Viserion, The "Ice Dragon" :)
- Thread starter Rogue
- Start date
jajeanpierre
Chameleon Enthusiast
@Rogue I can't really a good idea of the sceening on your cage from your picture. I have chickens and parrots in outside aviaries who are regularly visited by raccoons, opossums, hawks and snakes to name a few, I am pretty good at making windows/cages predator proof. No little feral kitty can compare to a determined raccoon!
I think your screening is too big. I would be worried a small chamelon would get stuck in it. It looks big enough for a kitty to put a paw through.
I suggest you get 1/4" mesh--not chicken wire, but welded steel mesh. Make two layers of screen--an inner layer and the outer layer of 1/4" mesh. Half inch might be good enough and you can get 1/2 inch that is plastic coated. You can get short screws with a washer attached--I can't remember the name of the design, but we get them from Home Depot. Keep the layers separate by at least an inch so Kitty can't get hold of feet.
Good luck. Glad Kitty didn't lose a home over being true to his nature.
I think your screening is too big. I would be worried a small chamelon would get stuck in it. It looks big enough for a kitty to put a paw through.
I suggest you get 1/4" mesh--not chicken wire, but welded steel mesh. Make two layers of screen--an inner layer and the outer layer of 1/4" mesh. Half inch might be good enough and you can get 1/2 inch that is plastic coated. You can get short screws with a washer attached--I can't remember the name of the design, but we get them from Home Depot. Keep the layers separate by at least an inch so Kitty can't get hold of feet.
Good luck. Glad Kitty didn't lose a home over being true to his nature.
Rogue
Avid Member
Actually, the entire cage is covered in "regular" screen. The inside (except for the roof) is enclosed with the extra chicken wire plastic. Viserion can't fit in the chicken wire. It's fully enclosed in mesh. There's a thread in the enclosure section about the making of our enclosure step by step and what we used.
Rogue
Avid Member
@jajeanpierre, Loki cannot get his paws in. We would never put a chameleon in a viv with only the poultry fencing around it for safety reasons as well as feeders being able to get out. In my video, you can see the metal bars, the screen, and the poultry fencing all around the cage. The metal bars are on top of the screen on the roof as well as under the screen on the flooring to support the plants but allow for drainage. Here is the link to how we built the cage and what we used. https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/enclosure-hand-made-beginnings.159351/
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J.Bauer
Member
Having helped my father build our outdoor aviary for my mother's 35+ finches she bread, I agree welded steel mesh is good for that. I built this enclosure with think plastic hex fence on the interior for climbing and wrapped the exterior in aluminum screen to keep loose feeders from escaping. Leaving 2 inches between them.
jajeanpierre
Chameleon Enthusiast
Have you thought that maybe he was not hungry for any number of reasons? Sometimes they need to learn to eat certain things.
Kristen Wilkins
Chameleon Enthusiast
I would try them there great for hydration , silkies are very nutritional .
Rogue
Avid Member
Have you considered that he was? He was eating crickets and dubias. He has twice intentionally avoided the worms.
I understand you are trying to be helpful however your "help" is beginning to frustrate me because not only do you change what you suggest, but you are not reading or paying attention to every detail of each of my posts. Twice I have posted videos that I can tell by your suggestions that you did not watch. I posted a video of Viserion eating and outright avoiding worms a couple days ago.
I welcome advice but I don't welcome condescending posts nor "help" from someone who isn't paying attention to prior details. Another example: you said I shouldn't have held Proteus in my lap. There was clearly a picture not long after that post showing Proteus in a carrier, in my lap. If you wish to help, please begin at post #1 and read each detail/ look at each picture/ watch each video. Thanks.
Edit: Here is one of the videos you missed.
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Rogue
Avid Member
Ok, will do. I will start with a small amount and see if he eats them or if they learn how to fly lol
jamest0o0
Chameleon Enthusiast
Rogue please don't take this the wrong way, I know you're working hard to be a great keeper. Many here have worked with tonssss of chameleons and reptiles, they have seen the same concerns posted a thousand times. I wouldnt be surprised if some members have their thread responses copy and pasted lol. So some here can be a little blunt with their advice.
Anyway, arent people nervous about eating new things at times? So the answer is yes, you should try to offer your chameleon as many feeders as possible. Once they try it they will want more. I have not ever seen a Cham that doesn't like supers, horns, or silks. There are times when chams go on hunger strikes though, for a number of reasons, many we don't even know. Could be hormone rush, searching for a mate, bored with certain foods, etc. So just because an animal doesn't accept the food a few times doesn't mean they never will. I have about 13 different feeders usually. My chams 99% of the time will accept the worms, but I have seen moments where they have ignored their favorite supers and taken a Dubia which they normally hate.... so chams are crazy, one of the tricky aspects of keeping them is making sure to offer them a balance without giving into their protests for one type of food. The same way we wouldn't let a kid eat cake every night for dinner because he/she insisted.
I think you need to not get so emotional about critique and be open to the advice of people with many years of experience. Even if you dont like how some things come off, its still beneficial to learn from what people say. You wouldn't be here asking these questions if you didn't need it. People take time and it can be frustrating to see someone snap over little things.
Anyway, arent people nervous about eating new things at times? So the answer is yes, you should try to offer your chameleon as many feeders as possible. Once they try it they will want more. I have not ever seen a Cham that doesn't like supers, horns, or silks. There are times when chams go on hunger strikes though, for a number of reasons, many we don't even know. Could be hormone rush, searching for a mate, bored with certain foods, etc. So just because an animal doesn't accept the food a few times doesn't mean they never will. I have about 13 different feeders usually. My chams 99% of the time will accept the worms, but I have seen moments where they have ignored their favorite supers and taken a Dubia which they normally hate.... so chams are crazy, one of the tricky aspects of keeping them is making sure to offer them a balance without giving into their protests for one type of food. The same way we wouldn't let a kid eat cake every night for dinner because he/she insisted.
I think you need to not get so emotional about critique and be open to the advice of people with many years of experience. Even if you dont like how some things come off, its still beneficial to learn from what people say. You wouldn't be here asking these questions if you didn't need it. People take time and it can be frustrating to see someone snap over little things.
Rogue
Avid Member
I understand what you are saying however it isn't helpful nor beneficial for anyone when suggestions are contradictory and lack the entire knowledge of the situation. I do ask questions and appreciate the help but if someone comes to my thread simply to be argumentative, that benefits no one nor any cham. I understand the frustration from others and their posts, however if someone wishes to give me advice, they should make sure they have full knowledge of what the actual situation is. After all, isn't that why we ask posters to fill out a detailed form when asking for help in the Health Clinic threads?
I appreciate suggestions. I don't appreciate someone posting condescending and contradictory suggestions, even when I told this person I would post a video of our setup and they still made further comments without reading or watching.
I assure you, I am not emotional lol. I am too old to get into an Internet fight. I want to make sure they pay attention to previous posts and what I have already explained before they get critical. Otherwise, scroll on to another thread
P.S. Telling someone one thing one day and then something completely different a day later could really screw someone up if they in fact are new and learning for the first time.
Rogue
Avid Member
Moving on, thank you @jamest0o0 and @Kristen Wilkins! I will order a variety of worms and give them a go as well.
Kristen Wilkins
Chameleon Enthusiast
You can try BSFL as well .
Rogue
Avid Member
Stupid question! What is BSFL hun?
J.Bauer
Member
Was scrolling through and was dragging the thread up with my finger over the reply button when my phone froze. Long story short, I don't know how to undo a reply window after it opens. Ignore this ty
Rogue
Avid Member
Lol! That's my silly husband
Kristen Wilkins
Chameleon Enthusiast
Oh sorry black soldier fly larvae .
Kristen Wilkins
Chameleon Enthusiast
If you go to tools then you can edit . It only will allow edit short time after post
.
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Rogue
Avid Member
OOOOOOH, gotcha!
