Pop-up mesh hamper?

Aquaseafoam

New Member
I have recently acquired a small chameleon from a friend. She(?) is supposedly WC and about 3-4" long. I'm not sure which species she is, but looks like a common chameleon. For now she is in a 20 gallon aquarium. I know this isn't ideal, but i wasn't expecting a chameleon either! lol.
I'm calling my cham a "she" because she doesn't have a spur, but I don't know if that applies to common chameleons.
At any rate, my (first ;) ) question is about pop-up hampers. Has anyone tried using these for small chams? I've searched a couple forums and haven't found any threads about them.
I'm talking about something like this: http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&hl=en&q=mesh+hamper&btnG=Search
Thanks for any advice!
 
C. chameleon males don't have spurs...you need to look at the base of the tail to see if there are hemipene bulges. I'll be quite surprised if it is a C. chamaeleon though. They aren't usually imported.

There's a picture of a male here...
http://adcham.com/html/taxonomy/species/cchamaeleon.html

Can you post some photos please? I have a real interest in C. chamaeleons since its the first species that I hatched.

I kept mine in aquariums...but I live in Canada so the winters are cold and its dry in the house. They lived to be 6+ years (females included) in aquariums.
 
Last edited:
those hampers look like a great idea, whats the biggest size? ive only seen the standard sizes while out shopping.

i would make some security mods definately, or how about taking 2 of them apart and joing them to make an octogan? i wonder how easy it would be? could also stack them for height. and i would reinforce the uprights with some 2x1 or summin

thats really got me thinking as i will be starting my new enclosure project soon
 
First I think you need to have your chameleon identified. Then move on from there. Feel free to post pictures. Alot of the memebers in here like trying to figure out what it is. Almost like a trivia game or something.

If you live in an enviroment that is similar to their own you could use a cage like this www.exo-terra.com/EN/products/explorarium_i.html

Hung on a porch these would be some good cages for small/medium chameleons if you did not want to make one. I would think something like a bungee cord hooked to the bottom to keep the wind from blowing it and a hook to mount the top part.
 
If you live in an enviroment that is similar to their own you could use a cage like this www.exo-terra.com/EN/products/explorarium_i.html

I have one of these cages that I use as temporary housing and for sun bathing in the summer months. I like it well, but it does blow around a bit when it is hanging.

I think using one of those mesh hampers would probably work well for a cage if you can modify it for a door, etc. You could use the open top as the bottom and make some sort of drain pan for it if you put a door somewhere else on the hamper. You would still need UVB and basking lights and would have to figure out how to do that. Maybe use one of the compact reptisun 5.0's in a clamp lamp.. same for the basking light.

Anyhow, cool project, let us know how it goes if you decide to do it.

Heika
 
My concern would be that the claws might get caught in the mesh...and you would need to watch that the lights couldn't start a fire if they were too close to it.
 
The explorarium will hold a dome reflector inside. Of course they suggest using their glow light. You could do as Heika suggested and simply add in a compact flourescent. I think that would actually be pretty cool in one of my rooms. Not sure what the prices are for these on-line and stuff. In my area they are cheaper then the reptariums which is very cheap.
 
This is a creative idea, but I have to say the modifications needed seem like a lot more trouble than just building an enclosure.
In addition, I would hate for my cham to accidentally end up in the washing machine.;)

-Brad
 
Okay, I've taken some pics tonight and they are in my gallery, should i post an ID request in a different forum? (s)he is supposed to be from North Africa, thats why the common chameleon was the closest thing I could find. Tell me what you guys think! :)
As for the hamper, I was thinking of putting it ontop of half the aquarium. It is cold here right now, always less than 70 F in the house. I still need a thermometer for the tank to see what temp it is in there. I don't know how i'll set up the lamps, but i'll have either the heat or uv/uvb on the tank, and the other on the hamper. I already had an umbrella plant, so I put a cutting in there, and a few other house plants and some sticks from outside.
Link to my gallery: https://www.chameleonforums.com/gallery/browseimages.php?c=3&userid=1276
 
Back
Top Bottom