Preparing Enclosure for Cham arrival!!!

[dcooley08]

Hi guys and gals

So i am expecting my first cham in a couple of weeks (3 month old Ambilobi). I just want to make sure i have everything properly set up for him when he arrives. Ive been waiting just about three months for this little guy so i have done plenty of research throughout the forum.

So this is what i have. A 18"x18"x36" screen enclosure Filled with branches and vines from the woods that i have disinfected to ensure the safety of my little guy. I did this by stripping the bark, washing them with hot soapy water, then baked them in the oven for 30 minutes at 400 F. I then filled the enclosure with a number of different floral vines from AC Moore (once again cleaning and disinfecting beforehand).

Up top i have a reptisun 5.0 UVB bulb along with a 40 Watt Incandescent bulb for a heat lamp. This heat lamp keeps the basking spot at 82-84 F. The rest of the cage seems to have a nice gradients around 76-78 F. Are these good temps for a 3 month old Panther? Along with the lights i also have a dripper that will be dripping all day until lights out. His light timer is set from 8am to 8pm.

As you can see in the pictures below i also have a humidifier modified to blow inside the enclosure. With the humidifier on the overall humidity reaches 80 - 90% with the humidifier off its only between 30-40%. I have it on a timer and i am planning to run it for 30 minutes every 2 hours. Do you think this is sufficient?

The only things i believe i have left to get is a drip tray from LLLReptiles to put under the cage and modify it with a bulkhead for drainage into a bucket, and while im ordering that i need to get a live ficus tree that will be placed right in the middle of all the vines under the dripper.

As for food and supplements, I am going to use Rapshy Calcium Plus that i have already purchased, in addition to that order i grabbed a bag of bug burger for my ever growing Dubia colony.

Please check out the pictures attached and let me know what you guys think.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks everyone!!!

Especially Rottsko for providing me with a gorgeous little panther!!

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[dcooley08]

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[Zubi]

Looks great, and i'm glad that you did all of your research. U are also going to need to use fruits and veggies for your dubia gutload

 

[dcooley08]

Looks great, and i'm glad that you did all of your research. U are also going to need to use fruits and veggies for your dubia gutload

Yes yes i have been planning on using fruits and veggies also. Is there any particular recipe that works best to ensure a good healthy cham?

 

[Zubi]

Check out sandrachameleon's blog here. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/659-green-leafy-goodness-gutloading.html

it should give you some ideas on greens, and you can use apples, oranges, pears, mango... those are just some of the options

 

[dcooley08]

Thanks Zubi!!

 

[Lathelia]

It seems you are prepared. I would recommend using the humidifer as you are planning (30 min every 2 hours) and monitor the humidity then. Check if it's dry between each session and what is the humidity at the end of the session.
I think it's better to have a plain calcium to go with repashy calcium plus. I've read some people use it 5 times a week and twice a week just a plain calcium.
Other then that you did a great job. It's so nice to see people who really prepare before they get their first cham
Good luck and don't forget to share photos of your baby ambi

 

[dcooley08]

Thanks for the input. I have done extensive research preparing for this lil guy, and it has defiantly paid off thanks to everyone and there great info on this forum. I wouldn't have been able to do it without your help. And dont you worry, there will be a montage of photos being uploaded. super excited!!

 

[Rottsko]

hi deven! thank you and you're very welcome! just saw this thread and your setup looks great! lots of hiding places, branches and vines to roam around on. you're def ready for your little guy! i'm so happy he's going to a great home. i can't wait to see the pics of him growing up.

 

[birdlover71]

Jealous

Great set up... Good luck and don't forget pictures of your baby!

 

[dcooley08]

hi deven! thank you and you're very welcome! just saw this thread and your setup looks great! lots of hiding places, branches and vines to roam around on. you're def ready for your little guy! i'm so happy he's going to a great home. i can't wait to see the pics of him growing up.

Thanks Sang!! I do believe Raule will be very happy here in new hampshire!!! Did he have anything good to say about it when you asked him haha . you will see plenty of pics. im going to start a thread detected to him for photos after every shed or weekly. im still in the process of setting up his free range. but then again i have a couple months to get that together because i believe he is to young to be roaming around such a large area. he needs to get a little bigger for me to be comfortable with him out of the enclosure.

Have you figured out which one will make a good Raule?? I like the guy with the greens coming threw already. he looks like a raule to me.

All the best. and thanks again!!

 

[MollyT]

I will be getting my chameleon next month, and am about a month and a half in to non-stop chameleon research! haha I was wondering...what kind of humidifier are you using and where did you get it?

 

[dcooley08]

I will be getting my chameleon next month, and am about a month and a half in to non-stop chameleon research! haha I was wondering...what kind of humidifier are you using and where did you get it?

haha i know how that feels!! Endless research, its kind of tiring but also addicting and you just cant stop reading threw these posts. Alot of killer information.

To answer your question, i got the humidifier from Walgreens. Its the walgreens brand. you need to be sure you get the one where the cool mist comes out of a single hole in the top. all i did from there was bought a 3/4" PVC connector and some tubing. you need to put the PVC connector inside the hole and caulk around it so it is firmly in place. i recommend putting the tubbing in the connector before you do this so that the caulking does not give way.

After all said and done you need to figure out a way yo connect it to your cage. i tried multiple methods but the best thing i found was actually a connector in the electrical section of home depot. you can see it in the picture. show that to an employee and they will find it for you. you will need to heat up the tubing so that the connector will slide inside.

to see how all this is done you can check out youtube. theres a couple vids on there on how to do this. Try typing in DIY Reptile Fogger.

Hope all this helps.

Thanks