A few questions.

[Herpaliciousreptiles]

Hi all! We are new to chameleons, but loving them so far! We were a little mislead, and we're told our Jax would be okay together- we have a pair, male around 5 months, female around 4. Right now they are in the same enclosure, but we DO plan on separating them when can get another cage and UVB bulb. (which should be soon)

Anyways, here is our set up now:

This is a Large Zoomed Reptibreeze cage (18x18x36), there is a vine in there and at least one more separate branch in there with the live hibiscus (which we bought today from Lowes, I sprayed it off outside and washed all the leaves with Dawn, added some coca fiber to the top soil as the roots were showing from being rinsed with the hose, and added glass rocks so there's no way they can get to the soil). Lighting is a Reptisun 5.0 bulb, and seeing as we already had the heat bulb, I don't know what watt it is, but we have it on a dimmer, so when it's on the basking area is around 80 degrees F. I also have a humifier going that helps get the humidity to at least 60%, but I have seen it at 70% with a thermometer/hydrometer that we bought from Walmart for an incubator that is not in use from our Leos.

My questions are- should I get some plastic sheeting to put on the backs and sides to help with humidity and keep moisture in(it's already getting wet on the outside areas from misting)? And will this help visibility of the chameleons not seeing each other when they get separated?

Also, do I need some kind of drainage system for the bottom or just wipe dry daily if wet?

And do we need to keep the humidifier on at night or is it okay if we turn it off?

I'm doing what I can to get a temp drop at night by leaving the computer off as much as possible (hubby does work on there at night some), turning on the ceiling fan and tomorrow we're going to try putting an oscaltaing fan we have in there. Is there anything else that would help night temps save an ac unit or turning down the thermostat?

And does the hibiscus need more light? I would be okay with taking the cage outside when we can, but we live in Upstate South Carolina and it stays very hot here this time of year. 85-90+ is a typical day. Won't be in the Jax temps ranges till September at the earliest.

I'm new to the forums, and we're new to chams, so forgive me if this is posted in the wrong area and thanks in advance!

 

[Herpaliciousreptiles]

Oh! Also, I mist a few times of day with a hand sprayer I bought from Lowes a while ago for our cresties. Is this okay to use as a mister or do I need something else with a more fine mist?

 

[carol5208]

First priority will be seperating them. Make sure for now they are BOTH getting food. If you are letting prey loose they might be competing for food.
Hand sprayer is fine to use. Paper towels are ok, but can be a hideout for feeders. One member had his chameleon get a mouthful of papertowel along with a cricket he shot at, so be mindful of that. I use nothing on bottom of cage or a towel that I remove daily to absorb water. If you use a dripper then you have to figure out another form of drainage as you will get flooding. Plastic sheeting is fine. I have never had to use it, but many people do. You are gonna need a grow light on that Hibiscus or its gonna die. You can go to home depot and get a 6500k growlight. It goes in a tube fixture. Hibiscus are super hard to keep indoors because they flower and require alot of sunshine. I don't know if you need the humidifier at night. I would say no but not 100% on that. Lastly it is hard to tell from the pic but I think you are using those little glass stones to cover soil. Not a good choice. Anything your chameleon can swallow is a potentional hazard. They might shoot at a water droplet or a loose feeder and get the glass rock along with it. Go to home depot and get a bag of LARGE river rocks to cover the soil. You are not getting a night drop in temp after you turnb out the lights? That should make it go down some, no? I think I welcomed you on another thread, if not...welcome to the forums!

 

[phylicia]

I am new to this forum, bit checking in each day is very helpful. I think hje repitarium above looks great and question and answers are so helpful. I have a question..My Rango Jr shed his skin 2 days ago, looks great eats great, goes uo sleep cirled up every 10-12 hours. Heres the question..Last night when lights went pff he went to top of screen and stayed thete..then he was jalf on a nranch and back feet were on top of cage amd slept like thay all night..is that normal? He always used to curl up and go to sleep..I hope Im not too paranoid..Phylicoa

 

[phylicia]

Sorry about typos will correct mext time.Phyllicia

 

[Action Jackson]

Welcome. Here's a post I did about how I keep my Jackson's.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/keeping-jackson-s-outside-86324/

I keep mine outside most of the time but also use these same setups inside. You will notice the arrangement of branches and vines at the top of the cage. In my opinion this is very beneficial, it allows the a place to laterally bask and they also spend a lot of time walking around up there. I have a circular path layed out with the branches and vines for them. At the bottom of the cage you can see I have my trees sitting on plant stands, under the stands I have drilled 1/4" holes in the bottom, that allows and standing water to drain from the cage. You should have some kind of drainage container to catch the water.

I personally don't use a fogger/humidifier, but I understand the some people may need to due to their local conditions. What I do recommend is using a dripper for at least 1-2 hours a day. Drip it through the top of the cage onto a branch or some leaves where your Chameleion can easily drink.

I would ditch that branch in the bottom, it looks like it is just soaking up water and your Chameleons don't usually go down there.

You can free range your feeders or cup feed. If you free range be sure not to put more than they can eat at one feeding. Excess crickets can bite your chameleons while they sleep.

I agree with what was said about the hibiscus. I can't keep those inside even with a grow light. Ficus and schefflera are good choices.

As far as lighting goes I use an incandescent bulb of 40-60 watts and also a fluorescent duel fixture with one bulb being a reptisun 5.0 UVB and the other a 6500k bulb for plant growth.

I would definately separate your Jackson's and have a visual barrier.

Hope this helps. Good luck with them and post some picture please, we want to check'em out.

 

[Herpaliciousreptiles]

Wish we could put them outside.. It's just too hot here and too cool in the winter usually. Not too sure about winter yet for sure because we've only been living here since March. We do free range feed, and both are eating well. They will hand feed, but not cup feed. They run away from the cup. I make sure to try to put the crickets close to where each chameleon is and watch them to see who eats what. I'm thinking maybe we need to take the hibiscus back and get the pothos they had on clearance. And I have pics on my other thread that got moved to the lizard lounge if you wanna see the cuties.

 

[lausnordah]

I have a 4 foot hibiscus thriving inside... I've got it positioned next to a tinted window where it gets direct sunlight. On top of the enclosure I have a T5HO fixture with two 10k bulbs and two 6% UVB arcadia bulbs. There's also a 40 watt grow light facing the hibiscus that acts as my cham's basking spot.

I got the tube lights from lightyourreptiles.com, the hibiscus from a nursery, and the grow light from home depot.