new outdoor enclosure. critique please

[reptoman]

Its on the east side of the house and is in complete shade by 2pm. Dimensions are 48' wide, 32" deep, 58" tall inside cage. Overall height is 8 feet. Pressure treated pine with 1/2"pvc mesh in inside and wire mesh on the outside (somebody on here mentioned racoons and it got me worried). Plants are 2 schefflera and 1 ficus (back left). Let me know what you all think. I plan to put a mister on a water timer connected to my garden hose. thanks!

 

[chrisw]

really like it - nice job. I'm jealous. Was it recommended to have shade by 2:00pm?

 

[Crazy Pet Lady]

All I can say is WOW!

 

[reptoman]

Morning sun is best. It is probably too hot in the late afternoon to keep a cham in full sun. Its going to be 90 here tomorrow and its only May. I dont know if anyone keeps their chams outside in Texas during the summer months but I have heard they can overheat pretty quickly if they dont have good shade to escape to.

 

[reptoman]

All I can say is WOW!

Thanks! I think my panther will enjoy the extra room.

 

[Eltortu]

Looks good to me!

 

[reptoman]

Thanks Eltortu!

 

[justjumpit621]

only concern is the garden hose harbors bacteria and hard minerals and it may not be good to spray down a chameleon. Usually you use distilled or treated water.

 

[sarah777]

only concern is the garden hose harbors bacteria and hard minerals and it may not be good to spray down a chameleon. Usually you use distilled or treated water.

Really,distilled water?!?! I never have in my 10 years of keeping Chameleons.

 

[ChamOh]

Really,distilled water?!?! I never have in my 10 years of keeping Chameleons.

it's a highly debated topic. some believe distilled can actually be harmful to living things since it's completely devoid of anything it's said to pull minerals out of the body.

for example, would u drink distilled water as your only water source daily?

 

[Jono]

Really depends on the water in your area. My veiled gets tap water while my dwarfs get bottled but mainly cos one 500ml bottle lasts 2 or 3 months before i throw it away and get a new one. Neither seems to make a difference but then water here is great.

Awewsome build, your guy is gonna be well chuffed! When are you moving him in?

 

[SliK JiM]

Looks great to me! You should have a very happy Cham in there!

 

[HecticZ]

Looks Good, real good.

 

[reptoman]

Thanks for the replies! I am probably going to put him in tomorrow. I plan to get the water timer setup today and make sure its working properly beforehand. I use either spring water or RO for the chams dripper system inside. I may try to put a filter inline with the source for the outside just to filter out the chlorine. Anyone have ideas on that or done it before?

 

[justjumpit621]

it's a highly debated topic. some believe distilled can actually be harmful to living things since it's completely devoid of anything it's said to pull minerals out of the body.

for example, would u drink distilled water as your only water source daily?

I believe you are thinking of RODI water that is the purest water and devoid of all minerals and ions, that will pull ions from the body and is not a good drinking water. As for drinking distilled water daily, if I had it yes. I do not see a problem with it. As for pulling minerals from the body, I don't think that is really possible. Ions yes, they are small enough, but minerals I would believe to be too large to go through.

 

[El Chameleo]

Looks great, your Cham is going to love it.

 

[draetish]

Hey Brian I'm just a hop, skip and a jump from you. How about you let me try it out? It looks awesome, nice work!

 

[reptoman]

Thanks El Chameleo

Thanks Donna. I am still looking forard to seeing what you do with that huge wysteria vine.

 

[Berg]

Morning sun is best. It is probably too hot in the late afternoon to keep a cham in full sun. Its going to be 90 here tomorrow and its only May. I dont know if anyone keeps their chams outside in Texas during the summer months but I have heard they can overheat pretty quickly if they dont have good shade to escape to.

I was just going to ask if it would be too hot here for them during peak summer months because its still 90+ in the shade but here latly i bet the chams would love to be outside all day

 

[buddhacham]

What about pH of distilled?

Would a pH of about 5 be a problem though. Because, if I am not mistaken, distilled water is only at a pH of 7 when actually distilled. Once exposed to air, it becomes carbonic acid at about pH of 5.