New Improved Enclosure!!!

YOSHI

New Member
My original layout before joining the forum :

Then earlier on today after a trip to B&Q i purchased quite a large Devils Ivy :D

Then realising the devils ivy was not enough i took another trip to B&Q in hope of purchasing a Croton wich they had non in stock, so bought a Dragon Tree instead!

Vivs is no where near finished, going to sort out a drip system and a mister at some point not to mention more roots and places for him to climb onto.

At the moments all my artificial plants are on the floor of the viv, i been using a bark provided by my reptile store to keep the humidity high, should i keep to this or is there any other recommendations as im sure a few of you will point out compaction issues ???
 
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Looks better. What bulb are you using there? is it one of those UVA and UVB bulbs or do you have a separate UVB? I was looking at one of those vivariums but decided against them due to the fact that there was no mesh roof and lights had to be hung inside and I didnt fancy that if I was going to be spraying water in there everyday.
 
Yep, its both UVB and UVA its what was reccomended to me as im a complete novice but ye i do struggle with misting, already replaced the bulb once and that was after a month of it being in there, i now keep a spare on hand just incase, i try to spray away from the bulb but im sure the humidity is going to knacker it again at some point, so far ive not had a problem with my cham climbing on it, its perfectly in his reach but chooses to ignore it wich is lucky for me !
 
I would seriously consider ditching it and getting separate lights. The combined bulbs usually put out a lot of heat and uvb and can lead to burns. You would only be looking at around £30 to replace these for much safer alternatives. Your cham may be ignoring them now but it only takes one curious instance for him to reach up and grab it and he will have a serious burn.
 
What would you class as safer alternatives? I already have a compact light system so that i can get a uv bulb on the go, but how would i go about the heat?
 
Just added a few more branches, theres also one from pot to pot wich you carn't make out due to the brace, hopefully thats his bridge from plant to plant :)

 
I am new keeper myself and my experience is lacking but from what i have learnt from this site and others is that the most recommended lighting is a Linear 5.0 UVB like the reptisun and just use a ordinary lightbulb for basking.

I use a compact 5.0 UVB bulb (some people have issues with this bulb others dont, i have just been keeping a close eye on him and he seems fine) and a 40w light bulb for basking. I initially used a heat mat to bring up his ambient temps but to be honest it hasnt made much difference so i have ditched it and just turned up our central heating a touch. They dont need scorching hot desert temps, especially young ones. My temps are 26c basking, lowest temp is 15c and this drops down to around 12c at night with all the lights off, unless you live in an igloo im guessing your house temps wont be any lower.

No matter what bulbs you use id still look at a way of getting them outside of the cage/viv as water and electricity is never a good partnership and there is probably a high chance of your hot bulb shattering if its sprayed with cooler water. I know its a nice viv and you probs dont want to start hacking away at it but could you cut a hole in the roof and put a piece of mesh across it? this would be a lot safer IMO.

Again I say I am probably as or less experienced as you so I hope someone with greater knowledge can point out some of the errors im bound to be telling you.
 
What would you class as safer alternatives? I already have a compact light system so that i can get a uv bulb on the go, but how would i go about the heat?

The combined UVA/UVB bulbs generally have only a minimal amount of UVB rays that are not adequate for the health of your chameleon. You need a UVB dedicated light, a lot of us use the reptiglo 5.0, which is the appropriate concentration of UVB for chams. You don't need UVA (the UVB lights put off enough on their own). They generally don't put off nearly as much heat, especially if you get the smaller 13w bulb. The coil bulbs have been known to cause eye problems so if you can put a linear fixture in there and use linear bulbs they are safer and don't give off much heat either. If you're having trouble keeping the heat up in the cage, which you may not considering how enclosed it is, then you could add just a regular housebulb of varying wattage depending on how warm you need it. But above else make sure your cham can NOT reach the bulbs of any kind! And they can stand up on the branches and reach pretty far above them! Burns are painful and can be very severe, even life threatening.

Good luck :)
 
I am new keeper myself and my experience is lacking but from what i have learnt from this site and others is that the most recommended lighting is a Linear 5.0 UVB like the reptisun and just use a ordinary lightbulb for basking.

I use a compact 5.0 UVB bulb (some people have issues with this bulb others dont, i have just been keeping a close eye on him and he seems fine) and a 40w light bulb for basking. I initially used a heat mat to bring up his ambient temps but to be honest it hasnt made much difference so i have ditched it and just turned up our central heating a touch. They dont need scorching hot desert temps, especially young ones. My temps are 26c basking, lowest temp is 15c and this drops down to around 12c at night with all the lights off, unless you live in an igloo im guessing your house temps wont be any lower.

No matter what bulbs you use id still look at a way of getting them outside of the cage/viv as water and electricity is never a good partnership and there is probably a high chance of your hot bulb shattering if its sprayed with cooler water. I know its a nice viv and you probs dont want to start hacking away at it but could you cut a hole in the roof and put a piece of mesh across it? this would be a lot safer IMO.

Again I say I am probably as or less experienced as you so I hope someone with greater knowledge can point out some of the errors im bound to be telling you.

Nope, that was all right! :)
 
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