How big to move?

[Crazy Pet Lady]

I'm gathering the supplies [on sale now] needed to build my chams new, permanent enclosure. My question of the day is how big should my baby veiled be before he moves into the new enclosure when it's done? It will be 2 ft.w x 2 ft.d x 4 ft.h when completed. Right now he's in a 20 gal. long with a same size Zilla fresh air topper, 30wx12dx24h.(inches) He's about 2 inches long with a 2 inch tail now. He's really awesome and I wouldn't want to overwhelm him with too big of a cage too soon. Any advise would be welcome. Thanx!!

 

[jake01]

Most will say 5-6 months or roughly half grown.

 

[summoner12]

6-8 months is an ok age. Youll know when it's time.... It will seem that his cash is too small.

 

[jojackson]

Youll know when it's time.... It will seem that his cash is too small.

Every time I get my power bill I feel My cash is too small!

He's right, when hes really making full use of it, its time for bigger housing.

He's fine right now, a bigger cage right now would make it more difficult for your tiny cham to find food.

 

[graham cracker]

I have a similar question sorry for posting aother question in your thread. My chameleon will be 4 months on the 20th, he's now 4 inches long from head to where the tail begin. I have him in a 10 gallon tank right now and I can see he's slowly growing out of it. Now my question is should I move him into a medium cage first or should I move him right to a large cage? I'm thinking of moving him within the next month.

 

[jake01]

I have a similar question sorry for posting aother question in your thread. My chameleon will be 4 months on the 20th, he's now 4 inches long from head to where the tail begin. I have him in a 10 gallon tank right now and I can see he's slowly growing out of it. Now my question is should I move him into a medium cage first or should I move him right to a large cage? I'm thinking of moving him within the next month.

from what i've read, your cham should be set for his/her large cage.

http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/2007/12/enclosures-habitat.html

 

[Vampire.queen]

I know some breeders who put the babies (two months old) to their permanent enclosure and the chameleons don't seem to be frustrated from the big space around- the only disadvantage is the food- in the big one they can't see when something escapes from the feeding cup and the chameleon is less likely to find it...

 

[summoner12]

I have a similar question sorry for posting aother question in your thread. My chameleon will be 4 months on the 20th, he's now 4 inches long from head to where the tail begin. I have him in a 10 gallon tank right now and I can see he's slowly growing out of it. Now my question is should I move him into a medium cage first or should I move him right to a large cage? I'm thinking of moving him within the next month.

A big cage makes it hard to find food.... I think you might be able to move him in the next couple of weeks. A 10 gallon tank (glass?) isn't a good place for a cham really... If you have money to move him to a mid size cage, I'd do it... then wait until he is about 6-8 months old and find him a big boy cage.

You could go to a big cage now... it'll just be a bit harder to find food.... BUT that isn't really a bad thing because he'll get a work out while hunting. The only big issue is at night when he is asleep loose crickets might pick on him and could bite him... so cut feeding would be a good idea...

 

[Crazy Pet Lady]

Thanx all. I had a feeling you'd all say that! I guess I'm learning alot from everyone here. What a great bunch of folks. Everyone is so knowledgeable and friendly. AWESOME!

 

[writh]

I put my female veiled in its big cage soon as i bought her she was about 3-4 months old and I never saw any issues. Her instincts know how to look for food and how to get it. I free fed her crickets and cup fed her worms.

 

[Crazy Pet Lady]

The only problem with the smaller cage is the scheffelerra (sp?) is growing up to the top of the cage he's in now. It's pressing on the top mesh. I got the goods for building the new enclosure today, got cedar on sale for the frame and will use plywood for the floor and doors on the bottom where the drainage bucket will be. I'm pretty psyched and will start to build tomorrow, I think. I changed some things from the original list and added others,(work in progress) still, all supplies ended up being only $69. and some change. Seemed like a good deal to me. I'll post some pix when it's finished. Thanks for all the great info.