Cage questions

[Pascal 2012]

Okay im pretty new here and have been doing quite a bit of research on enclosures and everything. I have my first enclosure set up and i got it from screameleons. I know that when my little guy is about 9-12 months old i will need a bigger enclosure. I want to know what you guys think if i should change anything. Also I seem to have a high humidity problem (65%-80% when the cage is dry) so i bought a dehumidifier to help lower this.

 

[jmwhitel]

My 2 cents. The cage looks good. You want the humidity to be pretty high. 60%+ is actually a good thing. What is your light source, heat, etc? All of these factors are also dependent upon the type of cham you are raising. Most important is just observing your cham, and paying attention to the little signs they give. A cham will typically tell you one way or another how happy/healthy they are.

GL

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Looks good, but you should fill up that space at the top with some more branches and vines, or put a live plant in there. And that humidity is perfectly fine!

 

[Pascal 2012]

My 2 cents. The cage looks good. You want the humidity to be pretty high. 60%+ is actually a good thing. What is your light source, heat, etc? All of these factors are also dependent upon the type of cham you are raising. Most important is just observing your cham, and paying attention to the little signs they give. A cham will typically tell you one way or another how happy/healthy they are.

GL

I am using a 60w basking bulb and a reptisun 5.0 uvb fluorescent bulb. As for the type of chameleon it will ba a male ambilobe. As for humidity i know it can be pretty high but its getting way to high after a shower its almost at 90% in my room i need to lower a little.

 

[Pascal 2012]

Looks good, but you should fill up that space at the top with some more branches and vines, or put a live plant in there. And that humidity is perfectly fine!

Okay i can do that i was just told that the basking area should be in mid 80's so i lowered the branches a bit and there is actually a pothos in the right corner

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

If the temps are too high you can downgrade to a 40watt bulb. Your cham will appreciate more area to climb, and the top is the best place!

 

[Pascal 2012]

If the temps are too high you can downgrade to a 40watt bulb. Your cham will appreciate more area to climb, and the top is the best place!

And this is why i love this place so much help! if i can just ask you a quick question most people with panther chameleons tell me that thier humidity is 40%-50% thats the main reason i am trying to lower mine some

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

40% is a little low for panthers. I aim to keep my humidity around 60 (I have to keep a humidifier running most of the day to do that) so if you get that with some higher spikes that sounds perfect.

 

[Pascal 2012]

40% is a little low for panthers. I aim to keep my humidity around 60 (I have to keep a humidifier running most of the day to do that) so if you get that with some higher spikes that sounds perfect.

Okay i would like to keep mine between 55%-65% if you think that will be alright, but at night its remaning a constant 80% and im just worried about his respiratory system getting infected.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Are you sure humidity is being measured correctly? I'm showing 26% outside humidity and an outside temperature of 83 in Albuquerque right now. If you have your a/c on in your house (which I imagine you do) and the outside humidity is that low it's almost impossible for your inside humidity to be 80%, especially in a screen cage. Maybe put your humidity gauge outside for a little while and see if it matches the weather report. If it doesn't then you know something is wrong with it. I just find that very hard to believe as someone from a similar environment. My humidity is 21%, so a little lower, and my a/c is on a lot since we're in the 80s too and I can't keep my humidity up above 30% without a humidifier all the time.

 

[Pascal 2012]

Are you sure humidity is being measured correctly? I'm showing 26% outside humidity and an outside temperature of 83 in Albuquerque right now. If you have your a/c on in your house (which I imagine you do) and the outside humidity is that low it's almost impossible for your inside humidity to be 80%, especially in a screen cage. Maybe put your humidity gauge outside for a little while and see if it matches the weather report. If it doesn't then you know something is wrong with it. I just find that very hard to believe as someone from a similar environment. My humidity is 21%, so a little lower, and my a/c is on a lot since we're in the 80s too and I can't keep my humidity up above 30% without a humidifier all the time.

Yeah I have been but we have a swamp cooler that doesnt help to much and I'm in a basement I have checked and re-checked, I don't know if its from past leaks and water is in the concrete under the carpet and its just traped or what but everything has read 80%. I am more then happy to check again though as soon as i get home.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Ok, I just wanted to make sure since I have a lot of problems with my humidity in the same type of environment, but you seem to have no problems at all! A swamp cooler will certainly help with humidity.

 

[Pascal 2012]

Ok, I just wanted to make sure since I have a lot of problems with my humidity in the same type of environment, but you seem to have no problems at all! A swamp cooler will certainly help with humidity.

Ha yeah the humidity in my house is out of control thats the only reason why i had to invest in a dehumidifier. It has been raining everyday here as well so im sure thats not helping. I cant thank you enough for all your help! do you think it was wise to invest in the dehumidifier?

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

If it truly is staying around 80-90% then lowering it for the night and parts of the day might be a good idea. If it stays lower than 80 consistently with only spikes of higher humidity then I don't know that it's needed.

 

[Pascal 2012]

If it truly is staying around 80-90% then lowering it for the night and parts of the day might be a good idea. If it stays lower than 80 consistently with only spikes of higher humidity then I don't know that it's needed.

yeah the only time it was lower then 80 was when i had the humidity gauge right under the basking area but everywhere else was really high. I did get a dehumidifier where it will keep my room at a certain percent anything you would suggest?

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

60-70% would be ideal imo.

 

[Pascal 2012]

ok i do have a live plant in the enclosure and misting going off every 3 hours for 30 seconds so maybe i should have the humidity in my room close to 50% maybe 55%?

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Sure, that sounds reasonable.

 

[Pascal 2012]

Thank you so much! you have been an awsome help, I guarantee you will see more from me after i get my chameleon and I look forward to all that i can learn from you and everyone on here.