My new GOC

Very nice, I have a similar much smaller 12'-3.5'-6' cage on my patio. My plan is to get rid of the cages and make one or two large cages out of it. I went with vinyl coated wire and it's not nice and modular like yours. I may need to get creative and section it at some point. Right now it's a beast to move lol
 
the first intruder into my chameleon enclosure! the mesh is ½" for some perspective. he was pretty roughened up from being stuck, and unfortunately things only became worse as he struggled mightily and even impaled himself on some of the metal as i was using bolt cutters to free him. normally i would have kept him to treat him, but his personality stunk! once free he slithered away rapidly, and i think he will probably be ok. i wasn't being intentionally mean to him to get him to strike, just gauging his personality to see how best to free him without shedding blood from either of us!

in the YouTube link, check out the 3rd strike in the first slow motion segment--i didn't even know he came that far through the wire until i watched the video!

http://youtu.be/HE8MijDzkvo



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Yeah that's why I went with 1/4" coated. I have already had issues with black racers. You can always ad some finer mesh at the bottom to cut down on some of that.
 
This is definitely part of the hobby that really makes me envy those of you who live in a climate that allows for such wonderful outdoor enclosures! It looks amazing....maybe a move south is in my future!
 
TreeTopChameleons said:
This is definitely part of the hobby that really makes me envy those of you who live in a climate that allows for such wonderful outdoor enclosures! It looks amazing....maybe a move south is in my future!
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well TreeTop, I kid you not, but I moved from my family's country property in upstate NY named TreeTopp Acres (yes, 2 p's) after 10 years back to Florida just so I could breed panthers and have an outdoor enclosure like this. so never say never!

I have also been in Vancouver twice for 2 week stretches thinking about moving there, and backpacked China for a month on a 6 month swing through SE Asia. you and I seem to have a lot in common! truly, if it were not for you, I might have named my company TreeTop Chameleons!!
 
I am definitely not against a move anywhere in the world, I have been lucky enough to have the opportunity to do a lot of travelling, and Asia is a pretty wonderful place to be. Right now I am dividing my time between Beijing and Vancouver, tho lately I have been spending a lot of time in Beijing taking more of a hands on approach with my learning center. Florida is somewhere I have never been but would definitely enjoy being there I think. I love the warm weather, and the ocean!
 
Nice outdoor setup

I see you have carpets. Are they fom Kevin Stanford blood lines. We're do you live in Florida. I just got started again with chameleons after 12years and I started with carpets, I always wanted but could never find in Germany. I live in Port St Lucie and would very much like to get with you about vet care and carpet purchases. I have a pair of WC and just purchased a pair of baby's from Kevin. I want to set up a few different blood lines and if you have something other than Kevin's I would love to get a pair from you. Please let me know wh at you think or what you might have that would fit my goals. You can feel f.ree to call anytime or email me. 772-418-0826. [email protected]

Thank you and your set up is sweet.
Jeff Backlund
 
Doc, what an incredible project. i haven't been watching much of the world series game tonight because i just read this entire 5 pages, and the 4 pages of the Winterizatoin thread. You have humbled me, enlightened me, and showed me that i made a number of great decisions on my outdoor enclosure that I've been working on for a number of months. So many of your findings and discoveries are going to so much help me in the evolution of my enclosure. Its funny that you mentioned at the beginning of the thread about how you were happy about the decision about using the 1/2 mesh. I kept wondering why until you went to hang the separate cages. But then I saw the black racer pics, and I'm glad I used 1/4". LOL!!!! I have a resident black racer that I'm glad is around. I'm sure he helps keep the unwanted pests under control. darn citrus rats. but then again i have screech owls, hawks, and neighborhood cats that also help out i'm sure.

I'm waiting until closer to spring for my purchase of my first cham in about 20yrs. That will give me time to get a smaller inside winter enclosure, but ding dang have you given me info on how to deal with our winter months here in central florida. THANKYOU, THANKYOU, THANKYOU for sharing your knowledge and experience w/ us.
 
DanSB said:
As far as predators getting in rats are in my experience the biggest nuisance. ...... These days I would use the battery powered zap traps. Your larger mammal pets can't get into them and they work awesome. I've eliminated entire rat populations with only 2 of them. (I hate poison).
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both comments I would have made

its great you are able to house your chams outside, and that you are going to such excellent efforts.
 
melble68 said:
Doc, what an incredible project. i haven't been watching much of the world series game tonight because i just read this entire 5 pages, and the 4 pages of the Winterizatoin thread. You have humbled me, enlightened me, and showed me that i made a number of great decisions on my outdoor enclosure that I've been working on for a number of months. So many of your findings and discoveries are going to so much help me in the evolution of my enclosure. Its funny that you mentioned at the beginning of the thread about how you were happy about the decision about using the 1/2 mesh. I kept wondering why until you went to hang the separate cages. But then I saw the black racer pics, and I'm glad I used 1/4". LOL!!!! I have a resident black racer that I'm glad is around. I'm sure he helps keep the unwanted pests under control. darn citrus rats. but then again i have screech owls, hawks, and neighborhood cats that also help out i'm sure.

I'm waiting until closer to spring for my purchase of my first cham in about 20yrs. That will give me time to get a smaller inside winter enclosure, but ding dang have you given me info on how to deal with our winter months here in central florida. THANKYOU, THANKYOU, THANKYOU for sharing your knowledge and experience w/ us.
Click to expand...


thank you so much!! whenever i have someone over that i’m showing it off to, i’m also trying to explain that there’s no “ready-made chameleon kits”, or even designs/templates on the internet to go off of. it was all a matter of knowing their needs and figuring out how to deliver those needs. i can’t even tell you how many hours were spent just wandering around Home Depot/Lowes/Ace, coming up w/ various ideas, trying them, keeping the working ones and tossing the ones that didn't work.

it was also designed to become a 2 tier system (all cages still get plenty of sun) but i’m still stuck at this point. i’m still trying to figure out the best way to divert water and waste from the top cages from making their way to the bottom cages. i have no parasite issues, but still of course don’t want chameleon waste/dead insects/all that bacteria changing cages. i have a few that i’ve set up (complete hack job, but works) w/ heavy-duty aluminum foil folded over several times for rigidity and tucked under the bottom white PVC of the top cages, which gives them a much wider drip edge and so doesn’t go into the bottom cages. but it’s ugly, not ideal, and certainly won’t last as long as i would need it to. i’ve been going back and forth between a long board (plastic/wood/other) under an entire bank of upper cages which either tilts backwards, forwards, or to one end to divert the water; vs. individual units (like a single tray under each cage).

in terms of the racers and other predators, that’s truly the function of the entire enclosure. way too many cats/possums/coons/birds/snakes/etc. that could possible tear through a screen cage, so the whole thing could be said to mostly be for protection and efficient water delivery/feeding/cleanup.

either way i'm running out of room already, even w/ the bottom tier filling in. if i stick w/ this design i would expect i’ll need to double it’s size within the year (which means i would triple it instead); however it’s not the most efficient use of space either when it gets that big. so i may redesign from scratch. time will tell!! glad you enjoyed and very glad it helped w/ some of your ideas!!
 
oh my am i ever with you on the brainstorming. i would set in a chair just staring at the shefflera that i intended on enclosing. my family thinks i'm weird. i can't tell you how many times that i would have to give my blanket statement at the Depot: "nope don't need any help. i'm just creating."

my first idea that came into head when you started mentioning the two tiered layout is to use the fiberglass corrugated style roofing panels going at an angle from one side to the other. they're easily cut and come 12' long. hhhhhhmmmmm?
 
melble68 said:
my first idea that came into head when you started mentioning the two tiered layout is to use the fiberglass corrugated style roofing panels going at an angle from one side to the other. they're easily cut and come 12' long. hhhhhhmmmmm?
Click to expand...

and i have looked at those as my #1 from the beginning, w/ their natural gutter action as well (assuming then i’m tilting one end slightly lower). but there are 2 main snags that have kept me from using them so far.

1) they tend to be quite flimsy and even crack easily, so would need extra support over a stiffer material

2) how am i going to attach something that flimsy to the hardware cloth while keeping it level to the cages (not talking about the incline here, i mean the edge opposite the hardware cloth).

basically i keep coming back to either shelf brackets as support (and they too would be somewhat PITA to attach), or else it’s more like wires hanging from the roof cloth to suspend the outer edge.

those panels are a pain to work with—they’re just flimsy, crackable, hard to drill w/o causing spidering, leave a fairly sharp edge, etc. also they need to be around 22” wide for the best balance between maintaining a drip edge and not placing any more shade than necessary on the lower cages (which it will do and worsen dramatically w/ extra width)……..see what i mean? i keep running into too many issues w/ the handling, extra accessories to make it happen, attachment to all areas, longevity….i just have not really found through a method that’s really workable w/o it being a complete hack job.

in the long run it’s probably going to need to be lumber. it can be sized and attached relatively easily; i just really hate using wood for this application w/ the amount of water that it will face.


why did you get me started on this??? i was perfectly happy watching tv….;)
 
2 new things to add to this thread--

-i finally found a fantastic thermometer ($30 at Sam's Club) w/ built in alarms!! the commercial devices are pricey, and although there's a bazillion types of those Accurite thermometers i never found one w/ alarms. this one lets you set high temp or low temp alarms for both indoors and outdoors. has been super handy, and allowed me to get some sleep during this past winter.

-also, finally have been able to get security cameras/video in case of a break-in or mischief. can't say too much about it for obvious reasons, but i will put up a "Smile, you're on camera!" sign in there.

 
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