New Cage with real plants...comments?

[Shaner]

Hey All,

I finally have my chams cage setup and good to go. I have one live plant in there and it is a big plant. I got an Umbrella tree...not money tree I know those are a no no.

I have attached a few pics of the new Setup, all comments are welcome..yes even criticizing ones if I need it.

Please let me know if I have everything right. I have 2 75W zoo med heat lights (Winters are cold here). 1 UVB 5.0 Exo-terra linear tube (reptisun I can't get here) and the plastic container is his drip system.

He is almost 6' from ground level so he is up pretty high.

I think that covers everything, let me know if I need to do anything or change something that I have wrong.

Thanks all.
Shaner

 

[tryme]

What cham is going in there?

 

[blackbetty]

That plant looks smooshed!

 

[Julirs]

You are going to have alot of crickets escape with the gaps in the frame there. What kind of cham? What are the dimensions of the cage?

 

[klangford]

You are going to have alot of crickets escape with the gaps in the frame there. What kind of cham? What are the dimensions of the cage?

I thought the same thing; in fact I think they can fit through the screen itself.

 

[Syn]

Edit: Nevermind, I'm blind! Looks good except for the holes the crickets can get out of. Try getting some screen from home depot and putting around the bottom half.

 

[dodolah]

Just want to share; perhaps, when we recommend people to get a tree we need to be more precise.

We might want to say either "schefflera arboricola" or DWARF umbrella tree.
Because umbrella tree is actually "schefflera actinophylla."
They almost looked alike too.

I am not sure how safe actinophylla is since i only use arboricola.
I heard too many conflicting info about actinophylla being poisonous and safe.
So, i decided to err on the safe side and get dwarf umbrella tree.

 

[Shaner]

There is a 4 month old Tamatave in there at the moment. He is in one of the pictures.


The cage is 24x18x18

The cham is dish fed...no free roams. When I use crix I clip the back legs so they can't escape the dish.

As for the plant, this is all I can find that is around here at this time of year. I was able to find a small ficus but it was only 5" high, not tall enough and wouldn't be tall enough for a while.

In the spring I am looking into getting a Japanese Maple and a ficus so I will have a variety (sort of lol).

I know I will need a bigger cage eventually but this will do for now.

I hope I covered everything that everyone asked or said, is there anything else that I have to worry about?

Thanks for replying everyone.

 

[blackbetty]

You made that yourself? Im always so amazed at what human hands can do...

Looks nice. Good work, although I would keep any eye on that plant as you may have to prune it. If it tries to outgrow the cage, it will die.

 

[Shaner]

I wish I could take the credit for the cage, but I can't too much of a conscience lol. My boss made it for me, I just asked him if he could, gave him the dimensions, and blueprints and he went to town. I would like to think I made it lol.

As for the plant I had to prune it before putting it in so I understand that. This is just temporary until spring/summer when I will get new plants for him and this tree will be a plant in the corner of the room where he can climb on when I take him out.

 

[blackbetty]

Do they have Pothos in your area? They are low light and low maintenance and you can set them on the ground or even hang them (I have done both).. You could also find one super viney long and wrap it around any vines. I know at Lowes they sell the Long ones for pretty much alotta money but you can usually get a pothos 2 for $6 at walmart.

Well your boss did a good job and Kudos to you for giving him the credit.