Toto's new outdoor setup in TX

[Leezochka]

Right away have to say that I have consulted an expert vet before moving her outside, and vet said they do very well outdoors in TX (temps as high as 105 in summer days and as low as 45 in the winter nights, with very minimal humidity) AS LONG AS they get time to acclimate before winter (so September is perfect to start) AND they have plenty of humidity supplied by fogger, humidifier, misting, or what have you.

This is my setup: - a work in progress, of course, started today.

Enclosure: (self built) 6 feet tall, 66" wide, 30" deep, with french doors on the front.
Lights: on the "shady" side the day light and basking light, night heat light for the winter.
H2O and humidity: dripper system, spray bottle, fogger and cool humidifier on the "shady side", hot humidifier toward the night heat lamp side (he loooves sitting over this when it is cooler). I am waiting on a patio mister which will really be the MAIN thing - easy and cheap to run (just hook it up to a hose)
Plants: carefully selected to be safe, potted in correct organic mixes with some shredded rood medium on top, just in case:
- Mulberry trees (dwarf and regular - feeds the silk worms too) - he LOVES to eat the leaves
- Pothos - twists nicely around dead tree branches i shoved i there =)
- Cotton fern - provides shade, very soft and pretty
- Bougainvillea - very pretty flowers, will vine or bush out, grows fast, fun to climb and provides shade
- Assorted Coleus - these he loves to eat
- Star Jasmine - will crawl up things fast and has good climbable branch-like stems
- Calendula - will flower seasonally
- Copper spoons Kalanchoe - very nice looking and will be food to climb when big

Like I said, this is just the start and things will get pretty awesome when some of the plants mature (large mulberry will have to come out too eventually), but it is a start. She seems pretty happy in there - crawled all over and munched on some leaves, even drank in front of me. See pics and video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgwtqCPv7ZU

 

[bigcappa]

Awesome, It looks great. I have a few outdoor enclosures in my backyard now, that I bring them out for certain times during the year.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

temps as high as 105 in summer days and as low as 45 in the winter nights, with very minimal humidity

As a native Texan still leaving here I can tell you that our winters get much colder than that (low of 22 last winter) and the humidity is actually quite high. High enough that is makes it feel much colder than it actually is! There were several weeks per month where daytime temps hovered around 45 tops. That's a great cage but it's not as tropical here as you may think so be prepared to put up some siding in the winter to keep your cham warm enough and add more heat bulbs. I'm only a hour away from Austin so I'm not so far that it would be different. He's going to love it in spring and fall especially!

 

[Leezochka]

We will see how it goes and how cold it gets. Hot humidifier really helps more than heat lamps in the cool weather.

Also, I am comparing TX humidity to FL's constant 90%...

 

[Olimpia]

Awesome cage! She must be so happy out there. Great job!

 

[litahudak]

My little guy was sick and people on here told me to move him outside. I live in Florida and he does fine, though I plan on bringing him in during nights here shortly since it'll start getting into the 60s. Good luck! Mine has done a million times better outdoors.

 

[Elgato]

How would a montane species do in an outside cage in Texas? I would assume tha it would just be ok in the cooler times of the year since they don't have too much of a tolerance to heat.

 

[Leezochka]

Update

So far seems very happy!

Colors are good. She crawled all over and knows where her cool and hot spots are. Also knows where the mister and humidifier are, so goes and sits there if it gets too hot/dry. Got a regular sleeping spot on the mulberry tree... Will be sad to remove it as it gets bigger...

Drinks from leaves and from the drip system...
Eats crix i let in there, wax warms from hand, and whatever wild stuff that gets in there.

It is getting cooler here, and she seems perfectly fine with it.

 

[Texas Panther Man]

Nice cage build. I think your going to find that she'll have to come back inside for 2-3 months min during the winter. She may be able to handle the heat with more misting & shaded areas for the summer months. But Texas has some pretty cold winter temps. And Austin regularly sees a few days each yr of sleet & even snow.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Yeah I forgot to mention that I have to bring my iguana inside every year. She lives outside 24/7 whenever she can, which is most of the year. But even when we put plastic sheets up all around her outdoor cage, which looks maybe just a little bigger than your cage, and with a space heater (under her cage, not in it) it still isn't warm enough for her. I mean it's enough to keep her alive, but she stays really dark and doesn't move so I'm sure she wouldn't be digesting hardly anything, which is what I really worry about. She lives indoors for a month or two in the winter. Just might want to be prepared! Hard to imagine since it's still 90 in October.

 

[Texas Panther Man]

I'd be worried about Uri's with a wet cage during winter months. Your still gonna have to mist at least 1x a day. I just err on the side of caution when it comes to my chams. The cage is really nice though. Im sure she'll be po'd if and and when you bring her inside after being in a huge enclosure like that one.

 

[Leezochka]

I'd be worried about Uri's with a wet cage during winter months. Your still gonna have to mist at least 1x a day. I just err on the side of caution when it comes to my chams. The cage is really nice though. Im sure she'll be po'd if and and when you bring her inside after being in a huge enclosure like that one.

Yeah, we have a patio mister set up on a timer: cheap and easy. Fogger and humidifiers (warm and cold) going too when it is dry out.

I did bring her in now that it got colder and she was NOT pleased for a few days.

Amazing thing: after moving outside she finally went and laid those eggs I have been so worried about in a simple plant pot! (This is after months or trying all kinds of containers and media...) Overall she really loved it out there and I can't wait to move her there again in the spring!

 

[carol5208]

awesome cage! The only thing I am concerned about is your bouganvilla. I am guessing that you know that they get super big thorns?And they are not short thorns like a rose, they are long and spiny and hurt like hell if you touch them. When the plants are young they do not really have the thorns. As they mature, they grow them. I would be very worried about my chameleon injuring his eye or some other body part.

 

[MsCham]

This is a gorgeous set up!!

 

[chevycham]

Right away have to say that I have consulted an expert vet before moving her outside, and vet said they do very well outdoors in TX (temps as high as 105 in summer days and as low as 45 in the winter nights, with very minimal humidity) AS LONG AS they get time to acclimate before winter (so September is perfect to start) AND they have plenty of humidity supplied by fogger, humidifier, misting, or what have you.

This is my setup: - a work in progress, of course, started today.

Enclosure: (self built) 6 feet tall, 66" wide, 30" deep, with french doors on the front.
Lights: on the "shady" side the day light and basking light, night heat light for the winter.
H2O and humidity: dripper system, spray bottle, fogger and cool humidifier on the "shady side", hot humidifier toward the night heat lamp side (he loooves sitting over this when it is cooler). I am waiting on a patio mister which will really be the MAIN thing - easy and cheap to run (just hook it up to a hose)
Plants: carefully selected to be safe, potted in correct organic mixes with some shredded rood medium on top, just in case:
- Mulberry trees (dwarf and regular - feeds the silk worms too) - he LOVES to eat the leaves
- Pothos - twists nicely around dead tree branches i shoved i there =)
- Cotton fern - provides shade, very soft and pretty
- Bougainvillea - very pretty flowers, will vine or bush out, grows fast, fun to climb and provides shade
- Assorted Coleus - these he loves to eat
- Star Jasmine - will crawl up things fast and has good climbable branch-like stems
- Calendula - will flower seasonally
- Copper spoons Kalanchoe - very nice looking and will be food to climb when big

Like I said, this is just the start and things will get pretty awesome when some of the plants mature (large mulberry will have to come out too eventually), but it is a start. She seems pretty happy in there - crawled all over and munched on some leaves, even drank in front of me. See pics and video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgwtqCPv7ZU

Very nice!