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Thinking about building a wooden chameleon cage...anyone have good luck with them? Can i see some pictures probably going to end up being wooden base to hold substrate and then wooden fram with scrren with screen door in front. post some pics so i can get ideas please! thanks alot!

Remember that the wood will get constantly wet especially the base. Plan to seal the heck out of all the wood. That will make it easier to clean and keep free of molds and bacteria too. I'd suggest planning some other surface over the bottom wood to catch and allow drainage. You could build a tray out of ABS or other plastic sheeting, or put plastic sweater boxes on the wood to collect spray. Apogee makes a Reptarium "soft tray" in various sizes you could choose also. The main tip is to plan the cage dimensions around a tray rather than find a tray to fit the cage dimensions.

ABS? thanks for the tips

ABS is a commonly used semi rigid plastic. Check with a hardware or home improvement store for sheets of plastic you can cut and glue together to make a tray. Another tray idea is to get a "flood table tray" from a hydroponics supply house. These trays are great, come in lots of sizes, and you can add drain fittings. Also look into shallow cement forms used for making pavers.

One of my favorite materials for such applications is fiber cement board aka" Hardy Plank" (brand name) doesn't quite have the shear strength of plywood but you can still use it in place of plywood within reason and it will work just fine, a good frame is important though . You can also use plywood on the exterior and glue the hardy plank to the inside of the substrate box using a construction adhesive. I have an Iguana cage I built in may of 2001 the hide box for the iguanas is made of hardy plank with foam panels sandwiched between the sheets of hardy plank (Increases the shear strength-look up some articles on foam panels for housing for more info on that.) That hide box that has been stained once in that time with bear solid exterior deck and fencing stain. Has gone all that time surviving every rainstorm and the several hurricanes thrown at it and is only now showing signs of wear and most of that wear is from me walking on it when I plastic the cage up in the winter. The plywood I have used on my rabbit cages lasts 1-2 years and I have in fact stopped using plywood for the roofs of the rabbit cages and started using hardy plank.

Wood is a great choice for cages. I made my own bird cages for years, my snakes.....glass. But I made roughly a 100 gallon habitat for 25$. Simply pine and fine chicken wire mesh. Now some here may say they dont like the metal and the chams nails may brake...never happened to me. But my enclosure is so big they dont want to hang on the metal...they hang on the plants as they should. I own a pair of jacksons...kept together, and the large size keeps them from beefing it out. Anyway wood is good. I advise you stain and poly clear the wood, it keeps out moisture and mildew from building and looks good too. I just took one look at the screen cages they sell and knew they would not hold up. I used a sheet of vinyl plastic..abs I guess, on the bottom as all sides are metal mesh for drainage and airflow. Like I said for the price it cost to buy a small cage...I spent my time instead and built a better one for less. Im not downgrading any set up, do what ever your budget will allow, and decide what your needs will be. I will be breeding my chams sooo I needed a large enclosure so they can have a living space that will be stressless.good luck