Cage ideas?

Amanda S

New Member
Hello. I am moving into an effeciency apartment at Penn State and want your opinion of my possibilities for a cage. There is a murphy bed against one wall and it has two twin beds with shelving units between and on the edges. I would like to put a cage in the shelving unit. The room will be low traffic and has great sunlight and a stable temperature. Any suggestions and thoughts are welcome! Please!

I have a carpet chameleon, they grow to 7-8". She is estimatedly 10 months old. They are supposed to be small and be able to have a smaller enclosure, but let me know if not! (The cage could be 16x16xanywhere up to 36" or 58" See below!)

I ideally would use a 100watt self ballasted mercury vapor bulb. The basking area/cage (?) must be 8" from the bulb and the appropriate UVB zone extends from 8"-18" (http://www.uvguide.co.uk/spreadchartcombo.htm).

The possible base is 16"x16". Including an 8" distance from the bulb I could leave in the drawer and have the height of the cage up to 3 Feet OR take out the drawer and have up to 4.8 Feet in height. Pictures below!!

Could this possibly work? It would be an awesome location. I can put my humidifier on top, be able to maintain humidity better with three sides solid and also have ventiliation with a screen cage by the front and top. If this area is too small please feel free to say so! I can place her in the kitchen too but this spot looked so cool. Her current cage is 18x18x36. How would 16x16x58 be?

Do I need more lights to maintain heat? You guys are the experts and as you might know I've had a hard time maintaining humidity and she is a tad restless. Is more height enough? Thanks for your thoughts!
 

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I was thinking if the cage was screen there would be. Their humidity should be like 75-90% and I've had a REALLY hard time maintaining that even with 3 sides covered, it stays around 60%.

I read the recommended cage size is 18x18x36 (She lives in this now). Members of the forums here suggested this is not big enough because she is exploring a lot and cutting her face on the screen. Another member suggested that changing to a larger cage may stress her further and I should keep the current size. 16x16x36-58 is narrower but taller. I know chameleons are aboreal but is height more important than width or what? Can I go narrower if I go taller? Is it counter productive in terms of light/heat/UVB?


She will have two cages. One at school and one at home.
 
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