Reptile & Amphibian Forums

would a birdcage be a suitable enviroment for a chameleon. provided it were lager enough and the bars were close enough together so that the cham couldn't get out.

I personally have owned many birds and chams now, and would not recommend using any type of bird cage for a cham enclosure. I don't know about everyone else, but I think screen is much better. That way if your cham chooses, like mine does, he or she can drink the droplets from the screen!! Besides, once they are older, you don't want crickets jumping ship. If you use a screen enclosure you don't have that worry.

Oh, also, your lighting would not be as effective on a cage as on the screen enclosure.

I'm not quite sure why this would be so. Light can penetrate a wire cage as well as a screen. I often use modified bird cages for outdoor basking cages. The big problems will be size (not many bird cages are big enough for the larger chams unless they are for big parrots...then the bars are too far apart), bar width not keeping insects in or the cham from getting hung up, metal rusting from all the spray, and potentially bars on top getting hot under basking spots.

I was thinking of creating a wooden display case, lining it with plastic and using bird cage type wire rather than glass. I would rather not used mesh because it is so hard to see through, and I dislike the appearance of regular cages

If some of the sides are solid wood, and may have air flow problems. If the frame of the display is wood, you can coat it with several coats of non-toxic sealer to protect the wood. Even with that, you'll have to knock it down and re-coat it every so often.

about how often would you say? and why would it not be possible to actually line it with plastic

I can't predict how often...so much will depend on your particular setup. You could line it with plastic, just make sure the plastic has a chance to "cure" in the air so it doesn't give off fumes (if it's brand new out of a package it will have a distinct odor...which means its giving off some type of fume). If you attach it with staples they will rust. If you attach it with some type of nail or brad, try to use stainless steel not galvanized.