Chameleon cages and stuey check up

[Stuey!]

Hah im back.

Stuey seems to be doing fine, shedded for the second time on haloween, i dont know how to spell it , forgot.

i feed him like 12-18 crickets a day every time i get home from school, i mist his cage when i get up and after school, ocasionally dust the crickets with calcium powder and i somtimes give him 2-4 waxworms.

basking temp: about 80-100, somtimes it goes up to 100 i have no idea why.
humidity, usually zero, i dont know y i cant keep it steady, when i mist him it goes up to like 60.

since the basking temp is so warm i keep the other side of his cage cool, about 60 degrees.

hes probobly about 4-6 months old

please tell me if any of this is wrong and how i can fix it.

main question though, is that i was wondering at what age i should get him a screen cage, what plants i should put in it and how big it should be. please post were i can get this, somthing good, but not costing hundreds and hundreds of dollars, forgot how to spell that to

 

[kinyonga]

You said...ocasionally dust the crickets with calcium powder and i somtimes give him 2-4 waxworms...waxworms are fine to use once in a while. As for the calcium....I dust with phosphorous-free calcium two or three times a week.

Gutloading the insects is also important. Do you dust with vitamins or D3? Does your chameleon get any direct sunlight? UVB? Does it pass through glass or plastic?

You said..."humidity, usually zero, i dont know y i cant keep it steady, when i mist him it goes up to like 60"...having real plants in the cage should help this. Pothos and hibiscus are two good ones to use. They should IMHO be non-toxic in case the chameleon eats the leaves or the insects nibble on them. They should also be well-washed (both sides of the leaves) before being put in the cage too.

You said..."since the basking temp is so warm i keep the other side of his cage cool, about 60 degrees"...that's a little on the cool side. IMHO it should be in the mid to high 70's. Where do you live (state, province, or such)? What kind of cage is it?

You asked..."at what age i should get him a screen cage"...I'm leaving this for someone else to answer.

You asked..."how big it should be"...2' X 2' x18" would be okay....but bigger would be better.

You said..."please post were i can get this, somthing good, but not costing hundreds and hundreds of dollars"...don't know where you live so I couldn't tell you the cost or where to get it. Sorry.

 

[Jordan]

Looks like Detroit.

 

[kinyonga]

It was a late night! Thanks for waking me up Jordan.

 

[Stuey!]

o wait i just got a great idea, my b-day is in like 12 days and i guess ill get all that stuff for my b-day if any1 could post were i could get some good auto-misters, humidifyers, plants, also i would like a list of wich plants are toxic to chams and wich arnt plz, i know i saw one but i cant find it again,also were i could get a good big screen cage sry guys that im so anoying any help would be good

 

[scooter4n]

here is the list of non toxic plants>> http://www.the-lizard-lounge.com/content/library/plants/nontoxic-plants.asp
The only affordable automated misting system you can get for under $100 is Habba mist. I'm actually selling on on e-bay, I got it but never used it. Talk to me and I can make deal for you. >>


http://cgi.ebay.com/HABBA-MIST-auto...oryZ1285QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[Heika]

Hmm.. making a deal for it.. because it sucks?

Habba Mists aren't good for much in regards to chameleons because they don't mist long enough and have tiny reservoirs. In addition, they are noisy. I had one too when I first got a chameleon, and also dumped mine in an Ebay auction.

Heika

 

[scooter4n]

it's not suck, it's reasonable for the money, If you have $220 to get something better, some ppl don't.
and I think 45 seconds of spraying every hour is very good deal for most of the chams. Some only getting sprayed twice a day by hand

 

[podenbeck]

I am certainly no expert like others in here but here are some thoughts-suggestions.

The reason that there is temperature variance in the enclosure may have to do with direct sunlight from a window or the temperature in the house. Direct sunlight will change the way the gradient in your enclosure behaves. Also if your cham is banking ontop of your thermometer it is giving you a reading of the temperature beneath the cham in the shade not above in the heat. Those are my guesses for that issue.

As for a mister I would build one. I made an automated mister for about $50 dollars that works great. I also use a dripper along with it- my cham perfers to drink from it.

To keep it brief. You should have a screen cage.

 

[Heika]

As for a mister I would build one. I made an automated mister for about $50 dollars that works great.

I made mine, too. It cost a little more than $50.00 for me, but not much.

it's not suck, it's reasonable for the money, If you have $220 to get something better, some ppl don't.
and I think 45 seconds of spraying every hour is very good deal for most of the chams. Some only getting sprayed twice a day by hand

45 seconds of spraying is not very long, even when it is once an hour. If you are so happy with it, how come you aren't using it for your chameleon?!? Honestly, spraying twice a day by hand is preferable to a Habba Mister... you can spray by hand for 10 or 15 minutes at a time, which will stimulate the chameleon to drink. 45 seconds just raises the humidity a bit.

Heika

 

[Jordan]

Sorry Kinyonga. I was not trying to be a smart alec.

I see something along the line of what Podenbeck threw out for vast temperature variations that are currently present.

Never had a Habba Mister. Though can not say I have not looked at it. Heika is right alot of chameleons will need longer durations to stimulate drinking. On the other hand I have never meet a veiled that liked getting wet (probably out ther somewhere).

I would worry more about a cage at this point then a misting system. If you are trying to save money and you only have one chameleon hand misting (and a dripper) will be adequate in my opinion. I think the plants will give a big boost in humidity when added to the cage. If that is a male and is 4-6 months old I would look into getting an adult sized cage now. That will save some money and he is should be old enough to handle it.

 

[kinyonga]

I never took it as being a smart alec Jordan....sometimes I need a "wake-up call"! I tend to ignore dates of posts and the information about where people come from that is on the posts.

 

[Scrappy]

To reply to the plant question for stuey.....pothos, chaffelara (sp?), and philodendron are all good/safe plants. Make sure you clean the plants and make sure they are healthy and provide good coverage for Stuey....he'll love you for it!