my/darwins new free range set up. (w/ pics)

[heartben]

decided to go ahead and try free ranging full time and see what happens.this will be day 3 for him and so far its been good. almost every free range cham ive heard of seems nicer and healthier so why the heck not try it.

i have a bunch of pictures, none of them are showing his colors really, and they arent that great but youll get the idea.

in his cage he would just wake up and then bask all day and pretty much just... move to the side on occasion..then go to bed. ive seen him all over this, he will chill in a spot for an hour and move, go bask.. climb here or there and chill.. go back.. its a lot more entertaining and he seems happier.

so on to the pics!

so this is more or less it, 6 ft silk ficus with vines weaved through the branches and secured to the walls. one of them is vertical to let him climb higher (which he is using quite a bit actually) and he can bask a little warmer. for the time being i have a 24 inch repisun 5.0 hanging over it, the basking lamp and out of the picture is a 5000k lamp hanging from the ceiling as well. ill probably move it closer but its a work in progress.

he is in this picture - on a vine lower right

this is how i found him when i woke up his first morning on it

most of them are obviously just him in different spots.. just thought it was cool seeing him explore something. he didnt really do much exploring in the cage.

thanks!

any friendly suggestions are welcome.

 

[DavidBuchan]

That looks cool as.....glad he's enjoying it!

 

[Dez]

what a spoiled little boy!

 

[heartben]

thanks guys. i know its not the biggest or fanciest but he seems to like it and it really is like 4 times as much stuff to climb on and way better hiding places. i think he really likes moving a bit further to bask/cool down get uvb etc. he ends up chilling out in places i didnt expect. its neat.

i cant get him to drink from a pipette yet so i have to spray more than i want to and i cant really use my aquazamp very efficiently because i have a fan in my room and the mist goes everywhere. heh. ill figure it out... just going to keep an eye on him and go from there.

 

[SonTigerPantherCham]

So, is it me or does Darwin look like he is smiling?!
Im glad you got him a fr Ben, I wish i could full time, but where?

 

[okiroo]

thats looks awsome! and yeah it does look like he's smileing doesnt it? haha.

 

[heartben]

So, is it me or does Darwin look like he is smiling?!
Im glad you got him a fr Ben, I wish i could full time, but where?

ohh... do you REALLY need a bathroom?

thanks guys! i appreciate it!

 

[jannb]

Nice job on the FR. I bet he is smiling.

 

[snipeusa14]

Where did you get that tree I NEED it lol my meller is GIANT well it's going to be lol

 

[heartben]

Where did you get that tree I NEED it lol my meller is GIANT well it's going to be lol

dun dun dunnnn... walmart! for 25 bucks. i know there have been some cheaper at michael crafts before but we dont have one. i think 25 is good, we have a hobby lobby and they are wayyyy more.

the "branches" arent all that sturdy so you need to weave some stuff through them to help give more support (hence my vines, which he uses almost exclusively except to sleep) - however all the leaves do give a ton of cover, even though he hasnt been hiding at all...its there.

you also might consider getting 2 and bridging them together, i bet that would be better for a mellers but i honestly dont know much about them.

thanks!