New Member, New Cage. Feedback please!

[WinstonChrchll]

Hey Guys!

First post here on the forum after a few days of browsing. Been interested for a few months now in getting a veiled or panther chameleon and have been doing all the necessary research for long enough to convince myself that I'm not just being impulsive.
To further solidify that, I went out and built myself a custom enclosure. Its a a 24x24x43 inside dimension cage made out of plywood(primarily maple I believe) and metal screening. The inside is painted with a water resistant black low luster exterior paint (hopefully to survive misting) and the outside is painted with typical interior house paint with a coat of water resistant varnish to seal it. I posted a few pics below.
What I'm getting at here is what are some potential issues that may arise in this setup over a regular screen cage? That being said, I want to keep the chameleons health above my whims. So please any feedback would be appreciated.

Also: Excuse the room background and the cage color, I'm 16 so I have an excuse

 

[Chameleon Loco]

the cage looks good but where is the uvb light?

 

[gegeland]

Have you considered how you will drain the water that will accumulate at the bottom of the cage from all the mistings? If you don't drain it somehow, the water will pool up and mix with poo and other bad stuff, which in the end will only cause problems. If you want some really good ideas use the search tool on the forums and you will have hours of reading material. Haha. I just got my LLLReptile drainage tray (http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...screen/-/24-x-24-x-48-screen-cage-water-tray/) and I think they are really nice to have. If you have never heard of them you should check them out. Otherwise, I think your cage looks awesome! Good job.

 

[WinstonChrchll]

Still needs to be bought and set up. Currently, It's just a cage and a spare basking bulb from my ball python. I figure once I'm done with the cage I get the furnishings followed by the Cham once I have addressed any issues.

 

[Chameleon Loco]

I dont use a drainage thing every time before I go to bed I use a paper tile to soak up extra water

 

[WinstonChrchll]

What I was planning on doing was making legs for it and drilling holes through the bottom that would drain into a bucket or something. I have seen those trays on the LLL site but its a bit out of the question with the cage lol

 

[Chameleon Loco]

I dont know about that as feeders could fall out of the cage and will be running around your room

 

[boj3434]

I would drill some pretty big holes all over the bottom maybe like around 20-25ish and cover them with somw screen if you are worried about feeders getting out. I would just drain it into something flat and big and then just empty it sometimes.

 

[ChamOh]

nice

Nice cage and design bud. for being only 16 you put together a hell of a cage and it sounds like you did your research. good job. the only issue I can think of is that some screen is prone to rusting. so depending on what you used, you may want to keep an eye on that, although, it wouldn't be a big deal if it should start to rust.

Oh and don't forget to keep rockin' on that Epi!

 

[Dave Weldon]

Howdy,

I'm a big fan of having the chameleon's basking spot high-up enough to be above the keeper's head. So if you plan on putting that enclosure on a table, that'll work .

 

[Texas Panther Man]

Looks like all you need are a good dig therm/hygrom. I use two light fixtures one for 5.0 and one for plants. The plant flourescent really brightens up the enclosure and my plants are doing quite well. Get your basking ligh ficture and incandesnt bulb. If you have the $$ id get a misting system. Thats next on my list. Look at the mistkings. Get some grapevines for pathways and and your set. You know about supplements for dusting your feeders?

 

[Elizadolots]

Consider building a "holder" for the cage that has a plastic drawer under it to collect the water. Sterelight and Rubbermaid both have a load of "drawer" sizes...I broke a 3 drawer Sterelight product up to get the drawers I needed for my 2 chameleons. That will let you drain all water to the drawer and dispose of it easily. PM me if you want more ideas on that.

 

[reptimanny]

I dont know about that as feeders could fall out of the cage and will be running around your room

LOL wife got freaked out when my 2 year old was pointing at a cricket running around

 

[WinstonChrchll]

Thanks for all the positive feedback you guys! I'll probably have my drainage system done this weekend. I just went out and bought a schefflera (ficus isnt being sold anywhere in my area due to the white fly outbreak)and I will be getting it all furnished soon.
Thanks again! More post to come with my progress.

 

[Lizardlover]

Have you considered how you will drain the water that will accumulate at the bottom of the cage from all the mistings? If you don't drain it somehow, the water will pool up and mix with poo and other bad stuff, which in the end will only cause problems. If you want some really good ideas use the search tool on the forums and you will have hours of reading material. Haha. I just got my LLLReptile drainage tray (http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...screen/-/24-x-24-x-48-screen-cage-water-tray/) and I think they are really nice to have. If you have never heard of them you should check them out. Otherwise, I think your cage looks awesome! Good job.

I have never used drainage and all my set-ups are dry by the time I mist again, and none of my chameleons are dehydrated. Drainage trays are a waste of money.

 

[graydon]

I have never used drainage and all my set-ups are dry by the time I mist again, and none of my chameleons are dehydrated. Drainage trays are a waste of money.

I agree on the drain tray's being a waste of money but how do you collect all the extra water?