Choosing A Species Need some help

[Sammag]

Hello everyone, I am new to this cham forum but i soon hope to be an avid user of it. I have been reading up on chams and there various requirements, temperments, etc. but i cannot seem to decide upon a species. This will be my first cham but i have experience with reptiles as I currently keep a small leopard gecko colony, a pair of crested geckos, and as a side note a whole lotta fish. The tank that I have currently setup for the gecko-species-to-be is 2ft x 1ft x 3ft Now I know this is not the largest enclosure but I wish to keep a species of cham that will be abke to inhabit this enclosure its entire life. the bottom foot up of the tank is an old glass auarium and from that point up the cage is made of wire covered in a vinyl like material. I have a UV light and a basking light. On the tank bottom is cocofiber covered by live moss matted down so no cocofiber is accesible to anythin in the tank. I have varoius ferns and a few live ivies (Non-poisonous of course) with fake plants and synthetic vine filling up most of the tank. The enclosure also is equipped with a automatic misting system which functions well. One last thing to add is that the temp in the tank varies from day to day but mainly stays within 73-80 degrees with a slight drop at night.

Now considering all of the above information which speices of cham would work out the best? I like panthers but am not sure if they need a larger tank.

Thanks

 

[Fearaffect]

so...substrate and other animals in it?? "Gecko-species to be"??

Pygmy I guess.......but I dont know if with other animals......

im thinking not a Panther......bigger needed and no substrate............

 

[chameleon97]

Good SIZE cage, But the aquarium=no.
NOOOOOOOOOOOO Subtrate.
Swirly or straight? (UVB Bulb)?
Slightly coldish.....
What wattage of basking bulb?
Fix it, and a veiled would work
Pics would be greeaaaaaaaatt

-Steve

 

[Sammag]

so...substrate and other animals in it?? "Gecko-species to be"??

Srry a few typoes there I meant that i have had other animals did not mean other animals in the tank. Only a cham. and one more typo was"Gecko-species to be" , I really meant "Cham-species to be"

So I suppose I will remove the substrate and put the plants in some pots.
The UV bulb is straight
The basking bulb is 65 watt
And as far as the aquarium only the lower third of the tank is an aquarium and all that that really holds is dense foliage with the climbing things higher up. I know that if the entire thng was enclosed tat would be a big no no due to lack of ventilation but that is not the case here.
Also i just took a temperature reading of the cage and it came out to 83 degress so i was a little off on that estimation.

One last thing, I thought that veileds were larger and more aggresive than panthers? If I can keep a veiled couldnt I keep a panther?

 

[Rachgreens]

With that cage it sounds like you could easily keep multiple pygmy chams in there, or a Rudis Chameleon...they do fine in a smaller cage and the temp is lower than the veileds and panthers.

 

[Sammag]

Any other opinions? I was hopin to keep a speices that would be larger and act as more of a pet then a bunch of little chams. But if thats all I can keep then I will gladly keep em. What species of pygmy cham?

 

[Rachgreens]

FLchams has a bunch of options on their site for pygmy's
but if you don't want a smaller cham there arn't really alot of choices for that size cage

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Any other opinions? I was hopin to keep a speices that would be larger and act as more of a pet then a bunch of little chams. But if thats all I can keep then I will gladly keep em. What species of pygmy cham?

I wouldn't keep pygmies in that enclosure.
How about a senegal? You could keep the enclosure exactly as you described it in your first post and it would make a lovely home for a senegalensis.
Chameleons aren't really animals that act like a pet or appreciate being handled.

-Brad

 

[Gluuvan]

The pygmy would do best in that setup. If you were interested in a panther or veiled i would recommend taking the substrate out. Veiled are usually a bit more aggressive and require a little bit less humidity. Over all panther/veiled require close to the same setup. There are also a lot of recommendation on what setups are best for those 2 species throughout the website.

 

[Sammag]

Hey everyone I just checked out http://www.flchams.com/complete_cages.asp and saw that in the long run the ease of purchase and complete setup would save me some money on the upkeep of my DIY enclosure as it is. So im gonna scrap the existing cage and buy the medium setup. Is that large enough for this cham http://www.flchams.com/panther_chameleons.asp?id=102587

It is the reccomended setup but I would like a second opinion. Also id add a few more plants to the enclosure as well as more vines and the automatic misting system.

 

[Fearaffect]

Hey everyone I just checked out http://www.flchams.com/complete_cages.asp and saw that in the long run the ease of purchase and complete setup would save me some money on the upkeep of my DIY enclosure as it is. So im gonna scrap the existing cage and buy the medium setup. Is that large enough for this cham http://www.flchams.com/panther_chameleons.asp?id=102587

It is the reccomended setup but I would like a second opinion. Also id add a few more plants to the enclosure as well as more vines and the automatic misting system.

That setup is good for the age that they r selling them at......but u'll want to get a bigger one as it gets older........

 

[Sammag]

would the 2ft x 2ft x 3ft cage be sufficient for the chams entire juvie n adult life?

 

[Rocky]

Sammag, you will reall enjoy keeping Ambanja panther chameleons (they are my favorite). I would suggest going ahead and getting a 2ft x 2ft x 4ft tall cage. Males really thrive in taller cages with a lot of foliage. If you are getting a really young chameleon you may need to start with a smaller enclosure but minimum for a full grown male is generally 2x2x4.

You should order the cage 1-2 weeks before you plan on having your guy shipped that way you can make sure all the lighting / temps are fine.

 

[Sammag]

Well looks like i got some work to do before i get my cham. Where could I find a cheap aluminum 2ft x 2ft x 4ft cage? I have found many online options but the shipping cost are almost half the cost of the cage in some cases!

 

[Pure]

Cheapest source for cages and pretty much all supplies LLL Reptile

To answer a question you had about veiled vs panther size. Veileds are smaller but not by much.

Many users here keep their panther or veiled in a 2/2/3 just raise it up so the top is a little above your head. But as always the bigger the better. You don't save much buying the smaller cage and wile they are on sale it costs more for the smaller one.

 

[dodolah]

Veileds are smaller but not by much.

I would say it's the other way around. Panther is the one that is smaller.

 

[Pure]

Your right, thanks for the correction.