Im looking into getting a veiled chameleon. I was wandering if it would be safe to put him in an aqarium for the first month or two. I have a 40 gal set up but im having trouble keeping the humidity up. I have a couple live plants and a water dish with air pumping through it. When i spray the tank it gets to about 75 80 but after about 20 mins it drops to around 30. Iv'e had reptiles before but nothing that requires this much humidity. Iv'e always wanted a chameleon and i want to make sure i give him the best home possible. Any info will be greatly appreciated.
Housing Question
- Thread starter andyman25
- Start date
Brad Ramsey
Retired Moderator
Before anyone responds to your thread, read the information in the link below and re post with any questions you may have.
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/
-Brad
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/
-Brad
Malicious
New Member
Welcome to the forums mate.
Take some time and read through the forum and get a feel what chameleons are all about.
They do best in screen cages and require specific lighting, plants and dietary needs. Water bowls are better suited for other reptiles, chameleons like to drink from moving water, such as freshly misted leaves or drippers.
A veiled is a great started chameleon and are very hardy! With the proper care and education, I think you'd do great!
Good luck,
-Jay
Take some time and read through the forum and get a feel what chameleons are all about.
They do best in screen cages and require specific lighting, plants and dietary needs. Water bowls are better suited for other reptiles, chameleons like to drink from moving water, such as freshly misted leaves or drippers.
A veiled is a great started chameleon and are very hardy! With the proper care and education, I think you'd do great!
Good luck,
-Jay
Im using the water dish to help with the humidity not for drinking water. Im having trouble keeping the humidity up, do i need to mist the tank every couple of hours or is there an easier way. Ive been reading books and stuff on the internet on chameleons and im getting alot of diffrent information. Ive read stuff that says an aqaurium is okay for a little while. is this true or should i start with a screened encloser.
BocaJan
New Member
What are you aiming for with humidity? It sounds like maybe you are trying too hard! A veiled needs 3 mistings a day, maybe 4 if your house is really dry. Do not keep a water dish in the cage. It won't help and is a no no. Real plants are better at keeping humidity. My veileds live in about 40% humidity, little more little less depending upon the humidity in my house.
Read Raising Kitty. It is the best single source of information there is on veileds and chameleons in general.
Read Raising Kitty. It is the best single source of information there is on veileds and chameleons in general.
Gluuvan
Established Member
It is best to use a full screen enclosure,http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/reptile-supplies/reptile-cages-glass-and-screen/-/18-x-18-x-36-inch-aluminum-screen-cage/. They are not priced to badly and it will be much better for you and then cham!
sandrachameleon
Chameleon Enthusiast
Yes, a screen topped aquarium can be used for hatchlings.
Metric
New Member
How were you gonna keep the air circulated? I'm only wondering because using a fan or creating a draft isn't good for your cham.
Also it does sound like your trying too hard with the humidity. You should have the ambient humidity (when you're not misting) at about 40-50%, WHILE misting the humidity should jump to 70-90% and hang there for an hour or two (or around that time, depends on the enclosure).
With a glass enclosure, i can tell you from experience, as long as you have live plants in there the humidity is EXTREMELY easy to keep, the secret is to boil water, and mist using that. At first you may think...."boiling water!?!? are you crazy, that'll kill my cham!!"... BUT!! when you spray boiling water out of a spray bottle it'll come out as a warm mist, of course you should test the water first on your bare arm to see if its TOO hot.
If you use that warm water during misting, I can almost guarantee you that you won't have a humidity issue.
Now your only issue is drainage, but thats a whole other chapter in the book of chameleon care.
Good luck!
It's fine to keep it in an aquarium. I've been keeping chameleons for over 25 years...in glass cages with screen lids or with screen lids and screen doors. My veileds generally live to be over 6 years old in these cages. They don't get respiratory infections or have other problems usually attributed to glass cages happen to them. I don't use fans on them...I set up the lights so they are to one side of the cage so it creates airflow (like the "chimney affect" kids learn in school). It is necessary to prevent the build up of water in the cage though.
sandrachameleon
Chameleon Enthusiast
I dont use screen cages either. Mine are plexi/acrylic, peg board and wood frame. Its less about what the enclosure is made out of, and more about maintaining the right conditions within.
Thanks for the input everyone but im still having a hard time with the humidity. I took out the water dish and pump. When i mist the tank its fine but it drops to 25 within about 15 mins. I went and got a couple live ficus plants but the problem with those is that they are only about 5 inches tall, plus some other fake plants. I have about 3 or 4 inches of loose coconut fiber substrate on the bottom wich is not soaking wet but is still pretty damp. I was thinking about getting a humidifier.
CleaTheChameleon
New Member
Get the coco bark out now and put paper towels. They work better and the bark if in contact with the chameleons stomach, can cause big problems. So take it out. Thats what i needed to do
sandrachameleon
Chameleon Enthusiast
Such a low relative humidity is difficult to deal with. It must be hard on your own skin and mucus membranes! Have you considered getting a humidifier for your home? They can be connected to furnaces and central AC units.
Another way to raise the humidity is to keep the chameleon in a small room with the door closed, and keep a small humidifier, a fish tank (or other open water), live plants etc in the same room. I was suprised what a difference it made when I started keeping my hermit crabs (which have a moist substrate) in the same room as the chameleons.
You might like to look into having a dripper or auto mister running all day (dealing with the subsequent run-off /build-up of water may be a problem without a drainage system)
You dont have to remove the coconut fiber substrate. At the moment it may be needed for humidity reasons. But you will need to be careful about clean up (bacteria growth, fungus, fecal matter eaten by stray feeder insects which are then eaten by chameleons). Also if your chameleon shows an interest in eating the substrate or if prey is lose and eating that prey could result in coco fiber sticking to the chameleons tongue, you risk impaction issues.
Another way to raise the humidity is to keep the chameleon in a small room with the door closed, and keep a small humidifier, a fish tank (or other open water), live plants etc in the same room. I was suprised what a difference it made when I started keeping my hermit crabs (which have a moist substrate) in the same room as the chameleons.
You might like to look into having a dripper or auto mister running all day (dealing with the subsequent run-off /build-up of water may be a problem without a drainage system)
You dont have to remove the coconut fiber substrate. At the moment it may be needed for humidity reasons. But you will need to be careful about clean up (bacteria growth, fungus, fecal matter eaten by stray feeder insects which are then eaten by chameleons). Also if your chameleon shows an interest in eating the substrate or if prey is lose and eating that prey could result in coco fiber sticking to the chameleons tongue, you risk impaction issues.
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