moviemanmania
Avid Member
Ok, I finally finished the second phase of the construction of Rocko's free range and enclosure. Be sure to view my albums for complete details.
Here's the story....
I was planning on getting a new chameleon when I came up with the concept for the enclosure. Originally, I was planning on getting either a Jackson or a panther chameleon as a baby but then fate intervened and I ended up with Rocko. Half way through the construction of the enclosure I found Rocko through these forums and he was needing a new home. I had always planned on keeping the new chameleon in its enclosure with a humidifier, mister, and fans to dry out the enclosure once the misting cycles were complete. (The mist king would come on for 2 minutes, wet the enclosure for about an hour or so, then small computer fans would turn on and cycle air through the enclosure to dry everything out before the next misting cycle.) If you do a search on the forums for 'New Cage Concept' you can see the complete descriptions of the original cage.
There was but one problem to the whole construction of the cage....Rocko was free ranged his entire life!
At this point I didn't know anything about free range. I did think it really unfair to adopt a two year old panther chameleon who had been free ranged its entire life and then stick it in an enclosure for all eternity. :-(
So mid construction on the project I was forced to revamp the original concepts and designs. I now had to provide a free range area for him to live in. By altering the cage some I was able to include nice climbing branches on both sides of the cage for him to explore out on. The computer fans and humidifier were never installed in the enclosure because I knew Rocko wouldn't be spending too much time inside of the actual cage itself, rather he would be hanging around it, going in to drink and heat up/light up when he needed.
So now that you guys know the background here's some details on the build.
the details:
It started with the Drainage.
The enclosure portion was made around a Tupperware container that I cut and installed a brass fitting in one corner. This Tupperware would become the drainage system. By small blocks of wood under the Tupperware I was able to lean it so that the water would run into the brass fitting that connected to a tube that then pours the drain water into a waste reservoir. By silicone gluing the brass fitting to the Tupperware I was able to get a watertight seal so there isn't any leaks.
The Dimensions:
Since the Tupperware drainage was the starting point of the project I had to build the walls around the size of the Tupperware. The size is 2'x2'x48'. I used 1x3/4 steaks to frame up the walls. PVC hardwire screen was used on the two sides and a plexiglass door was hinged and installed. The plexiglass was silicone glued to the door frame. The ceiling is wire screen and everything was painted and sealed with a waterproof sealant.
The Lights:
Two 18" exo-terra 5.0uvb lamps and one 150watt zoomed spot light are utilized. I put a dimmer switch on the 150watt spot light to bring down the intensity of the lamp to achieve the desired 90degree basking spot. I opted to do it this way rather than using a 75w bulb because the 150w has a wider spread of heat/light area. Rocko is a full grown male and need more surface area than the 75w bulb would allow for...
The Base:
Underneath the enclosure is the brains of the operation. There are two water reservoirs, one for clean water, one for waste water. The mistking, timers, and dimmers are all underneath the enclosure. I will be adding some shelves inside the base soon so I can store some other odds in ends in there.
The cycles:
7:00am UVB lamps come on
7:45 UVA basking spot comes on
8:00 2min mist king spray
10:00 2min misting
12:00, 2:00, 4:00, 5:00 misting sprays of 2mins
7:00 UVA basking turns off
8:00 UVB lamps turn off
All in all I think I spent about $250.00 on materials and supplies. If you have questions feel free to drop me a line anytime!
Here's the story....
I was planning on getting a new chameleon when I came up with the concept for the enclosure. Originally, I was planning on getting either a Jackson or a panther chameleon as a baby but then fate intervened and I ended up with Rocko. Half way through the construction of the enclosure I found Rocko through these forums and he was needing a new home. I had always planned on keeping the new chameleon in its enclosure with a humidifier, mister, and fans to dry out the enclosure once the misting cycles were complete. (The mist king would come on for 2 minutes, wet the enclosure for about an hour or so, then small computer fans would turn on and cycle air through the enclosure to dry everything out before the next misting cycle.) If you do a search on the forums for 'New Cage Concept' you can see the complete descriptions of the original cage.
There was but one problem to the whole construction of the cage....Rocko was free ranged his entire life!
At this point I didn't know anything about free range. I did think it really unfair to adopt a two year old panther chameleon who had been free ranged its entire life and then stick it in an enclosure for all eternity. :-(
So mid construction on the project I was forced to revamp the original concepts and designs. I now had to provide a free range area for him to live in. By altering the cage some I was able to include nice climbing branches on both sides of the cage for him to explore out on. The computer fans and humidifier were never installed in the enclosure because I knew Rocko wouldn't be spending too much time inside of the actual cage itself, rather he would be hanging around it, going in to drink and heat up/light up when he needed.
So now that you guys know the background here's some details on the build.
the details:
It started with the Drainage.
The enclosure portion was made around a Tupperware container that I cut and installed a brass fitting in one corner. This Tupperware would become the drainage system. By small blocks of wood under the Tupperware I was able to lean it so that the water would run into the brass fitting that connected to a tube that then pours the drain water into a waste reservoir. By silicone gluing the brass fitting to the Tupperware I was able to get a watertight seal so there isn't any leaks.
The Dimensions:
Since the Tupperware drainage was the starting point of the project I had to build the walls around the size of the Tupperware. The size is 2'x2'x48'. I used 1x3/4 steaks to frame up the walls. PVC hardwire screen was used on the two sides and a plexiglass door was hinged and installed. The plexiglass was silicone glued to the door frame. The ceiling is wire screen and everything was painted and sealed with a waterproof sealant.
The Lights:
Two 18" exo-terra 5.0uvb lamps and one 150watt zoomed spot light are utilized. I put a dimmer switch on the 150watt spot light to bring down the intensity of the lamp to achieve the desired 90degree basking spot. I opted to do it this way rather than using a 75w bulb because the 150w has a wider spread of heat/light area. Rocko is a full grown male and need more surface area than the 75w bulb would allow for...
The Base:
Underneath the enclosure is the brains of the operation. There are two water reservoirs, one for clean water, one for waste water. The mistking, timers, and dimmers are all underneath the enclosure. I will be adding some shelves inside the base soon so I can store some other odds in ends in there.
The cycles:
7:00am UVB lamps come on
7:45 UVA basking spot comes on
8:00 2min mist king spray
10:00 2min misting
12:00, 2:00, 4:00, 5:00 misting sprays of 2mins
7:00 UVA basking turns off
8:00 UVB lamps turn off
All in all I think I spent about $250.00 on materials and supplies. If you have questions feel free to drop me a line anytime!
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