Humidity Problem

[djstorm1987]

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon – Jackson Chameleon, Not sure of his age, I`ve been having him for 5 days now
Handling – Once a day (Only when I add/remove things from his terrarium)
Feeding – I am feeding him crickets and meal worms. I fed him 4 today and he has already had his first dozen. He is fed until his crickets are gone or when there is only 1 or 2 left? Feeders are not yet gut loaded I am still in the process of setting the cricket cage up.
Supplements – So far I have only purchased the Repticalcium and it has not been used yet.
Watering – I use a dripper which runs all day and shuts off at night and I mist him 2 or 3 times per day for 1 minute. I also use Repti fog. I have seen him drinking on the first day.
Fecal Description – He has not been tested for Parasites yet. His poop appears normal to me.
History - None

Cage Info:
Cage Type – 18 X 18 X 24 Small Tall Exo Terra Terrarium
Lighting – 75 Watt Zoo Med Bulb and Exo Terra Canopy
Temperature – Temperature stays at about 80 F and at night it drops down to 70F I measure these with Petco brand thermometer
Humidity – I try to make the Humidity level stay at 85 and this happens when I turn the fogger on as well as misting. After a certain period of time it drastically goes down to 20.
Plants – Plants are all artificial
Placement – Cage is located in the living room near the back door. Back door is barely open in winter.
Location – I am located in Northern.Virginia

Current Problem – I am having problem in maintaining my humidity level. During fogging as well as misting the humidity goes up but after about 30 minutes it starts to go down. Should the fogger be left on for the entire day? What about at night? Should I keep misting him more? I try to stay at 2-3 times per day misting the terrarium for 1 minute.

Another question is that how long can he stay at that terrarium? When I asked the pet store how old he was they weren`t sure but they said that he was there for a “couple” of months.

 

[djstorm1987]

Here are some pics that I just took today. There are no water in that small bowl. It is only there as decoration.

 

[djstorm1987]

::Bump:: Anyone?

 

[carol5208]

you don't want the humidity staying at a constant 85%. Being in glass and all it might get too stagnant and start breeding mold or bacteria which can lead to respiratory infections. Try putting a live plant in there, that will help with the humidity. how are you draining all the water from the dripper? As far as the size, bigger is always better and personally I would not have put him in that size to begin with, but that is just me.

 

[djstorm1987]

you don't want the humidity staying at a constant 85%. Being in glass and all it might get too stagnant and start breeding mold or bacteria which can lead to respiratory infections. Try putting a live plant in there, that will help with the humidity. how are you draining all the water from the dripper? As far as the size, bigger is always better and personally I would not have put him in that size to begin with, but that is just me.

Thanks for your reply. Any recommendations as to what type of live plant I can put in? I may need to put in a timer for my fogger as the humidity goes down fast after a half an hour. As for now I currently have a small plastic container that I use to drain the dripper with. The Chameleon was given to me as a gift and since I only had a small aquarium where he had to spend the night in I ended up in desperate need of looking for a terrarium at a nearby pet store. This was the only adequate size that I could find. What other terrarium do you recommend I use? My house gets cold and due to the lack of humidity I don`t think a cage would be a good alternative.

 

[carol5208]

The majority of us use screen cages which unfortunately is even harder to keep up the humidity. The terrariums to my knowledge do not come in that big of sizes to my liking. You can use a pothos plant which is nice cause it vines, or a ficus of sheffelera. You might need a plant grow light though as somtimes the uvb lighting is not adequate. I use all screen and my sizes are 24 X 24 X 48. I like them to have alot of room to climb around. I am going to find you a video that was put out by one of our members on how to keep Jackson's. It should be helpful to you. People build their own enclosures too. You can search some threads on here for that, but most of them will probably be for screen and not glass so much. I forgot to say welcome to our forums!! How rude of me!!!

 

[djstorm1987]

The majority of us use screen cages which unfortunately is even harder to keep up the humidity. The terrariums to my knowledge do not come in that big of sizes to my liking. You can use a pothos plant which is nice cause it vines, or a ficus of sheffelera. You might need a plant grow light though as somtimes the uvb lighting is not adequate. I use all screen and my sizes are 24 X 24 X 48. I like them to have alot of room to climb around. I am going to find you a video that was put out by one of our members on how to keep Jackson's. It should be helpful to you. People build their own enclosures too. You can search some threads on here for that, but most of them will probably be for screen and not glass so much. I forgot to say welcome to our forums!! How rude of me!!!

Ahh so i`m assuming screen cages are out of the loop completely for me since I am barely holding up the humidity in a glass terrarium? I will look in to those plants today and see if I can do some switching up. I am also using a pair of bend a branch by Fluckers for climbing. How do I make them stick to the glass without them falling? Thanks so much for your help. Sorry for all the questions I just want to make sure that this little guy lives a healthy life.

 

[Chameleonsthecoolest]

I leave my fogger on all day on high because I live in a dry pat of USA

 

[carol5208]

Please don't be sorry for asking all the questions. Questions are good!! I have never used glass so cannot answer about the positioning of branches and vines. I tried to find that video for you. No luck so far! It was from member jdog1027. He owns Jackson's and made a great video on care of them. There are many Jackson's owners on here so hoepfully they will see this and chime in for you. I just know you don't want condions too humid on a constant basis and it can breed bacteria in the air. These guys are prone to respiratory infections if the conditions are not right. I wouldn't say screen is out of the question at all. There are members who own Jackson's in all parts of the country and they do not use glass.

 

[djstorm1987]

Please don't be sorry for asking all the questions. Questions are good!! I have never used glass so cannot answer about the positioning of branches and vines. I tried to find that video for you. No luck so far! It was from member jdog1027. He owns Jackson's and made a great video on care of them. There are many Jackson's owners on here so hoepfully they will see this and chime in for you. I just know you don't want condions too humid on a constant basis and it can breed bacteria in the air. These guys are prone to respiratory infections if the conditions are not right. I wouldn't say screen is out of the question at all. There are members who own Jackson's in all parts of the country and they do not use glass.

Thanks I will see if I could search for the video myself. How long do you think he can stay at that cage?

 

[djstorm1987]

Well now I was able to do a slight upgrade by getting my chameleon a screened 18 x 18 x 36 cage. The problem has gotten worst since I feel that the screen is not letting the fog system do its job on giving out the proper humidity for my cage. The humidity gauge only goes up to 20%. I have been informed of covering the sides with a shower curtain but my parents are not too fond of the idea since the cage is in the living room. Should I opt out the fogger and try a misting system instead? I would also like to know how you guys manage your dripper/mister without killing your plants due to over watering. So far everything seems to be getting to its place but the lack of humidity is defiantly concerning.

 

[djstorm1987]

Here is a updated picture of the cage.

 

[Carlton]

Well now I was able to do a slight upgrade by getting my chameleon a screened 18 x 18 x 36 cage. The problem has gotten worst since I feel that the screen is not letting the fog system do its job on giving out the proper humidity for my cage. The humidity gauge only goes up to 20%. I have been informed of covering the sides with a shower curtain but my parents are not too fond of the idea since the cage is in the living room. Should I opt out the fogger and try a misting system instead? I would also like to know how you guys manage your dripper/mister without killing your plants due to over watering. So far everything seems to be getting to its place but the lack of humidity is defiantly concerning.

Keeping up the humidity can be done, even in a screen cage, but you will have to cover the sides with something. Look for clear plastic sheeting, painter's drop cloths, or clear vinyl shower curtain liners and trim them to fit the cage sides. If you do it neatly it won't detract from the look of the cage much at all. The plastic will also confine the misting spray and fog so carpet or walls don't get damp. The other key to maintaining humdity in a screen cage is to have as much live foliage as you can fit inside. Hand misting heavily morning and evening and cycle the fogger to come on and off between misting sessions with a multiple setting plug in timer. You'll have to experiment with the timer to find the best settings, but you don't need to create a constant high humidity...just periodic higher or lower levels.