New cage. New questions. :) Best plants in a big cage?

[happiness]

I finally found a cage on craigslist 24x24x48. The ad was up for over 9 hours before I saw it! (I've been checking daily!!) Luckily the guy still had it and held it for me. It was only $30. I'm happy!

Question: Is 24x24x48 too big for my female veiled chameleon? I know that the males should have this size and heard something like the females should have a 36.. she is pretty small compared to the whole size of the cage. Would someone recommended adding another female chameleon to the cage? Would it be okay to add another female?


Right now I have the plants and other things I had in her smaller cage placed into the big one.. but it still seems to have just about nothing in it.
The pothos plant looks funny at the bottom of the cage as well.. I'm not sure what to do with it. It came with a hanger to hang it above but when I tried to put the hanger on, I realized one clip was broken and the other two would loosely go into the holes of the pot.. so I decided it was best not to even try.

Can someone suggest a bigger plant that I can place in the cage that my chameleon would like. She loves the pothos.. Will always hide in it at night to sleep, eats leaves off of it. Maybe there is a way to get it to hang? ideas? Should I put 2 pothos plants in here?

I'm also worried about the light.. Right now I'm using the regular bulb lights.. (I know this is bad, I need to upgrade soon!) and because the cage is so big.. it seems like there isn't much light coming down. Is this something that I need to fix now? Or can I hold off until I upgrade to a better light fixture.

Would also like to get a mister! I think that's one of the next things on my list. I do not have a job right now, I work from home selling things online so I'm always here to mist my chameleon.. but am thinking of getting a job here soon.. so I won't be here all the time to mist her. :\

Oh and right now the cage is just on the floor. I'm about to unscrew and take apart the old cage and place the new cage where my old one was.

 

[craig90]

Make sure you get a UV light asap!

That cage size is fine for one female.

You could try adding a shefflera and definitely some more branches to the cage. The pothos will grow pretty quickly and you can wrap it around or in between branches. I have a pothos on the bottom of my cage and have the vines tied up near the top then they hang back down.

Make sure the cage is raised enough that there are places where your cham can sit and look down at you.

 

[happiness]

Make sure you get a UV light asap!

That cage size is fine for one female.

You could try adding a shefflera and definitely some more branches to the cage. The pothos will grow pretty quickly and you can wrap it around or in between branches. I have a pothos on the bottom of my cage and have the vines tied up near the top then they hang back down.

Make sure the cage is raised enough that there are places where your cham can sit and look down at you.

Right now I have a UV bulb, but it is the Florescent bulb type, though I heard that it hurts their eyes? The owner that had this chameleon before me used the regular UV bulbs as well for 6 months and she seems fine. Should I still get the long tube UV lights?

I'll go to petsmart and get more of those bendy vines.

Thanks for your response. I'll go look at the shefflera plants at homedepot today.

 

[Djturna4thakidz]

Yes most people use the long tube UV light, I recommend the reptisun 5.0. Only keep one lizard per cage. It is a big cage but she should be fine, just make sure she is catching her food. Cup training her may be beneficial if you are going to keep her in that cage.

 

[Djturna4thakidz]

And as previously stated, get a schefflera. I think they are much better than pothos, ficus or money tree. The more hiding places the better.

 

[happiness]

Thank you! I usually cup feed her anyways It's fun to watch.

 

[ridgebax1]

At one time there was a problem with too much UV light being emitted from CFLs that could cause eye damage. That problem has been rectified and is no longer an issue, but many folks do use linear bulbs. You cage should be fine for your cham, I believe the recommendations are for the minimum size so you won't have a problem.

 

[happiness]

At one time there was a problem with too much UV light being emitted from CFLs that could cause eye damage. That problem has been rectified and is no longer an issue, but many folks do use linear bulbs. You cage should be fine for your cham, I believe the recommendations are for the minimum size so you won't have a problem.

Thank you

 

[shmeenakoz]

I bought all my plants CHEAP at Lowes! I have a huge schefflera and pothos that I split. The schefflera was $3! It takes up the whole 4 feet with tons of hiding spots