First chameleon

[Little_eazum]

i got my chameleon a day ago do to a friend being in a difficult position. He bought Ghost a few weeks ago and had to give him a better home for personal reason. He's been in a glass tank and I've been doing research but was curious about what is one of the better terrariums? I need something that can hold heat in pretty well due to the fact I life in the basement and it tends to be colder in my room. He has a repti fogger going to maintain humidity, meal worms in a bowl hanging in the cage (to prevent drowning the worms), I throw 2 crickets in twice a day, as of right now fake plants sprawling from one side to the other, and coconut fiber substrate to hold in humidity. I know I have a few things wrong with his housing but plan to change it all within a week. Any suggestions and opinions are more than welcomed, I will appreciate any info that will help him stay around.

 

[FlChamMom]

I'd get rid of the red light, they like it completely dark at night. Substrate is one of those hotly debated topics here- I personally do not use any substrate for the reason that it is easier to clean the bottom of the cage without it. You'll get dead feeders and poop in it coupled with the dampness it can get germy. As far as humidity, the enclosure needs to dry out between mistings, your humidity levels will spike after misting then go down as the plants dry. A constantly damp enclosure can lead to respiratory infections. I'd also limit the mealworms in his diet- they can lead to impaction as they are more shell than "meat". Well gut-loaded crickets are a better feeder. Other choices are silkworms, hornworms and dubia roaches. Congrats on your new guy- he is a cutie!

 

[Little_eazum]

Thanks Fl, I have the fogger on a timer of 20 minutes every 3 1/2 hrs due to living in Colorado the humidity gauge I bought drops quick at 4 hours so I figured 3 1/2 is a happy median. As for the red light my room is 64-66 degrees, I have the red light going due to trying to keep it at a constant 70-72. I appreciate the advice though and will look into some of the feeders you suggested.

 

[FlChamMom]

64-66 is fine for a night temp. They actually benefit from lower temps at night. What is your basking temp? I didn't see what you were using for UVB, Light Your Reptiles is a great source for linear fluorescent UVB lights. Todd is a site sponsor and great to work with!

 

[Little_eazum]

I have a uva and uvb bulb. Basking temp is 90