HUGE Cham Enclosure construction & assembly video

[Ilike4hornedchams]

The long awaited video is here, this is part 1 of a series of videos I want to show everyone my construction process on my HUGE cham enclosure for my soon to be quadricornis breeding project. I also hope to encourage others to make larger enclosures for larger chameleon breeds that like more room. (Granted that your lucky enough to live somewhere that can support them outdoors, I haven't for most my life so I know it's not realistic for most states in the US states. Though I watched on through the web to see what others were doin to get inspired lol.)

So I am really excited about this project because I have searched for similar projects all over youtube and chameleonforums and have not found anything of comparable size that is one large room, (note it will be divided by 2 walls basically)

This enclosure is still a work in progress so feel free to leave lots of comments, I am adapting plans still so let me know what you think, I will respond! Thanks for reading and watching, enjoy!



Oh last note, I'm pretty new to editing youtube style videos so forgive the crappy edit job lol, I'll get better. I plan on uploading more videos periodically for the chameleon projects I'm running.

 

[jpowell86]

Hey man! I know I kind of busted your chops the other night. I was giving you a hard time...so I apologize for that. Most people that say they are building a "huge" enclosure are talking about a 4'x4'.

In all sincerity, I am actually glad to see someone else doing this. I actually have been slowly building similar structures to move my chameleons in to over the last year and a half. I actually have one that is completely done that I built just for my melleri. It is roughly 14'x12'. It has been the most fruitful act for my chameleons to date. They are so much happier and I can see a true difference in their behavior v when they were caged more traditionally inside(they were free ranged...but still).

I actually am thinking that eventually, I would like to make a structure like this for all the chameleons I keep(but I have a lot, so that would be financially daunting). What are your plans for drainage? I see in the video that you are building this over a concrete pad. Are you going to create a footing so you can elevate the wood off of the concrete? I'm sure that you will go over that in future videos. I am just really excited to see another keeper going this direction. I too have many montane species. I think your area would be awesome for them to have an enclosure like this. Here are some photos of mine from right after I built it and got my layer of gravel down to more recent photos. The plants have really grown in and of course I always add where I can. My melleri love it. Plus, with an enclosure this large, I can go in and have a sit down right in the middle of their environment and watch them. So much better than looking through a screen panel.

Please keep me up to date on your progress. I would love to compare notes and see how your design works out for you.

 

[Remkon]

With 'HUGE', 'one of the largest' and 'have not found anything of comparable size'
I was kinda expecting something more humongous... Guess I didn't consider the size of the animal.

That being said they will have a nice space to roam around in, so that's great!
The start looks good and clean, I'm curious about the result!

 

[KapitalJ]

I'm excited to see this progress! Nice work so far!!

 

[Action Jackson]

That was a cool video. I think Quads are a good choice for your area as would be Jackson's. Building enclosures,cages and racks is one of my favorite parts of this hobby. I have a 21' x 7' x 7' enclosure currently. I built it using a Chop saw. Looking forward to seeing more, please post links to your videos here.

 

[PJK]

With 'HUGE', 'one of the largest' and 'have not found anything of comparable size'
I was kinda expecting something more humongous... Guess I didn't consider the size of the animal.

That being said they will have a nice space to roam around in, so that's great!
The start looks good and clean, I'm curious about the result!

 

[PJK]

With 'HUGE', 'one of the largest' and 'have not found anything of comparable size'
I was kinda expecting something more humongous... Guess I didn't consider the size of the animal.

That being said they will have a nice space to roam around in, so that's great!
The start looks good and clean, I'm curious about the result!

sorry brain fart. there's one I've seen on google where a guy made his entire spare room into an enclosure with bamboo paneling. Now that's a huge enclosure.

 

[Ilike4hornedchams]

JPOWELL86

DUDE THANK YOU FOR UPLOADING THOSE omg, this brings a lil tear to ma mind. This IS what I'M going for! Ya ima be in touch with you as I put in the plants and add more and do the water system and such. This is really inspiring, I was hoping we would uncover some unturned gems, that is a glorious set up you have in there for those Mellers!
How to they get along? How many to do have in there at once? (Great pics again btw) I know one issue I face is that Quads are among the most territorial breeds so I have to work hard at keeping them separate most the time and comfy too.


Action Jackson can you upload some pics?!

 

[Ilike4hornedchams]

With 'HUGE', 'one of the largest' and 'have not found anything of comparable size'
I was kinda expecting something more humongous... Guess I didn't consider the size of the animal.

That being said they will have a nice space to roam around in, so that's great!
The start looks good and clean, I'm curious about the result!

Ya, absolutely because after all the searchs I have done, I have mostly only found huge enclosures for lizards like Monitors, Tegu's Etc. Personally I am not interested in those "lizards" I find Chams so different and more highly evolved that they (Accept for geckos maybe) are not really comparable but they are MUCH smaller than many lizards. So ya taking the size of the animal into consideration is why after looking onlyine for months I did find much of comparable size. These pics from JPOWELL are already the largest comparison I have seen!

 

[Rorschach]

Out of curiosity what kind of setup for watering do you plan on using and what kind of water schedule are you going to use for them i absolutely love the idea but two concerns that can be easily adressd is. Do you know your neighbors well enough to know if they have a pest control guy come every once in a while to spray there yards house or fence.... or if they or have some landscapers spraying fertilizer or pesticides....that could potentially be fatal to both feeders and chams i had to stop my new neighbors pest control guy who was going to spray for black widows.... and tell him about my kids and small dog in the house with thebwindows open and i keep my panther chams out side........ just glad i was home and saw him pull up that being said good luck and nice job so far by the way @Extensionofgreen and @jpowell86 are very knowledgeable on plants. That would be perfect for this setup

 

[Shenanigans043]

I like it. Kudos.

 

[jpowell86]

JPOWELL86

DUDE THANK YOU FOR UPLOADING THOSE omg, this brings a lil tear to ma mind. This IS what I'M going for! Ya ima be in touch with you as I put in the plants and add more and do the water system and such. This is really inspiring, I was hoping we would uncover some unturned gems, that is a glorious set up you have in there for those Mellers!
How to they get along? How many to do have in there at once? (Great pics again btw) I know one issue I face is that Quads are among the most territorial breeds so I have to work hard at keeping them separate most the time and comfy too.


Action Jackson can you upload some pics?!

Well I'm glad!! The melleri I have in there get along great. But I had to experiment a lot in the beginning to figure out which were compatible. I was constantly switching them out and seeing what kind of reaction I would get. 5 of my melleri are in that particular greenhouse. Quads are territorial.

I have spent time with Janet - @jajeanpierre in her chameleon room. She has quite a load of quads and graciliors. The response you see in them when a male is out of the cage is quite a sight. So, I could see free roaming them being a touch and go process at first. One thing I did, I places nest cameras in the greenhouse so I can watch them from inside. You don't see the true nature of the animal when it is responding to the sight of you. I had a trio of melleri together for quite some time and thought it was working out great. When I walked in, they were all in their individual areas and all was calm. But, when I put cameras up, I found that after I left, the male really harassed the crap out of one particular female I had. When I removed her, her appetite and color improved. So, don't always go off what you see when they are aware of your presence. Just a lesson I learned.

 

[Ilike4hornedchams]

Out of curiosity what kind of setup for watering do you plan on using and what kind of water schedule are you going to use for them i absolutely love the idea but two concerns that can be easily adressd is. Do you know your neighbors well enough to know if they have a pest control guy come every once in a while to spray there yards house or fence.... or if they or have some landscapers spraying fertilizer or pesticides....that could potentially be fatal to both feeders and chams i had to stop my new neighbors pest control guy who was going to spray for black widows.... and tell him about my kids and small dog in the house with thebwindows open and i keep my panther chams out side........ just glad i was home and saw him pull up that being said good luck and nice job so far by the way @Extensionofgreen and @jpowell86 are very knowledgeable on plants. That would be perfect for this setup

Ya so I am giving the rain system a lot of thought right now and I am split between having a DIY setup of; PVC sprayer system (to get everything but this is unnatural and I am a naturalist so kinda against using stuff like my own monsoon lol), or a drip system so that it only rains where plants are or a soaker hose matrix on the ceiling so that the water drip randomly but more evenly. All supported by a 2 or 3hp pump.
What ever POWELL is using looks great are they sprayers or drippers?
Secondly ya, I'm good on the insecticide stuff, no worries black widows are very rare here and adult spiders wouldn't be able to get into the enclosure, though babies could find a way if they were trying to maybe. Still too rare here to worry me at all. Plus neighbors would never pay for anything like weeds or insects lol. Trust me I know (For a # of reasons).
Anyway, ya so I've seen a ton of variations I could easily do, I have made a lot of drip systems for my folks before so it should be easy, but if there is something really awesome that is have to make but really low maintenance, that's what I'm going for!

 

[Rorschach]

Thats good to know. Just dont want any suprises if someone is spraying weed killer or anything on the other side of your fence. Like i said i was lucky i was home i have 5 panther chameleons out side in my back yard next to the fence. If i wasnt home i dont think id be two lucky or happy

 

[Rorschach]

As far as the watering i was asking because wind can be a major factor with the drying time and i wasn't sure if you were going to add any wind block for some areas to give them a break if they chose while they drink. I have a quad and he really loves water

 

[Rorschach]

Ive also been warned about some lawn and garden hoses have chemicals that continues to leach out and that they have food grade hoses which are safe. Such as patio misting systems

 

[jajeanpierre]

Nice!

A couple of things caught my eye.

What kind of predators do you have in the area? Are raccoons or skunks native to the area? They will go through that screen in a heart beat. So will some hawks, especially the Accipiters like a Coopers. I've heard of owls grabbing birds through screens. Dogs as well, but I think your back yard looks completely closed off from neighborhood dogs.

The other thing I would add would be a lock. I keep locks on my aviaries. I know, anyone with a bolt cutter could get in, but that takes a commitment from the thief. A kid might sneak into your back yard and open the door and steal your chameleons who would never dream of a break and enter. Same sort of mentality to locking your house. Any criminal can smash a window to get in but do they? I just want to make things a little more difficult.

Male quads can be quite aggressive with females. You will have to be very careful how you go about this. Fortunately the females put on quite the display when they are bothered by a male and it sometimes takes them hours to go back to their normal colors.

 

[Shenanigans043]

One thing you might want to check out is pet screen. It's super durable and way stronger than average screen. Comes with a higher price though. But if you're going to do it, do it right the first time. Hate to see a post about a racoon tearing into your cage and your chams being on the loose.

 

[KapitalJ]

If the screen is a concern, could just add chicken wire to the outside. You will still have the fine screen to hold in your feeders, but will have something a lot stronger to hold out the unwanted!

 

[WAMBO]

Well done!