New enclousure!!!

[mfdelpicchia]

Hey all. I have just updated my enclouse for my veiled chameleon.

My first enclousure was way to small, was misinformed by the seller, and nearly cost me my cham.

This one is much better. Could u guys give me any feedback on this. I will put pictures for the old and new ones
Rhis is the old enclousure

 

[Sherbertsmysunshine]

It looks awesome! You raised it nicely and have lots of plants!
What are you using in the bottom of the enclosure, are they little wood chips?

 

[mfdelpicchia]

It looks awesome! You raised it nicely and have lots of plants!
What are you using in the bottom of the enclosure, are they little wood chips?

Hello there, is coconut chips. I know that many many said for leave the bottom empty, but this will sort of help me to retain humitidy, hopefully. And she never goes to the bottom anyway.

I also got a longer UVB light and a fogger.
The bottom of the cage is total dark. I am worried that the plants wont last.

 

[Beman]

Hey there... Looking much better. Can you tell me what type of UVB fixture and bulb strength you got?

I would pull the chips out of the bottom. The issue is if she eats them you now have a very expensive surgery for an impaction.
Did you put the lay bin back in the enclosure?

 

[mfdelpicchia]

Hey there... Looking much better. Can you tell me what type of UVB fixture and bulb strength you got?

I would pull the chips out of the bottom. The issue is if she eats them you now have a very expensive surgery for an impaction.
Did you put the lay bin back in the enclosure?

Hello there.

The uvb is a

T5 UVB Reptile Light - 10.0 24W, but i will get a 39W tmrw.​

Yes I set the lay bin on the corner on the back with a small plant. Mix play sand/pot soil.

I get the issue on the chips in the bottom but she never goes down. Not even when i have a 24inch tall enclousure she just stay on the top quarter of the cage.. and so far on the new home is the same... if i see she is venturing down i maybe remove.

Also i normally dont leave feeders wondering around the cage. I have a cup feeder and if she dont eat i take it out.. so is unlikely she get a chip trying to eat.


But what make me wonder. I want to upgrade for bioactive eventually. That will not have the same issue? Specially if i have the tinny creatures wondering on the bottom of the cage? Should I still be worried if I change for bioactive?

 

[Beman]

Hello there.

The uvb is a

T5 UVB Reptile Light - 10.0 24W, but i will get a 39W tmrw.​

Yes I set the lay bin on the corner on the back with a small plant. Mix play sand/pot soil.

I get the issue on the chips in the bottom but she never goes down. Not even when i have a 24inch tall enclousure she just stay on the top quarter of the cage.. and so far on the new home is the same... if i see she is venturing down i maybe remove.

Also i normally dont leave feeders wondering around the cage. I have a cup feeder and if she dont eat i take it out.. so is unlikely she get a chip trying to eat.


But what make me wonder. I want to upgrade for bioactive eventually. That will not have the same issue? Specially if i have the tinny creatures wondering on the bottom of the cage? Should I still be worried if I change for bioactive?

Why are you wanting to increase to a 36 inch fixture? You can use a 24 inch fixture and have it running side to side on the top of the enclosure. You do not need to put one diagonal with the 36 inch fixture.

With the 10.0 bulb and a t5HO fixture you want a good 11 inches between the bottom of the fixture and the branch below it to put the cham in the correct UVI level. Your branches look very high in your cage. So you want to measure from the branch to the screen then take that amount and subtract it from 11. That will give you the distance your fixture needs to be raised up off the top of the cage.

If you had the 5.0 bulb you have less distance you need to have between the fixture and the branch looking at 8-9 inches instead. So you could reduce the bulb strength to the 5.0 and then do the same math to figure out what you need to raise the fixture to.

Either way if you follow these guidelines it will put her in a 3 UVI basking level. Which is what is recommended. Run your fixture parallel to the branch below it. So she gets full UVB basking area.

The chips being in there or not is up to you. We just want you to know that this poses a major risk and expense should she eat them. Veileds are opportunistic eaters and they are a bit like toddlers everything goes into the mouth from chewing on plants to targeting dirt in plants to eating stuff off the bottom of the cage. As they mature this gets worse than when they are young.

Bioactive is different because you have to put a layer of leaf litter over the dirt. Not only will this protect your clean up crew from being eaten but the chams tend to stay out of it unless they see something that is enticing. But even if they eat a dried leaf this is not going to cause an impaction like a chuck of hard coco or the wood some people will put in the bottom.

 

[mfdelpicchia]

Why are you wanting to increase to a 36 inch fixture? You can use a 24 inch fixture and have it running side to side on the top of the enclosure. You do not need to put one diagonal with the 36 inch fixture.

With the 10.0 bulb and a t5HO fixture you want a good 11 inches between the bottom of the fixture and the branch below it to put the cham in the correct UVI level. Your branches look very high in your cage. So you want to measure from the branch to the screen then take that amount and subtract it from 11. That will give you the distance your fixture needs to be raised up off the top of the cage.

If you had the 5.0 bulb you have less distance you need to have between the fixture and the branch looking at 8-9 inches instead. So you could reduce the bulb strength to the 5.0 and then do the same math to figure out what you need to raise the fixture to.

Either way if you follow these guidelines it will put her in a 3 UVI basking level. Which is what is recommended. Run your fixture parallel to the branch below it. So she gets full UVB basking area.

The chips being in there or not is up to you. We just want you to know that this poses a major risk and expense should she eat them. Veileds are opportunistic eaters and they are a bit like toddlers everything goes into the mouth from chewing on plants to targeting dirt in plants to eating stuff off the bottom of the cage. As they mature this gets worse than when they are young.

Bioactive is different because you have to put a layer of leaf litter over the dirt. Not only will this protect your clean up crew from being eaten but the chams tend to stay out of it unless they see something that is enticing. But even if they eat a dried leaf this is not going to cause an impaction like a chuck of hard coco or the wood some people will put in the bottom.

Hello there, thank you for the feedback..
The reason why I want to change, is because most of places I saw using a diagonal uvb.. so I have set up my branchs considering this.. the branchs direct under the light is some 8 inchs more or less. I will adjust that tmrw when I set up the new uvb. Also all the things i am swaping i will build another cage for a gecko, but my wife dont know that yet. Lol

I will keep an eye on her for the chips, if I see she is venturing in the bottom i will remove.

I got a fog machine now, i am struggling to keep the humitidy levels high in the night. Hopefully this can do the trick.

 

[Beman]

Hello there, thank you for the feedback..
The reason why I want to change, is because most of places I saw using a diagonal uvb.. so I have set up my branchs considering this.. the branchs direct under the light is some 8 inchs more or less. I will adjust that tmrw when I set up the new uvb. Also all the things i am swaping i will build another cage for a gecko, but my wife dont know that yet. Lol

I will keep an eye on her for the chips, if I see she is venturing in the bottom i will remove.

I got a fog machine now, i am struggling to keep the humitidy levels high in the night. Hopefully this can do the trick.

So just adjust the UVB by raising it based on the info I gave you in the post.

For fogging you want temps to be cool at night when you run it. Below 67 preferably. Heat and fog can lead to a respiratory infection. So cooler at night is safer.

 

[mfdelpicchia]

So just adjust the UVB by raising it based on the info I gave you in the post.

For fogging you want temps to be cool at night when you run it. Below 67 preferably. Heat and fog can lead to a respiratory infection. So cooler at night is safer.

Hey! Thank u for the help.

Fog i set 2 times, furst session around 7pm for 2 hrs together with mist, so she can go to bed in a cool humid environment. And another longer session from 3 to 8 am and another misting at 7.30 am. So she has plenty options to drink. I probably add a dripper, somewhere along the day, and we also spray 2 or 3 times manually.

I will raise uvb couple of inches so i get the correct distance.

 

[Beman]

Hey! Thank u for the help.

Fog i set 2 times, furst session around 7pm for 2 hrs together with mist, so she can go to bed in a cool humid environment. And another longer session from 3 to 8 am and another misting at 7.30 am. So she has plenty options to drink. I probably add a dripper, somewhere along the day, and we also spray 2 or 3 times manually.

I will raise uvb couple of inches so i get the correct distance.

Your welcome. That is great as long as your temps are low enough for the fogging at night. Misting morning and late afternoon then having a dripper run morning or mid day are good options.