Meet George, my 3 month old blue bar ambilobe

[Benton1576]

Hi all,

I finally got my cham. he is a 3 month old blue bar ambilobe. seems to be showing quite a lot of colour for his age. im hoping he will be a stunner like his dad who is my avatar.

please feel free to comment

 

[pssh]

He's a cutie.

Where do you live? And do you have a UVB light for him? I would recomend taking the light out of his cage so he doesn't burn himself, and your cage doesn't seem to have any openings for air exchange? Also, get rid of the substrate. Breeding ground for bacteria and he could accidentally eat some which can cause an impaction. Impactions are very serious and can cause death.

 

[Benton1576]

He's a cutie.

Where do you live? And do you have a UVB light for him? I would recomend taking the light out of his cage so he doesn't burn himself, and your cage doesn't seem to have any openings for air exchange? Also, get rid of the substrate. Breeding ground for bacteria and he could accidentally eat some which can cause an impaction. Impactions are very serious and can cause death.

i have a mercury vapour heat and UVB light in there, its a powersun. also, this is a custom built tank and has air vents in the bottom and at the top creating a chimney effect.

I am living in Germany at the moment, Im British though!

 

[pssh]

Oh, well in that case, he needs a basking spot under the light, but the light has to be out of his reach and far enough away that he will not be burned. It's usually just best to leave it on top of the mesh at the top of the cage, or even raised from the screen so he cant burn his belly should he hang upside down. And again, the subsrtate is a bad idea, esspecially if you're not cup feeding.

 

[Benton1576]

i have vines running horizontal between the branches, he cant reach the light and even when he gets bigger he wont b able to reach it, this tank is a lot bigger than it appears! lol. i know that many people say substrate is a bad idea but i got this from a reputable dealer here in germany and they assure me that what i am using is fine as they use it themselves too. i guess some people are over catious, i personally think that in the wild, there is soil on the ground so why would it be any different in his tank?

 

[Syn]

in the wild, there is soil on the ground so why would it be any different in his tank?

Because they are up a lot higher and not always so close to soil.

 

[gwjones777]

And it just makes cleaning ALOT easier and less chance of it becoming a bacteria breeding ground

 

[pssh]

Chameleons aren't usually only 4 feet from the ground unless they're laying eggs.

 

[BocaJan]

substrate is where the poop and urates fall. Chammys do get to the bottom when chasing a cricket. It is almost impossible to keep the substrate clean. I have found that extremely few pet stores know what they are talking about when talking about chameleons.

 

[Benton1576]

so what can i use instead then? everyone i know over here uses soil. its not soil from the garden, it is for chameleon cages, or so it said on the packet! i dont want my cham to get ill and at the same time i want my tank to look natural as i can, i see it as a focal point in my living room.

 

[BocaJan]

I put down a piece of paper towel. This way it is easy to clean up the cham's waste and also misc. cricket parts.

 

[gwjones777]

and this may be a stupid question but how does the vents on the floor of the cage work properly if there is substrate?

 

[pssh]

Well, since it's in a glass tank. Paper towels or nothing. Some members with screen cages can get away with putting river rocks on the bottom when they have a drainage system, but since most people dont drill holes in glass tanks, nothing is best.

EDIT: gwjones777: The vents are usually above the soil or substrate.

 

[Benton1576]

and this may be a stupid question but how does the vents on the floor of the cage work properly if there is substrate?

the vent is raised, i will post some pics if you like but it wont be today, if you look where the thermometer is, it kinda sits on a shelf inside the tank, thats where the bottom vent is.

 

[pssh]

Just another reason not to use soil or bark, some people's chameleons have choked and died on soil and bark.

 

[Benton1576]

ok, ill remove it immediately and use paper towels, kitchen roll will have to do for now. so.....apart from the substrate, how does my home made setup look? i made the rock background myself and set everything up, using ideas i got from on here. this forum has been very useful!

 

[pssh]

How hot is your basking site?

 

[Benton1576]

How hot is your basking site?

Basking area highest temp so far (in 3 days ive had him) is 95, lower tank is in 70's. night time temp lowest is 62.

i turn his light on at 7.30 in morning and it goes off at 21.30. set up on a timer.

i am misting twice per day, humidity is around 60-70. 40-50 first thing in the morning.

 

[pssh]

Panthers dont like it so hot. A baby should be arounf 80 and an adult areoung 85. Humidity should be around 40-50 when the cage is dry and spike up around 70-90 when misting and it should hang around 70-80 for a good hour or so after.

 

[don22283]

Do I have a male, or female? My chameleon is a blue bar abilobe. It's started to get a green color on his cheecks, and sometimes his body even a little greenish. Do male, and female's get this?