Few quick questions

[Alexdoe]

Hello again, ive had my cham for a little over a week now. And have been noticing that my monsoon misting sytem seems to scare the living hell out of him. Right now i have it to run for about 2 minutes 4 times a day. My question is, how often and how long is the minimum i should mist him. I do have a dripper set up also(which he does drink from) And never seen him drink frm the mist( probably because hes to scared to move and it dries before he gets there).

Second question. I have his basking spot at 80 degrees. If he wants a hotter spot he can climb up a little higher and get to about 85. Is this too cold? Hes roughly 2 and a half months old(as per the breeder)

Third question. The small crickets ive been feeding him love to hide in the bottom of the cage under the water collection bin. I found 10 in there this morning!! Any ideas on how to stop them from hiding down there? Henrik has never gone down to the bottOm so when they hide down there he will never eat them. Thanks alot!!

 

[Crashbandit05]

I am still researching cham care but as far as I know:
You want to wait in between mistings for the moisture to completely dry. As far as basking temps go, younger chams do not need the higher temps that adults require. I think 80-85 should be ok.. For the cricket dilemma, most cham owners try to leave the floor bare so feeders have nothing to hide under. Some cages I have seen use "raisers" to keep plants off the ground so water drains and the bugs can only go up the plants/enclosure.
Please correct me if I'm wrong!

 

[Alexdoe]

I assume by riser you mean like a screen platform? Do they sell these or do you think they made them custom? Im going to need to invest in one. That would make cleaning much easier since id be able to empty the water with out the bugs getting out

 

[Crashbandit05]

I assume by riser you mean like a screen platform? Do they sell these or do you think they made them custom? Im going to need to invest in one. That would make cleaning much easier since id be able to empty the water with out the bugs getting out

Sort of. I think some people use a dish rack, turned upside down, with the thick, spaced out wires. I've seen a member that makes custom plant stands but I don't remember his name..

 

[SocialNumb]

Temp is fine.

I only mist twice a day but I also live in humid florida. My Cham is well hydrated but she loves crickets and they're wet gut loaded and already made up of mostly water. (from what I've read)

Maybe you should remove water collection bin during feeding. I get the crickets excited by shaking them in a cup lightly. When I let them go in the enclosures they tend to all run up the screen right to my Cham. It's like they want to be eaten.

There's never one left over anymore.

 

[Alexdoe]

Ill give that a try. The issue is he doesn't usually eat right away. Most of the time he just watches them for an hour before he makes his first move. So by that point the crickets have already found their hiding spot. I think my best bet would be to prevent them from getting to the bottom. Just tryinf to figure out the best way.


I have another question. How long and how often should i run the dripper? Seen a lot of people say once a day for 15 minutes. Idk if he would find it that fast though?

 

[SocialNumb]

I've read an hour. I'm not sure what other people do. I have mine running all day till lights out but on a slow drip. Slow as in a drop every ten seconds or so but constant. It's working for me so far.

Maybe someone else should chime in on the "official" method if there is one.

 

[MamatoElvis]

I do a slow drip all day also.

If your Cham isn't eating the crickets for an hour or so then I might try cup feeding. If the crickets are lose for that long then most of the calcium is gone. then I'd depend on other feeders for his hunting. Like blue bottle flies, dragonflies or stick bugs. They won't hide. Then just cup feed crickets and roaches.

I keep my floor clear. I have all the plants attached with zip ties to the branches. Much easier to clean. The only place I was having trouble with the crickets was in a reptibreeze enclosure. The corners have these little holes that don't go all the way through but it was like a little cave for the crickets. I filled them with a hot glue gun.

 

[Alexdoe]

I have tried cup feeding a few times but he just runs and hides as soon as i put the cup in. I think its because hes only been here 10 days now. Ill give him another week or so and try again

 

[MamatoElvis]

10 days isn't a long time. He's still settling in. You said you found 10 crickets under the water thing. Is that from one day? I assume so but I just wanted to make sure you know to remove any uneaten crickets before bed? They will nibble on your Cham while he sleeps.

When you try to cup feed. Do it on a day you can shut off the monsoon so it won't drown your crickets. Just hand mist that day. use a twist tie to attach the cup to a branch a few inches below where he hangs out. Sprinkle a little calcium in the cup so the crickets keep themselves dusted. Leave it there all day. Don't watch him.

If you can get him to eat out of the cup, put a butterworms in there(my guy can't resist them) once he gets a taste of them, only hand feed butterworms. You have to hold you arm out until it hurts, or you can try the big tweezers first. but if he really likes that butterworms and that's the only way he will get another. Eventually maybe he will hand feed and not be so skiddish when you put things in the enclosure.