My Veiled's New Cage

[fett42]

I finally got around to setting up a new cage for my veiled chameleon named Cosmo. It took me a while to get around to setting it up because I had trouble finding a stand large enough for a 24x24x48 cage.

I've attached several pictures of the cage, a picture of her feeding bowl, and finally a picture of Cosmo herself.

 

[froggielog]

Aww she's very pretty and your set up looks awesome!
Do you have a laying bin for her?

 

[fett42]

Aww she's very pretty and your set up looks awesome!
Do you have a laying bin for her?

Thank you!

No, I don't have a laying bin yet. At what age will she start laying? She is around 5 or 6 months old I think. Are there any guides around here as to what kind of specifications are necessary to create a proper laying bin?

 

[camimom]

now.

Females can begin to produce eggs as early as 6 months old.

you need a bucket, at least 12 inches deep, filled with washed damp play sand or dirt, that can hold a tunnel when its dug.

 

[ISA my Veiled]

very cool set up! I am looking to do the same thing with my 24x24x48 enclosure that I just ordered earlier this morning. Way to cool though, and great feeder cup it looked like

 

[Stoneleon]

Really clean set up I like how the whole cage is filled nicely, yet it's not cluttered. I had a question about your feeder cup , does it hold crickets well ?

 

[fett42]

Really clean set up I like how the whole cage is filled nicely, yet it's not cluttered. I had a question about your feeder cup , does it hold crickets well ?

Yeah, it does a pretty good job with the small crickets. I haven't moved up to large crickets as of yet. Those might escape more easily, although my chameleon is pretty fast getting to the crickets once she sees the container in her cage.

To make the feeder I used a small disposable tupperware container (it was either glad or ziplock brand) and glued popsicle sticks around the outside edges with a hot glue gun. Then I glued a small dowel rod diagonally across the center. The sticks make it so she has something to grab onto and won't slip off. BTW, my wife was actually the one who did all of the building of the feeder. It was originally her design.

I've been using this feeding setup for a while now and it works really well. It worked nicely in her small cage and it works even better now that I have fashioned an actual holder for the container in her new cage.

 

[reptilover]

First off.beautiful girly
Second i love the setup! great plant choice use of space and feeding cup design

Now the critic in me id add at least one bendy Vine to run vertically and connecting the horizontal wooden dowls.. that's JUST me. She will get around no issue now.

And in my experience the lower dowls will get mildew/mold on the bottom side quickly due to.the lack of light heat and excess humidity. so keep an eye down there and wipe them often

 

[ISA my Veiled]

First off.beautiful girly
Second i love the setup! great plant choice use of space and feeding cup design

Now the critic in me id add at least one bendy Vine to run vertically and connecting the horizontal wooden dowls.. that's JUST me. She will get around no issue now.

And in my experience the lower dowls will get mildew/mold on the bottom side quickly due to.the lack of light heat and excess humidity. so keep an eye down there and wipe them often

How much are the dowels? I really want a similiar setup

 

[fett42]

How much are the dowels? I really want a similiar setup

They were less than $1 each for 4-foot dowels. The cage is 24 inches wide. So one dowel can be cut in half to make two.

 

[fett42]

First off.beautiful girly
Second i love the setup! great plant choice use of space and feeding cup design

Now the critic in me id add at least one bendy Vine to run vertically and connecting the horizontal wooden dowls.. that's JUST me. She will get around no issue now.

And in my experience the lower dowls will get mildew/mold on the bottom side quickly due to.the lack of light heat and excess humidity. so keep an eye down there and wipe them often

Thanks for the tip. I will keep an eye on the lower dowels. Also, thanks for the praise. I'm super happy with how it turned out.

As for a bendy vine connecting them, there is one. It might be hard to see in the pictures, but the vine is bendy and has leaves on it. I thought about putting a second one in, but decided to leave it alone because I don't want the cage to become too cluttered.

 

[TheHoff93]

great looking enclosure! just a few questions. did you just wedge the dowels against the screens or did you secure them somehow? i was thinking of a similar design for my new cage. and how much did you pay for all of the plants?

 

[Stoneleon]

great looking enclosure! just a few questions. did you just wedge the dowels against the screens or did you secure them somehow? i was thinking of a similar design for my new cage. and how much did you pay for all of the plants?

it looks like thumbtacks were used on the outside of the cage goin into the dowels. I seen ppl use that tactic in other set ups as well and i have heard no complaints

 

[TheHoff93]

it looks like thumbtacks were used on the outside of the cage goin into the dowels. I seen ppl use that tactic in other set ups as well and i have heard no complaints

thank you. that sounds like a good idea. ill give that a shot and see how it works out.

 

[DavidBuchan]

Looking really good, cage and Cosmo - I'm sure she'll be very happy there

 

[fett42]

great looking enclosure! just a few questions. did you just wedge the dowels against the screens or did you secure them somehow? i was thinking of a similar design for my new cage. and how much did you pay for all of the plants?

As someone else said, I used thumbtacks. So far only one has fallen out. They hold up the dowel rods really well.

I got the plants fairly cheap. The small one in front was on sale for $4.95 I think. The larger one in the back was around $11. I just recently took out the small one in the front an put a hibiscus in its place since my cham loves eating the buds and flowers. I can never keep the hibiscus plants alive though. So the small plant will most likely be back in there within a month or two.

 

[fett42]

Looking really good, cage and Cosmo - I'm sure she'll be very happy there

Thank you. So far she seems much happier than when she was in her small cage. She loves exploring her larger environment. My only worry is that she will get cold being father away from the heat bulb. I put a more powerful bulb in though. I need to get a new thermometer to keep track of the temp in the cage. I found out that the one I had from the old cage apparently doesn't work anymore.