TimothyOnTop
Established Member
The cage is massive the room has 10 foot ceilings and his cage is almost too the ceiling i have to use a step still to reach the top the star its on is 4ft tall also
Eyes look sunk in around edges??
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TimothyOnTop
Established Member
Awesome that is exactly what I needed thank you
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
Sure! If you need help with anything in setting it up, just ask.
TimothyOnTop
Established Member
TimothyOnTop
Established Member
I have a 36 inch t5 uvb a infared heat bulb and 2 led bulbs for additional light
TimothyOnTop
Established Member
The uvb is 5.0
Linear bulb?
TimothyOnTop
Established Member
Its a 36 inch ho t5
Ok what else are you running on top? You have the dome but you have a fixture that sits a few inches off the top as well. This does not look like the standard t5ho which is why I just want to double check everything your running for lighting.
TimothyOnTop
Established Member
OK everything I have on top is his heart bulb in a dimmable round reflector a fan with diffuser for circulating but doesn't create wind inside enclosure a dripper that I made a mister a fogger 36 inch t5 uvb 5.0 then in the hood that holds 4 regular screw in type light bulbs I have 2 led light bulbs
Ok that is the hood I am seeing. Can you pull the mister and the fogger off the top and put them on a shelf? With all of that on top you are massively reducing the ability for air circulation.
With the hood that holds the screw in bulbs be extremely cautious with this. You are going to be adding heat and these tend to take up too much space on top of an enclosure. With your glass enclosure the less space on top being blocked the better. I would consider switching this fixture out to a jungle dawn led bar when you add the live plants.
For the fan make sure it is aimed so it is pulling air up and out of the cage not blowing air into the cage. You want it pulling up so it helps with the chimney effect. Note this is going to be better placed on the back of the enclosure so it can really help cycle the air.
@MissSkittles already covered the other cages changes that I would make.
In my experience veileds that are over eager to come out tend to be unhappy with their home. And have found something outside of their home they prefer. I am betting it is the jungle gym you built for him. Because it is so high and below the light it gives off a very safe place for him to be above everything. I also find this behavior of being more willing to come out something that you will see when they are younger. Typically as they reach maturity around 16 month or so you can see a personality change with some males.
TimothyOnTop
Established Member
The t5 fixture sits behind the fan and super runs along hood for the regular lightbulbs when the lights come on I take a better picture
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TimothyOnTop
Established Member
Thank you and yes the fan runs in reverse to pull air up and out the top it has great circulation before I put my chameleon in it I used smoke to test air circulation and I would love to make the changes you have suggested
TimothyOnTop
Established Member
The fogger mister and dripper are sitting on the hood and not blocking circulation the led bulbs don't give off heat they run very cool my tempatures are not a problem his cage is gradient from 85 down to 70 at the bottom run with thermostats in 3 zones to keep the tempature steady
TimothyOnTop
Established Member
Down to 55 to 60 at nighttime fogger runs only at night keeps humidity 100
TimothyOnTop
Established Member
Then I got this man cat to deal with that walls around like a person
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So ideally with a hybrid or a glass enclosure the less you have on the top the better. Reason for this is our cages already sit so high to the ceiling and heat rises so its already hot up there. You want your basking spot to be the hottest spot in the cage. The rest of the higher areas of the cage should be more in the ambient range. So when we have more sitting on top of the cage your going to trap heat and make it harder to balance your cage conditions. I see nothing wrong with your cage itself it is big enough for him. But your going to need to dial in the entire set up to make it work for him. Which you know and you are already doing.
I personally do not like the compact bulb hoods. They are bulky and trap heat which is why I suggest switching that one out. You might consider doing one of the wire rack set ups for this cage. You would be able to have a shelf above for all your items while keeping them far up off the cage top. Then only have your actual uvb sitting on the cage top. Also these can be more difficult for curious cats to navigate lol.
I personally do not like the compact bulb hoods. They are bulky and trap heat which is why I suggest switching that one out. You might consider doing one of the wire rack set ups for this cage. You would be able to have a shelf above for all your items while keeping them far up off the cage top. Then only have your actual uvb sitting on the cage top. Also these can be more difficult for curious cats to navigate lol.
TimothyOnTop
Established Member
Thank you do much for your time and information I will ba making the changes you've suggested I appreciate it! How many chameleons do you have?
I have one male veiled named Beman that is 5 1/2 years old. I have had two other veileds and a panther before as well.
