Time to upgrade

Jevin

Chameleon Enthusiast
Hello everyone,

I've been inactive on the forums for a while, but recently had some issues with maintaining humidity in my chameleons current enclosure causing some issues with his last shed. Long story short, I'm upgrading for the 4th time.

It's time to go bioactive.

Currently I'm sourcing the plants that I want in the enclosure and putting them them through quarantine to ensure they will be safe. The list so far contains:
2 nepenthes pitcher plants
2 Pothos
1 spider plant
1 bromeliad
2 red painted begonia rex
2 green painted begonia rex

From what research I've done, all these plants should be safe. Next stage is either building the enclosure myself or getting it built by a local company that does custom reptile enclosures.

I'll keep this thread updated as I do the upgrade.
 
So far the plants I've acquired and am currently putting through a quarantine period in preparation for making a bioactive enclosure.

The Nepenthes
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The bromeliad
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And the red and green Begonia rex
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Basically planning on still doing free range feeding as my chameleon refuses to eat from a container, hence the carnivorous plants to basically provide a way to take care of stragglers hopefully. Plus I love carnivorous plants, so it's an excuse to have some lol
 
Well made some quick technical drawings for the new cage to send off to Cornel's World for a quote and see if it's feasible. I'm posting them here to make it so that people can get a better idea of what I plan on building. Also allowed room for Cornel's world to use their knowledge and skills to improve upon the design I'm hoping to for.
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Also planning on keeping things design in mind for a possible business venture down the road as it should be a cage design that I can adapt to different sizes easily but also ship in a relatively small package. While I have the skills to build it myself, I don't have access to some crucial tools or easy access to some materials. Basically it's a variation on a reptibreeze but not limited to predetermined sizes and due to design, has the ability to be customized.
 
Great idea, ever thought about this frame material (https://fullerscopes.blogspot.com/2016/02/7-f12-istar-folded-refractor-porsa.html) in combination with PVC plates? You directly build a frame underneath to give your enclosure height and store your drainage and misting equipment.

Also while you´re going bio active this is also a suiting option https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/madagascar-jasmin-the-perfect-living-vine.181527/ if you can find one. I´ve planted mine in the bio active soil and from there it runs through my free range area. Now hoping to get flowers soon.

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I was approved on the bromeliad and pothos . So, yes those are a definite yes. I'll let the others comment on anything else . I can't wait to see the set up as you go. Looks very well planned and very organized.
 
I remember thinking i could have a 30" deep cage, then i tried to clean the back of it...

I had to saw off the center cross brace, but maybe you have orangutan arms.

Depending on how you build, you could think out side the box and have the cage open from 2 adjoining sides. If you think about it, the cage is just keep the chameleon "in", just make sure the lights are supported in the right directions.

I ended up just making mine 6.5ft tall and 2ft wide and 3ft deep, and just made it walk in. The plants live in 2 7 gallon concrete mixing tubs so i can just slide one out for service.
 
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Great idea, ever thought about this frame material (https://fullerscopes.blogspot.com/2016/02/7-f12-istar-folded-refractor-porsa.html) in combination with PVC plates? You directly build a frame underneath to give your enclosure height and store your drainage and misting equipment.

Also while you´re going bio active this is also a suiting option https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/madagascar-jasmin-the-perfect-living-vine.181527/ if you can find one. I´ve planted mine in the bio active soil and from there it runs through my free range area. Now hoping to get flowers soon.

View attachment 300828
I LOVE that aluminum framing material, but can never find the connectors for it at a good price!
 
Great idea, ever thought about this frame material (https://fullerscopes.blogspot.com/2016/02/7-f12-istar-folded-refractor-porsa.html) in combination with PVC plates? You directly build a frame underneath to give your enclosure height and store your drainage and misting equipment.

Also while you´re going bio active this is also a suiting option https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/madagascar-jasmin-the-perfect-living-vine.181527/ if you can find one. I´ve planted mine in the bio active soil and from there it runs through my free range area. Now hoping to get flowers soon.

View attachment 300828
I have but honestly going with pure pvc as it should be easier to seal and I shouldn't have to worry about it deteriorating.
 
Well Cornel's World sent this as a rough idea of what I want. It looks like it will work. Ideally I want the substrate area to be separable from the enclosure so if I have to disassemble and reassemble the cage, the substrate tray won't need to be resealed. Basically the substrate tray is a sealed unit while the enclosure sides can be taken apart and reassembled if needed.

This is out of a need that I may be moving across the country during my education and I would obviously be taking my animals with me.
 
I have seen a few pure pvc ones. I want to say they use special glue made for pvc so it bonds correctly. They are really nice. Remember you want to add cross horizontal bars to the frame inside for hooking branches at different levels. Excited to see what you come up with.
 
I have another plant to add to the list of ones going into the enclosure. One that has been on my list of plants to acquire for some time.
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A Cephalotus follicularis. However, obtaining it might be difficult as it's known to be difficult to cultivate.
 
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