advise on baby cham setup

ok so we were not as prepared to recieve such a small chameleon as we thought. few years ago i worked with really young chameleons, and all i remember is how difficult they were, thus im a little worried. what we have available is a 38 gal reptarium, 10 gal aquarium, and what i made.

i made this cage out of plastic tubs i got at walmart. i know glass cages are a poor choice for chameleons, so a grey tub was my first choice.
i know chameleons need to feel secure, so it is well "planted" with fake plants. i did not address the height issue, but for a 3-4 month old chameleon i'd hope it would be fine till she outgrows the cage.
air ventilation is through the top, i cut out the center of the cover and replaced with screen. i can find a computer fan to add to the air flow if needed.
the cage can be misted as much as we want, i have 4 drainage holes in the bottom which are covered by screen. the cage will be raised a few inches and kept in another tub. we want to keep the cage bottom bare, so cleanup is easier. i am exploring the idea of adding a fogger (i'd for sure use a computer fan for air flow if we use a fogger). with a fogger, "misting" can be done many times a day with the use of a timer. 30 minutes of fog will leave every leaf in the cage covered in water droplets.
UV will be through the 26W spiral florescent sold at petsmart. heating will be provided as well, not sure what bulb choice and wattage is.
the chameleon that we have is a panther, and it is 3-4 months old. i have not yet seen her, but im told she is about 2 inches. i really hope she can take the small crickets sold at petsmart, as we dont have fruit flies right now. i may have to cherry pick the smallest crickets out of the bin...

and now for pictures of the cage i put together. let me know if this cage is suitable for the next 4-6 months till the chameleon can be moved to a larger cage.

full cage view


ruler is 18 inches, cage volume is 10 gallons


inside cage, top view


screen top closeup


underside of screen


any advise is welcome, otherwise just assure me this is suitable.

I would suggest covering the exposed wires on the inside of the lid. Just in case he makes it to the screen and tries to reach out towards them. Otherwise it looks good!

Since it's 3-4 months old, I would suggest you make another openings somewhere on the side bottom area to create a chimney effect for extra airflow.
Do be careful. My concern is that plastic tub will have some problems when it comes to heat lamp (maybe it'll melt some of the plastic and create noxious odor, or it can get quite HOT inside, and so on.

Keep us posted on what you do to avoid those problems.
If all worked, that is a great way to save money on cage.

NO COMPACT UVB-Please. They are known to cause eye issues, esp. in babies.

ponders said:

I would suggest covering the exposed wires on the inside of the lid. Just in case he makes it to the screen and tries to reach out towards them. Otherwise it looks good!

Click to expand...

we changed how the branches point. so now she cant reach the rim of the cage from any of the branches, thus she shouldnt be able to reach the screen. though as she grows this will change. when i bent the wires in, i tried to make them flush with the plastic so they dont catch on anything.

dodolah said:

Since it's 3-4 months old, I would suggest you make another openings somewhere on the side bottom area to create a chimney effect for extra airflow.
Do be careful. My concern is that plastic tub will have some problems when it comes to heat lamp (maybe it'll melt some of the plastic and create noxious odor, or it can get quite HOT inside, and so on.

Keep us posted on what you do to avoid those problems.
If all worked, that is a great way to save money on cage.

Click to expand...

we will be adding a small computer fan to the setup. should we run it 24/7 or 10 hours/2hours off/10 hours/2hours off? and in the 2 hour breaks, we can have the fogger on for 30 minutes (when we get it).

for heat lamp, the spiral lamp is giving off enough heat within a 5 inch area of the bulb. directly below the bulb on its basking branches, it is around 85. otherwise we may upgrade to a 25W or 50W red incandescent. either way if the heat lamp only comes into contact with the screen, i dont think there will ever be a problem. and with the computer fan we will be getting, the air inside the tub shouldnt get very hot, and besides, hot air rises right?

Julirs said:

NO COMPACT UVB-Please. They are known to cause eye issues, esp. in babies.

Click to expand...

this is very good advise, what would you recommend? i've never heard this and really dont know any better alternatives. we do have minerall (1) which has vit D3 and is for use in reptiles that dont get UV light.

a regular 24 inch hood from walmart and a reptisun 5.0 bulb is what you should use

At first I thought that the screen was just sitting on the top, then I looked closer and saw all the work you did!!!!! How long did it take you to drill all those holes and bend the wires in?

The bulb you want!...and you put it in one of these

The Bulb of Death!(these also come in spiral form like you described...Same thing.)

You can use a regular 60w house bulb to provide heat for basking.

Nice little Baby Tub!

KCcham said:

At first I thought that the screen was just sitting on the top, then I looked closer and saw all the work you did!!!!! How long did it take you to drill all those holes and bend the wires in?

Click to expand...

not sure, about 4 hours spent working on the cage.

SoCaliSon said:

The bulb you want!...and you put it in one of these

The Bulb of Death!(these also come in spiral form like you described...Same thing.)

You can use a regular 60w house bulb to provide heat for basking.

Nice little Baby Tub!

Click to expand...

hey thank you for letting me know about this. any idea why the compacts are so harmful??