Hello Everyone..

[DekuScrub]

just sayin, theyre the cutest freakin bugs ever. nuff said. no more roach talk.

plus dubias are too big for my jacksons, okay now its nuff said.

 

[Bushido247]

This is the kind of information I was hoping to get by posting this thread.

Thanks, fellas.

I had a feeling that the cage setup was overpriced, gut feeling there. The one benefit of buying it that way is that it comes with everything I need all at once instead of piecing together everything individually for the bargain.

I'm doing research now as I type this about piecing everything together, and see if I can put together a better habitat for my cham compared to the setup that's offered.

About how much do these chams weigh? That would be my biggest concern that I didn't secure a branch of vine good enough, and they fall.

 

[JonRich]

This is the kind of information I was hoping to get by posting this thread.

Thanks, fellas.

I had a feeling that the cage setup was overpriced, gut feeling there. The one benefit of buying it that way is that it comes with everything I need all at once instead of piecing together everything individually for the bargain.

I'm doing research now as I type this about piecing everything together, and see if I can put together a better habitat for my cham compared to the setup that's offered.

About how much do these chams weigh? That would be my biggest concern that I didn't secure a branch of vine good enough, and they fall.

A large Panther can get in the area of 140ish grams. Most are closer to 120ish grams fully grown. The branches and vines as long as they are firmly attached will be just fine to support their weight. Plus they have that trusty life saving tail.

 

[DekuScrub]

you would have to have a very small vine for that to be an issue. i have a male jacksons whos favorite sleeping spot is a spindly little vine form a spiderplant. something you really wouldnt be expecting him to perfer over a more substantial vine.

and i forgot to mention. thanks to jon for reminding me. GET a timer. theyre priceless. especially with a misting ssytem. you wont have to worry about getting up on your days off or remembering when to be home to go lights out.

 

[Bushido247]

^ You guys have been a lot of help.

I'm going to sleep on it between setting it up myself piece by piece, or just getting the starter set up and save myself the hassle.

 

[amanda509]

^ You guys have been a lot of help.

I'm going to sleep on it between setting it up myself piece by piece, or just getting the starter set up and save myself the hassle.

your best bet (this is what i did) is to go online to places like home depo and lowes and visit cheap places like dollar stores and such, and start a list of items that are the same in the starter kit, but not reptile brand (alot of reptile brand stuff is the same exact stuff, but overpriced).

i know for a fact lowes has a pressure spray bottle, dome lamp, tube light fixture, appliance timer, plants (my ultimate favorite is pothos) and some other useful things. you can make a dripper out of a gallon jug with a hole poked in it you really only need a plant or two for a single cage and some dial rods or branches and some fake vines (michaels arts and crafts, about $3 a 5 foot vine) a housebulb for heat and a uvb light (about $17 on josh's frogs compared to the $30 at my local petco). so you really just have to look around, im sure you could come up with a setup 10 x better than that one for a better price also, check the classifieds here, there are tons of great deals on used cages! except for your cham, they are the most expensive part of the setup..so i suggest buying used, you could get a great cage for about $30-$50 here..and new ones are anywhere from $70-$100's.

 

[Bushido247]

your best bet (this is what i did) is to go online to places like home depo and lowes and visit cheap places like dollar stores and such, and start a list of items that are the same in the starter kit, but not reptile brand (alot of reptile brand stuff is the same exact stuff, but overpriced).

i know for a fact lowes has a pressure spray bottle, dome lamp, tube light fixture, appliance timer, plants (my ultimate favorite is pothos) and some other useful things. you can make a dripper out of a gallon jug with a hole poked in it you really only need a plant or two for a single cage and some dial rods or branches and some fake vines (michaels arts and crafts, about $3 a 5 foot vine) a housebulb for heat and a uvb light (about $17 on josh's frogs compared to the $30 at my local petco). so you really just have to look around, im sure you could come up with a setup 10 x better than that one for a better price also, check the classifieds here, there are tons of great deals on used cages! except for your cham, they are the most expensive part of the setup..so i suggest buying used, you could get a great cage for about $30-$50 here..and new ones are anywhere from $70-$100's.

Great advice..

Good news for me is that I already have two extra spare dome lamps from my old Leopard Gecko tank. I just need a stand or something like that, so that it hovers about 5 inches above the Cham tank.

What type of vines would you suggest? And what are dial rods exactly? I'll go to Google after I type this message, lol.

 

[amanda509]

Great advice..

Good news for me is that I already have two extra spare dome lamps from my old Leopard Gecko tank. I just need a stand or something like that, so that it hovers about 5 inches above the Cham tank.

What type of vines would you suggest? And what are dial rods exactly? I'll go to Google after I type this message, lol.

i have my cage up on a plastic shelving unit that i got from a discount store for $20 and holes drilled in the bottom so the extra water can drain into a storage container underneath and i have my heat light hanging from the ceiling and my uv light right on top of the cage (the uv light does not necessarily have enough wattage to burn the chameleon, but the heat light does).

basically any kind of fake vine will work as long as your cham is not a plant eater, if it is, then stick to plastic vines. if they're fake, doesnt matter what "plant species" it is but if you invest in a pothos, they have natural vines and will explode with the climate in your cage and soon the vines will be everywhere and you wont even need fake ones eventually. they can also be chopped off to start a new plant as well. my pothos is doing so well it actually has vines growing THROUGH the mesh of the cage XD and dial rods are basically sticks of processed wood used for arts and crafts and such, usually for school projects too, but you can cut these the width of the cage and use thumb tacks on the outside to hold them in place