Should I take my chameleon out when I clean?

[paninapress]

Hey everyone!
About a month ago my boyfriend and I got a chameleon and we are still getting the hang of some things. We did our first deep clean and took him out of his enclosure, but I'm wondering if he needs to come out again when we spot clean. I don't want to terrify the little guy and don't know if handling his enclosure while he's in it is okay or if we should take him out. There is a lot of water that pools pretty quickly due to the misting system we have for him, though there are 4 plants in there to soak some of it up, so we would probably need to clean pretty regularly. Any advice is helpful!

 

[Beppo]

Hey everyone!
About a month ago my boyfriend and I got a chameleon and we are still getting the hang of some things. We did our first deep clean and took him out of his enclosure, but I'm wondering if he needs to come out again when we spot clean. I don't want to terrify the little guy and don't know if handling his enclosure while he's in it is okay or if we should take him out. There is a lot of water that pools pretty quickly due to the misting system we have for him, though there are 4 plants in there to soak some of it up, so we would probably need to clean pretty regularly. Any advice is helpful!

Hi there! Welcome! And congrats on your new chameleon! I spot clean my chameleons enclosure with him in it. I did make a separate climbing area for him outside his enclosure for when I need to do a deeper clean, and so he can free roam. I was going to suggest getting a wet dry vac for all the water, if you go to home depot you can buy a bucket and they sell a shop vac bucket head for about 20 or 30 bucks, then you can just suck all that extra water out best of luck to you with your new Cham! Feel free to share a pic

 

[Tkrd69]

Could you post some pictures of your enclosure, including the lights. I use long tongs to clean up shed or poop and urine sac. My enclosure dries out during the day. Some people make drainage under the enclosure with a 2x2 pan.

 

[suprdude]

I don't take my cham out when I clean the enclosure. He just sits there and watches

 

[paninapress]

Could you post some pictures of your enclosure, including the lights. I use long tongs to clean up shed or poop and urine sac. My enclosure dries out during the day. Some people make drainage under the enclosure with a 2x2 pan.

Hi there! Welcome! And congrats on your new chameleon! I spot clean my chameleons enclosure with him in it. I did make a separate climbing area for him outside his enclosure for when I need to do a deeper clean, and so he can free roam. I was going to suggest getting a wet dry vac for all the water, if you go to home depot you can buy a bucket and they sell a shop vac bucket head for about 20 or 30 bucks, then you can just suck all that extra water out best of luck to you with your new Cham! Feel free to share a pic

Thanks!! I think it's a great idea to have a place where he can roam when we deep clean! I think I found what you're talking about to help the water situation. If you use that, have you noticed that your chameleon gets scared or alarmed because of the sound? We've been doing our best to keep the noise to a minimum around his area so I wonder if that would freak him out. Here's a pic of him too!

 

[paninapress]

Could you post some pictures of your enclosure, including the lights. I use long tongs to clean up shed or poop and urine sac. My enclosure dries out during the day. Some people make drainage under the enclosure with a 2x2 pan.

I'll definitely get some pictures of his enclosure this week to post because I didnt get the top of the cage in this pic. We are currently using a bulb fixture for his UVB, but will likely upgrade that to a strip at some point. We use one of those Dual Dome heat lamp/uvb setups and it's been doing alright for now. Would love to get your thoughts on it!

 

[Beppo]

Thanks!! I think it's a great idea to have a place where he can roam when we deep clean! I think I found what you're talking about to help the water situation. If you use that, have you noticed that your chameleon gets scared or alarmed because of the sound? We've been doing our best to keep the noise to a minimum around his area so I wonder if that would freak him out. Here's a pic of him too!

View attachment 339513View attachment 339514

I originally thought the exact same thing until I expressed it to someone who pointed out that chameleons don’t have external ears, no one really knows how much they hear, if at all from what I gathered . My chameleon just sits and watches me while I suck the water out, it’s become routine so he’s used to me doing it everyday (and yes that was the exact bucket I’m talking about!)

 

[paninapress]

I don't take my cham out when I clean the enclosure. He just sits there and watches must be well-adjusted

I originally thought the exact same thing until I expressed it to someone who pointed out that chameleons don’t have external ears, no one really knows how much they hear, if at all from what I gathered . My chameleon just sits and watches me while I suck the water out, it’s become routine so he’s used to me doing it everyday (and yes that was the exact bucket I’m talking about!)

Wow! I'm so glad yours is so well adjusted to it. I will definitely tell my boyfriend we need to get one of those haha! Our little guy seems to still be adjusting to us being around him.. so it's definitely baby steps. But I'll try that out because we are sick of all the water!

 

[paninapress]

I don't take my cham out when I clean the enclosure. He just sits there and watches

Awww! Mine gets so nervous when we come around so I hope he gets comfortable soon so cleaning isn't as big of a deal

 

[Beppo]

Wow! I'm so glad yours is so well adjusted to it. I will definitely tell my boyfriend we need to get one of those haha! Our little guy seems to still be adjusting to us being around him.. so it's definitely baby steps. But I'll try that out because we are sick of all the water!

Here’s a great video and info on building trust!( One of the site managers and her veiled chameleon @Beman )
Building Trust With Your Chameleon
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/
I’m still working on it with mine, I’ve had him for about 6months now and I’ve held him comfortably-ish for him only once. But the free roaming tree I built for him has helped. I just roll it over to the front of his enclosure and he comes out and climbs all over, he will come off of it and climb on other objects near by if I don’t keep a close eye though. Owning a chameleon is so fun! But it’s super nerve wracking at first, I’m super grateful for this forum, I’ve learned so much here! Also check out the Chameleon Academy:

https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-basics/

And Neptune the Chameleon :

https://youtube.com/@NeptunetheChameleon

They are all great sources just incase you hadn’t already seen them

 

[Tkrd69]

I'll definitely get some pictures of his enclosure this week to post because I didnt get the top of the cage in this pic. We are currently using a bulb fixture for his UVB, but will likely upgrade that to a strip at some point. We use one of those Dual Dome heat lamp/uvb setups and it's been doing alright for now. Would love to get your thoughts on it! View attachment 339515

Yeah the dual dome has the curly uvb. It doesn't put uvb far enough in enclosure. The T5ho with a 6% tube is what a lot of us use with a branch at 9 inches under it. Its always a work in progress.

 

[paninapress]

Here’s a great video and info on building trust!( One of the site managers and her veiled chameleon @Beman )
Building Trust With Your Chameleon
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/
I’m still working on it with mine, I’ve had him for about 6months now and I’ve held him comfortably-ish for him only once. But the free roaming tree I built for him has helped. I just roll it over to the front of his enclosure and he comes out and climbs all over, he will come off of it and climb on other objects near by if I don’t keep a close eye though. Owning a chameleon is so fun! But it’s super nerve wracking at first, I’m super grateful for this forum, I’ve learned so much here! Also check out the Chameleon Academy:

https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-basics/

And Neptune the Chameleon :

https://youtube.com/@NeptunetheChameleon

They are all great sources just incase you hadn’t already seen them

THANK YOU !! Since the research process began I have been wondering what were some of the best sources to glean from. I know the YouTube channel 'Neptune the Chameleon' which is where I first heard about the linear UVB structure, but I'll definitely check out the others you linked.

 

[Reptar313]

I take mine out to deep clean as a spray everything down with an alcohol water mix then just water. Mine poops on the leaves and eats the leaves so I like to get them clean as I can. alcohol evaporates and doesn’t leave a residue behind

 

[Beman]

I have only deep cleaned once and that was when I moved states. This involved cleaning the drip pan. I do not use any solution other than hot water and paper towels to clean the inside of the enclosure. If you are spot cleaning you should not need to do a deep clean. Unless their is a parasite issue that you have to treat the cham for. This is the only time I remove plants or branches in a cage to fully clean everything.
I wet vac my drip pan. I do not remove my chameleon to do so. This can cause more stress then it is worth. They feel the vibrations but can not hear the vacume the way we can. I work around him. If I need to trim plants I make sure he is not in the area where I am trimming.

 

[Multivitamins]

Thanks!! I think it's a great idea to have a place where he can roam when we deep clean! I think I found what you're talking about to help the water situation. If you use that, have you noticed that your chameleon gets scared or alarmed because of the sound? We've been doing our best to keep the noise to a minimum around his area so I wonder if that would freak him out. Here's a pic of him too!

View attachment 339513View attachment 339514

I use the Buckethead to clean out my drainage tray and my chameleon shows absolutely zero signs of caring about it.

 

[paninapress]

I use the Buckethead to clean out my drainage tray and my chameleon shows absolutely zero signs of caring about it.

Thats great! So it sounds like you have a separate tray that fits in the bottom of your enclosure.. I just have been using the normal floor panel that slides in and a towel right now... what do you use as your drainage tray??

 

[Multivitamins]

Thats great! So it sounds like you have a separate tray that fits in the bottom of your enclosure.. I just have been using the normal floor panel that slides in and a towel right now... what do you use as your drainage tray??

It may be out of stock at the moment or possibly discontinued but I have the dragon strand drainage tray it's essentially got a big X thru it to support any potted plants or fixtures you may have on the bottom. It measures 25*25 so it sits just under the cage frame. I drilled holes in the false plastic bottom to allow water to pass.


There are definitely DIY options Ive seen some people use washer machine basins and things to a similar effect. I purchased mine in 2018 or 2019 and it was worth every penny. No spillage or overflows and very easy to clean.

Here is a link to something similar
https://www.amazon.com/Camco-20750-...sin+for+washing+machine&qid=1687276454&sr=8-3

This is an image of the one I use

 

[Beman]

Here is the link for the dragon strand drainage trays https://dragonstrand.com/alternative-cage-manufaturers/

 

[Reptar313]

I have only deep cleaned once and that was when I moved states. This involved cleaning the drip pan. I do not use any solution other than hot water and paper towels to clean the inside of the enclosure. If you are spot cleaning you should not need to do a deep clean. Unless their is a parasite issue that you have to treat the cham for. This is the only time I remove plants or branches in a cage to fully clean everything.
I wet vac my drip pan. I do not remove my chameleon to do so. This can cause more stress than it is worth. They feel the vibrations but can not hear the vacume the way we can. I work around him. If I need to trim plants I make sure he is not in the area where I am trimming.

Does your chameleons poop hit the leaves? Does he eat it the leaves? Chameleons are known to have parasites which aren’t harmful unless out of control and without doing a fecal test no way to know if yours has them or not. So I like to spray things down with a mix of alcohol and water which is completely safe to do while taking my chameleon out of the cage maybe once a month usually a little longer. Don’t see any harm in that one bit. Either way you are stressing them out by coming into there cage to clean or by taking them out. As long as it’s not prolonged stress.

 

[Reptar313]

Also hot water alone will not kill any parasites present would need to be boiling hot water