Shout out to all the new keepers that research and prepare before getting their chameleon

DonKeesh

DonKeesh

Chameleon Enthusiast
There is a very encouraging trend going on in the forums lately! So pleased to see so many new keepers on here recently asking questions, researching and setting up and testing enclosures well in advance of getting their chameleon. This means so much to our community and the lives of the animals in your care... Well done!
 
Don-I am new here on the forum, and a new Cham keeper, too. I adopted two chams last week, both one year olds, from a family who clearly loved them but who had recently had their fifth unexpected child and were overwhelmed. Both are startling in well; they are eating dusted crickets and I just fed them hornworms by hand. I am raising silkworms for them, and will try roaches soon.
They came with their screen enclosures and fake plants and branches. I am on the path towards improving all things enclosures for them.
A few days ago, I bought what I thought was a wonderful PVC cage for the Jackson’s from a CL ad in the Portland, OR area. Now, I will say that it IS solid, so all, I hope, may not be lost. But when I took into our house and began gently cleans got, flakes began falling off the ceiling. There was also a black mark on the floor that, it turns out, is the original PVC material. The cream/ white layers appear to be some sort of adhered layer. There is a sticky texture to the black PV C where the other light layers peel off; I have been researching paint and liquid cement and dry lock as ways to fix the interior of this cage. Have you ever seen this sort of interior coating? Do you have any suggestions, or suggestions of who to ask here? I can’t use Eco paint or Liquid Cement because, in both cases, the humidity of the environment will make the materials fail. I am beginning to think the best solution may be to remove all of the white layers, but I wonder what the best and least toxic way to do this might be. Any and all suggestions will be deeply appreciated! Danielle
 

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Welcome to the forum. Not sure if that enclosure will give you enough ventilation, but I would definitely remove any flaking paint as that could be an impaction risk. You may be better served getting a cheap 4ft reptibreeze and covering 3 sides in window insulation film.
 
Thank you very much! So you have suggestions on ways to remove that paint safely? It is difficult to keep humidity in adequate amounts here where we live in Oregon, and will be moving with them to Juneau AK, where heat and humid control will be more challenging. I can always add more ventilation openings to the top or sides using a drill; I will complete set this cage up before taking any further steps. I hank you again!
 
What about just sanding or scraping the white off? Good on you for coming here for help! I hope it can be figured out easily. If you have a Jackson’s Cham the enclosures that have the 3 solid sides are good because they need high humidity at night and that’s hard to achieve in a cold environment with heaters on and all. I live in the north east and have a Jackson’s but I have the inexpensive Reptibreeze screen cage covered on 3 sides with plastic and it works well.
 
Thank you so incredibly much! I will be working g on that, and think I can use Goo Gone to help remove the sticky stuff, then wash the whole thing carefully! I do appreciate the help- Danielle
 
Danielle Koch said:
Don-I am new here on the forum, and a new Cham keeper, too. I adopted two chams last week, both one year olds, from a family who clearly loved them but who had recently had their fifth unexpected child and were overwhelmed. Both are startling in well; they are eating dusted crickets and I just fed them hornworms by hand. I am raising silkworms for them, and will try roaches soon.
They came with their screen enclosures and fake plants and branches. I am on the path towards improving all things enclosures for them.
A few days ago, I bought what I thought was a wonderful PVC cage for the Jackson’s from a CL ad in the Portland, OR area. Now, I will say that it IS solid, so all, I hope, may not be lost. But when I took into our house and began gently cleans got, flakes began falling off the ceiling. There was also a black mark on the floor that, it turns out, is the original PVC material. The cream/ white layers appear to be some sort of adhered layer. There is a sticky texture to the black PV C where the other light layers peel off; I have been researching paint and liquid cement and dry lock as ways to fix the interior of this cage. Have you ever seen this sort of interior coating? Do you have any suggestions, or suggestions of who to ask here? I can’t use Eco paint or Liquid Cement because, in both cases, the humidity of the environment will make the materials fail. I am beginning to think the best solution may be to remove all of the white layers, but I wonder what the best and least toxic way to do this might be. Any and all suggestions will be deeply appreciated! Danielle
Click to expand...
Not knowing exactly what we're dealing with (the white stuff, original material, etc.) complicates matters.

I think I would prep the entire enclosure as if for painting—sand, scrape, wash, etc. then apply EITHER:
OR:
A latex designed/formulated for bathrooms, kitchens, high humidity applications; semigloss would be best, IMO.​
​
Why would Eco paint fail? It's used in bathrooms & kitchens where humidity is highest.
 
Klyde O'Scope said:
Not knowing exactly what we're dealing with (the white stuff, original material, etc.) complicates matters.

I think I would prep the entire enclosure as if for painting—sand, scrape, wash, etc. then apply EITHER:
Something like Flex Seal, Rustoleum (similar product) or Liquid Rubber. WHITE​
OR:
A latex designed/formulated for bathrooms, kitchens, high humidity applications; semigloss would be best, IMO.​
​
Why would Eco paint fail? It's used in bathrooms & kitchens where humidity is highest.
Click to expand...
Thank you very much…. I contacted the Eco Paint Company, who said that even their pet gloss paint will start to fail after the humidity that we use for our chameleons. She said that, because it is water based paint, it will begin to break down. I then looked at Liquid Rubber and grew very worried when it was stated that it, too, is not meant for continual humid conditions. The last thi g I want to have happen is to invest time into this interior, only to have it fail. I have been asking around for a sandblasting service to clean whatever this annoying substance is off, and leaving the original PVC behind. I am hoping this will work, because hand-scraping this stuff off is very cable find and goi g to take many days. Also, it is producing a lot of dust of unknown chemical origin, and I certainly want to avoid working with that. Thank you so very much for your suggestions and help- when I find a solution, I will post again-
Daniele
 
Nice timing for this thread because I was just innocently YouTubing a few weeks ago and stumbled across that viral YouTube chameleon one from years back. Since then I've been nonstop reading chameleon academy and listening to podcasts, and youtubing chameleons. I know how to snoot out the bs and go for the good stuff.

Anyway just ordered a zen habitat, arcadia prot5, jungle dawn, mist king, etc etc and looking for plants when I'm out at stores. I don't even know what chameleon I'm getting yet, just that I have ethical problems with supporting wild catching. My family will just have fun in the process of building things out.

So yeah...
 
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Temp said:
Nice timing for this thread because I was just innocently YouTubing a few weeks ago and stumbled across that viral YouTube chameleon one from years back. Since then I've been nonstop reading chameleon academy and listening to podcasts, and youtubing chameleons. I know how to snoot out the bs and go for the good stuff.

Anyway just ordered a zen habitat, arcadia prot5, jungle dawn, mist king, etc etc and looking for plants when I'm out at stores. I don't even know what chameleon I'm getting yet, just that I have ethical problems with supporting wild catching. My family will just have fun in the process of building things out.

So yeah...
Click to expand...
Welcome to the forum! That’s so awesome that you are researching everything in advance of buying a Cham. Sounds like you’ve made a lot of good decisions and great purchases so far! If you have any questions we’re here to help! Don’t be afraid to ask because there is a lot of bad info out there!
 
Welcome Wilsted34 ! We’re very happy to have you here! There’s a lot of bad info out there on the net so be careful. we have lots of great knowledgeable people here ready to help if you have any questions at all so don’t be afraid to ask! Good on you for getting things set up ahead of getting your Cham to!
 
Temp said:
Nice timing for this thread because I was just innocently YouTubing a few weeks ago and stumbled across that viral YouTube chameleon one from years back. Since then I've been nonstop reading chameleon academy and listening to podcasts, and youtubing chameleons. I know how to snoot out the bs and go for the good stuff.

Anyway just ordered a zen habitat, arcadia prot5, jungle dawn, mist king, etc etc and looking for plants when I'm out at stores. I don't even know what chameleon I'm getting yet, just that I have ethical problems with supporting wild catching. My family will just have fun in the process of building things out.

So yeah...
Click to expand...
(y) What species are you considering? Species may influence plant choices—particularly for a veiled/Yemen chameleon. Plant choices for montane species (e.g. Jackson's et al) may also differ.

Here are some lists of chameleon-safe plants, and a vid with tips on plant shopping.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/light-poop-or-sperm-plug.185550/#post-1710893

I like Chameleon Academy's page for its explanation of grouping plants by enclosure function (Center Piece, Trailing, Wall Cover, and Accent), but I wish it had gone a bit further into plant selection. 🤷‍♂️

IME (killing a few plants along the way... 🤦‍♂️), part of the selection process includes researching & balancing the individual needs of each plant—light, water, food/fertilizer, soil, etc. against each other and the enclosure as a whole (i.e. balanced microenvironment). Like animals & people, not all plants (species) get along together, or in all settings. OTOH, some plants do very well together with other certain plants. This may be better-known in vegetable gardening as 'companion planting', but can apply to flower & house/enclosure plants as well.
E.g. https://www.floradelaterre.com/golden-pothos-companion-plants/
 
Hey guys, I'm new to the forum too. It's been at least 10 years since my first Chameleon passed, so with the idea of getting another at some point this year I'm doing all I can to get caught up on husbandry and equipment etc as obviously a lot has changed.

I've read articles and care sheets, listened to podcasts, been banned from the odd Facebook group, so now I'm here trying to gain more knowledge and hopefully answers to some of the why's of Chameleon care :)
 
Welcome to the forum.
Vanenmar said:
Hey guys, I'm new to the forum too. It's been at least 10 years since my first Chameleon passed, so with the idea of getting another at some point this year I'm doing all I can to get caught up on husbandry and equipment etc as obviously a lot has changed.

I've read articles and care sheets, listened to podcasts, been banned from the odd Facebook group, so now I'm here trying to gain more knowledge and hopefully answers to some of the why's of Chameleon care :)
Click to expand...
Isn't that (and/or Reddit) considered a badge of honor? 🤨

Sounds like you've hit all/most of the majors...
(IMO, the archives are an underused resource 🤓)​
 
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Vanenmar said:
Hey guys, I'm new to the forum too. It's been at least 10 years since my first Chameleon passed, so with the idea of getting another at some point this year I'm doing all I can to get caught up on husbandry and equipment etc as obviously a lot has changed.

I've read articles and care sheets, listened to podcasts, been banned from the odd Facebook group, so now I'm here trying to gain more knowledge and hopefully answers to some of the why's of Chameleon care :)
Click to expand...
The chameleon academy podcasts are an awesome way to learn the why’s in detail. Of course all questions are welcomed here. :)
 
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