Screen enclosure question

[AshtonDanielle]

we are proud new owners of a veiled chameleon. I bought the repibreeze chameleon kit. I am worried that we aren’t keeping the enclosure humidified enough. I bought the little dripper and a misting spay bottle. I guess my question is how do you keep things “humid” in an enclosure that is meant for airflow?? Everything just keeps drying out!

 

[Matthew43s]

Congrats on the new purchase! Pretty awesome feeling isn’t it?

So curious as to what the humidity gets too and how you are gauging the humidity?

One way to do it is to add live plants like a pothos or an umbrella tree to retain the moisture inside the enclosure while also giving your Cham a lot more places to hide if it wants too, (which more often then not it will love to be safe and secure) your setup looks good but is a little bare, more foliage is definitely the way to go. I would try to add something live if you could. Like I said I used a pothos that was wrapped around a PVC pipe with coconut husk so it would fill the entirety of the enclosure. It’s on my page if you would like to take a look, got it at Lowe’s. But if you go this route you will have to figure out some kind of a drainage system.

Also is that bowl down at the bottom for watering? It doesn’t hurt to have one but Chams like to drink the water droplets off of leaves instead of standing water. Which is another good benifit of having live plants vs fake plants, the water will bead on live plants but usually absorb in the fake silk plants. Plus Vields like to munch on leaves sometimes so live is the way to go.

One more thing, I see you’re running the dual dome zoomed lighting system. You may want to switch over to a linear bulb instead of a CFL for your UVB, the CFL’s usually do not produce enough uvb to penetrate more then about 6-8inches into the enclosure. Linear bulbs will give you a much better look and be way more beneficial to you. Check out LightYourReptiles.com for lighting. Todd is a lighting wiz, he gave me my lighting and it turned my Chams personality around real quick. He came to life after I put that on him.

Sorry for the info overload but Good luck, everyone on here is very helpful and will have you set up with exactly what you need. Trust me lol

 

[AshtonDanielle]

Congrats on the new purchase! Pretty awesome feeling isn’t it?

So curious as to what the humidity gets too and how you are gauging the humidity?

One way to do it is to add live plants like a pothos or an umbrella tree to retain the moisture inside the enclosure while also giving your Cham a lot more places to hide if it wants too, (which more often then not it will love to be safe and secure) your setup looks good but is a little bare, more foliage is definitely the way to go. I would try to add something live if you could. Like I said I used a pothos that was wrapped around a PVC pipe with coconut husk so it would fill the entirety of the enclosure. It’s on my page if you would like to take a look, got it at Lowe’s. But if you go this route you will have to figure out some kind of a drainage system.

Also is that bowl down at the bottom for watering? It doesn’t hurt to have one but Chams like to drink the water droplets off of leaves instead of standing water. Which is another good benifit of having live plants vs fake plants, the water will bead on live plants but usually absorb in the fake silk plants. Plus Vields like to munch on leaves sometimes so live is the way to go.

One more thing, I see you’re running the dual dome zoomed lighting system. You may want to switch over to a linear bulb instead of a CFL for your UVB, the CFL’s usually do not produce enough uvb to penetrate more then about 6-8inches into the enclosure. Linear bulbs will give you a much better look and be way more beneficial to you. Check out LightYourReptiles.com for lighting. Todd is a lighting wiz, he gave me my lighting and it turned my Chams personality around real quick. He came to life after I put that on him.

Sorry for the info overload but Good luck, everyone on here is very helpful and will have you set up with exactly what you need. Trust me lol

Thank you, we are so excited. I will absolutely looks for a live plant. The kit did not include anything to gauge humidity. I have read some different forms and it looks like I need to invest in a humidity gauge.

As far as the bowl goes we are just using it to catch the water from the dripper.

I will definitely look into the linear bulb, I like that idea better than what we are currently doing. We just set up what came in the kit. It had 2 different bulbs in the kit.

My daughter (who is 15) has been wanting one for a few years now and I decided to get her one for her birthday. So when I say we are new owners, I mean BRAND NEW, less than 24 hours at this point lol.

 

[Matthew43s]

Yes ma’am you will indeed have to do that. I would recommend getting a couple stationary therm/hygrometers to put at the top and bottom, and one with a probe so you can put it wherever you’d like to make sure. Amazon has a lot of two in one hydgrometers and thermometers on there. I use two of the circle ones and one with the probe. Not sure the brand name but got them on amazon for a decent price and they gage really well.

Haha that’s smart, way to not waste anything. Another good thing about a potted plant in the enclosure, all excess water can pretty much go directly toward your plant lol

Haha yes ma’am I understand. I was like you as well, eager to get the little guy only to realize that I wasn’t giving him what he needs. That’s why we’re here though, to help out others who truly want to give their Chams what they need. We’ll get you and your daughter set up for sure. If not me, I’m sure one of the top dogs on here will step in and get you pointed in the right direction.

 

[FancyRaptor]

You definitely need to fill the cage with pants. Live plants are the best. It should be fairly dense with plants. A few hygrometers are good for measuring humidity. Check the care guides on here to make sure you have everything. If you have issues with humidity you could cover a side or two with plastic to keep the humidity in. Good misting sessions are best. Ask any other questions, it won't be long until you have many people helping.

 

[Ladythrasher89]

Yeah those kits don't actually come with everything you need. Like the others have said lots more plants, a hygrometer, a dip system for them to drink from. Misting the cage regularly also keeps humidity up.

Congrats on your little guy.

This was my first chameleon set up. And then what I changed it to..

 

[AshtonDanielle]

View attachment 195886 Yeah those kits don't actually come with everything you need. Like the others have said lots more plants, a hygrometer, a dip system for them to drink from. Misting the cage regularly also keeps humidity up.

Congrats on your little guy.

This was my first chameleon set up. And then what I changed it to..

I REALLY like that. I have since invested in a hygrometer a nice sized live plant and a diffuser. I had the drip system (which I am still trying to master) and a mister. He is MUCH more happy today!!!! I think we are on the right track (maybe)

 

[Graves923]

https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/

Read through the articles in the link I provided. Theres a lot of info but its all crucial.

If you are still having trouble holding some humidity, try wrapping two sides of the cage with plastic sheeting. I got a roll at a local hardware store for less than $2. Dont forget that its good for the cage to dry out almost completely in between mistings.