Housing Question

[mellowgold]

Hello everyone, I'm new here, and I am expecting my first veiled chameleons today. I have been researching veiled chameleons for the last few months, and learning as much as possible in hopes of purchasing one soon. Well, my fiance took me to petsmart last night saying he needed some things for his salt water tank that he has. He then tells me that my gift for valentines day is a chameleon! I was so thrilled! Then he proceeds to tell me it's not just one. So I'm like okay, two! That's okay Then he tells me, the guy he ordered them from said if he ordered over a certain amount he would get free shipping, so he decided to take the suggestion of getting five!! Then he says after researching, he realized they have to be solitary (he didn't do his homework). So, then I started freaking out. We have the money, love and time to do whatever we have to do to make these little ones safe, and healthy. My only reservation is our limited space. We currently live in an apt for 6 more month's, and will be getting a house in the summer, so we'll have more room. But for now, I'm just not sure what type of cage we need to build. I suppose it will be 5 seperate rooms. Until this weekend comes, and we can start building, we do have a cage for them, but I'm wondering how long they can be together until the need to seperate. I just want to make this works the best way possible for our new additions. Although I wasn't expecting this many, I want to be 100% they are all going to feel secure and happy, and most importantly health, especially after traveling to get here! I'm so excited for their arrival, I can hardly stand it! Any suggestions on how old they can be before they must be split up is helpful, and also cage ideas. Also, what do you think about taking on 5 chameleons at one time... just curious from people who actually have multiple chameleons. Thanks to everyone, and I'm so happy that this forum is here

 

[pssh]

If you have the money, time, and devotion this might work out, BUT you don't hav any room to slip up. Chameleons are not easy pets.

You can house them together IF they get along until they are 3-4 months old. You should not buy veiled chameleons that are younger than 2 months old, and you should expect them to not get along and have 5 cages on hand for each chameleon.

Checklist for EACH chameleon, you only have to buy one set of supplements and a sprayer though. This set up with a 24x24x48 screen cage will be around 200 dollars or so. With a smaller female cage it would be around 150-200.

Here is my basic checklist for a baby veiled:

-a screen cage of appropriate size (baby:16x16x30, adult female 18x18x36, adult male 24x24x48) you can also buy the adult sized cage and just section off the bottom so it is smaller
-live plants that are non toxic and have covered organic fertilizer free soil
-a normal incandescent house bulb of appropriate wattage
-a dome to put the house bulb in
-a linear reptisun 5.0 and appropriate hood
-a digital thermometer or temp gun to check temperature
-a digital hygrometer to check humidity (you can buy a 2 in 1 thermometer/hygrometer)
-three supplements: calcium with d3, calcium without d3, and a multivitamin that contains no vit A (make sure all are phos free)
-a pump style spray bottle to spray chameleon
-a dripper of some sort
-drainage for the water so that the cage does not flood
-many horizontal, vertical, and diagonal branches/vines/perches make sure there are many at different levels under the basking branch so he can move around under them to get a certain temp, the closest one to the bulb (6-8 inches under it) should have the maximum temperature a baby veiled can handle (80-83 degrees)

All of this can be bought on lllreptile.com but it would be cheaper to buy the uvb hood, normal incandescent house bulb and dome, plants, and digital thermometer from home depot or lowes (unless you are getting a temp gun, then tempgun.com) Veiled chameleons can handle temps as low as 50 degrees (at night) so there is no need to use a night light, though I would try to keep it around 60 for a baby. If you do need extra heat, use a space heater or ceramic bulb.

 

[fluxlizard]

You can house them together IF they get along until they are 3-4 months old.

That's a pretty big IF.

Don't count on it.

Baby chams will tolerate each other for a while, but it isn't perfectly harmonious, and after a while you will have some that are larger and some that are smaller and intimidated.

Also, many veileds can reach small adult size by 4 months.

Even in relatively peaceful species like mellers and jacksons, the babies will have a fellow here and there that spends a good part of the day performing threat displays at his clutchmates.

Also if you intend to breed some of these together some day, they are most likely siblings and without careful selection (impossible with mail order-you get what they ship) you will increase the odds of genetic problems in the offspring.

Consider canceling some of them. It will give you time to learn the ropes on a chameleon or two without making the same exact mistakes 5 times at once. Or if you feel up to the challenge, at least be prepared with seperate enclosures for each.

You are getting a collection of single chameleons, not a group. How will 5 adult size veiled chameleon cages with a minimum size of approx 18x18x30" (even larger is much better especially for the males- many consider 2x2x4' high good for adult males) look side by side with lights on look in your small apartment? Each cage requiring it's own lighting, plants, climbing furniture, water delivery system, etc. Each cage visually isolated from the others...

Veileds eat a LOT too. You will need to order insects in bulk- 1000 crickets at a time, mealworms, superworms, and whatever other insects you feed (many of us breed our own tropical roaches for example) will all need a largish space somewhere. 5 veileds are going to eat a lot more than you are going to want to run out to petsmart to buy. You will need a place for the insects and they aren't odor free...

Definately something to think about in a small apartment.

 

[mellowgold]

Thank you!

Thank you both for replying! I appreciate your VERY helpful advise!! I'll post how things go Thank you!

 

[boj3434]

If I was you the best way to save money would be to build the cages together but make sure the walls in between are solid so they cant see each other. Two major sides being screen will be fine. I would just make a huge frame with screen on front and back and then buy 48 inch fixtures from HM or Lowes for like $10-15 and buy a 48 reptisun and a regular florescent for the other side of the fixture. You can buy petscreen too and one roll should be plenty for all of the cages if they are build similar to my plan and itll set you back around $25-30 for the one large roll. I would use some sort of boat sealant or a lot of poly with a lot of time to dry to seal the wood. Pick up a garden sprayer used for those chemicals and just use water its about $5-10 and it will make misting so much easier and faster especially with all of them. Good luck and have fun, I love doing things like building cages but some people cant stand it.

 

[mellowgold]

Thanks boj3434, that makes me feel better. My fiance loves building things, and I'm sure it'll be okay. I just needed ideas, and the input really helps. I truly appreciate it. He's looking forward to building the cage..and the ideas, sizes and pricing helps! Thank you!

 

[pssh]

Like I said, lllreptile is the cheapest. In fact, they have a low price guarantee and will beat the price by five percent if you find it somewhere else for cheaper.

 

[OOOst16]

Pssh and everyone coverd everything. If taken care of properly these chams are gona cost a lot. Not a joke. Its an expensive hobby but totaly worth it. 5 chams at once is going to mean a crap load of dedication. I highley sugest using site sponsers for products. Lllreptile is a very nice place to start. Rember vields are plant eaters. So use the safe plant list. And use organic fertalizer free potting soil. Go real plants. Its just way more natural. Good luck and love those babies!

 

[mellowgold]

Thank you pssh for the great information. I'm going to check out the website right now. I have a lot of purchases to make this weekend! Fortunately I work part time, so i feel like I'll have plenty of time to be there to keep a close eye on them. They didn't arrive today due to some problems with the shipping method being used. I have been told they will be here on Monday. So at least I have the weekend now to build the cage etc. I'm really excited, and nervous at the same time. I'm just thrilled and anxious for them to be here, and I want everything to be ready for them. I will be utilizing all of this advise, and will continue to read up on posts, and gather as much info daily as I can. Thank you all so much!!

 

[Sodbuster]

You sure are brave I hope everything turns out great for you I think the idea of building a cage is a really great one, for the sides you might wanna try using that weed barrier they use to block weeds in landscaping its seems like it might breath a little bit and also keep them from seeing each other i'm not sure if it would work cuz i've never tried just an idea

 

[summoner12]

LLL gives a discount when you get 4 or more cages I think.... call them up and see what kind of deal you can get.... if they are babies you can keep them together if closely watched till 4 months. if you see issues you'll need to split them up. If they are pretty young you can use rubbermaid tubs. But this isn't very good for them after two... maybe three months. (depending on the size of tub and how much stuff they have to climb on, kept alone or together...)

 

[Texas Panther Man]

You can buy plastic coated screen at lowes or hd. Do not try to use the weed blocker stuff. It will not hold up to a chameleon climbing on it. And they animal could lose a toenail in that stuff. Also I'm almost positive crix can chew thru that stuff.

 

[mellowgold]

Awesome, thank you everyone I've got some ideas I'm tossing around in my head, and some drawings I've made up of some cage designs. I'm going to definitely try to do all screen and natural (nontoxic) plants etc. This kit I got came w/ all plastic, and it just sounds awful to put these chameleons in a totally fake environment. Thanks for all the ideas everyone!

 

[sandrachameleon]

Thanks boj3434, that makes me feel better. My fiance loves building things, and I'm sure it'll be okay. I just needed ideas, and the input really helps. I truly appreciate it. He's looking forward to building the cage..and the ideas, sizes and pricing helps! Thank you!

Many of the links in this blog entry are to threads or sites about cages people have built. Some of them are simple, others quite fantastic.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/82-enclosures-housing.html

 

[Elizadolots]

LLL does give a great volume discount for purchases of more than 4 cages.

As you are a "do it yourself" person (like me) I want to advise you to get the cages before you start to construct any other surrounding tables or supports..I just bought 2 Reptarium cages and while the box says they are 14.5 x 14.5 x 25 inches, they are, in fact, 13.5 x 13.5 x 25 inches.

 

[DJ Richey Rich]

thats going to be over 1000 crickets a month thats about $20-30 after shipping