I live in Colorado

[atherisquamigera]

I am interested in buying a panther chameleon, I have been keeping herps for years and feel up to the challenge. I have been doing research and found that they need a combination of great airflow and high humidity. I found a number of methods for doing this (screen cage and various humidity systems etc.) Although I am concerned, If I have that set-up then the humidity in my house will be very high, and will most likely promote massive mildew growth in my house what can I do? Could I perhaps build it a custom cage with only about half of the front being screen? (I was thinking about building it a 3x2x4.5 cage (lxwxh)) What do the chameleon keepers of colorado do?

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Hello!
Also in Colorado and have had little to know trouble keeping the humidity
at an acceptable level.
My enclosure is all screen except for the back wall and the humidity sits at 55 to 65 % all the time...jumping to 80 to 90 % whenever I mist (3 to 4 times daily).
The keys are:
Keep enclosure in a cooler part of the house (ie: basement or north facing room)
Mist multiple times per day
PLANT HEAVILY! This is the #1 way to keep humidity levels higher. Live plants "sweat" and if you plant the enclosure densely that moisture will become trapped in the "jungle" and raise your relative humidity by a remarkable percentage.
Let the basking light provide the heat, again by keeping the enclosure in a cool room you allow a gradient of temps to happen in this little micro-climate.
By the way I plant my gardens very heavily as well and even on the hottest, driest Colorado days the humidity down where the plants are is about 45%.

-Brad

 

[Brad Ramsey]

I have had "little to no trouble...." not "know trouble"
I tried to edit but it's not working.
One other point:
You do need to let the enclosure dry out between mistings. For the health of your chameleon and to avoid any mold, mildew or excess bacterial growth.
Many people who utilize humidifiers have them rigged so that the humidity pumps into the enclosure for limited bursts of time with dry out periods in between...the same way you would set-up a misting system.
I do not use a humidifier and I hand mist with a pressurized mister and have had no problems with mold, mildew or the like.

-Brad