screen cage questions

niese4pigs

niese4pigs

Member
I have a male veiled chameleon and i am ready to move him to a large screen enclosure. My ??? how do I attach my artifical plants to the scrren (Previous tank used suction cups). I know it is best to hang UV light above screen because they can be sensitive to the bright light I have a lamp stand but it only is 3 ft tall and my new cage is 4 ft Any suggestions on either would be appreciated thanks :)
 
You could use fishing line tied through the screen to fasten fake plants.
I use wooden dowels (round wood like a bird perch ) and put either thumb tacks or very small screws through the screen into the end of the dowel.
This way you have horizontal "perches" for him to bask on and something to fasten your vines to.
I would buy a pothos instead of fastening fake plants it can also help keep up humidity.
For the light I cut wood to go across the top of the cage and lay the light on top of the wood.
Hope this helps answer your ?
 
As long as your light is a 5.0 linear reptisun (the light you should be using anyhow) it's fine to just lay it on top of the screen. And if the screen is an aluminum mesh screen you can also just put the heat lamp directly on the screen.

As for attaching artificial plants...don't. Get rid of them. Use real plants. I like to built a scaffolding type structure out of small bamboo or wooden dowel rods. Fastening the structure together with zip ties and sticking the vertical struts into the dirt of the potted plants.

Some people prefer to use the dowels and set them up like you would expect to see in a bird cage. Fixing them in place with tacks through the screen.

Research this forum. There are plenty of threads and pictures of other peoples setups.
 
Thanks everyone for your responses. My UV light is a 5.0 and my screen is alumminum. about the real plants I have a black thumb and always kill any plnats. So I may try and stick with the fake ones.
 
niese4pigs said:
Thanks everyone for your responses. My UV light is a 5.0 and my screen is alumminum. about the real plants I have a black thumb and always kill any plnats. So I may try and stick with the fake ones.
Click to expand...

Get a jasmin plant they are cheap, nice, easy to keep. If you can post a picture or two so we can see what you are working with =]
 
Serioulsy if you can keep a cham alive you should have no problems with plants. Their cages are the perfect enviroment for most "safe" house plants.

For the higher light demanding plants like Hibbiscus, you just add more floro light fixtures and buy plant floro bulbs in the 5500-6700 kelvin range. The best place to find the "right" bulbs are online pet stores that deal in fish tanks. Planted tank people have pretty much got this down to a science.

This bulb is in the ideal range. 6500k

Edit: Renzo, I've told you before, Jasmin is toxic and you need to remove it.

Double edit: My bad..I didn't see your reply before.. I guess it's safe.
 
I am not a green thumb myself, but after fixing the drainage problem ( first hibiscus got root rot ) everything is stayin alive.
Don't rule out the live plants until you try.
It can be fun to work on a hibiscus and finally see it flower, and as you are admiring the flower a little tongue shoots over and gobbles the whole thing up!
Your veiled would probably munch on live plants if you put them in.
 
Pure said:
Serioulsy if you can keep a cham alive you should have no problems with plants. Their cages are the perfect enviroment for most "safe" house plants.

For the higher light demanding plants like Hibbiscus, you just add more floro light fixtures and buy plant floro bulbs in the 5500-6700 kelvin range. The best place to find the "right" bulbs are online pet stores that deal in fish tanks. Planted tank people have pretty much got this down to a science.

This bulb is in the ideal range. 6500k

Edit: Renzo, I've told you before, Jasmin is toxic and you need to remove it.

Double edit: My bad..I didn't see your reply before.. I guess it's safe.
Click to expand...

Jasmin is on the safe list. The only animal that jasmin can be bad for is cats...
 
SOME Jasmine plants ARE toxic

That's the problem with common names for plants--they might mean totally different plants in different areas of the country.
The Cestrum species of jasmine are listed as toxic.
At least one "Cestrum" is sometimes called night-blooming jasmine. Botanically speaking, that particular one is known as "Cestrum nocturnum".
I have not read about toxicity (or safety) of the Jasminum species, so I can't tell you about those.
 
I use 22 guage picture hanging wire from Home Depot to hang vines and things on the side of my cage. You can get something like 250 feet for 6 bucks.
 
Howdy,

I hate to damage the screen so I try to use the frame's screw points as a place to clamp down on whatever I'm using to tie-off the ends of hanging vines etc.
Tie-OffsforVines.jpg


I use plant stands to assist with drainage, minimize places for insects to hide, and to make it easier when cleaning the plastic bottom of the enclosure. I prefer the 2" tall stands that give my hand just enough room to reach under to wipe the floor.
AcrylicPlantStand-1.jpg


Tall plant stands allow you to raise the plant closer to the UVB and basking lights when necessary.
8in3in2inStands-1.jpg
 
SS4Luck said:
where do you get those stands at?? they look extremely useful
Click to expand...
Howdy,

I've probably sold 20-30 of these stands since May. I supply these at $0 profit for myself. What the heck, it's all in the name of chameleon keeping :eek:.

Pricing etc:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/custom-made-acrylic-plant-25047/#post224504

I'll be the first to agree that they are not cheap. I wish that I could get them made for 1/10 the price but acrylic and the CNC machine ($75K) that cuts them doesn't come cheap either :(. After looking for replacement plant stands for years that met my requirements I finally gave-up and made these. Most stands are either too low, made of rustable metal, don't drain well, or have a shape/legs that take-up too much floor space.

If money is tight, Home Depot has a stand with legs about 1/2" tall that is survivable for the time being :eek:.
 
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