Lighting Help

BunnyGirl

BunnyGirl

New Member
Hello,
I just got a Ambanja Panther Cham. He is great and so cute! I have a Glass cage for him, but I open the door in the morning and it stays open until night. The only problem I have with it is it is so hard to gets the lights correctly. I have three lights 1) Plant light 2) UVB Light 3) Heat light There is a small hole in the top of the cage which i could feed electrical cords through if I put the lights inside the cage, but I have held off doing that because I don't want him to beable to climb onto them and burn himself. Can anyone offer suggestions?
 
Questions..........

May I ask why you got a glass cage?....I know they are popular in Europe and they have them set up so they do work for the cham. But leaving the cage doors open during the day indicates that it is not working for you. How do you keep the cham from escaping? A picture of your setup and the age of your cham would help. Some of the European members can then see what needs to be changed if you are going to follow their model.
 
I already had the cage, but I would have gotten glass anyway because my room dosen't hold humidity. I keep the door open for ventilation, and the heat buld doesn't go through the glass well. I will post pictures soon, I just need to upload them to the computer and I don't have the time right now. I was going to just replace the top of the cage with a screen, but The top cannot be taken off because that is how the structure is kept togeather. The Chameleon was born in Augest of 08 so he is about 7 months old.
 
How big is the enclosure? Is the top of the enclosure also glass, or is it mesh/screen? If the top is also glass, I can see how getting the lights right would be extraorindarily difficult (and I'd buy a new cage). But with a screen top, I would put the UVB across the middle, or near to the heat light which I'd put in the back corner (promotes the best air circulation) and fit the plant light in what's left or skip it all together (least important). Ensure perches, branches, and vines are placed such that the cham likes to sit in the optimum UVB /basking area, as well as in the cooler areas of the enclosure.
 
The top is neither Glass or Screen It is Particale Board. i is actually a Glass shelving unit that I just took the shelves out of. It is about 5 1/2 feet high, 2 feet wide, and 2 feet deep. I can put lights inside the cage as there is a hole in the top that electrical cords can go through. I just want to know if there is way to put atleast two light sinside the cage and still make sure that he cannot get to them.
 
Good luck and welcome!

BunnyGirl said:
The top is neither Glass or Screen It is Particale Board. i is actually a Glass shelving unit that I just took the shelves out of. It is about 5 1/2 feet high, 2 feet wide, and 2 feet deep. I can put lights inside the cage as there is a hole in the top that electrical cords can go through. I just want to know if there is way to put atleast two light sinside the cage and still make sure that he cannot get to them.
Click to expand...

You need to go out and buy a proper cage for your cham.

The UVB lamp can not be placed on the outside of the cage if the material it is made of plastic or glass. If you have a screen top the UVB rays will bass through, but not plastic or glass.

Have you ever taken readings of your room to find out the humidity levels? If your using real plants and misting the cage often enough it isn't TOO hard to maintain a decent level of humidity in a screened enclosure. If you were to run into trouble with a screen cage you could always hang plastic on two or three sides of the cage to retain the humidity in the winter months.

I would look into buying yourself a proper cage for the same of your animal
 
Ditto Ditto, please buy a proper cage. Keeping a delicate chameleon takes a little effort to set up correctly. If you don't have the where withall to do so then you should wait to get your chameleon until you can.

Chameleons must have air circulation, proper lighting, some humidity (supplied with misting several times a day) and nutritious food. Although humidity is important, it is not necessary to keep them in a fog. Mist 3 times a day for 2-3 minutes and you should be good even with a screened cage.
 
I Set the cage up two weeks before I got him and I also bought a screen cage the same time. I kept both as if I had a cham in them for a week, misting 3 times a day for 3-5 minutes each time. The Sceen cage did not hold enough humidty. The humidity was at 30% most of the time. I have the lights going right now so that the UVB and basking light are not going through the glass they are going right into the enclosure. I really did try to get a sceen cage to work, but it just doesn't.
 
Putting the lights, especially the heat lamp, inside the cage is not recommended (chameleons can easily get contact burns).

Perhaps you could cover two or three sides of the screen cage you have with towel or plastic shower curtain or similar, to retain more humidity. Alternatively, more live plants, a humidfier for the room, more misting (by hand or with an automatic system), etc.

Or, consider building a cage with a screen top, ventilation down the front or one/two sides and the rest solid. I use pegboard on three sides, with screen on top and plexiglass doors.

You may find portions of my blog of interest/use:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/82-enclosures-housing.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/68-lighting-links.html
 
Last edited:
BunnyGirl said:
I Set the cage up two weeks before I got him and I also bought a screen cage the same time. I kept both as if I had a cham in them for a week, misting 3 times a day for 3-5 minutes each time. The Sceen cage did not hold enough humidty. The humidity was at 30% most of the time. I have the lights going right now so that the UVB and basking light are not going through the glass they are going right into the enclosure. I really did try to get a sceen cage to work, but it just doesn't.
Click to expand...

Did you try using plastic on two or three sides of your cage to help maintain humidity?

Try using a shower curtain cut into a rectangle the same width as your cage side panel. Then undo the screws to separate the top panel from the sides. Hang the plastic piece over the top of the side panel a little. Place top panel back into place to secure the plastic. the plastice will just hang down the side of the screen on the outside of the cage. If you need to get more air moving in the cage you can roll up the plastic or fold it up and use a clip to secure it in an elevated position.

Having the lights inside of the cage is a really bad idea. This is not safe.
 
I grabbed a $30 humidifier from amazon/walmart/target. They are the ones that look like animals. I live close enough to the beach that I won't really need it unless it's a warm summer day, but for someone like you it would be perfect.

Since everyone really reccomends the screen over the glass, this seems like a reasonable solution.

You can also place plants around the cage on the outside, this keeps up room humidity real well.
 
aaron1 said:
how long can a cham go without its heatlamp?
Click to expand...

he needs heat to properly activate his metabolism.
Heatlamp should not be a problem to find. an incandescent house bulb is sufficient heat source.
I would not try to subject him without heat source in a very cold environment more than a day.
 
I already have a humidifer in the room, and two in the hall right outside of the room. I also have alot of plants. I have plants everywhere. There are two large plants in his cage, and I have dozens surroinding him,a nd all throught the room. I am going to cut a larger hole in the top of the cage and put screen over it and put his lights on there. I am also going to take the door off of his cage completly so he has "Free Roam".
Thank you for your help eveyone!!
 
BunnyGirl said:
I already have a humidifer in the room, and two in the hall right outside of the room. I also have alot of plants. I have plants everywhere. There are two large plants in his cage, and I have dozens surroinding him,a nd all throught the room. I am going to cut a larger hole in the top of the cage and put screen over it and put his lights on there. I am also going to take the door off of his cage completly so he has "Free Roam".
Thank you for your help eveyone!!
Click to expand...

Is your house cham proofed yet?

Do you have any other animals? Fish, cat or dog?
 
Do lots of searchs on this forum about free-ranging.
Make sure he will have adequate exposure to UVB and water when he wanders, and that there's nothing to hurt him (falls, children, dogs, birds, chemicals) wherever he might go.

I free-ranged a chameleon for a couple years, back when I only had the one fella. It was tricky but rewarding.
Best of luck :)
 
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