Re-did cage plans. Need tons of critiques. :)

[mychamtini112012]

So earlier I posted about the cage I'll be making once summer break starts, but some things have changed so I thought I would re work it and see what you guys have to say. Any and all ideas are welcomed.

Dimensions and what it's made of: The cage will be 2ft deep, 6ft wide, and 4ft tall. There will be two dividers in it, so it will hold three chameleons. It will be made of untreated wood, stained and sealed, and then trim around the outside.

Outside of the cage: The outside will be aluminum black screening, but on the top their will be hardware clothe.? I think that is what it is called.

Lights: I will have one four foot long light and one two foot long light. They will hold 5.0 Repti-glo UVB lights. I will also have a regular ceramic dome with a 75watt incandescent bulb in it to maintain the basking temperature. They will be on an automatic time, one at 7:30 a.m. off at 9:30 a.m. The lights will hold to linear bulbs, so the other will be a plant life to help with all the plants.

Foliage: The cage will, hopefully, be filled with one ficus, a hibiscus, a croton, and a pothos will hang from the top. It will also have one or two of the bendable vines in it, and some large sticks from outside. This will be in all three parts.

Watering: I will have an aquazamp running through it, each section having one raindome. It will run every two hours from eight to five, and all will be one minute cycles except at noon and six, where it will run five minutes. The first one will also be three minutes. There will be a dripper dripping at all times onto one of the leaves.

Drainage: Well I haven't been able to figure out exactly what I want. But it's between just replanting all the plants and putting the pots in there, and then tilting it slightly up in the front so it can all run to a line of holes in the back and into a bucket underneath. OR. Having a fully planted cage, with two inches of hyperton (sp.?) balls, screen, some miracle grow soil, oraganic soil, (springtails in them) screen cut around the plants, and then rocks on top. Which would be best.?

Feeding: Feeding will be a cup attached to the side that all the bugs will be placed in.

What's in inside.?: Two panthers, and the third is between another panther or a carpet living in a mansion.

So....what do you guys think.? Any ideas or ways to make it better.?

 

[brandon1]

So earlier I posted about the cage I'll be making once summer break starts, but some things have changed so I thought I would re work it and see what you guys have to say. Any and all ideas are welcomed.

Dimensions and what it's made of: The cage will be 2ft deep, 6ft wide, and 4ft tall. There will be two dividers in it, so it will hold three chameleons. It will be made of untreated wood, stained and sealed, and then trim around the outside.

Outside of the cage: The outside will be aluminum black screening, but on the top their will be hardware clothe.? I think that is what it is called.
Just out of curiosity, are you saying that the frame will be the untreated wood, and then the panels will be the screen?

Lights: I will have one four foot long light and one two foot long light. They will hold 5.0 Repti-glo UVB lights. I will also have a regular ceramic dome with a 75watt incandescent bulb in it to maintain the basking temperature. They will be on an automatic time, one at 7:30 a.m. off at 9:30 a.m.
Will you have a dome for each of the three sections?

Foliage: The cage will, hopefully, be filled with one ficus, a hibiscus, a croton, and a pothos will hang from the top. It will also have one or two of the bendable vines in it, and some large sticks from outside. This will be in all three parts.
If you're gonna have a hibiscus, I would make sure you have a 6500K light right over top of it, or at least be switching it out regularly with one or two other hibiscus' from being inside and then going outside for sunlight.

Watering: I will have an aquazamp running through it, each section having one raindome. It will run every two hours from eight to five, and all will be one minute cycles except at noon and six, where it will run five minutes. The first one will also be three minutes. There will be a dripper dripping at all times onto one of the leaves.

Drainage: Well I haven't been able to figure out exactly what I want. But it's between just replanting all the plants and putting the pots in there, and then tilting it slightly up in the front so it can all run to a line of holes in the back and into a bucket underneath. OR. Having a fully planted cage, with two inches of hyperton (sp.?) balls, screen, some miracle grow soil, oraganic soil, (springtails in them) screen cut around the plants, and then rocks on top. Which would be best.?
The first idea I would think would be the simplest IMO. But do whichever you want . Or you could do it my way, as I will have a fully planted cage.

Feeding: Feeding will be a cup attached to the side that all the bugs will be placed in.

What's in inside.?: Two panthers, and the third is between another panther or a carpet living in a mansion.

So....what do you guys think.? Any ideas or ways to make it better.?
Everything sounds pretty darn good, but if I think of anything I'll let you know
__________________

 

[mychamtini112012]

So earlier I posted about the cage I'll be making once summer break starts, but some things have changed so I thought I would re work it and see what you guys have to say. Any and all ideas are welcomed.

Dimensions and what it's made of: The cage will be 2ft deep, 6ft wide, and 4ft tall. There will be two dividers in it, so it will hold three chameleons. It will be made of untreated wood, stained and sealed, and then trim around the outside.

Outside of the cage: The outside will be aluminum black screening, but on the top their will be hardware clothe.? I think that is what it is called.
Just out of curiosity, are you saying that the frame will be the untreated wood, and then the panels will be the screen?
Yes, the frame will be untreated wood, the outside will be the aluminum screen and hardware clothe, and the trim will just go on top of where the wood is to hide the stables from attaching the screen.

Lights: I will have one four foot long light and one two foot long light. They will hold 5.0 Repti-glo UVB lights. I will also have a regular ceramic dome with a 75watt incandescent bulb in it to maintain the basking temperature. They will be on an automatic time, one at 7:30 a.m. off at 9:30 a.m.
Will you have a dome for each of the three sections? Of course.

Foliage: The cage will, hopefully, be filled with one ficus, a hibiscus, a croton, and a pothos will hang from the top. It will also have one or two of the bendable vines in it, and some large sticks from outside. This will be in all three parts.
If you're gonna have a hibiscus, I would make sure you have a 6500K light right over top of it, or at least be switching it out regularly with one or two other hibiscus' from being inside and then going outside for sunlight. I added that while you were typing, forgot and then remembered.

Watering: I will have an aquazamp running through it, each section having one raindome. It will run every two hours from eight to five, and all will be one minute cycles except at noon and six, where it will run five minutes. The first one will also be three minutes. There will be a dripper dripping at all times onto one of the leaves.

Drainage: Well I haven't been able to figure out exactly what I want. But it's between just replanting all the plants and putting the pots in there, and then tilting it slightly up in the front so it can all run to a line of holes in the back and into a bucket underneath. OR. Having a fully planted cage, with two inches of hyperton (sp.?) balls, screen, some miracle grow soil, oraganic soil, (springtails in them) screen cut around the plants, and then rocks on top. Which would be best.?
The first idea I would think would be the simplest IMO. But do whichever you want . Or you could do it my way, as I will have a fully planted cage. I know, but the pots aggravate me. haha. What's your idea.?

Feeding: Feeding will be a cup attached to the side that all the bugs will be placed in.

What's in inside.?: Two panthers, and the third is between another panther or a carpet living in a mansion.

So....what do you guys think.? Any ideas or ways to make it better.?
Everything sounds pretty darn good, but if I think of anything I'll let you know

Thanks! I've worked hard on deciding how it's all going to be made. I can't wait to finally make it.

 

[brandon1]

"I know, but the pots aggravate me. haha. What's your idea.?"
This might take several minutes as I want to find where I posted it before because it's a lot to type

"Thanks! I've worked hard on deciding how it's all going to be made. I can't wait to finally make it."
Can't wait to make mine either. It's exciting

 

[mychamtini112012]

lol. Okay, I'll wait patiently for it. And that's usually not a word in my vocab but seems to be more so now a days.

I know! I just want it to be summer already so I can start it. I am saving all my money until the day to go shopping comes though. Way to long to wait.

 

[brandon1]

lol. Okay, I'll wait patiently for it. And that's usually not a word in my vocab but seems to be more so now a days.

I know! I just want it to be summer already so I can start it. I am saving all my money until the day to go shopping comes though. Way to long to wait.

Haha, you goofball . I already posted this on one of your threads before lol-

I still have some kinks to work out and some money to save before I start building a cage for my Veiled, but this is how I plan to utilize a drainage system:

I will be using Melamine Whiteboard.
My plan is to cut a few circular holes into the bottom (like 4-6" in diameter) and then placing funnels, that have wide lips into the holes, leaving the extended part of the funnel on the outside of the cage(the lip is needed to hold the funnel in place and to prevent moisture from getting to the exposed wood from the holes that were cut). I will seal the funnels all the way around on the inside and outside. Next I will take a large piece of fine mesh screen that covers the entire bottom of the cage and adhere it to the bottom. Now I will take a piece of tubing that fits real snug over the extended portion of the tunnel and run it up as far as it goes and then adhere it to the funnel to make sure it stays put. After that place the tubes into containers to catch the water and then fill the cage with organic soil and plants.

 

[mychamtini112012]

Very nice idea, I like it. I might add drainage hoes to mine, just to be over cautious.

 

[mychamtini112012]

What's everyone else think.?

 

[ChamomilleCame]

I think its pretty good. What chameleons are you getting?

 

[Canny Chams]

one thing i have found with all my chams, is there is a hude difference in health, when u simply make their cages 6 feet tall rather than 4 feet tall, especially the females, i end up with larger and healthier females, and males. Making it 3 feet wide rather than 2 feet, does make a difference, but not as significant as the hight, invest the money into make the cage slightly taller, the results will be rewarding

EDIT: forget the aquazamp, get a mistking, i think u can attach a mistking to the raindome, even if u cant, i havent heard much that says the raindome is much better

 

[mychamtini112012]

I was looking at making it taller, but don't really think that I possible in my current room. But if it is, I will make it taller.
And I've talked to Kevin personally, and because he is an AMAZING guy and aquazamp is american made, I won't be getting a mistking. I haven't heard much on either being better, but I really like the aquazamp and Kevin.

And they will be housing panthers or a carpet.