New owner with some questions!

[allllllen]

Hey guys, i just got my chameleon this morning. had a few questions.

My chameleon is an Ambanja X Ambilobe, male , a little over 3 months.
Handling- i wont be handling him for these first 2 or 3 weeks.
Feeding- 1/4 crickets, 8-12 daily.
Supplements - Rep cal ( calcium with D3)-every other day and herptivite ( multivitamin) twice a week
Watering - I have a habba mist system that sprays every 3 hours for 30 secs, so my chameleon has some water while im at work or school but, i try and spray his cage with a spray bottle 3-4 times a day. too much?
Fecal Description- shaped kinda like a mini football. dark brown / black. not sure how its supposed to be?
The cage that i will be receiving is the Zilla screen habitat ( small)
Lighting- Reptisun 5.0, 5.5 ceramin heat dome with a 60 watt bulb.
Plants- i have fake foilage, with branches that run across my enclosure.

Am i spraying the cage too many times a day? 3-4 times a day + my misting system that mists 30 secs every 3 hours?
The humidity in the cage is at about 55% - 60% during the day. havent really checked at night yet. is that ok?
Any recommendations on other foods to feed him? ex: certain type of worms?
Thanks!

 

[draetish]

Hey guys, i just got my chameleon this morning. had a few questions.

My chameleon is an Ambanja X Ambilobe, male , a little over 3 months.
Handling- i wont be handling him for these first 2 or 3 weeks.
Feeding- 1/4 crickets, 8-12 daily.
Supplements - Rep cal ( calcium with D3)-every other day and herptivite ( multivitamin) twice a weekYour supplement schedule needs tweaking. You want to use calcium no D3 & no phosphorus every other day. the multivitamin should be used 2x a month "if you are gutloading your feeders correctly". D3 should be used 1x a week sparingly unless he is getting natural sunlight 2-3 hours a day. D3 is what sunlight produces to help absorb calcium.
Watering - I have a habba mist system that sprays every 3 hours for 30 secs, so my chameleon has some water while im at work or school but, i try and spray his cage with a spray bottle 3-4 times a day. too much?
Fecal Description- shaped kinda like a mini football. dark brown / black. not sure how its supposed to be? Two parts to poop, one brownish/black which is his food and the other part is called the urate which should be snow white. If it is orangish, he needs more hydration.
The cage that i will be receiving is the Zilla screen habitat ( small)
Lighting- Reptisun 5.0,Your UVB should be linear and not spiral (known to cause eye issues) 5.5 ceramin heat dome with a 60 watt bulb.I don't think you need the heat dome and bulb.How are you measuring your temps?
Plants- i have fake foilage, with branches that run across my enclosure.


Am i spraying the cage too many times a day? 3-4 times a day + my misting system that mists 30 secs every 3 hours?
The humidity in the cage is at about 55% - 60% during the day. havent really checked at night yet. is that ok?
Any recommendations on other foods to feed him? ex: certain type of worms?
Thanks!

Feeders should be crickets and dubias gutloaded properly with collard or turnip greens, squash, carrots

 

[draetish]

Pictures of your set up would be very helpful.

 

[allllllen]

oh, yea, i missed the 2nd part of the poop. 1) brownish black and the other is white with tiny hints of orange. i guess i need to spray his cage more often? or should i use a cup with a small hole? not sure if my habba mist is getting the job done.
I have a thermometer. his basking spot is at 86-87 and the ambient temp
of the habitat is at 76-78.
here are some pics of my setup.

 

[draetish]

Set up looks good but you might want to go with real plants to aid in the humidity. What about your feeders and gutloading? Oh and BTW, you didn't post a pic of your cham, shame on you, we love baby cham pics, LOL.

 

[allllllen]

i know. the real plant i got was a bonsai umbrella tree.
Im not really sure but someone told me, they wouldnt really use it.
so i wanted to be cautious. Any recommendations on where to get some small ficus trees? or others? most of the ones around here are huge.
Pics will come up soon! gotta head to work now.
thanks

 

[draetish]

i know. the real plant i got was a bonsai umbrella tree.
Im not really sure but someone told me, they wouldnt really use it.
so i wanted to be cautious. Any recommendations on where to get some small ficus trees? or others? most of the ones around here are huge.
Pics will come up soon! gotta head to work now.
thanks

Regular pothos and sheffelera are good and do well inside. I haven't had luck with ficus myself. Try Lowes, Home Depot, WalMart.

 

[CBPanther]

Lowes or Home Depot will have Hibiscus' you can try those! Thats What I have for now until it gets to big and then I think it will be an umbrella plant. Good luck!

 

[allllllen]

Hey, would you guys have any tips on how
To raise my humidity up to 70% and keep it up there?
Without the use of a real plant? Cuz the humidity in my enclosure
Keeps easily dropping down to 30% if I dnt consistently spray

 

[draetish]

Hey, would you guys have any tips on how
To raise my humidity up to 70% and keep it up there?
Without the use of a real plant? Cuz the humidity in my enclosure
Keeps easily dropping down to 30% if I dnt consistently spray

The best way is to get a "humidifier" and set it up in the room in a central spot and keep the door closed. This raises the RH in the whole room which means the enclosure too. That way your enclosure is not dripping wet all the time. Chams do like to be dry too.

 

[allllllen]

thanks draetish! that does sound like a good idea, but i went out yesterday
and found myself a small ficus tree. Re-potted it in organic potting soil, washed the plant and rinsed it twice. ( im hoping thats good enough to get rid of anything harmful). I sprayed the cage earlier, its drying up now, but has been at a good 70-80%. Oh yea, and here are the pics i owe u haha. sorry they arent too great. i didnt want to get the cam up in his face and stress him out.

 

[draetish]

Way to Go Allen! Can't wait to watch him grow