Hi i have an enclosure for a chameleon thts been set up for 2 weeks now with about a few month old chameleon i got 2 weeks ago, and hes been doing pretty well i feed him 5 mealworms a day and spray him down about 2-3 times a day, his tank is at about 75 degrees his basking is at 90, i was just wondering if you guys think i should change any of my habits, or anything in the enclosure (picture below). Also im going on break soon and i have a friend coming over once a day to feed all of my reptiles and he can obviously only spray it once a day do you guys think i should get a mister or will he be fine with one heavy spraying a day? Thanks (pictures of enclosure below, chameleon when i got him, and now)
Chameleon enclosure
- Thread starter Jc555
- Start date
Mjdwicinski
Member
Way more foliage and vines. Live plants help with humidity also. A mister is almost a must with chameleons. Mist king or climist
Syreptyon
Chameleon Enthusiast
Welcome to forums! I'm sorry to say, but there are a whole lot of changes you're going to need to make, so buckle up. For starters, stop feeding mealworms entirely. They offer almost no nutritional value and are a common cause of impaction. Switch to crickets as the staple feeder. You can offer superworms, waxworms, hornworms, and silkworms as treats. Just no mealworms. Secondly, your cage needs a lot of work. It's way too bare right now. You ought to add live plants and many, many horizontal branches. I recommend filling out the following form in its entirety. I have lots more comments, but it would be best to get all the info from you first, in order to give a thorough critique.
Chameleon Info:
Cage Info:
Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.
Chameleon Info:
- Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
- Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
- Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
- Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
- Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
- Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
- History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
Cage Info:
- Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
- Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
- Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
- Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
- Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
- Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
- Location - Where are you geographically located?
Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.
Trent H.
Member
Sounds like you're doing a pretty good job with your chameleon. The only things I would do differently, are maybe put in a few more branches to really maximize the climbing space for the chameleon. Other than that, I'd feed something other than meal worms, like super worms, crickets or roaches. Meal worms are an excellent treat, but don't have a ton of nutrition. Varying the diet will help to keep a healthy chameleon. But meal worms are a great treat. Also, good job coming on the forums and asking for a tad of advice. It's a pretty smart idea even when you think you know what your doing. Hope this helps!
Grokthecube
Member
I'll echo with Syreptyon said, mealworms are a nono, and your Cham would very much appreciate more cover and places to climb in the cage, along with a mister. Given the light fixture, I'm also guessing you have a spiral type UVB bulb, which don't work nearly as well as the linear bulbs.
Thank you all for the replies, i had understood he definitely had needed more vines, live plants in the enclosure i was on a somewhat on a budget, thank you. The mealworms dilemma i will fix as well, never knew that either. Now a mister tends to be where i may disagree, ive keep many animals with high humidity needs and the thing is kinds of animals like these need down time humidity wise which is why i dont love a mister (unless there is some time setting about them as i said i was on a budget so i was just going with misting the enclosure down a few times a day). I hve a veiled chameleon, I tend to hold him about once every 2-3 days i know they get stressed easily, lighting is zoo med with a uvb and basking bulb on each side (dont know wattage because im not home right now, but keeps it at about 90), cage floor is about 75, basking is 90, through a temp sensor i get these, dont know the brand but i calcium with d3 6 days, vitamins 1, i mist 2-3 times a day with a sprayer of dechlorinated water at first he runs when i spray (he dosent like it that much) but i catch him when he comes back licking leafs, his fecal matter is brown/white he does consistentcy wise i think he does it about once every 1-2 days, any other useful info, not really other than when we got him he was a very clean green and the guy had said all the chameleons had been dark brown in the morning and ever since weve got him hes been green for the most part but is showing more colors and stripes darker. enclosure is screen dimensions are about a foot by a foot by about 3 feet (lwh) height is about a foot or two above the floor, near no air vents or anything, i live in northeast US, no live plants. And i actually believe the uvb is a typical uvb bulb, but the basking is a spiral looking one thanks.
jamest0o0
Chameleon Enthusiast
Misters are necessary. Disagree with us all you want, but find me one experienced and successful keeper that doesn't use them. If you understood the purpose of misting for long periods of time, you'd get why a mister is necessary. Humidity should spike you are correct, but with proper airflow and evaporation that should happen perfectly utilizing a mister. Also the CFL uvb that you are using are not recommended. A linear bulb is what we all use.
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jamest0o0
Chameleon Enthusiast
You can hand mist don't get me wrong... I've done it before myself. But I also had my chams constantly in the shower and was taking online classes. So I had the 30 min or so every day to sit there and hand mist. If your cage isn't pouring water out the bottom, there's probably not enough water going into it. Veileds can survive pretty horrendous husbandry, so I'm sure you can give him suboptimal watering for awhile, but point of this site is to give the best husbandry advice we can.
carol5208
Chameleon Enthusiast
Misting is NOT just for humidity, it is for hydration. Just because your chameleon may appear to be ok today, does not mean you are doing long term damage internally to him(meaning his kidneys) by not properly hydrating him. Chronic kidney failure is very common in chameleons. I have seen too many cases to count over the years on here. I don't know how long you have been keeping chameleons, but the suggestion of misting a cage once a day is not enough. Get a dripper then, and figure out some type of drainage for where the water will congregate and nothing too deep that your chameleon can drown in if it falls in and cannot climb out.
I understand what all of you are saying and by no means did i intend to claim your opinions wrong was just stating my experience with other animals who need high humidity, hearing it from a few more people i will buy one, i just want to say that i understand misting is not for just humidity, but furthermore for hydration i was saying, all animals with humidity needs dont constantly need a for example 80% humidity, just as in their natural home it isnt raining 100% of the time, so a down period is why i was spray misting so they didnt have constant humidity. And furthermore did i ever say i mist my chameleon once a day, being a beginner in keeping chameleons (first) im asking questions, whether when im out of town a single mist a day is ok which i obviously now know is not thats why im here to ask.
