help!

C

chamkelso

New Member
so i just brought home my brand new baby panther chameleon... i have had his cage set up for the past couple days to make sure i got everything right.. i bought one of those mesh reptariums just until hes bigger and i will either go aluminum or make him one myself.... but he won't stop climbing the sides of the mesh cage.... now i'm all worried he's going to get too close to his heat/uv lamps and burn himself! how can i keep him from climbing up the walls? if there is a way ........ :confused:
 
1) he's freaked out.. He'll climb the walls less when he's more comfortable.
2) The better/more real plants in the cage, the less he'll climb the mesh.
3) Raise your light above the reptarium mesh to make sure he can't get too close.
 
The heat/uv lamps are placed outside of the cage correct? And how far away from the cage are they?
 
thanks for the reply/help = ) what is a good live plant to go with ? and i also heard that the uv light has trouble penetrating the mesh so i'm a little worried about that and was considering making holes in the top of the cage to let it through better?
 
they are just sitting on top.... i made his highest basking spot about 7" from the top of the cage and figured i would be fine....... i guess you can't always think of everything ......
 
so is it alright that my lights are sitting on top? i'm a newbie =] haha i've raised a leopard gecko but definitely nothing this sensitive.... i'm a worrier and have myself completely freaked that i'm going to do something wrong .....
 
yeah i will take one with my phone and have it up in a jiffy.... thanks alot for all this help .. i live in a small city and the reptile "expert" at the only pet store in my town knows less than i do from just researching the net .... he was like you know your buying two thermometer/hygrometers? haha i want to know what his basking and his coldest spots are sitting at .. but anyway i will get that pic up in just a sec.
 
Don't freak out to much, I was the same way when i got mine and it did no good, one thing i did not do right of way was the supplementation, if your not you might want to look into it, My little guy had Begining signs of MBD and was quikly fixed with the right supp and lighting.. Good Luck and try not to stress yourself out too much..
 
no i got the supplements down =] have a nice little weekly schedule set up ... although he hasnt been home for two hours yet... haha but i did everything i could to completely prepare myself and his new home... the only thing i havent gotten set up yet is the drip system... cant figure out how i should suspend the big dripper... that little reptarium just won't support it... haha but i'm working on it. does anyone have and thoughts on what i should do concerning the uv light not penetrating the mesh well enough ?
 
It is not to uncommon for the to explore their cage, climbing the wall and top and such, when they are getting used to their new cage. Like was said, you wast to provide a lot of places for him to climb and explore without having to climb the cage.

Do you have a way to read the temp in his cage? It is important you know what the temp is where he sits under his basking light. If it is to hot, over 90' i would say that you could go with moving it away a little. The UV should sit on top, as it produces very little heat... and the more UV the better with that cage, which brings me to something else.

You were right about what you heard about UV penetration, as far as tests done by other members here. Here is the thread where the findings were discussed. https://www.chameleonforums.com/uvb-meter-feedback-thread-23524/

People use them a lot, and successfully I would imagine based on pics I have seen of chams raised in dark mesh cages. But given the new info on the actual uv that penetrates I myself wouldn't use it without altering the top of the cage to allow more light. I thought of doing this by neatly cutting(Maybe using a "Hot Rod" of some kind to melt the loose edges together as you cut) an opening in the top of the cage appropriate size for the UV from the fixture to pass through. After cutting the hole, I would cut a piece of alum screen(you can buy rolls at the hardware store) and neatly sew the alum screen into the opening you cut in the top using fishing line or something of the sorts. I haven't tried this yet... So I don't know how easy it would be, but it seems like it would make the Reptariums at least a little bit better.

Hope this helps,
Joe
 
yeah he has two decent sized vines and lots of foliage to climb around on, i put as much in as i could without it being too much.. i am looking at getting a live plant but not too sure how to keep him from eating the soil and such... and of course, i have two thermometers, one in his basking spot and one in what i figure will always be the coolest part of his cage, the basking spot usually sits at 83-86 depending on how the sun is coming through the window and the coolest spot is usually low 70s.

and that is a really good idea to improve the reptarium... i was going to just cut small holes to allow more uv light through.... i just didnt want to buy a huge aluminum cage for this guy yet, he's tiny tiny. although while i was setting up the reptarium my boyfriend had the great idea that we could have went aluminum and used a plexi glass divider to keep it smaller until the chameleon gets bigger.... (i'm sorry he doesn't have a name yet =[
 
For a live plant to cover up the soil, you could some large river rocks, just make sure that they are clean and and can not be ingested by the chameleon. Also, when getting a live plant make sure that the soil has no fertilizer and stuff like that in it.
 
Sorry if I missed it but how old is he? I personally believe that you can keep babies in any size cage you want, as long as you can ensure they are eating and drinking. I started raising one of my Panthers from about 4 months in an adult size cage, and he is doing great, and growing like a weed.

I would say if you plan on getting an aluminum one anyway, go ahead and do it... something 18x18x36 or bigger works. Maybe consider cup feeding, and make sure he knows where to get his food if you go with something bigger.
 
you guys are great ! all this help is awesome. i will go get a live plant and some rocks tomorrow... best to leave it in the pot or?
well the pet store said he was about three months.. he looks pretty young to me but i'm not sure...
with the cup feeding... won't the crickets just jump out of there or?
 
Hey welcome. One thing you might conside is using a 10. UVB bulb as it will pentrate much further, 20" versus 10" on a 5.0 UVB. The top of your cage will cut down on the UVB so that is my best advice. You can sit a board across the top of the cage to hold the dripper. Wuth that type cage you will still be limited on dripper size but it should work for you. You are going to mist ans well as have a dripper correct? Good luck.
 
the 10. bulb won't be too much for his little cage? its only a 22 gallon reptarium. and yeah i mist three times daily and have a warm mist humidifier next to his cage as well... thanks for all the great ideas... i just dont think i have enough room on the top of the reptarium to put a board to hold the dripper but it is definitely something i am going to try!!
 
For a baby, in a reptarium, I would leave the UVB fixture (Assuming it is a linear fluorescent bulb) against the mesh. I would be probably using nothing more than a 40 watt bulb for the basking, assuming a pretty normal 70's type room temp, and find a way to suspend it a way that you can vary its distance from the enclosure to get your temps where you want them
 
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