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Step 8Construct the lighting cage
In our house, the chameleons don't have a cage, but the lights do. When keeping reptiles of any sort, you should put some sort of mechanism to keep the animals from burning themselves on lights. In the free range we cage the lights in, and the animals out.
Wire shelf comes in two varieties- narrow mesh and wide mesh. The chief difference (besides price) is the distance between the wires. For the lighting cage, you want the narrow mesh- it's just close enough to be a barrier to the chameleons. They can climb through the other variety.
Once the shelves are up, you want to construct a couple simple doors to prevent access through the front and sides. These are made from inexpensive pine lumber and some screen. Make a wooden rectangle the size of your lighting cage and attach it to the wire shelf with a couple screw eyelets that you pull open with some pliers.
Materials:
24" brackets
2x 12" deep close-mesh wire shelves. If you can't cut them, have the store do it. Measure twice, cut once. Those suckers are expensive!
Several 1.5" x 1" x 8' lumber.
Fiberglass screen- buy a roll that's 24'x36" It'll come in handy when we add the plants.
Screws
Saw & Miter Box
Screwgun
scissors
staple gun
Lay the narrow-meshed wire shelving on 24" brackets up high in the free range. You lay the lights right there on the shelf, and close in the space with the wooden screen door you made, and use opened eyelets hooked onto the edge of the wire shelf as hinges. Adult Meller's chameleons can't squeeze through the space in the wire shelves, and no amount of climbing and mischief will lead them to sit on a hot lamp.
To construct the front doors of the lighting cage, build appropriately dimensioned rectangles from the lumber you bought. Paint them and screen them. We attached ours to the shelving units with two screw-in eyelets opened up to form hooks. Screwing one in at each bottom corner of the door securely attaches it, but also operates as a hinge so you can open the door for light maintenance. We measured our rectangles 1/16” larger than needed so friction holds them against the ceiling when closed. Check out the photo notes for clarification.
Wire shelf comes in two varieties- narrow mesh and wide mesh. The chief difference (besides price) is the distance between the wires. For the lighting cage, you want the narrow mesh- it's just close enough to be a barrier to the chameleons. They can climb through the other variety.
Once the shelves are up, you want to construct a couple simple doors to prevent access through the front and sides. These are made from inexpensive pine lumber and some screen. Make a wooden rectangle the size of your lighting cage and attach it to the wire shelf with a couple screw eyelets that you pull open with some pliers.
Materials:
24" brackets
2x 12" deep close-mesh wire shelves. If you can't cut them, have the store do it. Measure twice, cut once. Those suckers are expensive!
Several 1.5" x 1" x 8' lumber.
Fiberglass screen- buy a roll that's 24'x36" It'll come in handy when we add the plants.
Screws
Saw & Miter Box
Screwgun
scissors
staple gun
Lay the narrow-meshed wire shelving on 24" brackets up high in the free range. You lay the lights right there on the shelf, and close in the space with the wooden screen door you made, and use opened eyelets hooked onto the edge of the wire shelf as hinges. Adult Meller's chameleons can't squeeze through the space in the wire shelves, and no amount of climbing and mischief will lead them to sit on a hot lamp.
To construct the front doors of the lighting cage, build appropriately dimensioned rectangles from the lumber you bought. Paint them and screen them. We attached ours to the shelving units with two screw-in eyelets opened up to form hooks. Screwing one in at each bottom corner of the door securely attaches it, but also operates as a hinge so you can open the door for light maintenance. We measured our rectangles 1/16” larger than needed so friction holds them against the ceiling when closed. Check out the photo notes for clarification.
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