Setting up Enclosure
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courtschams
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courtschams
Member
Whenever you’re ready. 
Chameleon Info:
Male RBBB Ambilobe panther (Rogue) Juvenile male born late july early august have owned since end of October
Cage Info:
Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about. Not necessarily concerned but moving from one habitat to another so want to ensure I’m doing everything the best way possible
Chameleon Info:
- Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
Male RBBB Ambilobe panther (Rogue) Juvenile male born late july early august have owned since end of October
- Handling - How often do you handle
- your chameleon? I hand feed so when they want to come out
- Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? Millie - every other day 3-5 feeders Rogue- anything and everything I free feed him I have silks crickets dubias horn worms and go treats hornworms and waxworms
- Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? I know repashys is popular so need to switch over but reptivite following the schedule of biweekly with d3/without d3 and then monthly multivit
- Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? I have a monsoon system. No fogging. It goes off around 9 am and 9 pm I mist manually at 4 to 5 am and 5 to 6 pm. My chams usually drink both times
- Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? Yes both clear urates are predominantly white
- History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. I got Millie from petco…and may feed her to much. I’m worried about MBD or being egg bound (she does have a 6 inch deep laying area)
Cage Info:
- Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? Zens hybrid 2 by 2 by 4
- Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? I follow typical ambient sunlight. t5 heat lamp (not sure wattage I think 65)
- Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? Havent measured to validates I have thermometers at top and bottom of cage top is usually closer to 85 bottom is around 70 during day time
- Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? Depends on time of day…night is usually highest around 55-60 (which is why I transitioned to hybrid) I know it needs to be between 60-80
- Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? Yes pothos ficus umbrella and prayer plants. Washed rinsed and rebooted before put in enclosure
- Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? In a guest room. Not near a dam or vent although both are running in the room
- Location - Where are you geographically located? CO
Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about. Not necessarily concerned but moving from one habitat to another so want to ensure I’m doing everything the best way possible
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
Very nice! As the weather warms up, you may want to start scavenging for some natural branches to add in. It’s ideal to have a variety of diameters for your chams to better be able to exercise their feet and leg muscles. They don’t need to be able to fully wrap their feet around in order to have a good grip.
I might as well put my insomnia to work and go over your husbandry.
I might as well put my insomnia to work and go over your husbandry.
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
- Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
Male RBBB Ambilobe panther (Rogue) Juvenile male born late july early august have owned since end of October
- Handling - How often do you handle
- your chameleon? I hand feed so when they want to come out Perfect way to build and maintain trust. Millie may develop that veiled attitude and be hissy, but don’t be deterred. I try to hand feed at least once a week, and will either hold for a very short time (seconds) or gently stroke little chins.
- Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? Millie - every other day 3-5 feeders Rogue- anything and everything I free feed him I have silks crickets dubias horn worms and go treats hornworms and waxworms Very good! Grasshoppers are nice additions. https://dragonhoppers.com/ or Kai Phan on Facebook are the only places to get them and you may need to wait for them. Some great healthy and fun treats/enrichment are pupated bsfl. I keep them in a loose organic soil/coco coir mix in a container with a bit of space and just feed them until I see flies. They don’t all emerge at once and as soon as I see one, I let it loose in an enclosure.
- Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? I know repashys is popular so need to switch over but reptivite following the schedule of biweekly with d3/without d3 and then monthly multivit Not sure I understand. You should be lightly dusting (no powdered donuts) with a phosphorus free calcium without D3 at every feeding. Then one feeding either every other week or twice a month, you want to use either Repashy Calcium Plus LoD OR ReptiVite with D3. I like the Repashy Supercal no D as it isn’t as sticky and clumpy as most calciums. There are several quality calciums to use though.
- Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? I have a monsoon system. No fogging. It goes off around 9 am and 9 pm I mist manually at 4 to 5 am and 5 to 6 pm. My chams usually drink both times Very good
- Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? Yes both clear urates are predominantly white Very good
- History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. I got Millie from petco…and may feed her to much. With young veiled girls, it can be challenging with how much to feed. They are still growing and we need to ensure they are getting enough nutrition, but need to be careful not to overfeed and cause huge egg clutches. 3-5 feeders every other day is okay. You could switch it to 3 days a week (plus treats). I’m worried about MBD or being egg bound (she does have a 6 inch deep laying area) While there are some things that are just out of our control, as a general rule if your husbandry is correct and you aren’t grossly overfeeding, mbd shouldn’t be a concern and risks for complications laying eggs should be minimal. Have you seen my blog about veiled laying? https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/veiled-chameleon-laying-101.2488/ Going by all of the experience and advice I received from amazing keepers here, my girls have had zero problems. Actually, my panther girl has never produced eggs and Stella hasn’t since 2022. They both still have lay bins though…just in case.
- As your guy Rogue reaches full maturity (around 12 months old or so), you’ll want to have his diet reduced to prevent obesity. All of mine are adults and get fed pretty much the same…3-5 feeders every Monday, Wednesday and Friday with a treat on the weekend. I do often give my boys an extra feeder than I give my girls. I keep an eye on the plumpness of casques. For panthers, I don’t want casques bulging up and over their little side ridges. For veileds, I don’t want theirs bulging out on the sides.
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
- Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? Zens hybrid 2 by 2 by 4 Very nice. I hope it helps with your humidity issues.
- Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? I follow typical ambient sunlight. t5 heat lamp (not sure wattage I think 65) I do have to ask what brand of uvb bulbs you are using. The only ones that have been proven are ReptiSun and Arcadia. I advise against using anything but these as they may not be putting out the levels of UVB they should be. Also, what strength uvb? You want either 5.0 or 6%. Then the basking area should be about 9” below the lights.
- Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? Havent measured to validates I have thermometers at top and bottom of cage top is usually closer to 85 bottom is around 70 during day time 85 is perfect for Rogue, but for Millie you want her just a bit cooler at 80.
- Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? Depends on time of day…night is usually highest around 55-60 (which is why I transitioned to hybrid) I know it needs to be between 60-80 Veiled and panther have different requirements for humidity, with veileds needing it drier. I keep mine in the same (small) room and have found a good compromise around 40-50% during the day. I can’t achieve cool enough temps at night, so I don’t boost humidity.
- Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? Yes pothos ficus umbrella and prayer plants. Washed rinsed and rebooted before put in enclosure They look gorgeous! Millie will probably ravage the pothos, so it’s a good idea to keep a good supply of back up plants. I just am always starting new pothos from clippings. By the time my girl decimates a plant, I have a fresh one for her and the old one gets time to recover.
- Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? In a guest room. Not near a dam or vent although both are running in the room
- Location - Where are you geographically located? CO
Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about. Not necessarily concerned but moving from one habitat to another so want to ensure I’m doing everything the best way possible Just make sure your supplements are used correctly and you’ve got good quality brand uvb lights (changing the bulbs every 6 months for ReptiSun and every year for Arcadia) and you’re set.
courtschams
Member
Thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to look over everything! I will add in natural branches soon.
What do you set your cham cages on?
What do you set your cham cages on?
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
Since I have double wide bioactive enclosures, I use heavy duty garage style shelving units (Edsel muscle racks). Before doing all of that, I had gotten the ReptiBreeze stands, which worked very well with the ReptiBreezes. For a short time, I had an enclosure sitting on a card table.
GrannyK
Chameleon Enthusiast
I bought 24x24 end tables, they were a little pricy but they look good in the living room. One is yrs old the other 3 and holding up well.
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courtschams
Member
Thank you all so much for answering my million questions and being patient with me! Rogue and Millie are officially moved into their grown up cages! I ended up putting them on a cute coffee table I found thrifting! I had a water catcher on the tank and at the bottom will put something to catch the water if you see anything concerning please let me know! Spent a lot of time and money into making sure these two are living the good life so want to ensure everything is perfect for them 
if you see anything concerning please let me know! Spent a lot of time and money into making sure these two are living the good life so want to ensure everything is perfect for them Attachments
courtschams
Member
Rogue wasn’t sure at first and was in a boxing match with every leaf for the first thirty seconds but quickly settled. And queen Millie the Chamillie just threw her typical I’ve got one eye on you peasant with “smile/frown” while chilling out and staring deeply into my soul
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IrohtheVeiled
Avid Member
These look great!Thank you all so much for answering my million questions and being patient with me! Rogue and Millie are officially moved into their grown up cages! I ended up putting them on a cute coffee table I found thrifting! I had a water catcher on the tank and at the bottom will put something to catch the water
The one thing I’d say to keep an eye on is make sure that you got good airflow from the bottom to the top with how densely they are planted.
but visually they look on point, good job Also, your upper plants look well mounted.
courtschams
Member
Any pointers on this? I put in a ton because inevitably some will not make it…I do have back up’s though. Visually is great but ultimately want to ensure the chams are happy and healthy so I can take anything out.These look great!
The one thing I’d say to keep an eye on is make sure that you got good airflow from the bottom to the top with how densely they are planted.
IrohtheVeiled
Avid Member
At a glance I think you’re fine for now, but if stuff grows and becomes to dense you may need to prune it back. Bonus part is you can take the trimmings and use them to propagate
You can always add a pc fan to the top of the cages to enhance the chimney effect if you want to in the future to encourage air exchange that’s a step I myself haven’t taken yet
courtschams
Member
Awesome thank you! I know you own veileds. Does body composition and joints look okay or should I put mills on a diet?
IrohtheVeiled
Avid Member
I’d ask @Beman or @MissSkittles to chime in here, just because I don’t have experience with female charms and want to make sure your questions are answered
Glancing at your husbandry review, I do see you’re feeding her 3-5 feeders every other day? I know with females you do want to restrict food a bit more because if they eat more they’ll produce larger clutches of eggs and that can cause complications. It’s the same reason why basking temps for females are also recommended to be slightly lower
I got a male that turned 2 this year, I’ve had to cut him back to like 2-3 feeders every other day after he was fully grown
Veileds will definitely eat more than they have to so we gotta be more mindful with how often we feed them
Just with how your girl is sitting in that picture on your last post I myself wouldn’t be able to tell you if something is off with her joints but someone else may be able to help, though she doesn’t seem to have an issue with how she’s holding her weight by how she’s sitting.
IrohtheVeiled
Avid Member
If you want a point of reference, here’s a shot of my guys joints, they should be angled while bent like his front leg in this shot if I’m not mistaken
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MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
This should help you to be able to gauge if your chams are getting a bit chubby.
I don’t see anything concerning in the pics you posted. Both Rogue and Millie look healthy to me.
I don’t see anything concerning in the pics you posted. Both Rogue and Millie look healthy to me.
courtschams
Member
Okay new inquiry! LOVING my new cages the only thing though now is its almost “too” dense if there is such a thing…I rarely EVER see my baby panther cham. I can almost always find Millie within a few minutes…but Rogue is so small it’s a different story. I know they like to be hidden to be safe but want to ensure I can see him enough to #1 obviously ensure he’s alive and well and #2 see him eat. He has a bug feeder and I cup feed but they escape and I can never tell how much (or even if) he is actually eating or defecating. Any advice? Should I take some plants out? Thanks again for all the help and support! Appeciate all of you!
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
I like the shooting gallery, but that won’t work for solid sides/doors. However, one of these https://framschams.com/collections/screen-feeders should as they use strong magnets. You would have to hot glue a small piece of screening (or plastic canvas) inside it for the bugs to climb. Place it on the door and then you can sit back and watch your chams enjoy their meals. They are also quite good at preventing escapes. As for the density, make sure your basking areas are clear enough for the uvb to penetrate. You could maybe move around or remove some foliage, leaving some dense areas for hiding and some clear areas for you to view. Chams usually stay towards the top section. They are really good - expert level - at blending in. This morning I was looking for my veiled girl for like 5 minutes and starting to freak out…she was literally right in front of me. If I had a dime for each time this happens, I could take a nice vacation to Madagascar to look at chameleons.
