plan for my terrarium

whitruss

New Member
Hello! My name is Rui and I'm from Portugal, near Oporto. I found this forum when I was researching for chameleons because I ´m interested in having one. I´ve decided to make this post because I want to build a terrarium for it and want to share my experience and receive feedback with and from other members and since i´m building it from scratch I hope to minimize the errors due to my inexperience. I also hope to cover all topics related with the construction of the terrarium as well as materials and decorations. The animal I've been looking for is a yemen chameleon or a panther

Terrarium:

After the research I have done I decided to build a terrarium with the following dimensions: 70cm (length) x 60cm (depth) x 1.20m(high) , a size appropriate adult specimen.
The material i chose was a plywood base, back and sides. Pine strips to the roof, front and door. On the outside network with galvanized musketeer (moisture resistant). Using Sketch8 did a sketch of the terrarium. : http://snag.gy/SZI77.jpg
The strips of wood are sanded and will pass a water based non-toxic veneer to better prepare for the humidity. I believe that this method of treating wood for this type of project. The plywood i think that dont need treatment.

Decoration:

I choose natural plants for the terrarium to help with the humidity. I think I have room for 3 vessels in terrarium and most likely will put 3 of these 4 types of plants that I believe are best suited: Cheflera, Ficus (or pumilo benjamina) and Hibiscus. These plants will be transplanted to a new pot with a suitable substrate and well clean to avoid the risk of "having" traces of chemicals that may have been given them. The potting soil will also be hidden or over a network or with rocks so the insects do not hide in the earth nor the chameleon by her tongue.
I'll also put some trunks fixed at the rear to provide safe support for the animal, (the lamps will be placed on top, externally but this will be discussed later) and probably some fake vines in order to facilitate vertical movement within the terrarium. I would also like to put a vase fixed on the ceiling with some sort of natural vines but it seems ambitious and do not know the weight of the roof will hold the weight. so here is another skecth the terrarium with plants and stuff.: http://snag.gy/taWZI.jpg
The bottom of the terrarium will be with white kitchen paper at least at the beginning to be able to control the feeding and toilet habits of the animal

Material:

I think I'll need a thermometer with probe for temperature control at the basking spot, like 2 or 3 thermometers, analog or digital for the sup /average part and average /inferior, so I can control the temperature gradient of the terrarium.
The humidity will be maintained through water squirts probably 3-4 times a day and one or two home made dripper (bottle or jug upset upside down with a little hole for dripping at leaves and then to the drainage system (my big design problem until now, I'll probably have to put a hidden container in the bottom to collect it )

Lamps: (some good tips here was cool, research also I have to admit was not so much on this topic)
An long longitudinal 6.0 UVB lamp or a compact uvb lamp in the same direction as the basking spot.
A basking spot lamp, and a lamp 100w or 150w ceramic (due to the height of the terrarium I do not know what is indicated to be desired temperatures) connected to a thermostat (as I mentioned here, has not researched a lot and still do not know what are the lights setup or the most appropriate). The lamps will be placed on the outside of the terrarium. The uvb and basking spot at 30cm from the place where the animal should walk more and the ceramic at a distance from the ceiling so the network dont heat and the animal does not burn up the climbing net.
Being the 3 lamps compact it should leave something like that, being that baskingspot is the red one, the green is uvb and yellow is ceramic.

http://snag.gy/am860.jpg

Conditions:
I seek to provide a temp. of 30/32ºC in basking spot. at the sup / Average 29/32 °, intermediate 22/26 ° and below 20/21 ° at night hopefully keep the temp at 18/21. Day will be uvb lamps / spot (tied around 12h) + the ceramic connected to the thermostat at night and only ceramic connected to the thermostat.

I´m sorry for the mistakes I probably wrote but I hope I could make myself understandable. Hopping on replays and thank you!
 
I'd reply a bit longer, but I am busy doing a bunch of things at the moment. I just wanted to point out: You should have multiple hibiscus to rotate them every now and then. Hibiscus needs a lot of natural sunlight, and the UVB bulb won't cut it. That's why people who have hibiscus usually have more than one and place one or two outside while having one in the terrarium, rotating them every now and again. Chameleons love eating the flowers, so it's a great choice :D Just want to make sure that your hibiscus also lives a long, happy life with your cham :)

I got the information from here: https://www.chameleonforums.com/pla...browse=scientific&view=photo&order=compatible

Good luck with your setup! :D

::EDIT::
Alright, I managed to grab some time to answer a bit better.

What is the age of the chameleon in question? Your dimensions are great for a larger cham, but it's usually better to provide something smaller for a young chameleon, easier for them to find their food. If you can manage to cup feed, and the cham knows where the food is, I suppose a small one in a big terrarium would be alright. But it's still better to provide a smaller one if possible. If you're planning on getting an older one, then there's no need to even worry about that!

For the lamps, if you can get tube UVB, those are usually preferred. They cover a bigger area and are not so bright. (I also find they provide a nicer light, personally) A 150watt might be too high, depending on the gender of your chameleon I suppose, and the average temperature of the basking spot. Other members can probably shed some "light" on that regard better than me though!

There's some nice ideas for draining systems around the forums where the terrarium sits on top of a tub and drains through some holes covered with... something... at the bottom. The tub just gets emptied out every once and a while, and you don't have to worry about standing water anymore!

The images help a lot. I do hope that you will have some more horizontal vines though, adding more highways for your chameleon.


I think that about covers everything I wanted to say... sorry for being so brief!
 
Hello, welcome to the forum :) That sounds like a great plan overall. It's the sort of thing where you need to experiment a bit with the details yourself but it sounds like you have a very good idea of what to expect. Here is a great basic caresheet for Veileds - https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/chameleonsinmyhouse/395-veiled-chameleon-care-sheet.html

Here is a link to an enclosure thread to give you some more ideas :) - https://www.chameleonforums.com/official-enclosure-picture-thread-2-post-your-pics-94781/
 
First of all thank you dudes for replying so soon :)

Ill try to replay to the feedback i had.

I would like to get one small veiled since panthers not so often (and more expensive around here) i will cup feed him to make sure he eats and properly and since im building one i think its better to do it for his adult size, ill prob get less leafy plants at start so he has more free space to see food and stuff.

Had no idea on that hibiscus issue guess if i chose to put one there ill have to get 2.

For the lamps, thank you Ferrah, i will get one tube uvb then, juts one question the 5.0 or the 10.0? because of the high i don't know what to use and haven't any uvb meter to measure it.
And yes il put some horizontal and vertical vines to help him move throw the terrarium i just couldn't drawn them there.

Once more, thank you dudes!
and btw any idea on different kinds of wood or material i can make the terrarium off?
Thank you! and take care ;)
 
when you say plant bulb you mean Grow lights, right?
i will need one? all plants cham-safe ofc, require this lamps?
Thnak you
 
when you say plant bulb you mean Grow lights, right?
i will need one? all plants cham-safe ofc, require this lamps?
Thnak you

My plants are thriving on the bulbs I have in there now (basking and UVB) so I don't think you'll NEED a plant bulb, although it might be a good idea.

If you are indeed getting hibiscus, I would recommend you get more than one (likely 2 or 3) so that you can rotate them. This makes it even easier, since they are native for you! You'll keep one in the terrarium for a while, and then switch it out for a fresh one that's been outside. This will help the flower bloom again and prevent it dying. Hibiscus need a lot of real sun :eek: I got the information right here on this site: https://www.chameleonforums.com/pla...browse=scientific&view=photo&order=compatible

Hopefully it helps some! :D And good luck with your enclosure :)
 
Hello everyone!
*
So i had to re-design my terrarium and i finally finished it. :D
I have most of the plants I will use though probably i´ll need to find one more plant like a "tree" for it.

Here is the finished terrarium: http://postimg.org/image/y9j78kwe3/ and http://postimg.org/image/6xuh753k5/

i had also a trunk I found in the woods. I treated it, washed and scrubbed well in a mixture of water and bleach and after i dropped boiled water on it and it sitted in it for a while .
http://postimg.org/image/z18eh2hxt/ http://postimg.org/image/xxi6inpyv/


I decided to start with plants because I went to the garden depot and could not resist. I have a Schefflera arboricola with a considerable size, a Vriesia splendens, a lemon lime dracena (small), a zebrina Tradescantia (wandering jew), a spider plant that i'll probably hang and Aphelandra squarrosa (zebra flat) i know that most of these plants have only a decorative purpose but i wanted my terrarium with some colorful and pretty foliage. I still have to get logs to put in the terrarium horizontally in several height levels as well as probably some vines vertically.
http://postimg.org/image/i5dnv0ymf/ -> front
http://postimg.org/image/ioxfol5q5/ -> side
http://postimg.org/image/b4tbpk213/ -> front / top

I also bought organic soil, pindstrup mantillo fit for ecological cultivation, so after washing plants to transplant, was the land which I recommend, anyone?

i arranged also a thermometer and a hygrometer, both analog of exoterra. I will now begin to treat the electrical part but this is where I find myself with more questions.

Should I put the basking lamp on the left side (facing the beholder) in order to stay below the highest part of the trunk (that is at 25cm of top) uvb lamp in the top half (front to rear) and the ceramic lamp (it will be in the garage and its cold) the right to 50cm from where it will feed. Seems you well?

can you give me some tips on what kw should I use? For the ceramic i was thinking about something like 150w, for the uvb i just know that I need a tube (60cm) and for basking im still clueless .. I apologize for revealing still some lack of research but if you can give me some tips on how to assemble the lights i would be awesome. Oh! the terrarium is 1.2mx60cmx60cm

A big thanks in advance!
Respects
 
seems like you've got your ideas down! Good luck. Looks like a solid plan.

I wanna see it when you build it! :D (completely finished I mean).

It looks nice so far.
 
thank you, hope i can finish it soon :)

Another thing i forgot to apologise for was my english. to be honest i had the text written in my language and, sorry for my laziness, i used google to translate it all. I read a bit now and i see how misarable its must sound to you, so sorry for that, ill try to write better from now on.

take care and thank you for all the info you shared
 
Hi,

let me share the newest improvements of the terrarium climate controller. I think this is the equipment you are looking for. It has a new design, I hope you will like it.

http://terrariumcontrol.com/index.php/termekek

alu_doboz_www.kepfeltoltes.hu_.jpg


Bonca
[email protected]
www.TerrariumControl.com
 

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