Wood
enclosures
Light/heat
placement
Heat retention
Ventilation
Humidity
Drainage
Cleaning
Stress Factors
Additional Comments
Light/heat
placement
- Easy
Strip lights and basking lights easily attached.
Not so
good for use with Mercury Vapour bulbs as most enclosures tend to
be too small. The exceptions would be the Chameleon range of vivariums
with mesh tops where the light and heat bulb is suspended over the
top. These have the same drawbacks as the aluminium mesh enclosures.
Maintains
heat
- Good
Good insulator
and ideal for use in colder rooms.
Producing
a Thermal Gradient is more difficult in a wooden vivarium because
of the woods insulating properties. Additional ventilation or a mesh
door would be needed.
Ventilation
- Variable
We prefer mesh fronted wood vivariums with additional ventilation
by the basking spot to encourage air exchange. Traditional horizontal
vivariums can be used for smaller species if one sliding glass door
is replaced by a mesh door and a vent is added near the basking spot
which should be on the glass door side.
.
Maintains humidity
- Variable
Again depends
on ventilation. Mesh front reduces humidity but still allows respectable
levels. All glass front vivariums usually retain too much humidity
and have little ventilation..
Adding Drainage
- Easy
Easy to
add but use of large amounts of water in any wooden vivarium will
eventually start to rot it..
Cleaning
- Ok
Can be
difficult to clean where the wood joins unless very well sealed.
Stress
Factors
Available
in dark colours which reduces stress. Heavily planted mahogany coloured
vivariums with mesh fronts can be good to acclimatise wild caught
chameleons.
Additional Comments
Problem
with wood rotting. Most designs have to be adjusted to be suitable
for chameleons.
These types
of vivarium can not be moved outside in nice weather so the chameleon
will undergo a degree of stress when moved outside to a new enclosure.
Plastic
Mesh - such as Reptarium
Aluminium
Mesh - black flyscreen such as the Terry Thatcher range
Plastic
- vision vivariums or purpose built
Glass
Freerange
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