XL reptibreeze build - floating branches!

LizardLurkin · Nov 22, 2025

Those branches are really pretty, love your set ups!

JacksJill · Nov 23, 2025

I do like the look of a floating branch setup. The challenges are hanging the plants and not creating areas that are too close too the lights.

ehdee6 · Nov 23, 2025

JacksJill said:
The challenges are hanging the plants and not creating areas that are too close too the lights.

I'm not going to lie, it's super tedious. Lots of measuring, checking with the solarmeter, and adjusting so the basking area is just right. And then there's the fun of balancing it all; otherwise the door gets jammed.

I think I'm going to build it so that the cage sits on top of the riser. How I have it now, I feel like I'm robbing them of space.

Still waiting for the bendy vines and heat/hydrometers. Also realizing it's going to take a few extra days for the new sticks to dry. Pondering if I should just save myself and go with the trellis trick.

JacksJill · Nov 24, 2025

Just a note your initial readings can be higher on your bulbs. After you run them for ~10 days they settle in to their normal levels.

ehdee6 · Nov 24, 2025

@JacksJill that's an excellent point.

Tomorrow, I will take readings of my various bulbs/fixtures from different companies to show the different readings. I've learned a lot from my solarmeter, and highly recommend it, if you can afford it. It's a great tool.

ehdee6 · Nov 24, 2025

Just for fun, this is a zoomed t5 5.0 14", the bulb is 7 months old and obviously needs replacement.

This is a zoomed t5 5.0 24" that's 6 months old. I just switched it out of Littlefoot's cage 2 weeks ago.

This is a zoomed t8 with a thrive light bulb. I bought this when I was new, from a local Cham breeder who said it was used for 3 months. I didn't look at the bulb, or fixture specs until I got home. Realized what it was and tossed it in the closet, never to be used. And I never dealt with that person again. I'm just plugging it in and testing it now for a laugh... On a sad note, I looked her up after and read reviews that she was selling chams with MDB.

ehdee6 · Nov 24, 2025

Littlefoot's arch nemesis, the tape measure and solor meter. This is Littlefoot's 2 week old Arcadia 6%. I can't line up everything and get a picture, but she's usually in this area. The other light is a led jungle dawn. The UVB is lined with the branches that are 6-8+ inches away.

I don't want to disturb Jack right now, he also hates the measuring tape and solor meter. But I'll test it before I take his cage apart. His Arcadia is about 4 months old.

ehdee6 · Nov 24, 2025

@JacksJill can I ask your opinion on Jackson's doing better with a 12% bulb? Have you tried it?

As per: https://chameleonacademy.com/essential-uvb-knowledge-for-chameleons/

We see this in some higher elevation species. Trioceros hanangensis won’t show its bright colors until it gets higher UVB. Even the Yellow crested Jackson’s Chameleon, which is actually at a lower elevation than Veiled Chameleons, seems to like a bit of a higher UVB level – though that is still being worked on. So, you could come to the conclusion that Veileds, because of their elevation, would need a higher level of UVB.