Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello all I'm new to chameleons and recently got a pair of young jackson's chameleons. They are about 3" snout to vent. Right now they are housed in a 65gal reptarium. I want to build some new cages for them but am unsure of what type of screen to use. My choices are aluminum,fiberglass and something called pet screen. Also I would like to know if the chams would get enough sunlight if I locate an outside cage under the trees (big maples and pines) where there is dapple sunlight or do they need access to more direct light?
Thanks for any help.

For outside cages that do get sunlight, the fiberglass can break down and shed bits of the glass that might get inhaled. Aluminum would be better. But, aluminum is harder on their tender feet. Indoors the glass fibers are not such a problem. Any fine meshed screen risks some damage to claws (they get caught and pulled out, damaging the nail bed which can get infected. The nail usually does not regrow). If you fill your cages with bushy plants and lots of natural twig travel routes the chams will be less likely to climb the screens a lot.

You'll have to house them separately, so plan that now. If you want cages outdoors, try to put them where they get some sun in the morning or late afternoon so the cham can bask, but during the warmest part of the day the chams have some shade. Jax don't do well in really warm or dry weather. Again, if the outside cage is full of bushy insulating cover and you can spray it down well, it will help a lot. Plan to keep them indoors with UV lighting when the weather is outside their comfort range.