whats your thoughts on flexariums

[lizardking]

i was just reading somewhere else about people keeping chams in these all year round and all though in this hot weather i think these would be good to use outside to get some sun for the reptile, when our winter comes how do you mantain a good stable temp in a mesh viv????
i personally would not use these just wondered other keepers views on them:heat:
thanks

[Alison]

I keep chameleon in mesh vivs, some are flexies and some are in terry thatchers and the aluminium ones from the states.

I find these are so much better, i dont have any problems with maintaining the basking spot, my females are kept at a lower temp untill they are ready to breed anyway. The males have the higher temp.

They are great in the summer as i just pick them up and pop them in the garden, they love the real uv!!

[lizardking]

thanks for your reply, i notice that you keep alot of reps and you probly have a nice temp in the room you keep them but i wondered for someone keeping one in a standard room temp how a mesh viv could keep heat in, i understand the basking spot would be warm but the rest of the enclosure bing hard to staberlise the temp like a wooden viv could, i would be interested in buying some to place in the garden as these would be handy to put my snakes in so i can have them all out at one time enjoying natural uv rather than getting one out at a time

[Alison]

I do prefer the mesh. I have also got chameleons in Herpteks, these are really good. I do have a Yemen in a wooden viv and he loves it, so i wont change him over.

For Panthers i think the aluminium mesh gives good ventilation and also holds the heat well. You are right. the temps in my room are good, though i do have trouble in this weather trying to keep it cool!!

Megaray bulbs are good and chuck out some good temps, i will be changing to these, funds permitting!!

[lizardking]

thanks alison i will look at getting a few in depending if they are cheaper than me making enclosures, and im struggling with temps also but its a good escuss to get all the reps out in this beautifal weather

[TyMilsom]

I know someone who used one for quarantining a new Green Tree Monitor. He had a MV set up over the top, and the animal settled very well. My only concearn with this species was that he struggled to keep humidy levels for more than a few minutes, and last week it sliced the mesh open and "dug" out. So he has now gone off the idea! But for Chams, Alison has had great success and so the proof of the pudding and all that. Its just a question of species sutability.

I really struggle with the concept of universal cages, even with our Kings Dwarf Monitors, they have a completely different housing set up to our Red Ackies. They are both Dwarf's, but have different requirements. I use plastic water storage tanks for a lots of Dwarfs, I use glass terrariums, fibreglass, ply, composite cages, plastic moulded cages; i decide what environment I need, how the animals need to feed, hide, bask, nest, socialise and only then do i figure out what housing to select to accomplish this. Even then i look to the animals and think, is this working do i need to change something and i might scrap the idea and start again. Unfortunately an overwellming number of people just buy a melamine vivarium and set every species up in the same manner. Bark sub, heat spot, uv strip (maybe), piece of bark to hide, water bowl, couple of plants. Ok, now your average corn is going to be quite happy with that, dont get me wrong, but for many species it's giving far less than optimal conditions. Melamine vivs have their place (we do use them for our Beardeds), but they do not lend themselves to all species set ups.

Its good to see discussion of alternate housing, and in conclusion, for me i think mesh enclosures have a place within a certain sector of species types, ie: those requiring excellent ventallation.

Thanks

Ty

[lizardking]

im not disagreeing and see all points but from another point of view, you could use wooden vivariums for most species but could you not just change the ventalation on a wooden viv to suit individual needs, i have allsorts of viv`s glass ,plastic, ply and melamine depending on reps, but for example i do keep sugar gliders in a 4x6x2 melamine vivarium which has to be well vented, so my point being its not what the viv is made from but what sort of ventalation it has thats important?

[Tom]

i think humidy is the mian worry when i take on a reptile.
wood sucks as when you spay it, it gets damaged, exo terra suck due to to much "top" ventilation, i use know people who use fish tanks for GTP and have had good results.

i personaly look at the following:

1: capable of reaching temp
2: capable of keeping humidity
3: capable of giving a "steady" ambiant

[jo x]

i have to agree with Ty im affraid(no getting a big head )i do think the flexariums are brilliant for some species, species that require optimal ventilation like chams.However i can see how you would struggled to keep humidy levels.Housing is a big concern for a lot of people we all want whats best for our reps and try to replicate there natural enviroment as much and were ever possible.

[bomb]

i think humidy is the mian worry when i take on a reptile.
wood sucks as when you spay it, it gets damaged, exo terra suck due to to much "top" ventilation, i use know people who use fish tanks for GTP and have had good results.

i personaly look at the following:

1: capable of reaching temp
2: capable of keeping humidity
3: capable of giving a "steady" ambiant

Exo's are easy to use, wrapping clingfilm around the top ventilation moves a big step towards retaining humidity, infact so much so in this weather I'm having a harder time making heat escape. I've got 2 high humidity species in a White Lipped and Green Tree that use them and I've never had a problem except for keeping the glass clean. If you just cut some plexiglass to size and replace the mesh top with the plexi then the battles won.

[lizardking]

i must admit in this weather i could do with having alot more mesh vivs as all the wooden ones are driving me insane trying to maintain temps etc....

[TyMilsom]

im not disagreeing and see all points but from another point of view, you could use wooden vivariums for most species but could you not just change the ventalation on a wooden viv to suit individual needs, i have allsorts of viv`s glass ,plastic, ply and melamine depending on reps, but for example i do keep sugar gliders in a 4x6x2 melamine vivarium which has to be well vented, so my point being its not what the viv is made from but what sort of ventalation it has thats important?

Let me put it another way;

If i said to you, heres a little caravan for you to sleep over in after a night on the razz down here in sunny Chelteham, you would think, great...got to be better than a sofa or worse still some floor! But you wouldnt want to live in it... a night, quite OK, maybe a weekend, but if it was a long term prospect, im sure you would not enjoy the experience. You would find it too hot in the summer, too cold in the winter, the rain would be noisy, it would be too small, it wouldnt have the greatest of kitchen or bathroom facilities compared to a house. Now you COULD live in it, but its not OPTIMAL for you. There are lots of compramises. NOW...you could modify the caravan and put a good heating system in, and even air conditioning to help with some of the problems...you could.... but why not just live in a traditional house that is suited to the needs of you and your family, this will give you a more optamised livestyle, and reduce the compramises. Captive conditions for any reptile is a compramise anyway, compared to living in the wild, we are providing artificial evironments and micro habitats to simmulate the best conditions we can provide our animals.

Rather than adapt the "caravan" i look at the needs of the species and work backwards, then i can decide how to provide optimum conditions and the best housing to provide those conditions.

Thanks

Ty

[lizardking]

nicely put and understood fully thanks good way to do it