My Chameleon Room & Cages

I recently decided to redesign my chameleon room to better suit what I wanted. I wanted insect-proof cages (the DIY wood ones built by yours truly were anything but), a clean, organized set-up, and cages that were a better fit for my animals. The result is documented in the photos below:

The row of finished cages on their shelving unit from Lowe's. 

Now on to the details of the build. Below I have attached photos of the step-by-step process of building this set-up. Here is the break-down of all the materials and what they cost:

1. Shelving Unit - Heavy-duty garage shelving unit from Lowe's ($90)
2. Cages - LLLReptile.com 48" x 24" screen cages in Grey ($80 each + shipping)
3. Branches - Outside (free)
4. Thumbtacks (to hold up the branches) - Walmart ($4)
5. 50lb Fishing line (to hold up the plants) - Walmart ($4)
6. Plants - Local nursery ($80 for everything)
7. Light fixtures - Lowe's or Home Depot ($60?)
8. Light bulbs - Basking bulbs (60w halogens) and daylight bulbs (5000k fluorescents) from Lowe's ($30)
9. UVB bulbs - Amazon.com, Reptisun 10.0 ($20 each)
10. Drainage trays and PVC - Trays from Walmart ($1 each) and PVC Home Depot ($10 total)
11. Buckets - Home Depot or Lowe's ($5 each)

       The first step was to set up the stands. The shelving unit divides in half to make two stands that measure 36" high. It comes with 5 shelves but I decided to only use 4, so I saved the extra so that when I get a second set of shelving units and do something similar, I'll have an even number of shelves.

The first two cages with most of the
branches already secured.

The stand top with the wood support bars to sit the cages
on and the catch plates that funnel water into the PVC pipes

After setting up the shelves I had to prepare drainage. I did this by drilling two holes (one on each half of the shelving unit) on the wood level 1" wide and attaching PVC to a plastic serving dish that would act as a catch basin for the water that would fall from the cage. The cage floors themselves have holes drilled in them that line up with where the plate is below. Then everything was heavily waterproofed with aquarium sealant around the edges of the joints. The PVC pipes under the level would funnel water into a bucket located on the second level of the table, neatly and efficiently dealing with water in the cage.

The underside of the drainage system. The PVC pipes
funnel the water from two cages into a single bucket. 

       Then 8' wooden bars were laid across the whole thing so the cages themselves could sit above the catch plate.

       I wanted to rely more heavily on branches rather than plants, since I have always used plants as the main support in a cage and I feel that they don't always provide the horizontal branches that chameleons prefer, nor do they usually provide a lot of stable support. So I went to a wild area and cut some branches from safe trees and then attached them to the screen using thumbtacks. Using this method the screen is not damaged and I can put branches horizontally instead of having them vertically and resting on the floor. As each cage went up, a sheet of translucent plastic was put up on the wall facing a neighbor so each chameleon will not be able to see the others, which could stress them out and make them ill in the long run, or make them try to fight through the screen. Luckily mine are docile but I prefer not to subject them to stress needlessly.

Three cages with their branches. 

Cutting some fishing line to attach
the last bromeliad to some branches. 

The next step was to attach the plants. These plants (I used pothos and bromeliads) were purchased from a local nursery. I highly recommend nurseries over the plant departments are large chain home improvement stores, usually their plants are better taken care of and their prices are more reasonable. To attach the small bromeliads to the branches I used 50lb fishing line. To secure the pothos, a wooden bar was run across the top frame of the cage and then fishing line was threaded through the screen and tied to the bar, so the weight of the plant is spread out over the frame of the cage and the screen isn't ruined. I really wanted all the plants to be suspended so that I would have nothing on the floor of the cage.

The finished result is a really easy to clean cage and a really neat and organized set-up for my chameleons. The plant will grow to fill in the cage more and they will have more places to hide in with time, but for now they seem very content in their cages. Better than they were with the old ones! Also, by having nothing on the floor of the cages I am more easily able to place a laying bin in the cage for my females when they get close to laying eggs. When I have a cage full of potted plants more often than not I have to sacrifice plant cover for a laying bin, while this way I don't have to.

The finished product! With Daedalus, a panther male, as the model.
The left is the cage when it was set up in April, the right is the cage the following January.

Below is the cage as it was in February. The pothos had taken over the cages and needed regular trimming. The bromeliads had been removed, as they weren't doing well under the misting nozzles.