improvements?

[Sang]

OK, i just got my cage today, assembled and plant is placed..and one r zilla vines 72" .... i know i don't have branches yet.. but atm its still a smaller cage ill be getting a bigger one once the cham is bigger.

but still what can i do to improve on this atm. ill be picking up my UV and basking lamp saturday. and ill be ordering the mist king set up after that...

but since this is a smaller cage being 18" x 12" x 20" where should i place the lamp farther away since there will be less space to "escape the heat"

*hanging pothos is the plant with vines wrappeda round the fake vine. i still want to get a decent branch.

is it a bad idea to use unfinished wood as a enclosure for my next cage, i was gonna cut out the sides of this 80" entertainment shelf side section and then screen in the 4 sides. it will be 80" x 60" by 24" by the time im done with it...my conern is the water on the exposed wood, can i use a water resistant finish?

 

[summoner12]

You mean you'll get the Herpmist system?

 

[Sang]

i dunno, who's gonna give me the better deal?

 

[boombotty]

I've got two mistking systems for my dart frogs and I can't say enough good things about Marty, his products, and his customer service. plus his new pumps are awesome.
Scott

 

[Sang]

really i only chose mist king because well its what tom at the petstore uses for his 8 inclosures.


also i have it the timer set for 1 min of every hour from 6 AM to 12am..and then a break from 12:00 am to 6:00 , is this gonna super saturate? or make it to cold?

 

[summoner12]

HerpMist all the way

really i only chose mist king because well its what tom at the petstore uses for his 8 inclosures.


also i have it the timer set for 1 min of every hour from 6 AM to 12am..and then a break from 12:00 am to 6:00 , is this gonna super saturate? or make it to cold?

I think you should support Jason at Herpmist. He is a really good guy with a really good product. Plus hes a bit more of a hobbyist than a capitalist. (or so it appears from talking to him and his prices.)

 

[summoner12]

really i only chose mist king because well its what tom at the petstore uses for his 8 inclosures.


also i have it the timer set for 1 min of every hour from 6 AM to 12am..and then a break from 12:00 am to 6:00 , is this gonna super saturate? or make it to cold?

I would mist for 10 minutes at least 3 times a day.

My system comes on at 7:30 for 1 minute... kind of a late wake up call to the boys. Then they get 8 minutes at 8am, 11am, 2pm and 5 pm. Then everything gets a chance to dry out. I only operate with one misting jet in each cage.

I catch Fred taking showers in his Pothos plant which sits right infront of the misting jet in his cage. He likes to clean off in it.

Edit: and for your cage, you'll only need one jet...Maybe you'll want two in a larger cage.

 

[Ryan Jarosek]

I would recommend you get a few branches and have them at different levels in the cage and use the vine to form a sort of ladder. (Think Jungle Gym) It will give the Cham lots of places to move around and explore.

The plant looks great you could even wrap some of the vines around the sticks.

Do you have supplements for your feeders?

 

[Sang]

i havn't bought my suppliments yet, i have a friend who owns a vieled taking me to purchase stuff in the morning.

and yes im loooking for a style of branch that i like.

currently the fake vines are spiraled and wired in at the top, and i have the pothos interweaving it,

i know i need branches i was gonna check a bird store for what i am looking for. since this is a smaller encloser and its a smaller chameleon when i get it i assume i can switch things out as he gets bigger . when he gets to 8 months i plan on picking up something or crafting something from steel at least 50" x 36" x36"

so i can get a nice ficus some large branches and different vines in there.

*update, i pulled the bricks out after thinking about it,id hate to have any crickets dissapear in them and loose out on food for the cham. and i have changed the vines slightly ill take a new pic once my camera battery charges back up.



and i am lookin at the herpmist, ill find out if i pick it up ...*pay for shipping and its pretty much sold*

it really needs branches.

 

[Sang]

OK, small bump..
picked up a branch that looks like it will work for now.

i got my bulb repti glo 8.0 18" bulb. and a 75 W basking spot bulb/lamp.
directly under bulb temps:
temps at the top of the cage range into at the highest 93.5. F
above middle of cage 88.3.F
middle 80.6 F
almost bottom77. 2 F
bottom. 74.2 F
misted non direct bulb temp is 66.5F
temp non direct bulb 70.4 F


light off.

average temp is: on average 72. F
sprayed down, temp dropped to 62.1 F

at night its a bit cooler in my house. summer is a pretty hot time in arizona for me so its gonna be intresting.
these seem like acceptable temperatures for a jackson chameleon?
humidty should be easy once i get my mister.

 

[summoner12]

sounds like you have some good things going. I would return the reptiglo and get the retiSUN 5.0.

 

[Sang]

the question is how big of a difference will it make? i know i gotta replace the bulb in 6 months anyways, and does the retisun 5.0 come in a 18" tube bulb?.. ill pick one up if this one doesn't suffice, i already had to return the first bulb i bought cause i grabbed the wrong one.

DON the owner of the petsore will laugh at me if i go back again, i've known them for 20 years or so. so i might hold off on the retisun 5.0 if i can, or pick it up and keep this one as a spare if its that vital.

 

[summoner12]

the question is how big of a difference will it make? i know i gotta replace the bulb in 6 months anyways, and does the retisun 5.0 come in a 18" tube bulb?.. ill pick one up if this one doesn't suffice, i already had to return the first bulb i bought cause i grabbed the wrong one.

DON the owner of the petsore will laugh at me if i go back again, i've known them for 20 years or so. so i might hold off on the retisun 5.0 if i can, or pick it up and keep this one as a spare if its that vital.

It is just a better, more trusted lamp. Yes they do make it in an 18" tube. I would change it out for peace of mind. If you use the 8.0 and then have issues with your cham you'll be paying for it later with vet trips. His cage is small, so a lower output bulb is better. Plus the metal screen passes UV better than the Plastic mesh. With him being so close I would go 5.0. If the Don laughs just tell him you want what's best, he should understand.

 

[Sang]

i can always pick up a second bulb, this one i lucked out on and got it 50% off cause overstock,

but the other one i assume is about 25 bucks, so ya'll ill pick it up before i get the cham.

so smaller inclosure and to much UV rays can have an adverse affect?

 

[summoner12]

i can always pick up a second bulb, this one i lucked out on and got it 50% off cause overstock,

but the other one i assume is about 25 bucks, so ya'll ill pick it up before i get the cham.

so smaller inclosure and to much UV rays can have an adverse affect?

You can find the 18" at lllreptile.com for like $15.

Yes, too much UVB can cause problems like skin burns and eye irritation that can lead to life long issues or death. To learn more about lighting go to www.uvguide.co.uk

 

[Brian]

Yeah, LLL reptile is the cheapest you will spend a lot at the pet store. Its 13.99 Its what mostly everyone recommends on here. Summoner is a very experienced keeper so I would listen to all his advice

 

[Sang]

aye will do, also anyone link me up to what vitamens/suppliments ill need that i can order along with the bulb from LLL.

 

[summoner12]

aye will do, also anyone link me up to what vitamens/suppliments ill need that i can order along with the bulb from LLL.

This is some good reading. If you diddle around on LLL's site you'll find what your looking for.

lol thanks Brian. I am not THAT experienced......

After learning the hard way... I can tell you, the 5.0 is the best thing for your little guy.

Also LLL is pretty cheap. I'd help out your buddy by shopping at his place... but sometimes you just can't beat the prices at LLL.

 

[Sang]

i Did read both the UV and the vitamen info, helpful, i just wish i could get more info on what it could do/ symptoms of over UV poisoning.
ill hang onto the reptiglo for when i get a larger enclosure.

i bought the reptisun 5.0, and
RepCal ultra fine calcium with D3
Rep Cal Calcium WITHOUT D3
and then i already have sticky tongue farms miner all with an I in a blue circle,
says it includes d3 though.. i use this for my dart frogs. should this be alright for there vitamins if i use the calc with d3 less?

and grats jason i bought the herp mist from you.

should be good to go in a few days

PS. water in arizona has a TON of calcium/pottasium and chlorine in the water, i have a filtration system at work for drinking water, can i use this water, i heard like you shouldn't use certain types of water cause the ways they clean them, or like reverse osmosis. is the filtered water at work alright, its damn good water to drink for us hoomans!

 

[Brian]

I use reverse osmosis. I highly recommend it.