Enclosure Cameras - A good idea?

CodyJ108

New Member
I'm in the process of getting supplies to set up an enclosure before I buy my first chameleon (the cage is on it's way!), so I've been doing a lot of research on what I should/shouldn't include. An idea I had was to buy 1-3 cameras to put in the cage at different positions. Primarily, I want at least one to spy on the laying bin. I want to get a female panther, and I know that they like to have privacy to lay their eggs. But I'd still like to be able and see her dig her hole, I think it'd be really interesting to see her behavior! And on top of that, if something is wrong I'll know it instantly and plan around it asap.

However there are a lot of things to consider about this, and the biggest concern of mine is if it would stress a chameleon out to have a camera in their cage. Ideally I would want to get a tiny camera, and maybe even camouflage it so it looks like it's a part of the 'nature.' But I've heard of some chameleons being really weird with phones and cameras. The last thing I want is for a camera to make her too stressed to lay her eggs, and cause her to go egg-bound.

A camera that I'm considering is a Wyze Cam v3. It seems to mark everything on my checklist - Waterproof (minus submersion), small, easy to install on a pvc surface, etc. As I was looking into the camera I saw that it has night vision with infrared. At first I thought that was perfect, since chameleons need total darkness to sleep. Then I could spy on her without disturbing her sleep! But then I had a thought, and googled about it, and as it turns out chameleons can see infrared light. I'm honestly not very knowledgeable on infrared, or any sort of light that passes the visible light spectrum. Would this be harmful towards chameleons in any way? (Luckily, the infrared camera is completely optional, but I'd still like to know!)

Here's a link to the camera: https://www.amazon.com/Indoor-Outdo...or+camera&qid=1619141692&s=electronics&sr=1-8

Ultimately I want to know if this is worth investing in, or if I should just give up on the idea of a camera system entirely. As cool as it sounds in my head, I wouldn't do it if it would be harmful to my first chameleon.
 
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