new trying to learn

[Homer8]

i am new here and i am trying to learn as much as possible about chameleons and their setup. I want to do as much diy as possible as i am very handy. I have bought a 36x18x18 cage for my future chameleon. i plan on getting him or her in January.

The only place i know of that sells (veiled) chameleons is petco and if possible i would like to find somewhere else to get them even though this petco is very knowledgeable with all their other pets. (i am very knowledgeable with fish and they unlike most chain stores,even other petcos, know what they are talking about and dont just sell a pet without making sure you know and have everything to take care of it.)

what i have:
cricket keeper with flukers food and cricket quencher
plastic spray bottle


i plan on getting:
2 lamp housings
UVB bulb
incandescent bulb for basking
light timer
vines
plant decor
dietary supplements

what lights would everyone recommend that are cheaper but work very well and arent a "you get what you pay for" kind of thing?

recommended live plants?

what else would anyone recommend for me?

 

[cricketkilla]

I use small ficus trees in all of my enclosures with organic soil and a layer of river rocks over that. I use a lot of natural tree limbs as perches, just make sure and bake them before putting them in the enclosure. Your going to want to get an insect colony going, wether it be dubia, discoids, crickets, etc.. This will sound weird but one of your main focuses will be providing your bugs with a varied diet of dried gutloads and rotating between various fruits and vegetables. The saying "You are what you eat" is true with chameleons as well. Our site sponsor screameleons has an excellent free email based crash course for chameleons that goes over some of the more basic needs of a chameleon. Many of our sponsors have veiled chameleons, you might try the classifieds section as well. Feel free to send me a PM if you need any help! Good luck!

 

[cricketkilla]

For that size cage by the way, I'd go with a reptisun 5.0 for UVB. I prefer the tube bulb as it seems to spread the light better.

 

[Homer8]

Your going to want to get an insect colony going, wether it be dubia, discoids, crickets, etc.. This will sound weird but one of your main focuses will be providing your bugs with a varied diet of dried gutloads and rotating between various fruits and vegetables. Many of our sponsors have veiled chameleons, you might try the classifieds section as well. Feel free to send me a PM if you need any help! Good luck!

i used to own a mudskipper(fish that walks on land) and i had to feed him a varied diet of insects, which is why i i have the stuff for the crickets. I have read up on breeding crickets and that is not something i would want to do. I have access to meal worms, crickets, and wax worms which i do not mind buying and dusting with supplements and i have found that feeding crickets apples works very well.

For that size cage by the way, I'd go with a reptisun 5.0 for UVB. I prefer the tube bulb as it seems to spread the light better.

what should i use for a bulb for heat?

 

[Rango183]

house bulb 60 watts would do for heat