Opinions On Setup Please

[Nihil]

After pricing supplies to build my own Cham Home, I think I've decided on the 175 Gallon Reptarium, it measures 30"x30"x48" Which should be a good start for a home, I'm still looking at options for water/humidifying, I'm planning on building a drip system with drip irrigation supplies and will work off a timer, I'll have to see what the average humidity is and go from there with humidifiers and misters n what not, my main question is about lighting...

I'm interested in Montiums and Quadricornis, if I don't have those options, I might end up with Jacksons I know the temps required aren't too high nor is lighting, what lighting do you guys recommend? I'm planning on a possible Hanging Pothos and a Schefflera for foliage and it'll be heavily foliated for good hiding for my animals, but I don't know how much lighting I should go with, I don't want to over do it or under do it, I know naturally filtered light through the plants is desirable...maybe others who are working with these species can snap some photos n give some words of advice?

Thanks In Advance,
Chris

 

[pohchunyee]

For mountain species, the required more humidity than heat. They live on mountain range with temperature around 55 at night - 80 F in the morning, I would suggest a 5.0 UVA/UVB light with a 75 Watt Light bulb for them. I worked with Jackson before, they loves a lot of mist.... i mist them 4-5X a day and kept a 75 watt bulb with basking temperature around 80 and ambient temperature of 70. Nighttime, i turn off the heat source and temperature goes down to 60 - 70F. Plus I live in the northern part so is much cooler here.

 

[Dean Pulcini]

Your going to have a hard time keeping the humidity where it should be in a screened cage for montane species. Highest possible humidity and moderate temperature. Reptarium are hard to see through and the zipper will eventually fail take it from me . I use 10.0 bulb with alot of vegetation that will also support the plant life at 20 in. In the mountains the sun is strong but the mist and vegetation blocks it out in some places. You want to try and duplicate that kind of environment.

 

[Nihil]

That's what I was goin for, more Foliage than anything, I was thinkin with my drip system, that should duplicate the rain and depending on how I configure drainage, I could possibly run it almost full time if there's still dry area provided, I might throw in a mister on a timer or a humidifier, I'll set it all up and see where I'm at with things, then go from there, the last thing I'll be gettin are some COOL Chameleons ha

Your going to have a hard time keeping the humidity where it should be in a screened cage for montane species. Highest possible humidity and moderate temperature. Reptarium are hard to see through and the zipper will eventually fail take it from me . I use 10.0 bulb with alot of vegetation that will also support the plant life at 20 in. In the mountains the sun is strong but the mist and vegetation blocks it out in some places. You want to try and duplicate that kind of environment.

 

[Nihil]

An after thought question, I was going to build a cage out of PVC but the cost to make it look nice, and the hassle, it seemed better to go with the Reptarium...but after looking more through others Builds...a lot of them are constructed out of wood, I've always declined using wood because of water absorbtion creating bacterial breeding grounds, especially with the levels of humidity required for Chameleons, any thoughts/suggestions on that?

Your going to have a hard time keeping the humidity where it should be in a screened cage for montane species. Highest possible humidity and moderate temperature. Reptarium are hard to see through and the zipper will eventually fail take it from me . I use 10.0 bulb with alot of vegetation that will also support the plant life at 20 in. In the mountains the sun is strong but the mist and vegetation blocks it out in some places. You want to try and duplicate that kind of environment.

 

[Julirs]

There are ways to seal wood to deal with the moisture, but it takes many coats and you have to wait for it to dry awhile because of the fumes. I am using 2 Reptariums now, and it is easier to keep the humidity up in those then my all screen cages. I do use an additional clamp lamp to light them up due to the dark mesh. You can find screen cages for less than you can make one these days in a variety of sizes.

 

[Ren]

i used stain on my new enclosure and then 3 coats of polyurethane, to prevent moisture from getting into the wood..and it all comes down to what tools you have to work with as well as money to buy the materials needed to do the job....good luck I'm sure it will turn out fine..

 

[Will Hayward]

Actually, it is very simple to seal wood. Use two coats of Latex Solventless paint. Its rubbery, dries after a day if well ventilated. Has no fumes. My suggestion in your situation would be to look into making a cage with partial screen walls and partial solid walls. Stuff it with plants.

I have had several designs, this is the latest. I didn't like having three solid walls, but two and 3/4s I liked. Since the top is cluttered with lights- opening a vent at the top rear allows the heat to draw airflow through the front, inside the cage and out the back.

 

[Ren]

Thats something I had in mind when I build my new house, with new garage I will build multiple enclosures and that kind of setup was what i had in mind all along, thanks for the pics.....is that a drip system or something along the top?

 

[Nihil]

Those are some nice enclosures, I was planning on using PVC since it can't absorb moisture, my dad had bad experience with wood enclosures when he was breeding boas and the wood was sealed and treated properly, that's why I'm kinda leary about using wood, especially with the humidity requirements for Chameleons, I guess maybe I'll re-think my ideas and see what kind of pricing I come up with, since I've got all the wood working tools, I can probably come up with somethin for less than what a Reptarium costs, or at least the same price but a lot larger enclosure and with the exact features I wanted

I was wanting to build somethin with a removable tray to clean easier, kinda like a bird cage with the tray that slides out, and a lower cabinet to store equipment and hide the pump for the drip system and all that...I noticed that a lot of people here use wood so, if everyone is successful with that, I might as well give it a try, wood is CHEAP and there's a few places right around the corner from me that always have free wood too and metal screen is like 40 bucks for a huge roll, ha, thanks for those pics n advice!

Actually, it is very simple to seal wood. Use two coats of Latex Solventless paint. Its rubbery, dries after a day if well ventilated. Has no fumes. My suggestion in your situation would be to look into making a cage with partial screen walls and partial solid walls. Stuff it with plants.

I have had several designs, this is the latest. I didn't like having three solid walls, but two and 3/4s I liked. Since the top is cluttered with lights- opening a vent at the top rear allows the heat to draw airflow through the front, inside the cage and out the back.

 

[Nihil]

Those are some nice enclosures, I was planning on using PVC since it can't absorb moisture, my dad had bad experience with wood enclosures when he was breeding boas and the wood was sealed and treated properly, that's why I'm kinda leary about using wood, especially with the humidity requirements for Chameleons, I guess maybe I'll re-think my ideas and see what kind of pricing I come up with, since I've got all the wood working tools, I can probably come up with somethin for less than what a Reptarium costs, or at least the same price but a lot larger enclosure and with the exact features I wanted

I was wanting to build somethin with a removable tray to clean easier, kinda like a bird cage with the tray that slides out, and a lower cabinet to store equipment and hide the pump for the drip system and all that...I noticed that a lot of people here use wood so, if everyone is successful with that, I might as well give it a try, wood is CHEAP and there's a few places right around the corner from me that always have free wood too and metal screen is like 40 bucks for a huge roll, ha, thanks for those pics n advice!

Actually, it is very simple to seal wood. Use two coats of Latex Solventless paint. Its rubbery, dries after a day if well ventilated. Has no fumes. My suggestion in your situation would be to look into making a cage with partial screen walls and partial solid walls. Stuff it with plants.

I have had several designs, this is the latest. I didn't like having three solid walls, but two and 3/4s I liked. Since the top is cluttered with lights- opening a vent at the top rear allows the heat to draw airflow through the front, inside the cage and out the back.

 

[Kam808]

I have a 175 gal reptarium with a jacksons as well. I use the reptisun 10.0 as it's supposed to reach deeper into the enclosure. I also use a 20w 24" fluorescent because its pretty dark in there. And 2 10w clamp grow bulbs for the plants, plus a 30w basking bulb but I dont run them every day. I live in Hawaii so its easier to control temp and natural humidity.

I picked up the promist and it works great, def get the adjustable nozzles. Also used the big dripper with two outlets. I dont have a drainage system set up, so I would love to see your ideas on that. I have thought about using a couple large storage containers with water pumps, but have yet to figure out a good base that will allow the water to drain and hold the plants...while keeping the surface flat. Right now I just use Eco Earth that is secured inside weed blocker, and it works really well. But I have to use plant basins and a medium size tupperware container with screen over it to catch the drips.

I did find that using heavy duty sticky Velcro is very helpful with the reptarium. I used it to secure the lamp hoods to the top of the cage, as they tend to fall in on one side. Used it to secure the pro mist nozzles, the dripper tubing, the hygrometer (this part is cool cause you can make different mounting spots for the temp/hygro sensors), and also to hang a plastic shower curtain on the back to prevent water from hitting the wall and elec outlets. And if your zipper fails, you can hot glue velcro to make a new seal.

If you want to hang plants, try using fishing line and hooks in the ceiling. Works great!

 

[Heika]

I like to use water based Thompson's Water Seal on my cages. Works great, no fuss.