Chameleon corner

[sdheli420]

This is my free range set up with a friendly pair of panthers(yes they get along with no aggresion..im here all day everyday, so i can keep close watch)..but i dedicated a corner of my room for my pair of ambilobes(one more female to add in slowly..i have them chill in free ranges in opposite corners for a few months then set them up close together, then in the same area..as long as they have ample space and visual barriers to help them feel a lil more secluded they do great!! even in the wild pairs can be found sleeping near eachother)..but its a 6 foot ficus tree, drippper that is positiond so excess water goes to the tree, a mist king (with three aqua fina resivoirs that have the same fittings so i can fill them for 25 cents, and rotate them), digital tem and humidity, i keep a consistant 60 no prob..i have an nesting box with dirt and play sand for digging (have had a clutch of non-ferties so far) thus why i just will keep using this box and refill the sand each time(she likes it)..and have the exoterra incubator (i put a digi-temp and humidity gauge in it for the "double check) and it seems to be one of the good ones..ive had it one since the day i got it (3 months ago) and its consistant..i also have my crix breeding bins there..i keep them clean by wiping the sides orange and lemon peels and slices, and remove the dead everyday..female nesting and pin head propagation is the top bin....


if you are thinking of freerange..its great..but however..only recommended if you have lots of time and can "babysit" your chams 24\7.

but worth it..my chams love me..(if you have seem my vids you know what i mean)

 

[sdheli420]

and the last one...

ohh forgot to mention i cup feed in the tree..plus hand feeding ofcourse.and the lighting is a powersun uvb bulb(ive had sucsess using the self ballasted bulbs..ive been into them since i used to use higher powered metal hilide, and mecury vapor)

 

[kinyonga]

How do you prevent the chameleon from climbing on the lights and burning herself?

 

[sdheli420]

How do you prevent the chameleon from climbing on the lights and burning herself?

you cant see it but the cord has clear packing tape on it..unclimbable..and as for the ceiling..its out of reach...trust me..im way ahead of you on that..been doin the free range set ups for about 10 years now..

 

[carol5208]

That looks like a nice area you have set up but it looks SO dark. I would add some more lighting to brighten it up. It would be nice if you could get a long linear tube that would cover alot of area and provide more light. That dome is good for a cage but does not seem sufficient enough lighting from what I can see. I know you have been doing it for awhile so obviously it works, but I was just making a suggestion from what I see in the picture. Maybe it is just the picture and the room is alot brighter???

 

[sdheli420]

That looks like a nice area you have set up but it looks SO dark. I would add some more lighting to brighten it up. It would be nice if you could get a long linear tube that would cover alot of area and provide more light. That dome is good for a cage but does not seem sufficient enough lighting from what I can see. I know you have been doing it for awhile so obviously it works, but I was just making a suggestion from what I see in the picture. Maybe it is just the picture and the room is alot brighter???

actually it is just the picture..and as for the tube lights i did have a set up before with them..but it took six 6' bulbs to produce the same as my 175 w that im using now..and had way less lumen output as well as no penetration into the tree..i like them better heat wise since they practically produce none, so you can more easily control temps in hot weather..but yeah its just the camera..and i also open my windows in the day(so the sun accents my lighting through the screens)..seems to have been working for years now..and my chams grow fast, and are heathy..( i think my last vet visit was in 2000, when i had a wc senegal..he made it through his ring worms, but only lived to be about 3 (in my care, i think he was like 7 or 8 months old when i got him)..

p.s. carol, i know you are a master..do you have any free rangers??

 

[pssh]

She can climb up it if her feet can grab hold of it. Unless its a reallllly fat cord, she can still get up that way. Or do you mean it's taped to the wall?

Be careful with the lights being too close. I had a low watt bulb set up for one of my free ranges and thought 12 inches would be far enough away from my tiny 14 inch male panther. I was wrong. He somehow got onto the lamp, climbed down the cord, and walked over to me. It probably would have been really bad if the light was hotter!

 

[KTown333]

Top notch set up dude! I hope to have something that nice one day. You are quite creative. I would be nervous that the chams would fall or walk around the room. I will have to look into some free range set ups. Good work!

 

[sdheli420]

She can climb up it if her feet can grab hold of it. Unless its a reallllly fat cord, she can still get up that way. Or do you mean it's taped to the wall?

Be careful with the lights being too close. I had a low watt bulb set up for one of my free ranges and thought 12 inches would be far enough away from my tiny 14 inch male panther. I was wrong. He somehow got onto the lamp, climbed down the cord, and walked over to me. It probably would have been really bad if the light was hotter!

its taped so that its tottally smooth to the walltrust, ive watched her and him try a few times..and no the dont get but maybe 15-17 inches to the light itself in the basking point, or the vines attached to the ceiling..also they dont seem to want to roam..or at least whenever i leave and come back they are always back in the tree when i come home haha..

 

[jannb]

I know they must really enjoy their tree. I too free range and I have a question for you. I have seperate free ranges for my chams. Does your male not want to mate your female all the time?

 

[sdheli420]

I know they must really enjoy their tree. I too free range and I have a question for you. I have seperate free ranges for my chams. Does your male not want to mate your female all the time?

my female is about 4 months ahead of my male(this pairing, for breeding purposes, i wanted her to be a lil older/stronger before mating) i introduced the males free range on the opposite side of the room where he chilled and they had no visual barriers from eachother..all they do is stare at eachother..after a few months i notice him getting brighter, and occasionally will throw out a head bob..since beeing introduced to her freerange where he now resides( and sleeps in the same direction she faces every night about a foot away)..and he has yet to head bob, or act aggresivly rowards her..ive caught them basking about 4 inches away from eachother with no aggresion..i have to be fast and deliberate while hand feeding as they will steal eachothers shots, lol..he has been very active the past few months and i think he will be starting courtship by this next month....otherwise..since they have been in the same area for quite a while..i think the initial "i need to take it right now" feeling has died with them..i used to have jacksons housed the same way..2 females to each male..and they would breed when they where ready..i would get about 2 batches of baby jacksons a year..ive always found..especially with cages..the more room you have and visiual barriers there are, the more there can be in one area..its like people in a house..as long as everyone has there own space (like a room) its all good.

 

[mons00n]

love it! is it a live ficus or fake?

 

[allencg101]

love it! is it a live ficus or fake?

it looks like a hibiscus to me bro

 

[shanksfaml]

Not only are you good with the chams, it lok like you have quite a green thumb as well. That is an extremely healthy and huge, looking Ficus. Wow!

 

[Lizardlover]

it looks like a hibiscus to me bro

Its a ficus...and it appears to be real.

 

[Dendroguy]

it looks like a hibiscus to me bro

Its Ficus benjamina

 

[sdheli420]

Its Ficus benjamina

yes, its a real ficus benjamina, and its from my mothers plant shop that she had before i was alive..its around 27-33 years old..she doesent remember if it was from a cutting before or after i was born..haha..yes its real, and its huge, and i have to chop it down more and more..its about to touch the ceiling again..haha

 

[heartben]

i cant find a fricken ficus around here to save my life. ive been wanting to find a small tree but no real luck.

ive seen your youtube videos and dig them a lot, watched your freerange video a bit ago. very cool. i love how they chill at the window like cats in a way.

i have a few questions for the free rangers in general. i know i've seen you have some tile but like.. where do free range chameleons tend to poop? i've seen other free ranges that are just like.. in a living room or something and i've been wondering for awhile.

also, do they ever go in places they "shouldn't be"? or do they stick to where its warm/ sunny and wherever the plants are mainly? just curious in general. i assume that will vary slightly from cham to cham.

i will probably be interested in doing something like this in the next year or so, its really interesting to see peoples free range set ups.

and keep posting videos! they are helpful and have given me some ideas

 

[ckmazdaspeed3]

Heartben, it took me some time to find one too.but after checking lowes and home depot repeatedely I found some. I guess they just run out a lot. Also, google your city's name plus house plants and check which nurseries have house plant sections... Again, it took some time, but I finally found one that has loads of them in all different shapes and sizes! We are getting a 7' this weekend so we can take one out at a time to free range when we are hanging around the house.

I also bet that because it is summer, the market for house plants is mug slower than a other times of the year.

... I hope to find a discrete way to deal with droppings too.

 

[sdheli420]

i cant find a fricken ficus around here to save my life. ive been wanting to find a small tree but no real luck.

ive seen your youtube videos and dig them a lot, watched your freerange video a bit ago. very cool. i love how they chill at the window like cats in a way.

i have a few questions for the free rangers in general. i know i've seen you have some tile but like.. where do free range chameleons tend to poop? i've seen other free ranges that are just like.. in a living room or something and i've been wondering for awhile.

also, do they ever go in places they "shouldn't be"? or do they stick to where its warm/ sunny and wherever the plants are mainly? just curious in general. i assume that will vary slightly from cham to cham.

i will probably be interested in doing something like this in the next year or so, its really interesting to see peoples free range set ups.

and keep posting videos! they are helpful and have given me some ideas

the tile is mearley for excess water to not ruin the carpet, but does catch a turd from time to time..as for the turds, they are usually in the same place (they drift a lil here to there) but i can lay out paper towel in the morning, if i wake up fast enough, and lay it down, they nail it..even had a double stack one day!!LOL..they basically stay where they are..my male wanders to my laundry bag from time to time, or crawls to me while im on the computer (freaks me out sometimes cause he will just be on my shoulder clawing at my neck all of a sudden)lol..as for a tree..they are hard as hell to find..only after my mom waqs going to give away this tree (3 years ago) i said no wayyy..i want it for my chams, and started setting up this free range..(the others all had lame stuff for them, fake trees, ect..hated it)..anyway THANK YOU!! ..makes me enthusiastic to make more..i will have a horn worm vid soon, it just takes a few months to put all the stuff together..