Is My Setup Ready?

Hey everyone thanks everyone for advice and all sorts of help so far,
So basically I think I have pretty much finished my setup including everything I may need but 1st I wanted to show you guys to get some constructive criticism and honest opinions of my setup and everything I have so far.

Firstly here's an idea of my setup so far, for when I get myself a panther chameleon I am planning on getting a baby say 3 months old then once it gets older then upgrading his viv/terr so what do you guys/gals think so far

in advance sorry for some of the picture quality if you would prefer better ones Ill be able to do better quality pictures by tomorrow:














This is a rough idea how I may have my setup so far also for equipment wise and everything I have this includes!

Exo Terra 45x45x60
2 x Thick braches
4- 5 x fake foliage
2 x Exo terra jungle vines
Real Umbrella plant small
Spray bottle
Komodo Feeding tongs

Exo terra dome lamp
100w Komodo basking bulb
Habistat thermostat
Arcadia 5% UVB 15w Tube
Arcadia Reflector
Arcadia fluorescent lighting controller

Big dripper
Reptifogger
Cricket keeper
Bug Grub & Gel

Nutrobal calcium balancer & multivitamin supplement D3
Zoo Med Reptivite (without D3)
Pro Rep Calci Dust

Thermostat & Hydrostat
3 x plug in timers
10 x suction hook pads ( to allow me to move and hold my vines around the cage more.
self adhesive double side Velcro tape ( this was encase i made my own cricket feeder for inside.

Pro rep Coco brick to use for the ground base/dirt at the bottom of my cage but I haven't opened this yet as I'm still debating whether or not to use this.
and finally that I can think of I may get a
Lamp stand I did but one but It's to small so I've got to take it back.

Other then that, what do you guys reckon so far!? I've brought all this from scratch and spent a lot of time, effort and research into all of it.

Opinions, Constructive Criticism all sorts would be greatful

Thanks!

I think this looks great. I'm not very familiar with that enclosure but you are right with wanting to upgrade the size as your little one gets bigger. He/She will need the room and good air flow. I would maybe have a lower wattage basking bulb for a 3 month old panther but it just depends on your temps. I use a 60 watt for my youngins ( until they are like 8-9 months ). Their hot spot stays between 82-87. My older Nosy Be male has a 100 watt but he's about 6-7 inches from it. Stays between 87-92. Best thing is to have it up and running so you can measure temperatures for a few days in different areas of the enclosure. I would stay away from any substrate. Eliminates the chance of impaction. I keep all of mine bare at the bottom with the exception of a few potted plants. Super easy to clean.

It looks like you've done quite a bit of research. Well done. I'm sure others will chime in with their opinions and experiences too. Good luck! Can't wait for updates on your little one! Cheers.

You are pretty much completely ready, well done. Have you stress tested the environment though? That entails intentionally creating the worst case scenario with highest humidity and the highest temp during this time with all of the lights on. Leave the pump on to simulate a timer failure. See how bad it will get on it's own without your intervention. Remember that to get accurate temperature readings you need a digi thermom with a dark colored probe.

Once you stress test and make fine tune adjustments and counter measures you are completely ready. I still upgrade potential safety hazards o n a daily basis, I could be a a bit more obsessive about it than most I suppose but better safe then sorry right!

Thanks for the replies much appreciated would still like more opinions and comments though love hearing peoples thoughts, idea's and even suggestions

Yeh I'll try out a few tests soon

and also I was already thinking of getting a 60w house bulb as I've read these can be used. Also the Habistat Thermostat is massively helpful that I use as it helps me control the temperature of my bulb

looks good all you need to do is upgrade to a screen viv when he gets a little older and everything shold be fine. looks like youve done your reasearch as well thats always good. oh actually i meant to add something, dont use the coco brick i bought one when setting up mine and i was advised not to use it. its not needed and can choke your cham.
hope to see pics soon

Yep once he gets older I will be upgrading his viv to a bigger one and also I'm not going to use the Coco Brick now anyways I just brought it just encase to be honest

more opinions, suggestions and constructive criticism is very much appreciated I love hearing peoples thoughts and Idea's or just positive comments

you guys definitely think this is all good and ready to go?

Also as well I tested the temps out yesterday for 3 hours and here where my results, let me know what you think and if you think I'm doing it right

Without dripper, fogger just spraying, Testing every 30mins.
so the only thing I tested was the RH through spraying and the Lighting.
Testing the basking spot not whole cage, whole cage I started later. Humidity would be throughout though I am guessing

12:32pm
Heat/Temp: 27.6c
RH: 71%

1:00pm
Heat/Temp: 28c
RH: 75%

1:30pm
Heat/Temp: 27.2c
RH: 74%

2:00pm
Heat/Temp: 27.7c/82.8f
RH: 73%

2:30pm
Heat/Temp: 28.9c/82.9f
RH: 72%

At this point I tried moving the dome around a little bit to see if the temps would change and just to test it out more.

3:00pm
Heat/Temp: 28.4c/83.6f
RH: 66%

Last reading.
3:30pm
Heat/Temp: 28.4c/83.4f
RH: 60%
and roughly heat throughout cage was around 27.2c

How do these results seem so far without the dripper going or me spraying again? obviously with the dripper going and the humidifier on a timer the RH would stay at a reasonable humidity but how does this seem so far??

thanks again for all your comments and replies guys and gals looking forward to hearing more

The temps and humidity are nearly perfect, well done.
SOme mods you may want to try if you are comfortable that is, or know someone that is comfortable with handling a box cutter and a heat gun.of
All of whichwear the necessary safety equipment while working.
i.e.;kevlar gloves and wrist sleeves, full coverage safety goggles with a cloth or plastic lens barrier for your face. Not really up to code but it is a diy right...

These gloves can be found at most hardware stores and same with the glasses. I personally use the highschool chemistry style to make sure I dont ruin the only two eyes I have.

but yea the bottom glass panel of the exo that you have is easy pee z to take out. Breaking of the bottom panel and the sides seems to be common though so the gloves are real important. Take your time, if you break it then you can put it back together if you choose.

I stress that you need a really good blow drier that can run for about 20 minutes and maintain being stupidly hot. You will pretty much break the hair drier while heating the sealant in the corners, you have been warned.

a heat gun is ideal

Size a window frame to fit perfectly in place of the removed bottom panel. This will let air up through the enclosure and allow for drainage at all areas of the bottom.
This would let you to use a dripper without having to worry to an extreme about sitting water stagnating and drowning feeders, thus adding to the bacteria pool. The feeders that use this as a water source become contaminated and can cause upset stomach and some pretty weird stuff that gets pretty serious in some cases.
Plus having to worry about dumping it out all day sucks anyway.
A slotted or wire table is preffered for easy removal of waste water and cleaning/removal of plants.

Leme know if you want the picture guide

Exo's are great for mounting equipment/exhaust fans onto the top, allowing for more circulation and options for misting indoors.

juvenile chameleons of all kinds and especially pygmy chams can thrive in these small wide environments with small modifications.
although you are getting what kind of cham? a panther right?
Natural Terrarium Medium/Tall
Natural Terrarium Medium/X-Tall are the 3 and 4 option in grey
60 x 45 x 90 cm / 24” x 18” x 36” (WxDxH) is the dimensions you would ideally want for a juvenile panther -
http://www.exo-terra.com/en/products/natural_terrarium_medium.php
however the Xtall enclosure i just linked is on the small side for an adult panther.
The full grown males need something closer to 90cmWx90cmDx120cmH.

but yea for sure, you and your viv are definitely ready to go. I cant believe you have waited this long!

If you run into problems with the dripper, you now have an idea of where to start.
Remember! keep the floor clean at all times! no substrate everrrrrrrr and sitting water is not good. substrate molds soooooo fast it is not even funny. especially in these little vivs.

For the short term you are sittin real pretty(doing very well) but in the long run you will want an automatic misting thing and need drainage. Eventually a much bigger cage will also be needed.
It is impractical to hand mist all times needed each day every single day.

The Monsoon rs400 or w/e is notorious for flooding these types of terrariums so be careful if this is an option you might have seen.

Analogue/mechanical" timers are very re assuring devices for the true
DIY connoisseur.

These tanks are freaking great though, Not a single branch moved or fell off while trekking through muddy and disintegrating county roads and she was the least shocked of 3.

All I can say from tommy is when I kept him in a glass viv he was usually dark all the time didn't really like it, then I got the reptibreeze a few days ago he is always nice an colourful any time he goes dark is when he want his body heat to go up (basking). Check my thread yesterday to see my set I did yesterday for tommy , if not to messing about just sell that one and get a reptibreeze and there much cheaper than exo terra ones

I really can't tell from the pictures- (and because I'm an old blind person) but you may want a smaller vine for him to grab on to - they grow fast but when my guy first came home he avoided the big stuff and mostly liked the small that he could get his hand around and get a good grip on -

again thanks for the great comments guys and yep already getting another smaller vine as at the min the vines i have kind of curl around the real plant from top to bottom with a hidng spot round the back get higher and then lead to a basking spot
and yeh ive waited like about 1 month and 3 weeks I think, just want to make everything as best as possible
glad the temps are looking good though thats a massive positive for me as this was the thing i was worried about the most

Also just an Update due to me having the mesh at the top I've been told that this can prevent UVB of some what so I've changed my 5% UVB 15W Tube light to a 12% UVB D3 tube light instead, so it allows more UVB to get to my chameleon better encase the mesh is stopping to much from the 5% tube, how does this sound?