Set up my enclosure today :)

[crocky]

So I finally pulled the trigger and bought my new addition. Thanks Sang "Rottsko"! Cannot wait to get the little guy! Seems like Time will stand still until Thursday morning . I also want to give props to folks here. i have been talking to a couple of members trying to figure out the best route to go with buying my boy and everyone has been super helpful! i ended up going with one of Rottsko's boys! He has been super patient with me and answered all of my questions and then some. I am on info overload from all the reading and info I have received and I am so grateful! I keep and raise bearded dragons and I am realizing just how different the needs are.

Anyway, i set his enclosure up and put the plant in after repotting and washing it down. I drilled the bottom directly under the plant for drainage and built a small box for the cage to sit on with a collecting bin underneath. Tomorrow I will put the vines in along with some feeding cups. I have double bulb exo terra fixture so on one side I have a 5.0 UVB CF (same side as his basking light) and on the other side I have a 6500k CF. my basking light is a 60 watt but I think I will have to go up some. Right now it is about 73 degrees 8 inches or so below the basking spot. I am going to pick up a hand mister and dropper this week. If I use a dropper do I still need to mist him directly? I am sure i have been told this answer several times but it is not on any of my 1000 sticky notes . Looking forward to this adventure!

Here is a picture so far of the enclosure and will update when i put some vines etc in it tomorrow, when I get my guy I will start a new thread with pics of him as well

 

[chamillionaire3]

its looks really good man. good job and congrats! and yeah some vines are gonna be neccesary haha lol. and honestly i would mist them directly as well as have the dripper cause them getting misted kind of encourages them to drink. but yeah man so far so good! and nice schefflera by the way. i got a question for you, what type of 6500k bulb (brand) do you have and what type of fixture is it in? im trying to find one for my plants but keep getting told i need some crazy 75 dollar fixture that are especially made for them.

 

[crocky]

Thanks!

I have this fixture but it is the double bulb one.
http://www.exo-terra.com/en/products/compact_top.php

On one side (same side as his basking bulb) s this bulb
http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-ReptiSun®-Compact-Fluorescent/dp/B00061V4PI

On the other side is this one, except I think I have the 60/13 watt. I use to use this bulb in my sump of my saltwater tank and it grew macro like crazy.
http://www.lowes.com/pd_296884-371-...pl=1&currentURL=/pl_Bright+Effects_4294935558

I was going to put the 5.0 on both sides but figured I needed a plant light and I also wanted him to be able to get away from the UVB if needed. I still have the other bulb and will chane it out if need be. I have always used the linear UVB bulbs on my dragons but decided to try these this time for this cage, it seems a little brighter oddly enough than the 10.0 liners I have in my dragon cages, I know they use to have issues with them but I think that has been corrected a while back.

 

[chamillionaire3]

ohhhh gotcha. i thought they were tube fixtures. that is still sweet though. but that link to lowes is broken and not working. is that where u got your grow light?

 

[crocky]

I just clicked on it and it worked for me

Yah that is where I got it. I used the same bulb in my saltwater sump and it grew macro like crazy. $4.00

 

[chamillionaire3]

its prolly just cause im on my phone and it likes to mess with me haha. but yeah i will definitley check it out then. all 3 of my plants (2 ficus, 1 schefflera) seem to be doing fine without a grow light but it cant hurt to have one. another thing, how much was that double bulb fixture?

 

[crocky]

I am not sure what they cost now, I got it a while back for $30 or something like that. Honestly I probably would not use it if I did not already have it.

 

[chameleonowner32]

Hi

Take out the compact flourescent and put a repti sun 5.0
On there and make one side basking and the other UVB.
I would also put a dropper on there

 

[crocky]

Thanks, I ended up putting the 5.0 on both sides. I have a separate basking and plant bulb in small domes. I also did a DiY dropper with a gang valve for three areas of the cage. Ended up pretty nice.

 

[crocky]

Here it is with the vines, feeder cup and dropper going. I used a gang valve with three point distribution and hooked up tubing to three different areas of the cage for dripping. Worked out pretty good. Still got to get the wires routed etc but it should be good to go by Thursday. Trying to see if the dropper will get the humidity up. Right now it is jumping from 28 - 40%

On with the pics

 

[tony19]

Vary nie any plans for more plants........i was looking at those fixtures to desided that im gonna go with lyr(lightyourreptiles.com)

 

[crocky]

Thanks, I did put a small clipping of pothos in the same pot the schafflera is in....won't take long for it to take off . Yeah I actually really like the light and since i had it already that is a plus and now that i added the other cf 5.0 on the other side so it goes across the entire cage. When I finish up my wall unit for my dragons there will be a place for chams as well so then I will incorporate new lights and fixture then.

 

[tony19]

Thanks, I did put a small clipping of pothos in the same pot the schafflera is in....won't take long for it to take off . Yeah I actually really like the light and since i had it already that is a plus and now that i added the other cf 5.0 on the other side so it goes across the entire cage. When I finish up my wall unit for my dragons there will be a place for chams as well so then I will incorporate new lights and fixture then.

Wow you got alot of things going on. You should post pics when your done. Ya the clipping of the pothos in the pot of the schafflera is a great idea. Ya i looked at them. but i stumbled on a a thead talkin about the arcadia lights and how gppd they are and started talking to todd. And i dont have as many pets as you lol i only have a couple of snakes. And my girlfriends got a bird. So i got a little dow i can sprare for the pets lol.and i bread my own rats to. So that helps with it lol

 

[tony19]

What kind of cham are you getting

 

[chamillionaire3]

its looks really good man. but with the vines i would add a few more horizontal ones at the top that go from high to low. i attached a pic of mine for an example. this will give your cham varying temps to get warm or cool.

 

[chameleonowner32]

Take out the compact florescents they cause blindness
And death in chameleons. Buy a zoo med reptisun 5.0
It should last almost a year. The setup looks great. If your
Humidity isn't that high buy a cheap humidifier from
Walgreens and use that.

 

[crocky]

Thanks all, it is a work in progress!

Take out the compact florescents they cause blindness
And death in chameleons. :

Is there any recent data that shows this? I know this was the case with them a few years back and there is tons of data on it, but I have looked and have not found any recent data to back up it is still happening. Not saying there isn't any but just have not come across it. I don't mind forking out the money to get different lighting in fact I am going to do that anyway tomorrow but still curious.

Yeah I may have to get a humidifier, I cannot seem to get it up past thirty even after misting, either that or I need a new probe.

 

[squeekz1992]

Take out the compact florescents they cause blindness
And death in chameleons. Buy a zoo med reptisun 5.0
It should last almost a year.

No, this issue has been fixed and quite a few members use them with no problem.

Also, the UVB bulbs do not last almost a year. They need to be changed at the very least every 6 months as the UVB projection dwindles long before the light goes out.

 

[crocky]

Put this together today. Getting ready for my boy on Thursday . I sanded the outside since it was clear. I am not sure though if I cut it to low. I did not have a sunny d bottle but had one of this ice tea bottle so used it.. Going to try to get him over to dubias if I can but figured it would be best to start him off with what he is use to eating

 

[crocky]

Oh I meant to ask...do you guys out anything in the bottom for them to feed off of?