New Cham owner, just checking everything is okay.

[Beman]

38" from the bottom
Right at 11" from his basking spot. I will have my husband move it down another two inches when he gets home.
His shower curtain only covers the door and the side of his enclosure. I didn't get a full picture sorry. The top is uncovers as well as the other two sides are uncovered. The fog rolls to the bottom, and then out the other two sides. Should I move him another inch away from the wall to let it flow out more?
Will let the service door be uncovered

Ok we do not care about the bottom of the cage. Not sure where you found that info or what general rule it was. But with these T5HO fixtures and bulbs literally you lose all uvb about 18 inches down from it. So they do not even penetrate 4 foot down. Your usable UVB focused distance for a 3 UVI is about 8-9 inches away from the bulb with the bulb going through screen. Once you hit about 14 inches your drastically reducing the UVI and lucky to see a 1 UVI level. Which honestly we want the UVB to fall off. They also need to be able to move in and out of it and move down further to get into different gradients of temp and humidity.

Are the other two sides all the way up to the wall though? If so there is not going to be full air flow. Make sure your not getting two much moisture build up on your walls. Fogging comes with its own issues for your house lol.

 

[Humble]

Ok we do not care about the bottom of the cage. Not sure where you found that info or what general rule it was. But with these T5HO fixtures and bulbs literally you lose all uvb about 18 inches down from it. So they do not even penetrate 4 foot down. Your usable UVB focused distance for a 3 UVI is about 8-9 inches away from the bulb with the bulb going through screen. Once you hit about 14 inches your drastically reducing the UVI and lucky to see a 1 UVI level. Which honestly we want the UVB to fall off. They also need to be able to move in and out of it and move down further to get into different gradients of temp and humidity.

Are the other two sides all the way up to the wall though? If so there is not going to be full air flow. Make sure your not getting two much moisture build up on your walls. Fogging comes with its own issues for your house lol.

I'll have to find the video, it was from Neptune the chameleon. She said that the bulbs were designed for a 4ft enclosure and if it was too low, they would get too much UVB, that they needed to be able to get out of UVB as well (This was my confusion. I know what UVB is for and why it's important. But I couldn't understand how it being 4foot from the bottom would allow him to get enough, because if it were a 4ft enclosure, his basking branch would be 9 inches under it. But it wasn't safe for it to be 9 inches from the basking branch in a smaller enclosure..
I probably misunderstood what was being said.
Enclosure is about an inch away from the walls. I do a wipe down every morning. The plants catch a lot of the moisture, they are all covered in little drops of water as well as now the rocks all have water drops on them. And because I don't have drainage holes yet it most pools up right at the bottom. I sit on the floor, open his service door and use a hand towel to soak up the water. He also seems to be a morning pooper. So I make sure to check that out before cleaning up. There is some moisture on the walls I wipe down. We are debating putting some shower curtains on the wall itself and floor under the whole table. I just feel like that's a lot of movement going on every time we need to clean off the curtains so mold doesn't build up.. I was thinking we could do clean up like that once a week when he gets some actual outside time. So he's not in his enclosure while I'm doing all the heavy cleaning.
I have a Ti plant in my backyard as well a good sized Taro plant he's still small enough to climb in.

 

[Beman]

I'll have to find the video, it was from Neptune the chameleon. She said that the bulbs were designed for a 4ft enclosure and if it was too low, they would get too much UVB, that they needed to be able to get out of UVB as well (This was my confusion. I know what UVB is for and why it's important. But I couldn't understand how it being 4foot from the bottom would allow him to get enough, because if it were a 4ft enclosure, his basking branch would be 9 inches under it. But it wasn't safe for it to be 9 inches from the basking branch in a smaller enclosure..
I probably misunderstood what was being said.
Enclosure is about an inch away from the walls. I do a wipe down every morning. The plants catch a lot of the moisture, they are all covered in little drops of water as well as now the rocks all have water drops on them. And because I don't have drainage holes yet it most pools up right at the bottom. I sit on the floor, open his service door and use a hand towel to soak up the water. He also seems to be a morning pooper. So I make sure to check that out before cleaning up. There is some moisture on the walls I wipe down. We are debating putting some shower curtains on the wall itself and floor under the whole table. I just feel like that's a lot of movement going on every time we need to clean off the curtains so mold doesn't build up.. I was thinking we could do clean up like that once a week when he gets some actual outside time. So he's not in his enclosure while I'm doing all the heavy cleaning.
I have a Ti plant in my backyard as well a good sized Taro plant he's still small enough to climb in.

Yeah I think maybe it was just miss understood. UVB is one of the harder aspects to actually wrap your brain around. Essentially there are 3 zones to what the bulbs put out. Overexposure, perfect UVI of 3 and then under exposure when your below a UVI of 1. Usable UVB really runs in the 2-3 UVI level. Then there is a max exposure of 6 UVI. The issue is with the bulbs the closer you get to the bulb the stronger the exposure. The problem with this is that they produce levels that are not even on earth with the sun. That is where you get into over exposure. This is why when you have screen climbers specifically babies climbing the top. The UVB fixture has to be raised anywhere from 4-7 inches depending on bulb strength. But essentially with these bulbs and the 4 main options for bulb strength when your looking at them on cages your zone of UVB is from the fixture down about 18 inches before it reduces completely.

Then you get into other things that change UVI levels. So we spoke about distance. Next is fixture type. Single bulb, Dual bulb, quad (4 bulb). Now if a dual or a quad does not have individual reflectors meaning they drop down in between the bulbs then your UVI will change. Because of it being a single reflector for all bulbs. What this will do is then reduce the UVI output of that bulb. So the only way to maintain the output is with individual reflectors.

Then there is the screen type or lack of screen in between the fixture and the enclosure. So with standard aluminum window screen your looking at an approximate 40% reduction in out put levels passing through the screen. But if you go to a larger gauge screen material or wire then more UVB will come through. It does not reduce it the same because more can pass through. So you get even stronger levels closer to the bulb. This is the same when someone puts a fixture inside a cage top. Higher UVI than seen on earth is what the cham is exposed to. It is also why you have to be careful if you replace screen due to a tear. You need to replace with aluminum screen always on the top panel due to fiberglass screen not having the same reduction value to it.

That was a lot of info. Hopefully I explained it in a way that makes sense...

 

[sketchtone]

I'll have to find the video, it was from Neptune the chameleon. She said that the bulbs were designed for a 4ft enclosure and if it was too low, they would get too much UVB, that they needed to be able to get out of UVB as well (This was my confusion. I know what UVB is for and why it's important. But I couldn't understand how it being 4foot from the bottom would allow him to get enough, because if it were a 4ft enclosure, his basking branch would be 9 inches under it. But it wasn't safe for it to be 9 inches from the basking branch in a smaller enclosure..
I probably misunderstood what was being said.
Enclosure is about an inch away from the walls. I do a wipe down every morning. The plants catch a lot of the moisture, they are all covered in little drops of water as well as now the rocks all have water drops on them. And because I don't have drainage holes yet it most pools up right at the bottom. I sit on the floor, open his service door and use a hand towel to soak up the water. He also seems to be a morning pooper. So I make sure to check that out before cleaning up. There is some moisture on the walls I wipe down. We are debating putting some shower curtains on the wall itself and floor under the whole table. I just feel like that's a lot of movement going on every time we need to clean off the curtains so mold doesn't build up.. I was thinking we could do clean up like that once a week when he gets some actual outside time. So he's not in his enclosure while I'm doing all the heavy cleaning.
I have a Ti plant in my backyard as well a good sized Taro plant he's still small enough to climb in.

Lots of chams love outside time! Depending on where you are, you are going to have to be more or less cautious of overheating for him. It's easiest to tell on Panthers, but for him, check for gaping and climbing downward while outside. He also might close his eyes, but that is the last sign of severe heat stress, so you would have to take him in. If it's too cold where you are, it might not be a good idea to take him outside, but judging about the plants you said you have, it probably won't be.

I suggest instead of weekly cleans you do spot cleaning. Then you don't have to move him, move his things, then put him back (less stress.) Weekly cleanings can work, but make sure that if you do the cleanings that you don't move much around because chams take about two(ish) weeks to get used to new environments. (that's the rule of thumb but every cham is different.)

Also, yes, you can put the curtain/towel on the floor, but I suggest a draining hole and bucket. You can also put potted plants at the bottom and let the soil catch the water.

 

[Rita1]

Hello all, tomorrow makes two weeks having my first cham. We got him from PetSmart, I believe he is between 4 and 5 months old.
I know that the cage size is incorrect, as we got the chameleon kit for him so we would be able to bring him home. I know it's recommended to have your set up ready before you bring them home, but alas. We did not..
I am mostly happy with everything aside from the size. I already had a number of plants perfect for an enclosure so being able to use them this way was exciting to me.
I changed the soil in all of them to jungle mix repi-breeze.
His stick for basking is right at 6 inches from his heat lamp. (I have to double check what he's go in there for that. I know it's one of the blue blubs that emits the soft white light.
We have the reptisun T5 H0 5.0 UVB 24" fixture, and it is 4 feet from the bottom of his enclosure. I see this is recommended for enclosure this size. (I don't quite understand UVB yet. would love help on that.... ) We just got the correct bulb for him yesterday.
ambient temps in house are usually 68-70.
I have a thermal heat gun as well as the probe thermometer and circular hydrometer that came with the kit. I know they tend to be kind of off, but I like it for a general idea. I also have a digital reader for temp and humidity. I move it around in the day. sometimes I keep it right by the window and I know if its high there, it's probably getting that way in his enclosure. I will close the blinds and or curtains and turn the air down one degree in the house and that does the trick.
I don't let it get any hotter that 90 at his basking spot. I will turn his heat bulb off for a while if it starts getting up there.
I check his temps a time or two throughout the day, especially around 12, as he is near a window. I keep the ceiling fan on during the day and that helps the humidity stay down. Between 35 and 55, depending on how it is outside/ inside
Lights turn on at 8am and off at 8pm
Fogger turns on at 1am until 7am
I hand mist for one minute right after his lights turn off, and for one minute, 30 minutes before his lights come on. ( Will get the mist king when we get his 2X2x4 enclosure in about 3 weeks. ) He is not a fan of the misting. he absolutely hates it.
When his lights turn off, I cover two sides of his enclosure with a clear shower curtain cut to size, and turn off the ceiling fan.
I take it off about 7:30am.
As far as I know. Temps get down to 68 late in the night. And the highest I can get the humidity is between 60% and 70%
Once I get the mist king I know it'll be able to get a bit higher in the late/early hours.
Oxylus (my cham) seems to wake up between 6-6:30AM. And he then moves to sit under his fogger. Once it cuts off, he slowly walks around some. Or goes to one of the sun beams coming through the window into his enclosure. Once I uncover him he either comes to life and is I assume hunting, or sits and watches me when I lay back down. I am thinking of keeping him covered until his lights come on.
He ate two Dubia roaches and is showing ZERO interest in them after. He eats crickets fine. This is what he ate at the pet store so I expect that.. He seems unsure of the horn worm but it also was on my hand. He will eat from a bowl that I am holding, but still isn't crazy about my hand. I am still trying out bugs.
I gut load with sweet potato, mango and bell pepper at the moment.
In his first week he was only eating up to 7 crickets a day.. but the last week he's been eating up to 19.
I also have some Wax worms. I give him two or three every few days.
He enjoys to free rang his food more than the bowl. He seems to loose interest in the bowl after about 3-5 bugs and then will literally go eat dirt until I shake the bowl and stir up the crickets. Or let one loose to catch his eye.. I am getting some flat rocks to cover the dirt.. I know I got dirt safe for him.. But it's stressing me out seeing him eating this dirt..
I've watches several videos and read articles on how to dust. And I feel like I'm doing everything accordingly.
Repti Calcium without D3 every feeding except the 1st and 15th, I use Reptivite with D3
(once again help understanding UVB would be awesome.. I feel like I have a decent grasp on everything else )
update as I type.. He seems to still be going for his dirt even after eating at least 19 crickets today. It is 4:05 pm. He still has one cricket that I can see left. If its not gone soon Ill take it out... I just put a small glass jars upside down on top of the soil. But he's still going for it. I have no idea what do.. I gotta find rocks.. but whats making him to do it in the first place?!?!?!?

Hello and welcome, you will get lots of help. I have a bio active setup and I cover my dirt with oak leaves.

 

[elizaann2]

Just wanted to jump in and say hello and welcome! You have a beautiful boy there