Outdoor Jacksons Enclosure

[PalofromSD]

Hello folks! This is my very first post on CF so I thought I would share with you the enclosure I built for my daughters outdoor Jacksons.

I will start of by saying that one of the many perks of having children is they allow you to be a kid again. I am fortunate enough that I have a loving wife that puts up with my hobbies or passions and a daughter that just wants to do whatever mom or dad does. She even reassures the neighborhood kids, by patting them on the back and telling them "its okay, don’t be scared he wont hurt you, there nice!" ((BTW- she/we have 4 young red foot tortoises (named Diego, Dora, Boots and Baby Jaguar) California toads (Tiana and Prince Nahem), a Kingsnake (Kingie and Jacksons(Triceratops, Green Momma and Brownie)) . It’s great because I have always had a passion for learning to care, raise and breed animals. One of my favorites has been Chameleons. Before I graduated from college I sold them all to Rainforest reptiles in Hollister, Ca as I figured I would be to busy working.

Anyways, back in the mid-nineties before the major trade embargo I raised and breed various Chameleons’ species. Things were a little different back then and I do not remember there being as much free flowing information on the Chameleon hobby. I had one or two personal primary sources of information beside the books to fall back on. Having lurked on this site for some time I see how the science of raising and breeding Chameleons have changed from when I use to keep my animals.

I look forward to sharing the hobby with my 2.5 yr old daughter and 8 month old son.

Here is the enclosure I built! I am building another one in advance for our next chameleons. I think my daughter would appreciate the bright colors of the Panthers, where I would tend to lean towards the Mountain species. Anyways, hope you like it. The Jacksons seem to enjoy it.

 

[jdog1027]

Isn't it great to have kids? It gives me all the justification I need any time a new project is started for my 'son's' chameleon collection!

 

[eisentrauti]

Really nice looking cage and well planted ! keep it up !

 

[carol5208]

First off welcome to the forums! The cage looks great!

 

[Action Jackson]

Nice job. My daughter loves helping me take care of our Chameleons and going to shows.

Your Jackson's will love the size of that cage. It looks like you used some type of shade cloth. That is going to limit the amount of sunlight that your Chameleons will get which is the reason we keep them outside. Jackson's love to bask in the sun. Exposure to sun, shade and water will help make them flourish. Also you know if you keep a pair m/f you're going to have babies and will most likely have to separate them at some point.

I love building cages and trying to improve the design with each new one.

Are you in California?

 

[PalofromSD]

Nice job. My daughter loves helping me take care of our Chameleons and going to shows.

Your Jackson's will love the size of that cage. It looks like you used some type of shade cloth. That is going to limit the amount of sunlight that your Chameleons will get which is the reason we keep them outside. Jackson's love to bask in the sun. Exposure to sun, shade and water will help make them flourish. Also you know if you keep a pair m/f you're going to have babies and will most likely have to separate them at some point.

I love building cages and trying to improve the design with each new one.

Are you in California?

Thanks for for the warm welcome everyone.


ActionJackson-

Thank you for the pointers. The cloth is pet grade screen cloth. I do nt like using the aluminum screen. The enclosure can be sheltered on 3-4 sides to trap humidity and warmth. I was going to use a shade cloth but was concerned that it would block key UVB/UVA waves so i chose the screen instead. But I will keep an eye on them to make sure they are staying happy

We do plan to breed them. I think my daughter will enjoy seeing and caring for the babies.

The enclosure is 4' wide by 3' tall and 16" deep and is built to be able to divided in half, thirds or fourths if needed. Its one of my favorite features of my enclosure. I have it split in half with the females on one side and the male on the other side.

They will stay outdoors as I live in North San Diego County. I see your in SOCAL too.

 

[Texas Panther Man]

Nice build man. I see your an old timer. Were you a member of the Cin back in the 90's? I used to breed and sell a few chams back in the mid to late 90's also. Got out for a while and got starte again last year. Your right things are so much easier now arent they....

 

[Cainschams]

Nice set up!! Im sure they are loving that. Nothing better for them than being able to live outdoors! I too like the montane species the most. My niece always liked the panthers though and so did the other youngsters. Good luck with the project and keep us posted!

 

[PalofromSD]

Nice build man. I see your an old timer. Were you a member of the Cin back in the 90's? I used to breed and sell a few chams back in the mid to late 90's also. Got out for a while and got starte again last year. Your right things are so much easier now arent they....

Old timer! I never thought of my self as one but two kids, a career change and life style change later......yeah, I guess "old timer" colors it perfectly.

Yes, CIN was the cutting edge literature back in the days. Texas Panther -you've reminded me that I have a box full of CIN and Cham literature in storage. I must of know I was going to get back into it again. If anything I'll dig it out to show my daughter. I might even have some still photos in the box too. Oh, yeah, I am fired up.

Yes, information is so much more readily available today. It takes alot of the guess work out of it and is ultimately better for the animals. Its great!