My Home Built Enclosure

Reidallaboutit

New Member
Hi all! I've been lurking for a while and finally made an account. Love all the great info on here! My wife and I are expecting our kammerflage panther in December (our first chameleon) so I decided to start working on an enclosure for the little guy. My goal is to get everything built/installed and dialed in over the next couple weeks.

Total "living dimensions" of the enclosure are 22Dx36Wx60H with a built in cabinet underneath for feeders, supplements, water resevoir, etc. I hinged the front screen from the top and added some air struts so it easily lifts and stays open overhead once unlatched (I'll try to get some pics of that).

As far as equipment/decor...

- 36" Reptisun T5HO. It came with the 5.0 bulb but am considering an upgrade to the arcadia 12% because of the height and eventual density of foilage...what do you all think?
- Mistking Starter System v4.0 with single nozzle. I plan to add a couple more soon.
- Basking lamp with 65w Phillips plant light in dimmable fixture. We also have a 50w in a standard fixture but don't plan to use both unless more heat is needed. Once everything is installed I'll take some temp measurements and make a final decision.
- Two sets of temp/humidity probes to monitor enclosure near top and bottom to make sure temp gradient is within proper range.
- Inside I've installed some bleached, rinsed and sun dried branches from our backyard (mostly maple but I think a couple may be from an elm). I'm thinking we should put a few more branches inside although we do have some exo-terra vines yet to be hung. Is there a good rule of thumb for linear ft of branches per cu ft of enclosure?
- Currently we have a variety of dracaenas, a golden pothos, and a hibiscus that's dormant (picked from Lowes for $12). What else might you add?
- Dog crate pan on the bottom floor for easy cleaning/maintenance.

Anyways I just wanted to say thanks to all the awesome people here for sharing their expertise and experience and would love to hear what you might add/change about our enclosure.
 

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The amount of light your getting now looks to be enough even if the plants start to grown inn. I would add a 6500 kv light for your plants. Then even when your plants grow in remember on a forest floor there is little to no lights in some places.
 
Nice! As for the uvb, I’m probably in a minority here, but I think a 12% Arcadia is a great idea. As you say, once the plants grow in, and considering the height, I don’t see a problem with a higher uv light. I don’t know what your supplement regime will be, but repashy calcium plus LoD is probably the easiest. I wouldn’t go with the regular calcium plus because of the higher uvb. I’m happy you built your own: I always do, and you get to learn from all the things you wish you’d have done differently for the next one.
 
Nice! As for the uvb, I’m probably in a minority here, but I think a 12% Arcadia is a great idea. As you say, once the plants grow in, and considering the height, I don’t see a problem with a higher uv light. I don’t know what your supplement regime will be, but repashy calcium plus LoD is probably the easiest. I wouldn’t go with the regular calcium plus because of the higher uvb. I’m happy you built your own: I always do, and you get to learn from all the things you wish you’d have done differently for the next one.

Thanks. Was definitely fun to build and careful with that "next one" talk. My wife might throw me out. Two reef tanks and a chameleon should be enough to keep us busy LOL

As far as supplement regime I plan to follow what is recommended by breeder which is the Repashy calcium plus you mentioned.

Regarding UVB is there any downside to starting with the 5.0 then when it comes time to replace in 6 months do the upgrade?
 
The amount of light your getting now looks to be enough even if the plants start to grown inn. I would add a 6500 kv light for your plants. Then even when your plants grow in remember on a forest floor there is little to no lights in some places.

That's not a bad idea. I placed the enclosure near our large south facing window for extra light but coming into winter it wont be that intense. Would you think a CFL would do or go full T5?
 
I think the 5.0 is ok for now but if the plants get dense then move up to the 12%. Your plants will thank you for the 6500K bulb.
As far as branches go I like them to be able to navigate the entire enclosure with only a body span distance between branches at any point. I'd call a body span the body and about half the tail.
 
Added two 6500k T5's for the plants, installed a few more branches and vines and got the mistking installed. Decided we need more than the single nozzle it comes with. Nozzle is mounted in the top front left corner angled across the enclosure toward the back. Doesn't get a ton of coverage so I ordered a double head that I'll put halfway up and point one nozzle straight out toward middle of foliage and one downward. How many nozzles do you all run in your setups?
 

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