameleon Enthusiast
I know I’m a ghost lately, so my apologies. Just thought I’d share some pics of the new neonate set up. We can now individually raise up to 80 babies!!!
 

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Do you have a drainage system? What are they built out of?
They are all designed with a floor that slopes to the rear, where all water from all 80 cages can be captured with a single length of 4” eaves trough. Mine just drain to the greenhouse floor, but the system can easily be set up in a house.

They are built out of coroplast, with 1/8” hardware cloth screening on the tops and doors. Each enclosure is ~ 1x1x6” wide. The enclosures come in banks of 5. Each has a dedicated misting nozzle, soil substrate and a live plant—either hibiscus, scheflerra, ficus, night jasmine or mandevilla.
 
I'm going to need specs.
So, I bought 15 4x8 sheets of coroplast. Sections measuring 12” x 88” were cut, folded and glued to form a rectangle measuring 12” high x 12” front to back, by 32” long. Next, the floor is glued into place, sloping to the rear, and leaving a small gap at the back for drainage. Then inserts cut at 12” x 12” (minus the angle of the floor) are glued into place to divide the rectangle into 5 enclosures—each just under 6” wide. You end up with a bank of 5 individual cages, measuring 12”x12”x6.5”. Next doors are cut into the front, leaving one side merely scored rather than cut through—this acts like the hinge. Next, attach 1/8” hardware cloth to the doors, and you have a screened door. Before adding the screen roof, I highly recommend the integral feed cups. These allow you to quickly feed bugs without having to open the enclosure (pics to follow). Once the feed cups are in place, add substrate and your live plant, then screen the top. If you use a fluffy potting mix, the entire enclosure weighs only 10 pounds, even when the soil is wet. I added a dedicate mist nozzle to each, but that’s because I’m not interested in hand misting 80 enclosures.
 
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