New Chameleon Enclosure

[davidg88]

Hey guys,

I recently bought a 3.5 month old amilobe panther chameleon. This is my setup right now, I mostly have fake plants however am putting in a hibiscus. I bought one today but it ended up being to large for the enclosure. I have a small dracaena but the rest is plastic. I was wondering if any of you experienced cham owners could give me some pointers on the cage set-up. I am also having trouble keeping humidity at ~65%, Im down around ~55% humidity. I mist 6-8 times a day and have a bark substrate. Any tips to get the humidity up as well. Im using a 75w heat lamp with a second light for UV light. I also wondering about how long to keep the lights on. I am doing 14 hours on 10 hours off.

 

[Volusiaweb]

First of all, that's a good looking little guy - where did you get him?

The easiest way to raise the humidity without cutting off the airflow with plastic is to add those live plants you were thinking of. You could trim the hibiscus down a bit to fit, and also I have found that umbrella plants thrive well under fluorescents.

 

[Ellron]

Is the UVB bulb compact or twirly? Those are discouraged. The best is the reptisun 5.0 linear tubes. They are long florescent.
And no substrate, they can eat it and get impacted. No reason to risk it. You can use paper towels if you feel the need for substrate, but you don't need it.

 

[davidg88]

I think its a twirly, whats the rationale behind why they are discouraged. He gets alot of natural light aswell. Also, The pet store told me to use the bark because it retains moisture. Is this a real problem with chameleons? or just being over-protective?

 

[sarah777]

Using bark is definitely not a good idea. If they eat it while going for a cricket, it will cause impaction and they can die. And yes you also need a tube light not the one that looks like a twirly light bulb. Those can cause problems with their eyes.

 

[Nixehface]

I think its a twirly, whats the rationale behind why they are discouraged. He gets alot of natural light aswell. Also, The pet store told me to use the bark because it retains moisture. Is this a real problem with chameleons? or just being over-protective?

Some of them have been known to cause blindness in chams so not many people associate them with good things. There are some however that are safe, so maybe you should just check somehow if that one is alright to use.

It depends how big that bark is and how you feed your chameleon.
To me personally, if you cup feed your cham then I feel that it is not a problem to have some kind of substrate as long as it's too big for him to eat!

 

[jannb]

I would not use the coil light. I have read thread after thread on here where they have caused eye problems that lead to blindness. It is not safe to use substrate because it's harder to keep the bottom of the cage clean and bacteria and fungus can grow and chameleons can also eat it and become impacted. I would recommend a humidifer to raise the humidity.

 

[SliK JiM]

That's a good start mate. Could definitely do with so real plants as this will aid your humidity problem too. Something leafy like the ficus will really boost the humidity in there. It will probably allow you to reduce your mistings as 6/day is quite a bit (well, that does depend how long you mist for!)

14 hours is good for summer. Just drop it down to around 12 for winter.

 

[jannb]

6 times a day it allot of misting. Be sure that your cage dries out between each misting.

 

[davidg88]

Hey,

I will try and return the light today, thats what the pet-store reccomened. I don't want Filbert losing his eye sight . I cup feed him and have never seen him on the ground. The wood bark are pretty large about the size of his entire body. But I think i'll remove that as well, not worth the risk. Thanks for all the help

 

[davidg88]

Alright, I got rid of the bark and put a vinyl floor, this way I can keep it cleaner and he wont accidently eat any. I got a smaller hibiscus I just put in and a dracanea fragans. I made a custom make drip system so it will always keep some water for the little guy. My light isn't a normal fluoro, it's one that is meant for reptiles reptiglow. Is this still pose a risk for him?

 

[davidg88]

Hey,

I made some adjustments after all your suggestions, let me know what you guys think.

 

[WinstonChrchll]

Hey,

I made some adjustments after all your suggestions, let me know what you guys think.

Looks great! He'll need some heftier vines from what I can see for when he grows a bit but right now its good. As for the lighting just two things: Its best to just play it safe and get the linear tubes although the new compact flourescents are safer, there are a few threads on here discussing it. Second, hibiscus are generally high light plants so you might want to put a "grow light" or perhaps cycle it outdoors for a while.

 

[nick barta]

55% Humidity is fine for a Panther...

Nick