Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok my renter just moved out of my basement so i have a room dimensions 14x40 concrete floors (if i lift up carpet) I want to set up a breeding project on a large scale i was thinking veiled chameleons. currently i have 14 ball pythons (various morphs) i really like ball pythons but their not visually exciting. I am very handy and can build almost anything. i can supply water to the area if needed. Just looking for ideas on what project to shoot for. Not interested in large snakes. I also want to make cleanup as easy as possible any ideas appreciated. Thanks in advance, Chris

Hey Chris,
How stable are the temps in your basement? Don't veiled chameleons need higher temps and stable ones too? Can you get and maintain them in the basement?

Kings, corns, milks, (Black) pines? I would think that the kings and corns would be good sellers if that's what you're thinking. Why not balls too? Sounds like you have enough to start with them.

How about a sink for washing hands, tools and water tubs. A roll around cart that is at a comfortable hight for you to use to pull out tubs and put it on the cart. Dry goods storage. A radio or stero. Telephone. Fire extingushiers (sp?) first aid kit. Step stool. Good number of outlets wired up to properly rated breakers. Seperate area for isolation of new snakes.

Not sure if these are things that you were looking for, but I hope that they help you out some, maybe give you some ideas. Sounds like an interesting project. Keep us updated please.
Rob

-----
"I reject your reality and substitute my own" Adam Savage
0.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boa
1.0 Creamscicle motley corn
0.1 Creamscicle corn
0.0.1 Normal corn
0.1 Black Pine
1.1 Bearded Dragon

How stable are the temps in your basement?

My house stays at about 71 year round so i could add additional heaters if needed

Don't veiled chameleons need higher temps and stable ones too? Can you get and maintain them in the basement?

Kings, corns, milks, (Black) pines? I would think that the kings and corns would be good sellers if that's what you're thinking. Why not balls too? Sounds like you have enough to start with them.
I dont want to raise mice so i think i should stay away from snakes on a large scale

How about a sink for washing hands, tools and water tubs. A roll around cart that is at a comfortable hight for you to use to pull out tubs and put it on the cart. Dry goods storage. A radio or stero. Telephone. Fire extingushiers (sp?) first aid kit. Step stool. Good number of outlets wired up to properly rated breakers. Seperate area for isolation of new snakes.

My basement has a second kitchen for all of these needs i also have plenty of more room in an adjacent room

Not sure if these are things that you were looking for, but I hope that they help you out some, maybe give you some ideas. Sounds like an interesting project. Keep us updated please.

helps a lot thanks for getting me thinking, the cart is a great idea exactly the response i was hoping for

I think there are a lot of general things a herp room needs, but I also think you need to start with what sort of project you want to take on.

I have bred Veiled Chameleons but have never dealt with more than two clutches of babies, and even then that was a lot. If I were to breed Veileds on a semi-large scale I would put most of my efforts into some sort of setup for housing large numbers of babies.

Do you know if there is a floor drain in the room?
-----
Current snakes:

0.0.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - Java locale (green)

1.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - Jave local (green)

2.2 Gonyosoma janseni - Seleyar locale (all black)

1.2 Gonyosoma janseni - Celebes locale (Black & Tan)

their is a dedicated drain available i think this could make cleaning a lot faster

Is there a dishwasher in the basement?

Whatever you wind up setting this up for, get multiple water bowls/ food dishes. If you have 5 tanks, get 10 bowls, 10 tanks, 20 bowls or whatever. Set up all the bowls beforehand on the cart along with an empty bucket or tub. As you go along, take out the used bowl and put in a new one instead of having to take them one at a time to the sink to wash. When you are done, put all the used dishes in the dishwasher. Maybe get enough bowls so that you can fill up the dishwasher before running it. If you can use a cereal type bowl, you can probably pick these up at thrift stores for probably $.25 on up.

I think Chris brought up a good point. Are the Veiled Chameleons easy to sell in your area (again, if you plan on going that route)? I see plenty of geckos and bearded dragons in my local petshops, but have only seen 2 chameleons in two shops. One of them is a specialty type shop. I know nothong about them, but chameleons seem to me to be something that is kinda hard to take care of for the average person.

Not trying to put a kink in your plan, just throwing out ideas.
Rob
-----
"I reject your reality and substitute my own" Adam Savage
0.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boa
1.0 Creamscicle motley corn
0.1 Creamscicle corn
0.0.1 Normal corn
0.1 Black Pine
1.1 Bearded Dragon

yeah i got a free portable dishwasher from a friend who was moving along with a small deep freeze. as far as my area both pet shops in my area sell chameleons not all the time are they veilds but the only other kind i've ever seen available are jackson's. i think i am going to depend on wholesale sales to large dealers for the bulk of the business. keep the great ideas coming guys they are all very helpful.

Check out this thread

http://forums.kingsnake.com/view.php?id=1231561,1231561

Look at the pictures around number 4-12, 86-100. Especially #90. That is his roll around Rack / work cart. Maybe these will give you some ideas.
If I remember correctly, he made most of the things in his room himself.
Give you some ideas?
Rob
-----
"I reject your reality and substitute my own" Adam Savage
0.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boa
1.0 Creamscicle motley corn
0.1 Creamscicle corn
0.0.1 Normal corn
0.1 Black Pine
1.1 Bearded Dragon

I need to address a point that hasnt mentioned I think.....

Are you talking about a large scale breeding project with cages, or more like a walk through enclosure? If it were MY space I'd be thinking about creating a real life environment for a few free roaming animals. Having a walkway through enclosure with 40 or so albino leopard gecko's would be awesome. You could build little mountains with plants, and sand or whatever for them. Hanging lights above pieces of shale for basking areas. A few shallow pools, and keep the concrete clear for your pathways to get around (and prevent any squishing) The whole thing could be enclosed with a band of 1x12s with tin flashing at the top to keep loose crickets from getting out. Basically a big sandbox.
Forgive any bad info involving lep geks as I've never kept them, Im just using them for an example.
Thats just MY thought process with that much real estate to use up.
I've always wanted to do that with my little pigmy rattlers hehehe, but that's a WHOLE other issue.
-----
Tom

"The more people I meet, the more I like my snakes"

i want to set up a large scale breeding operation