Just wondering if my enclosure is good enough.
- Thread starter Wain7906
- Start date
Andrew1283
Chameleon Enthusiast
Have you done a temp check on that basking spot? The branch seems a bit close to the light. As one member pointed out to me, we should not measure with the wire probe at the branch but rather the height of your cham’s head or spine, whichever is higher.
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
Hi and welcome! Your enclosure looks great. If you have a veiled though, I’d suggest removing the artificial plants and you can hang them on the outside of her enclosure. They blend in very well to the live plants and I’d be afraid that she would try to eat one, which could cause impaction.
ElliotG
Chameleon Enthusiast
I would raise the basking light and get rid of the fake plants. I really like the idea of a slanted stick at their basking spot, I use that for my carpet Cham who needs a bit more intense heat. He loves being able to snuggle up high when he needs the heat. I would just raise the light a bit and make sure you can put your hand under it with having to pull away.
Chams are screen climbers, so you don’t want her to burn her feet on the wire under the light either.
Chams are screen climbers, so you don’t want her to burn her feet on the wire under the light either.
Lindasjackson
Chameleon Enthusiast
Hi and welcome! I think your enclosure is beautiful but could use some tweaks like what has been mentioned above. We all start out right where you’re at and with a little help get our enclosures tweaked to perfection so our chams can have long healthy lives with us!
Hey I’m kinda confused on the hanging the artificial plants on the outside of the enclosure part. Only fake plants I have are the top part its a vine and 2 fake flowers that wrap around
2 UVB lights Arcadia 6% should turn on off and purchase a plant light i can’t seem to keep live plants alive
ERKleRose
Chameleon Enthusiast
Just one UVB bulb is needed, placed above the basking branch. The two best plant lights are a Sansi LED or Arcadia Jungle Dawn LED T5 strip light
absolutbill
Chameleon Enthusiast
You may want to consider lowering her basking temp and cutting down on her food intake. If she laid eggs at the end of July and just laid again she is taxing her body and it will lead to a shorter lifespan. IMO the goal should be as few clutches as possible and those clutches should also be as small as possible to give our girls the longest life they can have.
Andrew1283
Chameleon Enthusiast
If you already have two T5 fixtures just get a T5 plant grow bulb and swap one out. Your live plants will get the full spectrum of light they need to grow from one bulb and your cham gets the UVB he or she needs to be healthy from the other. The warmth comes from the basking but those incandescent bulbs don’t do a whole lot for your plants. The fixture closest to my cham’s basking area is the UVB and the one closer to the front is the plant bulb. Get some good well established pothos plants and watch them explode! The best thing people did for me was share photos of their setup. I was WAY off with temps, basking height, fake plants, enclosure size, feeding, etc until I got advice from people on here who care about these chams. Here are some pics of the top of the enclosure. I hand feed so I don’t have a feeding cup.
Attachments
Thanks she just laid 48 eggs the other day.
Attachments
Andrew1283
Chameleon Enthusiast
She laid a clutch of eggs on July 24th and then laid 48 more on September 18th? What kind of cham is she?
Lindasjackson
Chameleon Enthusiast
You really need to control her basking temp and keep it at 80 or below and limit her feedings to 3-4 medium feeders. Otherwise she’ll lay even more eggs next time and the concern with this is she may become egg bound which can be life threatening. It shortens females lives to lay so many eggs each time because it drains her of her resources.
She is a Veil, it was the end of July and then just a couple days ago the 48 eggs.
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
Yes! I feed my 2 veiled girls 3-4 feeders, 3 days a week (plus treats) and in 1 1/2 years, one girl has laid once and the other hasn’t at all. While their clutches have always been around 34-36 eggs, I’m very pleased with the frequency of maybe once a year.
I Redid her enclosure just waiting on brackets and a shelf to lift my basket light and uvb with a plant light fixture. She came out to show her self
Attachments
Thatcher
Chameleon Enthusiast
I love the pothos!I Redid her enclosure just waiting on brackets and a shelf to lift my basket light and uvb with a plant light fixture. She came out to show her self
Lindasjackson
Chameleon Enthusiast
She’s beautiful! The live plants look beautiful as well. You’ll want to replace the rest of the fake plants with live ones as well. The thicker the foliage the more she will like it to be able to hide if she wants to.
