Real vines from outside?

[Kaianuanu]

I just realized the vines strangling a tree in my yard looked perfect for my (near) future cham. So, I grabbed a machete and went to town on them. The pieces i harvested were still alive so they are nice and flexible. These vines have been growing for a long time so they are pretty thick and have covered most of the tree trunk with its leaves. I took a bunch of pics of them and where they were growing. So could I use these? I figure its not unlike using random branches from outside, and its not like they are leafy for him to eat.


Here's a handful of them, I'd get off the little curly root things before using them.

Just the ones I actually harvested.

This is what the leaves look like, I see some more nice thick ones i'll have to get.

Some I had hacked off. That leafy vine is a different kind.

You can see some more dangling behind the tree house mixed in with the bamboo.

The tree.

 

[SaintJimmy]

Those look awesome to use. If you could bend those around I don't think they would stay though.

If they are still alive though, I don't know what to tell you. I suppose just wait for them to dry out and then wash them off.

Does anyone else have a method of quickly drying out live branches?

 

[Jay1501]

They look perfect "i want some" i asked same question the other day and was told its fine to colect from outside however you may want to bake in oven to kill any bugs/bacteria or just a good wash down. Hope this helps

 

[maxttu]

Holy machete! Jason? Jason Vorhees, is that you?? I wouldn't think that the vines would pose any problems. Just wash them off if you're really concerned.

 

[Kaianuanu]

What do you think?

BEFORE: (I know, it's sad)

AFTER:

 

[pigglett79]

That is a huge tree! Those vines are awesome, and free. Good thing you have that machete.

 

[Kaianuanu]

That is a huge tree! Those vines are awesome, and free. Good thing you have that machete.

Machetes I'm sure I have a least 3 laying around, I probably should find them lol

 

[pepezkakap]

I gathered mind from torn down tree nearby as well. One thing I learn is that don't skin them as they tend to get brown and leave remaining bark fluid although I tried dry them under the intense sun light lol. That, when you spray it the water may turn little brown when mixed with the remaining liquid. I rather leave the bark and just bask them all

I read a way of cleaning twigs as well. Rinse it with bleach and wash them well and then baked with over for couple minutes until it's tender and juicy from the inside and crisp on the outside.. Oooppsss sorry I thought I am on the cooking website baking KFC lol..

Anyway, nice twigs there machete man!

 

[pepezkakap]

What do you think?

]

Anyway, how big is your screen cage? What do you use as the base?

 

[ReptileLove18]

those look like wild grape vines used to harvest wild grapes all the time, and thats what they remind me of but i cant be sure! looks great!!! im sure your cham is loving it

 

[Kaianuanu]

I read a way of cleaning twigs as well. Rinse it with bleach and wash them well and then baked with over for couple minutes until it's tender and juicy from the inside and crisp on the outside.. Oooppsss sorry I thought I am on the cooking website baking KFC lol..

Anyway, nice twigs there machete man!

Thanks, I only rinsed them in the hose and rubbed them well with water running over them. This got most of the bark that was flaking off of them off. I think they'll be okay though because im pretty sure most of the problems come from bugs living in dead wood but i'm not positive.

Anyway, how big is your screen cage? What do you use as the base?

It's a 24x24x48. The base is a corner/coffee table, we used to have the pair in our living room but they were replaced and just sitting in my laundry room. So I still have a spare for when I'm ready to take on a second cham. It had a glass top so i just took out the glass, and then drilled some holes in the PVC bottom and put a bucket underneath for drainage. I don't think it needs since it hasn't gotten wet since ive been pretending there was a cham in there (misting and running dripper) to try and identify any problems with the setup early, but I'm thinking I'm going to coat the top with polyurethane left over from the DIY cage I built the first time I tried cham keeping.

The base.

The spare.

those look like wild grape vines used to harvest wild grapes all the time, and thats what they remind me of but i cant be sure! looks great!!! im sure your cham is loving it

Thanks, but actually, I don't have a cham yet. I've just been taking my time and trying to do a really good job of getting everything squared away beforehand.

 

[ReptileLove18]

Thanks, but actually, I don't have a cham yet. I've just been taking my time and trying to do a really good job of getting everything squared away beforehand.

well thats actually awesome!! its great when i see people doing the research and getting all set up for their cham beforehand that way they know what they need, they have it, and everything is relaxing and fun when they get them home! good job

 

[Kaianuanu]

well thats actually awesome!! its great when i see people doing the research and getting all set up for their cham beforehand that way they know what they need, they have it, and everything is relaxing and fun when they get them home! good job

Thanks, In fact, I've probably wanted a cham for at least 10 years. I'm only 17 now. I had gone through periods a few months long of reading everything possible about chams dozens of times. 3 years ago, I got a little male nosy be, but unfortunately, I killed it w/ D3 toxicity in the month i had it. The breeder told me to use rep cal with D3 5 days a week and herptivite the other two. I had a lot of money invested into that cham and its setup and then when it died, I just gave up on chams since the last few months and just sold off all the stuff including the 2'x3'x4' cage I had built for it. Part of the reason I just gave it up though was because at the time, I did not know what killed it, and I thought I just couldn't care for it well enough. Despite all that, it was a really important (and expensive) learning experience though.

The cham was also only 2.5 months and tiny, which I think was a bit too young.

 

[ReptileLove18]

Thanks, In fact, I've probably wanted a cham for at least 10 years. I'm only 17 now. I had gone through periods a few months long of reading everything possible about chams dozens of times. 3 years ago, I got a little male nosy be, but unfortunately, I killed it w/ D3 toxicity in the month i had it. The breeder told me to use rep cal with D3 5 days a week and herptivite the other two. I had a lot of money invested into that cham and its setup and then when it died, I just gave up on chams since the last few months and just sold off all the stuff including the 2'x3'x4' cage I had built for it. Part of the reason I just gave it up though was because at the time, I did not know what killed it, and I thought I just couldn't care for it well enough. Despite all that, it was a really important (and expensive) learning experience though.

The cham was also only 2.5 months and tiny, which I think was a bit too young.

well im glad to hear that you are willing to try again and this time im sure whatever little one you get will be with you for a long and full life im sorry to hear about your first baby, its really hard to go thru an experience like that. my first baby veiled died and to this day there are multiple things that could have caused it, i dont know which it was.. so i understand how hearbreaking it is and how hard it is to get back on the band wagon of getting another chameleon.
i look forward to hearing and seeing your baby cham

 

[Olimpia]

I wish I had a great vine/branch source like that in my yard! I have to drive 20-30 minutes away to a wild area to chop down a few branches for my cages but nothing beats live branches/vines. And you'll see that not only will you love it because it's free, but your chameleon will love them due to how much sturdier they are than those plastic vines or their plants. So the more you can put in there to make pathways and levels in different thicknesses the better.

I also don't do anything to my branches except rise them a little. I much prefer live branches over dead ones because the dead ones tend to be brittle from the sun/heat and usually are completely full of bug tunnels and burrows. Live branches tend to be much healthier and sturdier over-all.

 

[Kaianuanu]

They certainly are a lot sturdier, once you flex them into place, they are quite rigid and support a good amount of weight. And they look a lot better too. As far as live vs dead, I have found the same thing to be true.

 

[reefercheefer]

I always bake or boil anything from outside. Only thing is that it limits the size of branches u can use.

 

[pepezkakap]

How do you keep the branch alive once you place it on the cage? Just stick em in the pot?

 

[Kaianuanu]

How do you keep the branch alive once you place it on the cage? Just stick em in the pot?

One they're bent into place and installed into the cage, they do die and dry out. But they are already bent into the shape that you need.