if you build it..... 20' X 40' X 12' high- they will love it !!

little leaf

Avid Member
ohhhhhh boy- this is gonna be the biggest cage I have ever built - I am even giving myself a YEAR to do it - I know it looks like an ugly mess right now- and it is ! - I gave my husband 2 yrs to get rid of our old pool - now its mine :D
here are my thoughts , and any advice or suggestions would be great - or if this is a bad idea- STOP ME NOW- LOL
for this year :
remove liner- plant 2 white mulberry trees ( for free range silks , so they can just graze at will )

plant ground cover ( suggestions? ) I want to try to stay away from grass for the most part - but what else would grow, and stay short? dragging a mower in there is something I will not do - fumes and all...or my other thought was to leave the bottom of the liner to keep the grass out, and only let patches of grass grow - but then what would I put over the liner? - need your input on this

set support poles ( those will be either on the deck , or set right inside - the center will for sure be a telephone pole - we have a stack of them )

thats it for this year - I have about 1/2 of the netting for the top, but no screening yet - I feel I need to screen the top to keep in what I want in ( silks, other bugs) and out what I dont want in ( the bad silk worms we already have here- the wild birds wont even touch them -they have like "hair" ?) but I know I will need a underlying support for the screening - again, suggestions ? the screen will go under a course , strong " netting" that is really used to keep landfill from going any deeper into the ground - so I think it will hold up to a bird- lol

I will use flies for pollinating the trees -

I used to build houses, ( "punch out " was my specialty :) ) and I met my husband on a overhead black pipe job - cutest boss I ever had :p ;) we built our log cabin together, 18 yrs of marriage later, we are still building thing together :D

so...any ideas, suggestions are VERY welcome-
this is just my rough draft pic- lol I am sure it will change many times - I also plan to put a "bug house" in the center to keep all the feeders - it already has power and water supply to the area - the sad thing - UGH - I live in Ohio, this will only get to be used about 1/2 the yr :mad:
 

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Clover might be a nice ground cover?

thats a good idea - I can get the seed right here- the grass just gets to tall, and they can not walk threw it - I also thought of ( I know this is crazy - lol ) planting field corn in some places - that is tall, thick leaves - and I can feed it off to the horses in the fall - but I need to be sure the leaves are not going to be to coarse for their eyeballs if they should rub on it - but I love the clover idea ! THANKS :)
 
wow. that's going to be quite the thing, and quite the job - but it sounds like you have the skills :)


Have you considered leaving the liner (admittedly, I don't really know what that is, but I assume its what keeps the water in? I guess if you get a lot of rain it would have to be at least cracked so you don't flood your plants), put a foot of rock on the bottom and grow the trees in big pots half buried in the rock? smaller plants in smaller pots.

clover isn't a bad idea
 
wow. that's going to be quite the thing, and quite the job - but it sounds like you have the skills :)


Have you considered leaving the liner (admittedly, I don't really know what that is, but I assume its what keeps the water in? I guess if you get a lot of rain it would have to be at least cracked so you don't flood your plants), put a foot of rock on the bottom and grow the trees in big pots half buried in the rock? smaller plants in smaller pots.

clover isn't a bad idea

yes, I have decided to leave the bottom of the liner IF I can not find a good ground cover- but the clover is an excellent idea - the trees I will just put right in the ground, and plant other things either this yr, or next, but the trees I want to get growing asap - and the clover - I think I will go w/ the clover idea - the flies will also take care of the pollen for them - but I dont want to many things planted until I get the post set - to much to work around - lol
thanks for your input guys - I know this is a big project- funding will be the worst part :eek: but I can do the work myself, so that saves the most $ :D
 
Thats going to be one awesome enclosure! Post pics with the progress. Not even my project and im excited about it.
 
How about dwarf baby tears for the bottom, they can be underwater do they can take as much rain as possible and you can find it at home depot.
 
For ground cover I can think of a million things, like hosta, ferns, ornamental grasses all in a thick bed of thick leaf mulch or garden compost. Think forest. :) Hosta is especially nice because there are many varieties that grow to differing heights. This might be especially effective if you use shade cloth over part of it so the hosta goes in the shade and your chameleons have an area to cool off in.

I envy your project.
 
For ground cover I can think of a million things, like hosta, ferns, ornamental grasses all in a thick bed of thick leaf mulch or garden compost. Think forest. :) Hosta is especially nice because there are many varieties that grow to differing heights. This might be especially effective if you use shade cloth over part of it so the hosta goes in the shade and your chameleons have an area to cool off in.

I envy your project.

ahh haa - HOSTA - I have a friend who "breeds" those- this is going to be fun - you guys can be the "on line" bosses :p I already have the shade cloth - it will only get about 1 hr of sun that there is no shade - that does worry me- but with the live tress in there also, I know there will always be shad of some sort, but I did plan an "all shade" end - I just dont want it to be the BUC - ( big UGLY cage - :p ) so I want to try to keep the lines clean ~

Thats going to be one awesome enclosure! Post pics with the progress. Not even my project and im excited about it.

why....HMMMM.... you are ALMOST close enough to come help ~ :rolleyes: :p

you know- I blame Dr.O for most of this - ( :p;) ) it was his BOC that gave me the idea - lol but with out the snake stuck in it- LOL - Dr. O. if you see this- I do LOVE your set up :D
 
WOW WOW WOW, that is truly ambitious, and yes I am a bit jealous that I don't have an old pool/deck that I could do this with!!
As for the screening, why not use a framework of PVC like they do for greenhouses, it lasts forever, very durable, lightweight, and you can make pretty much any shape you need to. Keep us updated cause I have a feeling this is going to be phenomenal!!
 
ahh haa - HOSTA - I have a friend who "breeds" those- this is going to be fun

Cool, a local resource. :D It might also be nice to do some terraced areas in there so it does not appear as just a big rectangle. Maybe some terracing in a couple of the corners? I know you'll have fun with it. :)
 
Holy crap! When you're done you should open a chameleon zoo and charge admission. Seriously. I would pay to visit. And you know what? I've been to two reptile zoos in recent times, and they both had highly lacking chameleon collections.
 
I also thought of ( I know this is crazy - lol ) planting field corn in some places - that is tall, thick leaves - and I can feed it off to the horses in the fall - but I need to be sure the leaves are not going to be to coarse for their eyeballs if they should rub on it - but I love the clover idea ! THANKS :)

I have cane plants in with my chams, and have used them for the past 5 years. Their leaves are very similar in size and texture to corn leaves and I've never had a single problem with my chams' eyes. My concern with the corn would be the amount of shade that's in your GOC - too much and the corn won't grow. Also, corn can be host to a bunch of worms and other pests, so just keep a close eye on it because I wouldn't want it to carry some disease to your chams.

The clover idea is great and I hope it works for you. If not, you can always plant grass and get a goat - built in fertilizer and no fumes while it "mows" your GOC!

I look forward to all of your steps in this process and best of luck with it! Don't forget the pics so the rest of us can watch all your hard work :D
 
This looks like an awesome idea. I live in ohio too. So I know how your feeling.:(
I do think that a green house top my be an easier build for you. Instead of framing it all in. I think you may be able to get a custome one built to match your dims. Here is a link to an example: http://www.homedepot.com/p/t/202197...ads-_-pla-_-202197239&ci_gpa=pla#.UgohndK1F8E
:D
I live east of findlay, so I bet you guys arent too far away. I would love to come and check it out when your all done. Good Luck!
 
Cheryl that sounded good when you told me about it, but seeing what you are doing is so cool. Hurry up and get it done before David and I come out next summer. Maybe I could nap in there with the chams. It would feel so relaxing.
 
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