Ceaning & supplies

YigosFlower

New Member
I did use the search for this & came up with some mixed info that was about a year or two old...

Im a neat freak & as i dont really imagine that the chameleons could ever possibly make more of a mess than my other pets i was just wondering what i should expect in that 'department?' How often do you clean your cages, are they many times a day poopers? Im sure cleaning up the poo spots often is a good idea in between over all cleaning. I generally clean my other animal cages once a week, but as a chameleon needs humidity im going to imagine that it will need to be done more frequently to prevent mold or bacteria growth? I'd assume that other than that they dont really need in depth cleaning TOO often?

What do you use to sanitize your cham enclosure, supplies, plants, etc? How often do you sanitize? Every time you clean, once a week, once a month? Do you use the typical cleaner of a small bleach mixture, just hot water, or something organic? I suppose when cleaning you just remove your plant & or branch with the cham on it & move swiftly about cleaning so you dont stress him out?

Also, Vacuuming is a big part of cleaning here, will the noise bother him a lot? I also have a three year old son & sometimes he does get noisy, will noises spook & or stress him?

Im more than likely going to put him in our bedroom, at least to start with so its a little quieter, but also wasnt sure how sensitive they are to noise & or movement in the room they are in. Another question is, would it be a bad idea to keep his cage in the same room as other pets at some point? Im going to assume that would be frowned upon as they WILL make noises throughout the night & or day at times too & use pine shavings for bedding.. (figure the bedding would be the biggest issue of all really..)

ALSO, scents, do smells bother them? I generally do not use lotions perfumes, etc on myself often(not unless i am going out, which doesnt happen THAT often.) lol But will that be something offensive to them? What if i burn dinner? lol (They will be upstairs & or in a back room, more than likely with the door closed, but these are things that pop in my head to worry about.) =]

Are air fresheners a BIG no no with them if they arent used very close? I do use them in some of the rooms in my home (as well as sometimes the carpet powder that you vacuum up.) What are your thoughts on those? I more than likely wouldnt have an air freshener in our room as we dont now, but i do occasionally use the carpet stuff in our room & or spray things around the house when company comes. Is that a bad idea? (Obviously i would be very sparing in their end of the house & not spray or use it directly by them, but thought i'd ask about the use in general.)

Sorry, i have SO many questions, my mind is boiling over! I dont want to be overly annoying with my question overload, but want to have as much knowledge as possible. I still have many months before owning, but of course the more info now, the better.

Thanks!
 
I spot clean poop whenever I see it. Mine tend to be every other day poopers. I do a more thorough clean weekly, but a full cage clean-out is only done yearly. I use a steam cleaner, or a white vinegar and hot water mix. I rarely use bleach or other harmful chemicals.

Vacuuming sound wont bother the chameleon, though they do feel vibrations.
Movement can stress them / bother them. So the less movement (including you) the better.

Other pets (and you and children etc) can easily stress the chameleon too. So yes, better that the chameleon not be in the same area as the other pets, especially anything that could be seen as a potential predator (cat, bird, bigger lizard, dog, rat, child). That said, my hermit crabs and some frogs are in the same room as my chameleons, and I have not noted any reaction.

Generally speaking I dont think perfumes, air freshners, and other chemicals are good for me, so Im inclined to say their not good for lizards, but I've nothing to back that up!

Sorry, i have SO many questions, my mind is boiling over! I dont want to be overly annoying with my question overload, but want to have as much knowledge as possible. I still have many months before owning, but of course the more info now, the better.

Asking questions and doing research is GREAT. Never feel bad about it.
 
I spot clean poop whenever I see it. Mine tend to be every other day poopers. I do a more thorough clean weekly, but a full cage clean-out is only done yearly. I use a steam cleaner, or a white vinegar and hot water mix. I rarely use bleach or other harmful chemicals.

Vacuuming sound wont bother the chameleon, though they do feel vibrations.
Movement can stress them / bother them. So the less movement (including you) the better.

Other pets (and you and children etc) can easily stress the chameleon too. So yes, better that the chameleon not be in the same area as the other pets, especially anything that could be seen as a potential predator (cat, bird, bigger lizard, dog, rat, child). That said, my hermit crabs and some frogs are in the same room as my chameleons, and I have not noted any reaction.

Generally speaking I dont think perfumes, air freshners, and other chemicals are good for me, so Im inclined to say their not good for lizards, but I've nothing to back that up!



Asking questions and doing research is GREAT. Never feel bad about it.

Thank you so much for understanding i have MANY-a questions BEFORE i get my guy home or in route to home even! I always feel like asking questions on forums dedicated to that animal makes me look like an idiot because they are the simple questions that EVERYONE asks repeatedly. I at least try using the search function. haha

Im happy to hear its acceptable not to have to deep clean so often, i figured it would be a lot more often. I have to drag my sugar glider cage into the shower about once a month & boy thats not very fun! =] (And much heavier than a cham cage is going to be.. im sure even stocked.) hehe

The only pets i could see potentially causing harm would be my cats, but they have also been raised around small animals & could really care less about any of our other pets. Obviously any predator animals could always surprise you though & measures will be taken in order to keep them away from the cham cage.

My son at the age of almost three is VERY good with all of our other pets & knows he's not allowed to open cages or pester at the animals. Although, i know that he too is full of surprises, so his time around the cham cage will be extremely limited.

I thank you very much for your response.

Pretty much everything i've asked thus far is pretty self explanatory, but of course hearing the insight of an actual owner helps a great deal!
The more i ask the better i feel & more confident i become about owning!:p Hooray!
 
You don’t have to over clean the cage, just keep it sanitary and looking good and you will have nothing to worry about. Cages don’t really smell unless you have dead bugs and poo everywhere. This of course is not the proper way to keep a cage… I clean (sometimes by shop vac) when I see that they are in need, and I make it a point to steam clean every now and again when I have a cage out of the racks for one thing or another.
Poo will get stuck on a leaf from time to time and I just pick the leaf off.

My main thing it that I keep the cage clean because the crix like to eat poo, and chams like crix. If crix eat cham poo it’s just like the cham eating his own poo when he eats the crix, so keeping this poo eating cycle to a minimum is ideal.
 
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