Hi All,
I'm new here, so please forgive me if this has been discussed already (I've been through 4 or so pages of posts, and my eyes are making weird things appear on the screen now). I have a few questions, all relating to building (or having built) an inexpensive veiled chameleon cage. (please keep in mind I have Very Little carpentry experience or know-how)

1) I need a larger one (one I have now is: 16"x16"x29", I'm thinking one of about 4'L x 2'W x 5'H.) to house my pair, with the possbility of seperating them when I need to do so (lately I let my female roam the house to get away from the male, who is a home-body). BUT it needs to be cat-proof (I have 3 cats that LOVE to try to play with my lizards thru the screen (the cats are currently "on vacation" until I can get my own place, or a larger place). Any ideas on what I could use for the sides? And any suggestions on how to be able to seperate them if I need to?

2) it needs to be able to hold the humidity & heat even through the winter. I live in an ancient apartment that has crappy insulation & poor heating. With the radiators crancked to high all winter, even the frequent misting (every hour throughout the day, for 45-60 seconds at a time, and every 6 hours at night for the same duration) can't reliably keep the ambient humidity above 45%-50%. Would it be ok to put up 3 sides of plexiglass during the winter & remove again when weather gets more humid & a little more temperate?

3)Finally, I would like to be able to plant the bottom of the enclosure with live plants (I know there is a debate over this & the consensus (SP?!) seems to be "no substrate". I'm hoping it will help with the humidity problem. What can I use for the base that can drain?

Sorry I've gone on so long... I tend to go overboard with my set-up sometimes as I want to be able to replicate the animal's natural environment to the best of my ability (my way of easing the guilt I feel for ever locking them up in the first place) Anyway, if anyone has ideas or can point me to a post that has covered this topic before, I would be very appreciative.

Thanks!!
Chrissy =o)

PS~below is a pic of my current cham cage, I'll take critiques of that too if you have any...