New ExoTerra Terrarium for veiled Cham

[broderp]

I'm looking for some critique on my new terrarium setup.

See the backstory here:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/delivery-problems-124660/

Here is the first Revision up and running late yesterday evening (8pm-ish):

-The terrarium is 24x18x36 Exo Terra.
-The "trees" I made using the branches I found late last year, here they are before I modified them: https://www.chameleonforums.com/dead-plants-question-123695/
- All wood is real, made from branches and tree's I cut from my yard
- The plants are ALL fake, courtesy of the HOBBY LOBBIES 50% off sale

The only carry over part from his old terrarium is the rock bridge front and center of his cage. This we use to hold his small clear feeding dish (in the picture) with crickets. And his water bottle, hidden in the upper right hand part of the enclosure by the red and yellow plants.

Open to suggestons and comments.

Thank you

 

[MelissaB]

Looks nice. I'm glad you finally got one without broken doors. I'd probably add a few more horizontal perches, but I have panthers, and mine live to do their daily patrol. I'm also a HUGE fan of pothos, if you're interested in adding a live plant. I like to wind them around branches, and leave vines hanging down. Even my bigger guy uses them to get around. They're fast growers and almost impossible to kill. How does Jackson like his new house?

 

[broderp]

Looks nice. I'm glad you finally got one without broken doors. I'd probably add a few more horizontal perches, but I have panthers, and mine live to do their daily patrol. I'm also a HUGE fan of pothos, if you're interested in adding a live plant. I like to wind them around branches, and leave vines hanging down. Even my bigger guy uses them to get around. They're fast growers and almost impossible to kill. How does Jackson like his new house?

I knew SOMEONE would comment about horizontal perches..lol

I am considering buying a Pothos, but there are a few reasons I haven't:

1. Cost, need to check, but of all the FAKE plants I found, Pothos are expensive! I'm afraid to ask what a real one would cost!
2. Light, I do not have a T5 or other plant friendly light source at this time.
3. Astetics. I hate to admit it, but if it don't look appealing, I won't do it. I want to be able to see him. I don't want a glass terrarium with nothing but wall to wall plants (he may like it though!)
4. Cleanability. I started a thread about how long it takes to clean, most said 5 minutes. I take a least an hour every other week to clean mine. (The small OLD terrarium 18x18x24) I litterally take out EVERYTHING, everything gets washed with soad and water, then rinsed. Lime Away is then used to remove any hard water spots (very little since I only used filterd or bottled water for Jackson) then scrub down everything with Flukers cleaner (smells good, is safe) finally all glass cleaned with Windex and then air dried for afew minutes before reassembly. As full as it looks now, everything is suction cupped in place and a logical disassembly and reassembly method is already drawn out. lol. I'd hate to have to untangle a growing vine!


Thats not to say I won't change it up and add a plant.


Jackson was up late due to the transfer of his controller and wiring from his old to new and me adjusting lamps etc. I had to use a ladder to reach to the top and feed his wires in and stuff. Jackson spent the better time of his evening afterwards exploring oddly enough the bottom of his new enclosure.

I felt really sad at one point becuase he saw his OLD one on the table next to this one and spent about 20 minutes digging at the glass, almost as if wanting to go back to his old home.

He then started the long trek upwards and found his new perch. Unfortunatly he did exactly what I expected and went straight to the side where I was still adjusting his temp probe. I had to disturb him and he wound up clinging on the rock wall, and putting on his pajamas for bed. When he did that, I took the pic above and then it was lights out.

 

[zanethan]

I knew SOMEONE would comment about horizontal perches..lol

I am considering buying a Pothos, but there are a few reasons I haven't:

1. Cost, need to check, but of all the FAKE plants I found, Pothos are expensive! I'm afraid to ask what a real one would cost!

Most real plants are cheaper than fake ones, assuming you can keep them alive.

 

[MelissaB]

Awww, poor guy. I bet he loves the extra space, though. Live pothos are cheap, I get them for about $10, but I can see why it would be a pain in the butt for you. If he's happy, and you're happy that's all that matters.

 

[xraygirl]

Be careful with the fake floral (hobby store) flowers and plants. Crickets chew on the 'buds' of flowers and if the flowers are going to be misted a lot, they'll start to stink. I had to take the 2 of the 3 fake orchids out because they were constantly getting wet and stunk to high heavens.

 

[Seiryu]

Where in Ohio are you? Do you ever make it to the reptile show in Taylor, MI? By the border.

I can't say how much his Vivs are to others, but for me, I paid considerably less for a higher quality custom Viv than Exo's that's also larger than that.

As for Pothos, at the Home Depots here they are $6-12 depending on the size.

Glad you finally got ONE of them to arrive safely lol.

 

[Decadancin]

The only thing I would add is one or two of the bendable vines. That would allow for the extra pathways and would make it look even more awesome! One problem with the fake plants (as well as some real ones) is they don't support the weight of your chameleons, and the vines will offer something for him to climb around on. Glad to see that eventually you got a very nice enclosure .

I bet Jackson is very happy in his new crib!

 

[broderp]

Most real plants are cheaper than fake ones, assuming you can keep them alive.

I'm seeing this now, looking at T5 lighting for the plants.....

Awww, poor guy. I bet he loves the extra space, though. Live pothos are cheap, I get them for about $10, but I can see why it would be a pain in the butt for you. If he's happy, and you're happy that's all that matters.

Poor guy? Me or Jackson lol. I'll try one (Real pothos) and see how it works out. Not sure why the fake ones are so expensive.

Be careful with the fake floral (hobby store) flowers and plants. Crickets chew on the 'buds' of flowers and if the flowers are going to be misted a lot, they'll start to stink. I had to take the 2 of the 3 fake orchids out because they were constantly getting wet and stunk to high heavens.

I didn't think of that....I'll definately keep an eye on them and moisture. They were cheap, so replaceing them shouldn't be a big issue. The only silk or non-plastic plants are the colored flowers. I thought they added some color, and quite honestly, had intended to switch them out every once in a while when I clean his terarrium. My mister never waterlogged anything in his previous cage, but I have yet to get it set up in this one. Recently teh humidity has been between 55-65% so I was in no rush to modify my plumbing for it. I'm messing with T5 lighting at the moment as the heat lamp and UVB bulbs just don't kut it in this terrarium.

Where in Ohio are you? Do you ever make it to the reptile show in Taylor, MI? By the border.

I can't say how much his Vivs are to others, but for me, I paid considerably less for a higher quality custom Viv than Exo's that's also larger than that.

As for Pothos, at the Home Depots here they are $6-12 depending on the size.

Glad you finally got ONE of them to arrive safely lol.

I'm in the Dayton, OH area. I didn't make that show, in fact I just made it to my first Reptile show in Columbus a few weeks ago. Not a lot of 'hardware', mostly reptiles for sale. Still I spend about 2.5 hours of very enjoyable time for me and my son.

Define "considerably less" and "higher quiality" I got this one (24x18x36) for $230 shipped and with tax. It's the largest size I could fit on the stand I bought. If I get another cham, I may try a different brand, or make one. (Non mesh)

The only thing I would add is one or two of the bendable vines. That would allow for the extra pathways and would make it look even more awesome! One problem with the fake plants (as well as some real ones) is they don't support the weight of your chameleons, and the vines will offer something for him to climb around on. Glad to see that eventually you got a very nice enclosure .

I bet Jackson is very happy in his new crib!

Exactly what my son said. I didn't have the heart to rob it from his old terrarium as I want to leave it set up for my next baby. I want to get 1-2 of the long ones to add as well. All the branches and what looks like wood IS wood so they support him quite well. I made the tree's from real branches, and wire-ties the green "leaves" to it. So far he hasn't tried to climb up the colored flowers.


One thing I DON'T like about this new setup is the overall look. I prefer the more "jungle" look of his old terrarium than the "forest" look of this one. I had a hard time matching up stuff to make his terrarium match the old, so I went with what was available.

 

[broderp]

Some new pics to share

Size comparison between his old 18x18x24 and the new 24x18x36. You can see my little guy on his basking perch in his smaller terrarium.

Good Morning Jackson! I woke him up this morning with his T5 light. He still has most of his pajamas on. No heat or UVB yet as they are on his controller and would come on a little bit later.

Exploring his new home.

Trying to hide.. "Can you see me now" lol

 

[MelissaB]

LOL Both of you had a hard time. You in getting the darn thing in one piece and him "missing" his old house.
The size difference is HUGE, he's gotta be loving it. Looks good! The fake pothos are probably more expensive because it take more material to make a realistic looking plant. You can always try a live one, and if it doesn't work out, you gained a houseplant, lol.