Reptile & Amphibian Forums

here is a cage i got. well almost looks like that right now its only two pieces the top and bottom. the black and white is screen. right now i need to make a door for the bottom and the it has no lid so here is what im thinking on doing. for the top im going to have a wire screen then as illustrated there will be wood with two removable pieces so i can mess with the lighting turning it on and off. i want the lights to be hidden from view so i think thats a great idea. and so for the total inside is only 3 feet high so instead of using the bottum for storage im going to remove the bottom wood of the top half and connect it to the bottom. the cage is for a chameleon so i want tons of height. so in all it will be six feet high. so what do you guys think. i think it will be great for one chameleon but i dont know if 100 watt big apple mercury bulb will be enough for basking.
im also going the ceramic bulb for light heat. im going with a veiled male and possiable a female since im double the height i might split the cage but if i dont should i go with 160 watt mercury and if i do split the cage in half should i get two 100 watts. im putting 3 ficus trees in there. if i dont split it and 2 if i do. so does this setup seem good so far. there is much more im putting in the cage but thats about it for outside appearance and lighting.

Hi- It is hard to understand what parts you are talking about, I cant seem to get it, maybe it just me!LOL Anyway from the drawing you made of the cage, I would say NO WAY, chameleons need all screen cages, and that cage will only provide 4 small openings that are screen (from what I see in the picture) the rest looks like plywood! You need to have at least the two sides, top, and front of the cage all screen. Chameleons need good air flow through the cage, and they like to see what is going on around them, I see my panthers always looking around outside of the cage. Adult veileds need at least a 24"x24"x48" all screen cage, and the bigger the better! As for lighting one Big Apple Capture the sun 100w mercury vapor bulb is plenty of light and heat! Covering the light source so you can not see it sounds like a good idea, but buy covering it you will produce more heat, and that can be a problem. Hope this helps!
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John
1.1 Ambilobe Panthers
1.1 Nosy Be Panthers
1.1 Sambava Panthers

well here is two real pictures of what i have now. the top will be all open screen with just board going around to cover the light fixture. and for more air flow i can add a fan to one side or something. i can even reconstruct it alittle. i got this cage for free as it looks now.

here is another picture

Okay I think I see what you are trying to do! The large piese that has screen on it is 5'Lx2'Wx3'H. You want to add on to the smaller bottom piece some screen to make it 5'Lx2'Wx5'H correct all one cage, then add screen to the top? Well this is a very large cage, and the bigger the better, but I think if you just turned the leager peice that alreay has the screen on its side and added screen to the open side the cage will be big enough for one veieled, and then if you decide to get two you can add the scecond piece on and divide the cages, that will take some work! But either way as long as most of the cage is screen you will be fine, if you divide the cages you will need one bulb for each side, the MV bulbs produce both heat and UVB so that is the only bulb you will need! Hoep this helps!
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John
1.1 Ambilobe Panthers
1.1 Nosy Be Panthers
1.1 Sambava Panthers

well since the tanks so huge i think i need to make a grow out cage. i planned on getting a c.b veiled juvie from my lfs there about 7in from head to tail but he wouldnt tell me what breeder they came from. there kinda weired at showing reptiles if your not buying it today. so next time im going to have them hold one and get the breeder info so i can learn some info and make sure there c.b and that there not lying to sell more. they had a really cute one for $90 and i figured that wasnt that bad for his size and i wouldnt have to pay for shipping. how old is a guy around 7 inches. well i kinda rambled off so the two questions im asking is what size cage should i make for him to grow out till he can go into the bigger cage? you can refer to gallon sizes in fish tanks or just dimensions? i was going to make it an all screen cage. is that ok for little guys? one last thing its a good thing to dish train them right?

Hi-

I do not recommend buying ANY chameleon for a pet shop UNLESS they are properly housed in all screen cages OR you will have problems! If you are buying from a breeder and they will not show you pictures of the adults, AVOID them and find another one. There are many out there, check the chameleon classifieds. If this is your first a 6 month old would be best. It is hard to give age for the size of a chameleon, because they grow at different speeds depending on food and housing. If you can not get the age of a chameleon just size AVOID that breeder/shop! Depending on the bloodline $90 sounds high for a 7 inch veiled! The only problem is if the chameleon can not catch its food, or if the food can go through the screen. So cup feeding can take care of that. If you want to house it in a smaller cage first then go with something 18x18x36. Hope this helps!
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John
1.1 Ambilobe Panthers
1.1 Nosy Be Panthers
1.1 Sambava Panthers