Reptile & Amphibian Forums

anyone use a green house for house their chameleons in? i have been thinking about buying a small one and setting up benches inside to set the cages on but would like any input about this.

dennis

I have had good luck with mine. What do ya need to know?

>>anyone use a green house for house their chameleons in? i have been thinking about buying a small one and setting up benches inside to set the cages on but would like any input about this.
>>
>>dennis
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http://photos.yahoo.com/alanvines2002
1.5 Jacksonii Xantholophus (two red marbled fem}
35 Jacksonii Xantholophus neonates
0.0.2 Phelsuma M. Grandis
2.3 Anolis C. with 5 neonates
1 neonate texas blue spiny

basically, what problems have for run into? any "must haves"? what do you do for heating and cooling. i'm sumer california, so i am assuming i would need to remove the glass or plexiglass and replace them with screen so it would bake the chameleons in the green house. do run a fan or summti=hing to circulate the air? during cooler times(winter) how are to maintaining a livable temp? i think you have your chameoleons loose in yours right? i would be keping mine in cages, should i mist the entire green house or only the cages(both for humidity and moisture for the chameleons)?

dennis

>>basically, what problems have for run into? any "must haves"?

what do you do for heating and cooling. i'm sumer california, so i am assuming i would need to remove the glass or plexiglass and replace them with screen so it would bake the chameleons in the green house. do run a fan or summti=hing to circulate the air? during cooler times(winter) how are to maintaining a livable temp? i think you have your chameoleons loose in yours right? i would be keping mine in cages, should i mist the entire green house or only the cages(both for humidity and moisture for the chameleons)?
>>
>>dennis

I have Jax so overheating and humidity control have been the main problems, roll down shades are a must as are frequent mistings. I would install an automatic sprinkler or mister if I were you, that mistssprays the entire greenhouse at least once a day, according to the requirements of the chams. This would be especially so in SoCal. I keep a box fan going constantly, sometimes on low sometimes on hi, sometimes directed up and sometimes down, air circulation is very very important. If you used screen in the summer the humidity would be harder to maintain, but this would be worth it im sure, the screen would provide some protection from the glaring sun as well. You are in a perfect environment to use a swamp cooler, which will add much needed humidity and cooling. If you get glass which allows uv to penetrate you wont need a uv light, and wont need it when using screen. The heating is easy, a small electric space heater is all I had last winter and it gets much colder here. The thing to remember is that SEALING ALL CRACKS is the most important thing when heating, a perfectly sealed greenhouse is better than one that is well insulated but not air tight. You would probably need an automatic vent opener for sure, they open when the temp gets say above 80 and they are about 60 bucks. You also need an exhaust fan on a thermostat, possibly set to come on at a slightly higher temp than the automatic vent opener is set to. You get alot of sunshine there so heating would be easy in the daytime, cooling would probably be needed even in winter unless you used shading. I would go with the autoventing and use a thermostat on the swanp cooler. You would need to coordinate these three things, first have the automatic vent opener open the vent, then at a slightly higher temp have a thermostat kick on the vent fan, then another thermostat kick on the swamp cooler at an even higher temp ( probably the highest temp the animal is comfortable with). Any thermal mass (big rocks, concrete blocks, black barrels filled with water) placed in the greenhouse and given full exposure to the sun would help alot with night time heating. The main thing is to be present alot unless everything is automated, if you are gone from home alot you need everything automated if possible. Also have backup plans in case the electric goes out ( a rolling blackout could spell death by baking or freezing) If your chams were free roaming it would be much easier for them to find cooler or warmer spots, the temps in my greenhouse can range from 90 at the top to 65 or 70 at the bottom. Consider partitioning it for each cham, top to bottom. I think your main problem is going to be cooling and humidity, you might locate the greenhouse under a tree, if you have one. You have a very different environment than I do here in Arkansas so experimentation is the key. There is alot of info on greenhouses out there on the net, probably some specific to southern cal. Greenhouse size is also a factor in all these things, there is less temperature fluctuation the bigger you get. Hope this jumbled mess of info helps, Im happy to answer any other questions you may have, just remember nothing replaces trial and error.
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http://photos.yahoo.com/alanvines2002
1.5 Jacksonii Xantholophus (two red marbled fem}
35 Jacksonii Xantholophus neonates
0.0.2 Phelsuma M. Grandis
2.3 Anolis C. with 5 neonates
1 neonate texas blue spiny

Hi, I have been considering keeping my veileds in greenhouses for a few years now. I just haven't been abale to find very much info on keeping reptiles in them. I use outdoor screen enclosures in the summer, and bring them inside for the winter. I live in N. Carolina, I was wondering where you live allen? DO you keep your chams outdoors all year long? Would I want the the green house to get southern exposure, like I would if I just kept plants inside, and finally, what kind of green house do you use? There are so many diffrent kinds available, plus I could build my own, so deciding which kind to use has been my biggest obstacle. Any info would be greatly apprecited. I think that this would probably be the most efficient way to keep chams.

>>Hi, I have been considering keeping my veileds in greenhouses for a few years now. I just haven't been abale to find very much info on keeping reptiles in them. I use outdoor screen enclosures in the summer, and bring them inside for the winter. I live in N. Carolina, I was wondering where you live allen? DO you keep your chams outdoors all year long? Would I want the the green house to get southern exposure, like I would if I just kept plants inside, and finally, what kind of green house do you use? There are so many diffrent kinds available, plus I could build my own, so deciding which kind to use has been my biggest obstacle. Any info would be greatly apprecited. I think that this would probably be the most efficient way to keep chams.

I live in usda zone 7b in arkansas. A slightly east of south exposure is best-you want the sun to shine all the way in, full on in the winter when the sun is at more of an angle. Build your
own, its better and cheaper. There are basically about two bytes of information about reptiles in greenhouses on the net. You just have to tweek the temps humidity ect until you get ideal temps for your herps. Cooling in the summer is especially important for most chameleons.
-----
http://photos.yahoo.com/alanvines2002
1.5 Jacksonii Xantholophus (two red marbled fem}
35 Jacksonii Xantholophus neonates
0.0.2 Phelsuma M. Grandis
2.3 Anolis C. with 5 neonates
1 neonate texas blue spiny

Thanks, Knowing what zone you're in, and also knowing that you heated your greenhouse with a small electric heater, makes me feel better about taking on this challenge. If I'm not mistaken, our climate should be fairly similar. I live on the NC; SC line right outside of Charlotte. I had planned on turning a garden shed of mine into a greenhouse. This would involve insulating the walls, tearing the roof off, and replacing it with green house material. It is already wired, and I may change the windows, and or include a sliding glass door. What kind of greenhouse siding is most economicly efficient? Does this project sound like it's worth doing, or should I scrap it, and try something diffrent? Thanks again. I appologize for mispelling your name in the last post, Alan.

Sounds great to me, just remember the inside needs to be covered with plastic so it wont rot, very important. I painted all the wood with old motor oil and covered with plastic sheeting. You need a roof that slopes to the south if possible, and lots of windows or glass on the south wall. If you have a north sloping side of the roof keep it non-glass and insulated, no sun will come in thourgh it except in the summer when you dont need it. The north wall needs most insulation generally. Any siding will work, as air tight as possible. The main thing with that situation is keeping water off things that cant handle it, i.e. wood and electrical. It will be much much much easier if you deal with this from the get go, ideally you should be able to spray every corner and every surface with a hose. You will need a drainage ditch of some sort down the middle if its a earth floor (recommended). It is worth it though, as you will realize. Good Luck and have fun with it, very important as well, lol.

>>Thanks, Knowing what zone you're in, and also knowing that you heated your greenhouse with a small electric heater, makes me feel better about taking on this challenge. If I'm not mistaken, our climate should be fairly similar. I live on the NC; SC line right outside of Charlotte. I had planned on turning a garden shed of mine into a greenhouse. This would involve insulating the walls, tearing the roof off, and replacing it with green house material. It is already wired, and I may change the windows, and or include a sliding glass door. What kind of greenhouse siding is most economicly efficient? Does this project sound like it's worth doing, or should I scrap it, and try something diffrent? Thanks again. I appologize for mispelling your name in the last post, Alan.
-----
http://photos.yahoo.com/alanvines2002
1.5 Jacksonii Xantholophus (two red marbled fem}
35 Jacksonii Xantholophus neonates
0.0.2 Phelsuma M. Grandis
2.3 Anolis C. with 5 neonates
1 neonate texas blue spiny

thanks alan! that's exactly the kind of info i was looking for!

dennis

>>thanks alan! that's exactly the kind of info i was looking for!
>>
>>dennis

You are very welcome, let me know how it is going as you go, this is practically the only info on the web, between greenhouse owners themselves-few and very very far between.
-----
http://photos.yahoo.com/alanvines2002
1.5 Jacksonii Xantholophus (two red marbled fem}
35 Jacksonii Xantholophus neonates
0.0.2 Phelsuma M. Grandis
2.3 Anolis C. with 5 neonates
1 neonate texas blue spiny