Setup ordered!! woohoo!!!!

[KatCham]

Well, I've ordered my stuff. Should get here today/tomorrow. Can't wait

1 x ReptiBreeze Screen cage Small 40x40x50cm
1 x Exo-Terra Jungle Vine
Size required Medium
1 x Habistat Dimmer Thermostat
1 x Nutrobal (Vetark) 100g Nutrabal Vitamin & Mineral
1 x Feeder Insect diet 250g Gut Load Food
1 x Clamp Lamp small
1 x Zoo Med Daylight Blue Reptile Bulbs
Size required 60W
1 x Zoo-Med Habba Mist Automatic water sprayer
1 x Zoo-med Reptisun 5.00 Fluorescent Tube
Size required 15 x 1 inch
1 x Lucky Reptile Thermometer Deluxe with 2 probes
1 x Exo-Terra Hygrometer (Humidity Gauge)
1 x 3 socket timer switch
I already have UV unit with reflector.

Then it'll be off to the garden centre for my live plant. I'm thinking a schefflerra arboricola, any suggestions welcomed??

A couple of days wait to make sure everything working and temps/humidity ok.

Then finally, once the lucky little man is lined up, the pet shop for Komodo Cricket Dust and of course crix and the supermarket for fruit n veggies to gut load with. I've decided to keep my options open on what locale, but deffo want a panther.
Will keep you posted on what I end up with.

Then once he gets here...Ill be posting 100s of pics

If I've missed anything please let me know

Soooooo excited

 

[carol5208]

I dont know what Nutrobal contains? Do you have a plain calcium without d3and a calcium with d3?

 

[Hoj]

haha sound like your all set, waiting is the worst, but it will pay off LoL, i too am waiting for my panther only 3 wks for me. def post pics and enjoy, is this ur first cham?


hoj & Camo

 

[KatCham]

Nutrobal is a multivitamin which contains D3.
For this reason I will just get calcium without D3 when I go to get crix. Komodo cricket dust is 99% calcium.
I asked Miss Lilly what she uses as she is in the UK as am I. Thank you for your help so far Tiff!!

Yes, this will be my first cham, but I think it might be the first of many, because I'm addicted and I haven't even got mine yet!!! LOL

 

[pennington]

I have just got my first Chameleon and it is a Panther. All I can add to your list from my experiences is as many vines as you can afford! My little fella' loves them, all over the place he is.
I buy the thin ones and the thick ones and twine them together. As the vines twist round they provide places you can pull the vines apart and thread you plants through. (If that makes sense). Hope my piece of beginner advice helps.

I'm Chameleon hooked!

 

[KatCham]

I have just got my first Chameleon and it is a Panther. All I can add to your list from my experiences is as many vines as you can afford! My little fella' loves them, all over the place he is.
I buy the thin ones and the thick ones and twine them together. As the vines twist round they provide places you can pull the vines apart and thread you plants through. (If that makes sense). Hope my piece of beginner advice helps.

I'm Chameleon hooked!

Thanks for the advice on the vines.
My Dad is taking me to the garden centre thisavo (I can't drive at the mo as I'm recovering from an accident with my horse after she reared up and fell on top of me - fracturing my T12 vertabrae!! ) I'm going to get a live plant and I was gonna see if they have any fake foliage and more vines too. Think I'll get some sticks/branches to put in after they've been baked as well.
Good idea that about twisting them together to make places to thread plants through!!!
Beginner advice definately helps, and, not that I don't appreciate the keepers from overseas, but its always nice to meet a fellow UK keeper. U have to have someone to share the cold and dampness with!!! As well as the differences in brands!!! LOL

I'm hooked too, and I ain't even got my boy yet!! LOL

 

[KatCham]

Woohoo!!!
Stuff came today.
Have just spent the last couple of hours assembling everything, and wrestling with the fake vine I got!!!
I've just laid everything out and plugged in so I can see if it all works for now. Still need to wait for timer switches to arrive, and I need to get live plant and foliage etc..this afternoon.
Gonna wait till I have everything before I start putting holes in the mesh for water tube and temp probe. Once I figure out where I want everything.
Once all layout sorted I'll keep an eye on temps and humidity, and will probably ask more questions LOL
Here's what it looks like so far. (Please excuse wires..I'll tidy those all up when final decision made on layout )

At the moment, just doing a rough temp test. As per advice from Miss Lily, basking temp for baby until 6 months of 80-82, then gradually increase to 90.
The temp probe in the bottom left of the cage seems to be levelling out at around 74. The probe under the basking light is reading 82.
I will monitor this closely when I have the layout sorted, and make sure it is constant before I bring baby to his new home.
Actually, just so I know for when I sort layout properly ...how far from the basking light should the branch/vine be?

 

[Psi]

Is the wire in there that looks like a heat cable a probe?
I'm still trying to figure out what it is ...

 

[jpm995]

Whats in the other cages? Be careful, if the cham thinks their predators it could stress him out. Make sure he has places to hide, even from you. If there small make sure their out of tongue shot range.

 

[pennington]

Thanks for the advice on the vines.
My Dad is taking me to the garden centre thisavo (I can't drive at the mo as I'm recovering from an accident with my horse after she reared up and fell on top of me - fracturing my T12 vertabrae!! ) I'm going to get a live plant and I was gonna see if they have any fake foliage and more vines too. Think I'll get some sticks/branches to put in after they've been baked as well.
Good idea that about twisting them together to make places to thread plants through!!!
Beginner advice definately helps, and, not that I don't appreciate the keepers from overseas, but its always nice to meet a fellow UK keeper. U have to have someone to share the cold and dampness with!!! As well as the differences in brands!!! LOL

I'm hooked too, and I ain't even got my boy yet!! LOL

No Problem, I'm learning all the time and this forum helps. The vines I'm using are Exo-terra and they are waterproof.

 

[pennington]

Some advice I was given is to have two UV tubes, one 2.0% and one 5.0%. This is the set up my friend uses and he breeds Chameleons and a museum nearby also uses these two tubes.

 

[KatCham]

Yes, cable is the probe from the dimming thermostat going to the basking light. I'm going to monitor that basking light coz if it dims too much to keep the temp at 85, I think I might have to unplug the stat and just get a low watt bulb.
The other cage has my rat Marley in it. If you think this could stress little cham out, let me know, then I will go and get some of that plastic background stuff (normally on the back of fish tanks) and put that on the side so he can't see him.

Went to get plants and branches today. Didn't have the schefflera so went for ficus. Spoke to cham breeder today and he said they use ficus all the time and have never had any probs.

I have my thermometer under the basking light, alongside the probe for the thermostat. the other probe on the thermometer is in the bottom left front corner so i can keep an eye on min temp. Branch is 6" from the light, is that enough? will be monitoring humidity and temps over the next couple of days.
at the moment basking temp is 83.6, low temp is 71.4, is this an ok range?
Can someone just remind me please of what humidity should be??
I have mister on 3hr intervals spraying for 30secs but have a feeling this isn't enough. Should I put it on the 45sec or the 60sec spray time do you think?

Anyway, here are some pics of nearly finished setup. From different angles.

Than a couple with the lights out coz I think it looks pretty

Let me know what you think and if you could answer my questions and give any additional advice I'd be grateful.

 

[pennington]

Not sure if you saw this, I think we posted at the same time

Some advice I was given is to have two UV tubes, one 2.0% and one 5.0%. This is the set up my friend uses and he breeds Chameleons and a museum nearby also uses these two tubes.

Hope this helps...