Hows this setup?

[arkist]

Ok, I think I'm finally read to begin making some purchases in preperation for getting a chameleon. But before I would do like to post my "shopping list" and get any feed back anyone would like to offer .

Encloser - 16x16x30 aluminum screen cage from lllreptile

Lighting - 18" slimline fluorescent fixture with 5-7% UVB fluorescent tube

Heat - Zoomed 8 1/2" clip lamp with 100w zoomed halogen bulb

Substrate - None

Mist/Drip - Low flow pump mist, multiple daily timed sessions running long enough to keep humidity up and water on the leaves.

Draining - Will depend on how much misting is needed (I'll be running tests once I get the cage).

Vitamins - Calcium w/out D3 every feeding, Calcium w/ D3 twice a month, Multivitamins once a month

Foliage - Silk plants lining most of the walls, Plenty of bio vine and real branches (cleaned), and real plants(eventually, still need more research into that)

I think thats it, I'm feeling pretty confident at this point but I'm always open to suggestions.

 

[Chameleon Nation]

Ok, I think I'm finally read to begin making some purchases in preperation for getting a chameleon. But before I would do like to post my "shopping list" and get any feed back anyone would like to offer .

Encloser - 16x16x30 aluminum screen cage from lllreptile

Lighting - 18" slimline fluorescent fixture with 5-7% UVB fluorescent tube

Heat - Zoomed 8 1/2" clip lamp with 100w zoomed halogen bulb

Substrate - None

Mist/Drip - Low flow pump mist, multiple daily timed sessions running long enough to keep humidity up and water on the leaves.

Draining - Will depend on how much misting is needed (I'll be running tests once I get the cage).

Vitamins - Calcium w/out D3 every feeding, Calcium w/ D3 twice a month, Multivitamins once a month

Foliage - Silk plants lining most of the walls, Plenty of bio vine and real branches (cleaned), and real plants(eventually, still need more research into that)

I think thats it, I'm feeling pretty confident at this point but I'm always open to suggestions.

I would scale down the heat to a 40, 50 ,or 60 watt heat bulb. Thats a lot of heat for a little cage. I personally give my chams calcium with D3 everyday because it helps the absorption of calcium. I also give my chams multivitamins about once a week, usually fridays. Everything else sounds great though.

 

[Dankmeleon]

also make sure you give enough time to properly dry out in between timedmist

 

[Dean Pulcini]

Calcium every feeding is not necessary in my opinion. d3 when inside and without when they go out. I don't use vitamins that much when they go out Montane chameleons are sensitive to all supplementation feed the supplements to the insects. Spot light strength depends on what type of chameleon you are getting as a matter of fact everything depends on that.

 

[arkist]

also make sure you give enough time to properly dry out in between timedmist

I plan on it. There will be quite a bit of testing done before I actually purchase my chameleon because this is the first time I've done this and I wanna do it right. Apropriate dry time is something I will be testing in addition to time needed to raise humidity and create sufficient drip on the leaves.

As for the halogen bulb, I thought that might need to be lowered. Wasn't sure exactly how to measure that but I thought it would be better to get higher wattage and move the lamp further away from the cage if needed, then to have a source that didn't heat the basking spot up enough. I will scale it back.

Thanks everyone for the replies

 

[Justin Carl]

I would scale down the heat to a 40, 50 ,or 60 watt heat bulb. Thats a lot of heat for a little cage. I personally give my chams calcium with D3 everyday because it helps the absorption of calcium. I also give my chams multivitamins about once a week, usually fridays. Everything else sounds great though.

This chameleon died from over supplementing with D3

https://www.chameleonforums.com/help-louie-acting-sick-10268/

This is an awesome sticky:

https://www.chameleonforums.com/supplementation-mbd-1-a-2451/

 

[arkist]

This chameleon died from over supplementing with D3

https://www.chameleonforums.com/help-louie-acting-sick-10268/

Yes, I have read that D3 can build up in a chameleons system and actually be harmful. From what I understand, D3 supplements should be given once to twice a month depending on how much natural sun exposer they get.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

ZooMed Repti-Sun 5.0 linear fluorescent tube.
I agree w/ a lower watt basking light (still planning on the senegal?)
40 watts at the most.

Absolutely DO NOT supplement with D3 every feeding !!!
That was quite bad advice.

Your supplement schedule that you posted sounds good.

-Brad

 

[arkist]

Wow I really did overshoot the wattage.

Yep, still planning on Senegal.

I'm glad that you approve of my supplementing schedule.

Thanks to you and everyone who has posted.

 

[kim01]

you will also want a humditiy gauge,and a couple temps tto.

 

[Kevin1873]

Ditto on all the above, I have the same size cage as you do for my 4 month old male Veiled with a good size Shefflera in it and trust me, misting 3 times a day is more than enough to keep the humidity up. But then again I live in Cali so that prob helps, especially now that its really starting to warm up early in the year.

 

[arkist]

I'm sure that your location does help, Utah's dry air may require me to mist more then that though.

Kim: Thank you, that is not something I had forgotten, I simply figured they were assumed so I didn't include them.

 

[ken2414]

on monday i use d3, tuesday just calcium, wensday minerall d3, thursday d3, friday calcium, saturaday meinerall d3 and sunday no supplements