Question - Building a cage

[MadReefer]

I am going to build a screen cage for a chameleon I recently bought. My question is will thiss wood be good to hold up the fiber mesh? I plan to staple the mesh to rectangle sections and then assemble. Any suggestions welcomed. The wood is Millstead 2 In. x 4 In. x 8 Ft. Pressure Treated Lumber, pic below.

Thanks,
Mark

 

[qwik]

I don't know about the wood but chameleons always fascinated me,do you have any pics ??

 

[MadReefer]

I will take one tomorrow and post it.

 

[Phyl]

Is that pressure treated animal/child safe? My "OMG that's treated with formaldahyde" trigger went off, but I realize that probably isn't really the case anymore.

 

[jceli728]

How big are you planning to make the cage? HD and Lowe's sells a t-bar wood screen door for $19 they come from 18" to 36" wide. You could buy 2 of them cut them in half and you will have 4 sides, then just get a piece of plywood for the bottom and a top and since they already come with the screen the only thing you will have to do is assemble it.

 

[MadReefer]

Jceli,
Thanks for the info. It must be at least 24" tall and 15" square. I plan on making it 36" tall and 15" square; only because I have 8' x 3' fibermesh.

Phyl, the pressure treated part is my concern. What is it treated with and is it safe for the chameleon.

 

[mikem]

They took the poisonings out of pressure treated lumber.

 

[REEFLECTIONS]

still don't think pressure treated wood would be good... mark i think i have a 65" gallon version of that screen cage you were lookin at .... i'll have to check

 

[Hawkeye]

mavl.....a ZOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooo.

you should charge people for coming to your place! give me a shout when you want to meet up!

 

[MadReefer]

Chameleon pics - Question - Building a cage

Here are some pics per your request.

 

[redfishbluefish]

The older pressure treated wood contained CCA (chromated copper arsenate), which has been replaced by, most commonly, ACQ (alkaline copper quaternary). The concern with CCA was the arsenate, which could transfer to the hands and, as Mike pointed out, is a poison. There still is a concern of skin transfer with ACQ, but now it is the quaternary copper. I say this with great ignorance, but I’d still be a little concerned about the impact of ACQ on the chameleon.

In addition, ACQ requires the use of nonferris fastners (galvanized, stainless or plastic coated). If you use regular nails, staples, screws or hardware, it will not last in this wood. It is very corrosive.

I would rather use “regular” lumber and either leave it plain or paint / polyurethane the wood. I’m not familiar with chameleons, but is there a need for the wood to be pressure treated?

 

[MadReefer]

I was just searching on-line to see how much it would cost to build one and comparing it buy one. There is no need for it to be pressure treated, all I could find at Loews or HD on-line. I will have to go into the store and look at what wood they have if REEFLECTIONS doesn't have the cage. I am hoping to keep the cost to $25 or less. I can buy a new round net cage for $50 including tax and a used metal cages are about the same price.

 

[jimroth]

Wow, nice chameleons.

I would recommend that you investigate the following bulding methods:

1) Aluminum "angle iron" and pop rivets from HD, this is so easy it's silly, and non-toxic. But not cheap.

2)"Furniture style" 3-way PVC corners and 3/4" PVC pipe, very modular, you can make anything

 

[poconofishy]

Cool chameleon! Is it's name Karma? Like the Douglas Adams avatar too!

 

[rgarofalo]

years ago I made one out of 1x3 and chicken wire
it worked out well

i like the pve idea you can change it up whenever you would like
you can secure the netting with zip ties