First Attempt at Vivarium Build for Chameleon

[Spiderlash]

Awesome! Can't wait to see it!

I also love the plaque on the front of the tank; "BEWARE OF ATTACK LIZARD". Made me literally laugh out loud! I must get myself one of these for my panther cham. He's a feisty little bugger! xD

[Pantherking]

hey man awesome job with the tank. i was wondering two things tho. (1) time. how much time did you have invested in that? (2) where did you get the black grate from?

[CassieGB]

Originally Posted by Pantherking

hey man awesome job with the tank. i was wondering two things tho. (1) time. how much time did you have invested in that? (2) where did you get the black grate from?

I think he said somewhere that it was about a month and a half. (Though I could be wrong about this.)

The "black grate" is egg crate. It's used for lighting in some buildings. You can find it at places like Home Depot or Lowes. But he might have got it from somewhere else that's cheaper. He spray painted it black.

[timmac69]

Originally Posted by CassieGB

I think he said somewhere that it was about a month and a half. (Though I could be wrong about this.)

The "black grate" is egg crate. It's used for lighting in some buildings. You can find it at places like Home Depot or Lowes. But he might have got it from somewhere else that's cheaper. He spray painted it black.

sorry, I was on vacation last week (in DC for the earthquake and then DE for the hurricane...FUN!) The topper is simple egg crate painted black and it took over a month to build, mainly because of the various curing times/multiple applications of the various construction materials I used. It has been running for almost a year now with the cham doing great...she has plenty of upward space to move about, the plants are all thriving and the humidity levels remain high with the use of the lower glass aquarium. Our cham sheds completely, has a huge appetite and remains quite active. We recently purchased a baby male red bar amibole and will soon start construction on a larger enclosure for him, although keeping it a bity simpler in terms of construction. I expect he will grow considerably larger than our adult female veiled....his colors at 5 months are already incredible...he is going to be a real screamer when he fully matures!

[viva la viv]

thats a great build...I always wanted a turtle. How has the spray foam been doing submerged, everyone always says they get a scum on the water...
funny that some people urge not to house those creatures together seems like they would rarely ever meet. I have a strange trio of fish in my viv, a gold fish, a electric yellow cichlid and a fighting fish all meant for different water temps but they are healthy and active. Makes the local pet store owner mad.

[timmac69]

Originally Posted by viva la viv

thats a great build...I always wanted a turtle. How has the spray foam been doing submerged, everyone always says they get a scum on the water...
funny that some people urge not to house those creatures together seems like they would rarely ever meet. I have a strange trio of fish in my viv, a gold fish, a electric yellow cichlid and a fighting fish all meant for different water temps but they are healthy and active. Makes the local pet store owner mad.

I removed the turtle after a week....they are dirty, grow fast and it is probably not a good idea to mix the two. We have three baby turtles in a 20 long for now and just have a few small bottom feeders (dojo loach, red tail black shark, clown loach)

Foam is doing great after almost a year....I covered the surfaces in epoxy and then a layer of clear silicone with sand mixed in and let it all cure a full week before adding any water. Nothing is deteriorating to date and the evaporation is pretty quick which requires me to add fresh spring water every week. The fish are all healthy and I haven't lost any in the life of the tank. The water always remains clear.

[rhino43grr]

just wanted to say the viv looks awesome. i'm going to be trying to do one (without the water feature) as soon as i can find a good deal on an aquarium or build one myself. the fact that yours turned out so well on your first attempt is definitely inspiring.

[timmac69]

Originally Posted by rhino43grr

just wanted to say the viv looks awesome. i'm going to be trying to do one (without the water feature) as soon as i can find a good deal on an aquarium or build one myself. the fact that yours turned out so well on your first attempt is definitely inspiring.

Thanks! Good luck with your build. There are lots of great threads here to help you with the various build techniques. We are still enjoying our build a year later!

[rhino43grr]

thanks.
freecycle is amazing. i posted a want ad for aquariums early this morning and i already had a lady in my town email me saying she's got a bunch of tanks. maybe i'll be starting my project sooner than i thought, and the wife can't get mad if i get the tanks for free, right?

[Pavel]

Viv came out very nicely!

The only concern I would have voiced wouldn't have been about the animals at all. (Considering the size of the cham, the water level did not look too high, nor should the turtle have been a source of stress. Stress would be caused by other animals in close proximity in the same inhabited area -- ie. some other creature living in the arboreal section.) No the only concern -- and this could be more so of one in your new larger build, would be for the plants. From the pics, the tank seems rather dim. What are you using for lighting (type and wattage, etc)?