Looking for info on an outdoor chameleon cage in socal

Markandy405

New Member
Hello everyone! I live in the beautiful southern California. I have wanted a chameleon since leaving my job at a pet store many many years ago. Unfortunately I do not have the room for an indoor cage. I have seen that people are capable of keeping them outdoors in SoCal. I would really appreciate any information I can receive from people who have done or currently are caring for a chameleon in SoCal outdoors. I am looking to eventually purchase a male panther chameleon. I have cared for countless veiled chameleons back in the day but it was indoors. Any info on requirements/things to watch out for/ does and donts or any information at all will be greatly appreciated! Thank you!
 
If you want, you can build a cage that's permanent in the yard, or you can just buy a screen cage, and figure out a way to make it stationary, so winds cant blow over.

Youll want to watch out for birds of prey, sneaky animals, and bad bugs getting into the cage.

youl want sun, but areas of shade as well.

youll need a way to water him, and provide some basking spots should it ever get cold.. (an indoor cage too will help with this)

youre supplementing may be a bit different, but I don't have experience with that part.
 
I will be building my own cage. I was thinking of having the basking lamp running off of a temp controlled outlet so if it go too cold it could turn on. I would still use the normal mister and drippers though.
Have you kept a Cham outdoors before?
Is there a certain type of meshing that works best for chameleon cages?
If anyone knows where I can find info on keeping a Cham outdoor I'd be extremelygreatful! Thank you for your response!
 
I have mine outside most of the year. On my first cages I used plastic chicken wire like screen, but when my panthers walked on it, it caused sores on the edges of their feet so I lined the inside with pet screening. The pet screening is hard to see through though. My next set of cages I used plastic hardware cloth. They haven't been in them too long, but I haven't noticed any problems with their feet yet.
Hope that helps. I have mine hooked up to a timer and a drip system for water and they are heavily planted.
 
Winter when it gets too cold at night or rainy too many days in a row. Usually they come in Nov thru March, my montanes will stay out longer. Summer if it gets 90+ I will add more mistings or cover the cage with wet towels. Inside is no cooler since I don't have AC.:) I'm by the beach, so it only happens a couple days a year.
 
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