cage swap

[serenitystarlite]

So the time has come for me to move Drac (nosy be) into a bigger cage. He is now almost bigger than Kami (senegal) and his cage is getting to be too small for him. I started working on a new slightly smaller cage (probably 18x18x36in) for Kami so Drac can move into her cage, but it won't be done for at least a month and he really needs a bigger cage now. Kami's cage is 2x2x5ft. Drac's baby cage is 18x12x32in. It's a tad on the small side for Kami, but she barely moves compared to him (I think she's old) so she should be ok in there for a month. Drac on the other hand is all over that little cage and really wants out of it.

So anyway, here is my question. How much should I worry about sanitizing Kami's cage before I move him into it? Kami is wc and I've had her since last June. She had some health issues but is doing fine now. Her cage currently has 2 hanging pothos and a corn plant. I'm planning to take the branches and fake vines out and bleaching them/scrubbing them. I'm wondering what to do about the live plants though. Should I completely switch them out for new ones or just wash them really well? I guess what I'm worried about is possibly spreading parasites to Drac if that's what Kami had.

What do you guys recommend? Thanks

 

[CoppellChameleons]

Cleaning

Personally, i have been dealing with chameleons for several years now and I think there shouldn't be any problem with transferring. Maybe a quick wipe off, but other than that I wouldn't worry to much.

 

[Julirs]

Better safe then sorry is what I always say. Especially since Kami is WC. Did you ever have her tested for parasites? Knowing what you could be up against will give you better direction in how to clean. Things like pin worms and Coccidia are very, very hard to kill and both will make it though a simple cage cleaning. If there is any doubt-I would go buy some 40 strenth peroxide at a beauty supply store, place it in a spray bottle, and spray the cage down fully-ever nook and cranny, then let sit for 20 minutes-do this outside-peroxide is very strong. Rinse-Rinse-Rinse-and then give the cage a good old fashion soap and water bath. Throw away all plants and vines-those are easily replaced. If you were moving a CB parasite free cham I would suggest a 10% bleach solution rather than the peroxide, and follow the same steps above.

CoppellChameleons-Please be careful not to steer members the wrong way-your information above is very incorrect.

 

[morpheon]

What Julirs said is very good, but instead of throwing away the plants and vine, why not just moving them into the new and bigger enclosure? This way your chameleon will be with his plants all the time, which should be less stressful and won't make you waste some plants and vines.

I don't know what Julirs thinks about my idea, but i surely would like to hear her/you about it!

 

[Julirs]

What Julirs said is very good, but instead of throwing away the plants and vine, why not just moving them into the new and bigger enclosure? This way your chameleon will be with his plants all the time, which should be less stressful and won't make you waste some plants and vines.

I don't know what Julirs thinks about my idea, but i surely would like to hear her/you about it!

Exactly Morpheon-it's early and I was not thinking-that is a perfect idea!

 

[morpheon]

It's not like your early morning thinking was completely inacurate!

 

[serenitystarlite]

Thanks guys, I will completely switch out the plants and keep Kami's plants for when her cage is done since she'll obviously need them. Her new cage will be a bit smaller as I've run out of room for cages, but I can cut her branches down to fit that cage and I'll just put new ones in when I move Drac into this one.

Kami was tested for parasites twice and neither fecal turned up anything but she was given Panacur and Metronidazole Benzoate last time. Her illness was kind of a mystery. How do you test for Coccidia? Is that a fecal as well? I'm not sure if that was tested for in the past.

 

[serenitystarlite]

Well instead of swapping cages, I decided to leave Kami in her cage and just go ahead and build another 2x2x5ft cage for Drac since I somehow made room for it. I got a metal cage from the reptile show that he's currently in and even though it's almost the exact same size as his old one, it's square while the old one is rectangular. So it seems like he has a lot more room. On the other hand, my new addition (female jackson's named Lotus ) seems to love his old cage. I need to post pics of her!

I figure why move Kami into a smaller cage? She was wc and has been in her big cage for awhile, so I feel bad downgrading her. And if I have almost enough wood to build a bigger cage, why not just get the rest and just build the bigger cage? Then everyone has the same size and is happy I'm only 1 piece of trim short for the bigger size. And this way, I don't have to worry about taking everything out of Kami's cage and cleaning it, so less work