My Dragon Strand Medium breeder cage Build.

Haze367

Member
Hello:),
I just wanted to post my cage build as i go. I will be picking up a Cham next weekend at the Pomona Reptile show (A KammerFlage). I picked up this cage for a great price so thought it would be great for the first 6-8 months then i will upgrade to a bigger cage. I choose this cage for 1. The price i got it for mostly, 2. Because my house gets down to the lower-mid 60's at night during the winter months in the room he will be staying in (hard wood floors) so I felt the 3 covered sides will help with heat and humidity. The dragon ledges are great and make it so easy.

I will be using mostly silk and a few plastic flowers and the fake silk vines. I will have atleast 1 (trying for 2) real plants inside.

I have a T5 HO 14" light and also a dual lamp with a 60w incandescent bulb and a 60w ceramic bulb (just got a red 100w just in case). I also have a compact reptisun 5.0 uvb (came with the cage).

I will be buying a MistKing starter kit at the Show hopefully (otherwise will order one as soon as i get home from the show).

Picked up a 5' BIRCH branch yesterday from MICHEALS craft store, I will be wiping it down to be sure all the paper thin pieces of bark that are peeling up are off and then probably throw it in the oven for awhile to be sure there isn't anything living inside still.

I am trying to think of a way to elevate my plant(s) off the floor a few inches so that i can still slide out the floor and wipe clean. I'm thinking of screwing 2x 1/2" dowels about 3 inches apart and about 3" off the floor then sitting the pot on-top of those. Also thinking i may instead try to fasten 1 empty pot to the lower dragon ledge somehow and just slide the potted plant into that like I've seen done on here.

OK, Now i have a couple questions,
1. Is there any Silk OR Plastic plants that i should NOT use or should be careful of? for instance i bought these 8x8 plastic plant tiles at the Dollar Tree and some silk flowers also from there. They are ok to use as long as i clean them with soap and water, correct?

2. The BIRCH wood i picked up last night is on the list of "Cham safe plants" but is just making sure the loose thin bark is off good enough? or do i need to sand it all down to the actual wood underneath the bark?

3. Is the T5 Light sufficient enough or should i run the compact uvb also? or would that be to much uvb? i feel the T5 doesn't shine enough all the way to the back and also once i fill it up with the plants i feel it may not be enough. whats your opinion?

I can't think of anything else off hand to write as of now. Here is a pic of the cage with a few of the things to go inside from last night. I woke up this morning to my delivery from pet mountain.com (y) which had the rest of my plants and thermos etc.. so back to cage setup i go.

Haze..
 

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Oh yeah, I put this together and up last night, these are the 8x8 plastic plant tiles and then we attached individual silk flowers onto them randomly. I zip tied them all together into a big sheet and then hot glued it in 3 spots along the top and then zip tied it to the dragon ledge on the back wall, it stayed up all night so far. It adds a lot of color so far. I don't expect many of those flowers to be visible once everything goes in later today!

Any Reason i should be concerned with these plastic and silk flowers from the Dollar Tree? They are not packaged for reptiles or animals like the others are i have got or bought from pet sites.

Haze..
 

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I would mainly worry about any chemicals that are on them, or if your cham will eat them, but Panther's don't generally do that. I'm just curious, but what locale are you going to be getting?
 
I would mainly worry about any chemicals that are on them, or if your cham will eat them, but Panther's don't generally do that. I'm just curious, but what locale are you going to be getting?

I washed them real good in warm soapy water and rinsed well. hopefully that will be sufficient and they will not harm him.

I am unsure on which Locale i will be getting just yet. Any particular you would suggest and why?
 
I use birch or poplar that I collect myself then cut it to size for the dragon ledges. I leave the bark on but my panther usually wears it down from walking or rubbing on. The MistKing is awesome and very convenient with the timer. Plan for some way of drainage though. Most of us drill holes and use a catch bucket.
 
sweet! thanks for the reply. i will just be sure all the thin loose pieces are off then and NOT worry about sanding it smooth.
Sorry, it sent before I was finished haha. I picked branches that seemed pretty healthy with no weird growths or bugs and had recently fallen. You can bake them in an oven but I never have.. I replace them every 6-8 or so months
 
Sorry, it sent before I was finished haha. I picked branches that seemed pretty healthy with no weird growths or bugs and had recently fallen. You can bake them in an oven but I never have.. I replace them every 6-8 or so months
Thanks.

Out of curiosity why replace every so often like that? Couldn't it maybe be washed and soaked and re-baked to clean and disinfect it??
 
I am curious as well. I just wash and sun dry my branches every time I clean the cage . . . Once mold grew on a few of my branches. I threw out the small branches, and cut the big branches smaller and no mold has grown since because I limited the moisture that reached the bottom of the cage. Should I replace the branches? They are about 11 months old. Do you have any suggestions on what kind of branches I should replace the older ones with?
 
I finished for the most part putting the cage togther this afternoon. I think for now im content with the way it looks. I may change it at some point soon, we'll see...

How's it look? Any suggestions?

First pic: Without Flash
Second pic: No Flash
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That looks awesome in my opinion. It totally looks like the rainforest! I think that the flowers in the back should be fine. There is plenty more in that cage for your little cham to focus on. It just looks great! Do you have one or two lives plants in there?
 
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That looks awesome in my opinion. It totally looks like the rainforest! I think that the flowers in the back should be fine. There is plenty more in that cage for your little cham to focus on. It just looks great! Do you have one or two lives plants in there?
Thanks.

Yes i have a real plant hanging on the left lower side in the black pot.
 
I washed them real good in warm soapy water and rinsed well. hopefully that will be sufficient and they will not harm him.

I am unsure on which Locale i will be getting just yet. Any particular you would suggest and why?
The enclosure looks great! Locale would depend on the colors you like.
Happy Chameleon Keeping, and
Happy New Year!!! :):p:D:p:D:)
 
Thanks.

Out of curiosity why replace every so often like that? Couldn't it maybe be washed and soaked and re-baked to clean and disinfect it??
More or less for personal reasons.. I live in the middle of the woods in the mountains so trees are abundant. Plus I like to wipe down the dragonstrand because the white shows bug guts/dirt/BM's/etc pretty easily and I guess I'm a bit OCD lol.
 
Oh yeah I see that. Looks very nice! Lucky cham you have there. Happy new year and good luck!
I will be picking a Cham up this next weekend at the supershow in Pomona.


More or less for personal reasons.. I live in the middle of the woods in the mountains so trees are abundant. Plus I like to wipe down the dragonstrand because the white shows bug guts/dirt/BM's/etc pretty easily and I guess I'm a bit OCD lol.
sounds good! i wish i had access to more tree branches to put in the cage like you. i'm sure i do, just not sure what trees are what when i see them. lol


Just asking but what are doing for drainage?
well, i was going to just use the drainage tray that came with the cage, maybe drill small holes in the floor to help drain. I planned on looking for a screen to fit the bottom of the floor at the show next weekend, instead of the white floor. id prefer not to drill it and the chance of something escaping into the house.
 
I will be picking a Cham up this next weekend at the supershow in Pomona.



sounds good! i wish i had access to more tree branches to put in the cage like you. i'm sure i do, just not sure what trees are what when i see them. lol



well, i was going to just use the drainage tray that came with the cage, maybe drill small holes in the floor to help drain. I planned on looking for a screen to fit the bottom of the floor at the show next weekend, instead of the white floor. id prefer not to drill it and the chance of something escaping into the house.
What you could do is drill holes, and place some window screen on the outside bottom of the enclosure. Happy Chameleon Keeping, and Happy New Year!!!:):p:D:p:D:)
 
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