Critique My Enclosure

Chase

Chase

Chameleon Enthusiast
Hello all!
I have constructed an enclosure, that I will be putting baby T. jacksonii xantho in when they arrive, and want it to be in the best shape it can be in. Inside it (Exo-Terra 18X18X24 Glass Terrarium) are two Schefflera, one Dracena, and a Pothos. Under it is a layer of Hydroton and Charcoal. I set it up as Chris Anderson did and explained in his threads about these. Hope ya'll think it is good!

LPR08
 

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substrate is bad :( and glass doesn't exactly beneifit :(

Try covering the substrate with newspaper? or take it out?
but very nice plants and setup look
 
cover the substrate with smooth large stones so substrate is not ingested and put a bare stick or something as a basking spot other than that it looks good

i understand some people have had success with glass enclosures because of jacksons chameleons high humidity requirments and exo-terra's front ventilation

i dont use glass and i dont reccomend it personally
 
take out substrate, if you want something on the bottom try large rocks, pot the plants and put rocks over the soil, and add some small vines with suction cups higher up, chams like height.
 
The hydroton stuff is for drainage I believe. I would just cover it in screen so none gets eaten.
 
Nicely planted, but I'd get rid of the dirt. You don't need it for that species, and at that there is too much of it, giving the cham too little "height". I think if you do glass "right" then there is no problem. It's the substrate that I'd change. Good Luck!!
 
I meant to say, "hydroton and stuff" which means that I meant all that dirt should be covered.
 
I think the dirt will be fine as long as its organic, and all the stuff im sure you know already. Although there does seem to be a bit of a lot of soil in there, and I would only use around 2 inches.

Other then that it looks good. Nicely planted.
 
nightcrawler said:
I think the dirt will be fine as long as its organic, and all the stuff im sure you know already. Although there does seem to be a bit of a lot of soil in there, and I would only use around 2 inches.

Other then that it looks good. Nicely planted.
Click to expand...

The reason why it is so high is because of the plants. In the original pots, they had about 4-5 inches of soil, and from studying Agriculture/Horticulture, replanting/transplanting is very stressful to the plant (it can kill it if you don't take care of it), making it needy for more water and nutrients etc. So, I was trying to replicate it to make recovery easier for the plant. Also, it is organic soil, WITHOUT fertilizer.
 
Skully23, Justjumpit621, Jamncristian, & Pssh - I'm curious what makes any of you think that zero experience raising baby Jackson's Chameleons, or babies of any chameleon species for that matter, is enough for you to start giving advice on the topic? Skully23, you've been keeping chameleons for a month and a half and have never kept anything other then a single veiled chameleon, let alone raised baby montanes. Justjumpit621, you've been keeping chameleons for six months today (congratulations) and have similarly only worked with a single veiled. Jamncristian, you've been keeping chameleons for almost three months and have also only worked with a single veiled. Pssh, you've worked with a whopping three chameleons (2 veileds and 1 panther) and have never raised baby montanes, let alone worked with them. None of you have ANY experience that is applicable to raising baby Jackson's Chameleons so you probably should refrain from giving crappy advice.

Lisa h - While you've only been keeping chameleons for almost 7 months and have worked two chameleon species (R. brevicaudatus & T. sternfeldi), I can say that you have had some experience with baby brevs in that time and adult T. sternfeldi are similar to adult Jackson's in their care. That being said, in the process of raising your first baby pygmy chameleons is not much experience and your advice is not much better then the previous cohort.

LPR - The cage looks great. The only thing I would suggest would be adding a few branches to give additional places for the babies to crawl around. This setup is exactly how I raise baby montane species such at T. hoehnelii and T. montium. Your T. jacksonii babies have the exact same requirements as these two species and should do well in them. In this type of setup, I only misted these clutches a single time a day for about 1.5 minutes and I provided them with ample food throughout the day. The soil helps maintain humidity levels, prevents water puddling in the bottom, does not provide hiding places for feeders and in my experience was a very positive addition to raising baby chameleons. You don't need a basking spot for raising baby montanes, I simply keep them at temps in the high 60s to mid 70s and they do well. I also do not think you have too much soil either.

Chris
 
I thought all chameleons had a chance at becoming impacted from soil? I understand that different species require different care and different caging. I also get that babies thrive in different enviornments than the adults, but are they less likely to become impacted from soil? If I thought wrong then I'll gladly say I'm sorry, and that it wasn't my place to speak. But as far as I can tell they can all become impacted, I've never read that they can't/won't/are less likely. I'm open to new knowledge. I just dot understand why you say it. :)
 
pssh said:
I thought all chameleons had a chance at becoming impacted from soil? I understand that different species require different care and different caging. I also get that babies thrive in different enviornments than the adults, but are they less likely to become impacted from soil? If I thought wrong then I'll gladly say I'm sorry, and that it wasn't my place to speak. But as far as I can tell they can all become impacted, I've never read that they can't/won't/are less likely. I'm open to new knowledge. I just dot understand why you say it. :)
Click to expand...

What makes pygmy chameleons less likely to become impacted then a baby jackson's chameleon? We recommend it for pygmies all the time. Becoming impacted by soil is a minimal risk that is outweighed by the benefits, in my opinion. Substrates like wood chips, moss, etc., are larger risks to impaction because they are large and can clog the digestive tract. Soil is small and lose and the small amount that might be ingested during feeding will pass fine.

Chris
 
I like the look of it. :)

What is the ratio of hydroton:charcoal that you used?

Drew

PS - Too bad that negative rep points aren't enabled for non-moderators. :(
 
Okay, what would you consider benefits and how would they be different with screen? Sorry, I don't want to sound mean or questioning in a bad way, but I want to learn. I just don't want to retain info without reasoning behind it. Thank you!
 
pssh said:
Okay, what would you consider benefits and how would they be different with screen? Sorry, I don't want to sound mean or questioning in a bad way, but I want to learn. I just don't want to retain info without reasoning behind it. Thank you!
Click to expand...

As stated above:

Chris Anderson said:
The soil helps maintain humidity levels, prevents water puddling in the bottom, does not provide hiding places for feeders and in my experience was a very positive addition to raising baby chameleons.
Click to expand...

Its also more natural.

Chris
 
Is it the same for both questions? Or just the first one? Does screen make a difference?

Thanks again.
 
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