Free Range (no chameleon yet)

A

ArowanaLover1902

Member
I'm preparing to order a chameleon in a month. Here's what I have so far:
- Free range stand made of PVC (6 feet tall - 4 feet long - 2 feet wide) (It's pretty fun to walk in)
- A shipment of plants coming:
- A ficus B. (4 feet tall)
- 2 Umbrella trees (not sure how tall these are, upwards of a foot though)
- A golden pothos
- A hibiscus
- Several plants already here:
- Several various orchids
- A biobubble chameleon fountain (being shipped)
- A pressure mist bottle
- A vine measuring 12 feet (being shipped)
- A heat bulb (and ballast)
- A UVB bulb (and ballast) (UVB bulb is broken, I need to replace it)
- A plant light (24 inches with ballast)
Here's what I need (if I am missing anything, please tell me)
- A replacement UVB bulb
- Maybe a food bowl?
- Something to go under the setup to catch water, it's going to be a pain to find though
- I may add a better grow light, I'm not sure

The ficus will be growing on a elevated stand, the rest of the plants will have pots built into the stand, I haven't affixed them yet as not all the plants are here, I need more PVC for pots, and I'm not sure where I want them. I'm probably going to purchase a veiled or jackson's chameleon if that makes any differences.
Thanks for any comments and advice
 
Welcome to the forums. I have always free ranged all my chameleons. Will he be in a chameleon safe room where no other pets or children can get to him? Are you planning a coral or something to keep him contained? They do wonder and a young chameleon can easily get lost in your room or house. Exactly what kind of basking and UVB light will you use?
 
idk about the fountain unless it's mostly for decoration. a misting system if possible would be a better investment. chams are more likely to drink off of leaves than from a fountain.
 
Yes I will have a small coral around the free range. The room is safe, though my cockatiel does occasionally come out of his cage (daily), but it's always supervised and he hates flying and then landing anywhere that isn't my shoulder or head. I'm not totally sure, but they were previously used on a friend's chameleon, so I assume they'll work for me. I don't know the brand of the basking light, and the UVB is sylvania, but I have to replace it.
 
inkdguy35 said:
idk about the fountain unless it's mostly for decoration. a misting system if possible would be a better investment. chams are more likely to drink off of leaves than from a fountain.
Click to expand...
I'm going to try to get him on the fountain, and it actually has leaves, it's built for chameleons. If it doesn't work then I'll put a zoomed humidifer on a timer and have it periodically mist the leaves.
 
Problem with continuous running/sitting water is it grows bacteria, fast, even if cleaned daily. Most of the time this isn't too big of a deal, but if the immune system is compromised there could be problems. Your choice though to see if it works for you. Personally I think it's a little unnatural. A misting system is useful for more than just drinking and is more natural too. Even if you go with the fountain a mistking is well worth it and necessary. Good luck with the free range though theyre my favorites. Also a LOT of things are made for different animals that shouldnt be used at all, so that doesnt mean much in it itself. Just my .02 cents
 
I am aware of the filtration problems. I have kept aquariums for many years. It has carbon filtration, and while I know that will do nothing to eliminate bacteria, it will remove lots of its food. Oh I am aware of how products are sold and do not work as they are intended to, but it seemed like a product worth a try.
 
My biggest problem is finding something to go under the thing so that water doesn't go everywhere. I'm trying to spend under $50 to do it. I'm thinking a plastic pool.
 
I don't think Sylvania makes a uvb bulb or if they do most of us keepers do not use them. Look into Arcadia or Reptisun and the uvb output will depend on the age of your chameleon. Babies should not be exposed to the higher concentrates of uvb especially if you are free ranging and no screen then to diminish some of its power. Make sure whatever you use is not too deep as far as water is concerned for drainage. A pool sounds like something your chameleon could fall in and might not be able to climb out or possibly drown
 
I'll double check, either way I'll get something new. Also the pool wouldn't have much water and would have a way for him to climb back into his tree. Maybe I could grow some type of grass down there instead, something that soaked up all the water and used it.
 
Got in all my plants today, I'm also planning to move my tropical plants to his enclosure. I'm going to lowes today to pick up some modifcation PVC (I want to add a ledge so I can place all my plants somewhere) and hopefully a drainage system. I'll post pics later
 
I still haven't found a drainage thing. I need a 4x2 thing to catch any water. I'm trying to spend under $40. I have all plants, all bulbs, a fountain, a vine (I want a few more), and almost all the PVC I need. It's so close to finished and I can't find this one piece.
 
Well I have the drainage pan, I've purchased almost all of the PVC now, I had unexpected problems with the weight of the table grate (which i still haven't found ha ha ha), so I'm redesigning the base of the thing, switching to 2in PVC for stability
 
How are you going to ensure he gets the UVB? How will you stop him from climbing the cord and getting to the lights?
 
I have a UVB bulb positioned at an angle so as to cover about 24inches of a vine, he will have lots of exposure. PVC's so smooth he'll never be able to get a grip, plus, with the 1 inch diameter, even an adult chameleon would have trouble getting his feet around it (a circumference of 3.14 inches [pie to be exact]). Theres no way he can climb it.
 
I have all the PVC (I may purchase another cross beam for stability tomorrow, but maybe not). All that's left is branches (I'll probably use some local dogwood), vines (petsmart), and some type of grate to act as a table
 
I cut down a ton of vines today, they're very stable and I think they are trumpet vines, so safe too. I'm going to use zip ties to attach them to the setup, they are perfect for any size lizard.
 
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