Hello all!

ZPavDesign

ZPavDesign

New Member
Newbie here to the forums and to chameleon keeping. Just took down my saltwater reef aquarium and sold it due to my job, decided to pick up a new hobby. I've done a good amount of reading on the subject of keeping chameleons and have decided I'd like to try my hand at it.

Went today to Petsmart and picked up the whole sha-bang.

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Now before you all freak I'm aware I have to remove the substrate, so tomorrow I'll be getting right on it lol ;).

I bought the Exo Terra 18x18x24 setup, a zoo med dual dome light 1 bulb repti glo 10.0uvb and 1 100w exp terra basking light. Have also a piece of wood in there and some vines and a food dish. Will be adding more branches later.

Was wondering what you guys would recommend and advice you can give me as far as my setup.

Appreciate it all.

-Zac
 
Hey man, welcome to the forum! I can't really give you everything you need to know but I have a few pieces of advice.

I'm glad you caught the substrate issue, some others don't like glass cages. I think it's fine since you got the tall one, Exo's have pretty good ventilation IMO.


The only other thing I can tell you is that they won't drink out of a standing water bowl like that. You need to mist a LOT, I mean DRENCH it...they drink off of the things in their environment (Leaves etc.). Make sure to let it dry in between sprays though, keeping it wet ALL the time leads to fungal and bacteria stuff.
 
Yeah I just got the food bowl if I fed him mealworms and stuff like that. I also have a tubaware bowl I'm going to do a slow drip on the leaves for water, and a spray bottle like you said.

Is the 10.0 UVB to much? It's a good 6" off the top of the mesh lid.
 
welcome;) i have the same setup and will be building a full screen cage when our guy gets a little bigger, they need more airflow so i just put a fan infront of the little vent under the front opening;)
 
Rango05 said:
welcome;) i have the same setup and will be building a full screen cage when our guy gets a little bigger, they need more airflow so i just put a fan infront of the little vent under the front opening;)
Click to expand...

Yeah I was going to build my own but my wife didn't like the idea of that hah. She wants it to be "pretty"... Soo worked with what I had hah. Eventually I'll get a bigger setup.
 
ZPavDesign said:
Yeah I just got the food bowl if I fed him mealworms and stuff like that. I also have a tubaware bowl I'm going to do a slow drip on the leaves for water, and a spray bottle like you said.

Is the 10.0 UVB to much? It's a good 6" off the top of the mesh lid.
Click to expand...

Yes, 10.0 UVB is too much. Get a 5.0 13 or 26w UVB.

Remember, that cage will not last long... no more than 6 months probably. You will soon need to upgrade to a 18*18*36 ft cage and then a 24*24*48 ft cage when he's an adult.

By the way welcome to the forum :)
 
Swayne8998 said:
...No. You don't want to drench it. If it is too wet it will make the cham sick. You will need it to completely dry out and then some between mistings.
Click to expand...

Please finish reading the paragraph I wrote ;)


One the 10.0 note, my guy is smaller so I am using a 5.0 for now. However from the dozen or so lighting threads I've read the 10.0 won't really hurt him* A lot of members use 10%, I hear the occasional 12% bulb but I believe it's an overseas company.
 
Swayne8998 said:
Yes, 10.0 UVB is too much. Get a 5.0 13 or 26w UVB.

Remember, that cage will not last long... no more than 6 months probably. You will soon need to upgrade to a 18*18*36 ft cage and then a 24*24*48 ft cage when he's an adult.

By the way welcome to the forum :)
Click to expand...

Thank you. I'll have my wife take back the bulb and pick up a 5.0. I'll definetly be building a larger one here soon.
 
Swayne8998 said:
I read it. What I meant was that you shouldn't completely drench it at a time... I guess you could if you wanted to mist infrequently.
Click to expand...


Maybe I should be more clear, if you don't have some kind of Mistking set up where you can have it set a timed spray a little bit every hour. I unfortunately don't have the cash to mist system everyone of my animals. I make sure there is a lot of water in the cage so they drink as much as they can. I know how dangerous is can be to let it be wet all the time though, which is why I cautioned him to let the cage dry before spraying again.

We want pictures of the Chameleon!! :D
 
Swayne8998 said:
Nice :D Get a 13w to start with. My guy's 2 ft by 2 1/2 ft by 3 1/2 has a 26w 5.0 UVB. You're gonna be a great owner ;)
Click to expand...

Ok awesome :) I appreciate your help. Ha thanks :). I try to do the best and learn as much as I can about the pets I own. I won't be picking my chameleon up for about another week. Want to get everything situated for him before hand.
 
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