A couple questions?

N

N8dogg

New Member
I am about to buy my cage and supplies from LLL and have a few questions.
I am going to get the 18x18x36in cage so what watt bulb should I get? 50, 75, 100?
Also is this a good digital therm/humidity gauge? http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog.../-/flukers-digital-thermometerhumidity-guage/

I also have a question regarding live plants. Where does everyone get theres from and do you have to wash them and resoil with a certain soil before putting in your enclosure?

And lastly I will be searching for branches and heard to bake them. What temp do you bake them on and for how long? and wouldn't there be a chance they would catch fire?

Thanks in advance for anyones help I am very eager to get started!
 
you mean basking bulb? Just use a regular old white housebulb. No need for anything fancy. I would start with a 50 watt if you are getting a young chameleon. Get a Repitsun 5.0 tube for your UVB source. Plants can be purchased at home depot or walmart, some good ones are pothos, ficus, ficus benjamin, Shefflera(aka dwarf umbrella, arboricola) hibisucs are good but flower and are sometimes hard to keep indoors without a grow light. As far as branches manymembers bake. I don't! If you know where they are coming from, like your yard and have not been sprayed with pesticides then I wouldn't worry too much. You could scrub them down with soap and water and let them dry in the sun but probably not really necessary. Wash your plants in soapy water and let them soak upside down in a bucket for about 5-10 minutes. Rinse real good and then repot with organic soil or soil that contains no fertilizer. Cover the soil then with large river rocks. Not small rocks that could be injested by your chameleon. Hope this helps and a big welcome to the forums!!! Have never used that temp gauge but digital is good! Better than analog!
 
Thanks so much Carol! Yes I was talking about the basking light. I already have the reptisun 5.0 in the shopping cart. I own a condo with no trees in the back yard. I have no idea if the trees around here have pesticides or anything bad on them so I will wash them just in case. So there really is no need to bake if you are going to wash the sticks? I used a bunch of cool branches from a tree behind my buddies moms house over 10 years ago that I never washed and my veiled never got sick. Maybe I shall revisit my old source
 
I think baking is a little over doing it but again just my opinion! I think if you wash them, they will be fine! Just check closely for any bug infestations.
 
agreed - no need to bake your branches. get your branches anywhere you want and just wash them quickly with a little soap. depending on what type cham you are getting - you may want to buy a 24x24x48 cage. adult panther and adult veiled will likely need 24x24x48.
 
chrisw said:
agreed - no need to bake your branches. get your branches anywhere you want and just wash them quickly with a little soap. depending on what type cham you are getting - you may want to buy a 24x24x48 cage. adult panther and adult veiled will likely need 24x24x48.
Click to expand...

I plan on an ambilobe. I was going to go with the 18x18x36 because I keep hearing everyone say its better to have a smaller cage when they are young so its easier for them to eat. Is this really not the case?
 
N8dogg said:
I plan on an ambilobe. I was going to go with the 18x18x36 because I keep hearing everyone say its better to have a smaller cage when they are young so its easier for them to eat. Is this really not the case?
Click to expand...

I used an adult cage right off the bat and my chameleon was able to hunt down the crickets just fine! Unless you plan on getting a teeny, tiny baby or something. If you use worms, just set them on the branches, they don't go far! How do they hunt in the wild, in the forest? Alot bigger than any cage, right?!
 
carol5208 said:
I used an adult cage right off the bat and my chameleon was able to hunt down the crickets just fine! Unless you plan on getting a teeny, tiny baby or something. If you use worms, just set them on the branches, they don't go far! How do they hunt in the wild, in the forest? Alot bigger than any cage, right?!
Click to expand...

Ya I just kept reading to start small. I started with a big cage when I first started the hobby and was fine but its been 10 years and I just wanted to start things right. So If I were to get a 2 1/2 month or older I should be fine with a 2ftx2x4 cage?
 
I mean it is a big cage, but the main thing really that everyone talks about is the feeding situation. You could also try cup feeding. Alot of people do that. They grow so fast, they will be out of the small cage before you know it. I did not want to have to keep buying cages! You may have trouble finding the little guy too if you have alot of plants! I remember a few times looking in and thinking he had escaped!
 
I think I will just stay with the smaller one for now and sell it or keep it as an outdoor cage when time to upgrade. Thanks
 
Thanks ! and thanks for answering my questions. I am sure I will have more to come. i wish this site was around my 1st time around
 
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