Square One

[Bano]

Hello, I have not yet started my 'Meleon adventure, but I plan to soon! I have been reading a lot of articles, threads, and blogs about them, but I still have a major, unanswered question: How old is a baby/juvenile/adult chameleon? I know that it goes in that order, but I don't know the amount of months required for the next tier

I am looking to purchase a screen cage or possibly mod an old bird cage (after cleaning of course) until I eventually have the time for a DIY cage. I saw that Screameleons and Kammerflage Kreations have their starter kits with cages that say that juveniles SHOULD NEVER BE KEPT IN ANY LARGER but then I read about bigger being better. I would like to know if I would be okay to house a Nosy Be, probably three months old, in a cage that is big enough for it to explore. Do I need to provide a smaller cage to get it acclimated to it's new environment, then make a switch after a few months?
I used to have a large cichlid aquarium, and with those I could never have enough room. Is there a parallel here?

Before I decide on all of the equipment to go along with the cage, I'll post it here to make sure I'm not dooming my new buddy

Thank you all in advance for your time and advice!

 

[Ace]

welcome to the forums

and well lets see the general will be like this for most chams

0-3 months is babies
4-10 months is juvenile
and 11 months- up is adult mostly though they stop growingg at 2 years i believe

ok well Screamelons and Kammerflage Kreations are awsome and reputable breeders...actually my lil guy is from, the Kammers

now they only have the small or "baby" cages becasue one is "business" and the other part is that its easier for your cham to find food if free range food (dump bugs in cage) but other owners cup feed.......also if your cham falls it wont b to high and wont cause bad injury....

However...i got my lil guy and purchased the biggest cage from teh Kammers.....i was gonna modify it to make it smaller(dividing it) BUT my liil guy got used to the big space and is very comfortable.....i dump in his bugs(crix and such) and thery crawl on the screen..and my cham just hunts tehm down...lol

its really your choice..you can get a smaller cage which is easier to manage until he gets big and change him to the bigger cage....

 

[pssh]

I would say that under 4-5 months is a baby, 5-11 months is a juvi, and 12+ months is adult, though 12-24 is more of a young adult.

It depends on the baby. What you can do is buy/build the adult sized cage and use a divider to make it smaller for the chameleon. Many do just fine without the divider as long as they can find food. I like to offer crickets (and all food items for babies) in a nice sized tub that is always in the same place. This allows the chameleon to hunt, but it can always find the food. Plus it allows you to monitor food and remove unearth bugs more easily.

Bigger is not always better... I tried to house my adult male veiled chameleon in a 7'x4.5'x3' free range and he flipped out. He was dark 100% of the whole week he was in there. He kept trying to escape and once he did he walked back towards his enclosure in a different room. Many chameleons do enjoy more space though (just not all of them.)

 

[kinyonga]

My main concern with a young chameleon being in a large, tall cage is that they may not sit close enough to the UVB to get the good of it. I know that chameleons are supposed to sit in the UVB when they need it...but I still worry about it in captivity.

 

[Bano]

Ok, thank you all again for the info. So If I go with one of those breeders I'll be getting a baby (3 months). How small should the cage be? I'm thinking that I'll opt for a bigger cage with a horizontal divider on top to prevent huge falls. I may just make the divider according to the size cage I get so that it's strong enough to support the lights I need. I guess then I'll have to get a big enough cage so the little Meleon has room to ascend.

Another query: Is LLL a good breeder, or do they get their stock from good breeders? They have a store about 45mins from where I live, and I kind of like the idea of "shipping" taking less than an hour. It's a bummer that this way I will not really be able to trace the bloodline with pictures though...

I have a feeling this is going to take a while before I decide. Blast my indecisiveness! At least I know what I want my first cham to be!

Thank you all again for your replies, I really want this to go well! I bought my girlfriend a pair of pygmy leaf chameleons awhile back, and they ended up dying on her. They were kept in a glass "fish tank" cage, and from what I've read now, bad call for newbies! The male just stopped eating and died , and she let her brother take care of the female a while later, who didn't feed her and she died I want to be a responsible owner, and I will make sure it goes better with mine!

 

[pssh]

Pygmies do fine in glass. There are lots of breeders in social, so you should be able to find one that you can line track. LLL is great!

 

[Bano]

Ok, I'm now planning on getting an ambilobe cross, a 3'x2'x2' aluminum mesh screen cage with vines and sticks, a reptisun 5.0 uv bulb (but what size do I need for this size cage?), a heat lamp (probably a ceramic one, because for some reason, sunny socal has been quite chilly lately), a spray bottle, and a little dripper. I'm going to make a sturdy divider to put in the top part of the cage so I can fit lights on it and keep the cage small enough for my little 3 month old. I also need to pick up crickets and supplements. What kind of supplements should I get? Do I need anything else?

Thank you all again!

 

[Silkyslim]

https://www.chameleonforums.com/members/silkyslim-albums-random.html

Check out the pics there. Those are my supplements. The other 2 pics should give you an idea as to how much powder to use. If they look like the solo cricket in the last pic then you have gone too far.

Hope this gives you an idea.

 

[Bano]

Ok, forget the divider plan, the guy gave me another cage with the 3'x2'x2' one. It's 20"hx16"lx15"w, so I'm just going to keep him in there for a little while. I plan to go to LLL on Thursday before I go to work to pick up some of the stuff I need, and I'll get the rest online somewhere.

Would it be ok to put a 24" reptisun 5.0 bulb and hood over the smaller cage? Or, would a smaller bulb and hood be okay for the 24"x24"x36" cage when I move the cham into it?

Thanks for your continued support!

 

[pssh]

I just use the 24 inch bulbs or the 48 inch bulbs. Its fine if it hangs over a little.

 

[Bano]

I have the small cage set up with 24" reptisun 5.0, 100W ceramic heater, fake foliage, wood, and thermometer and humidity gauge. I'm running it now to see how far away I need to have the heater.
I may pick up my chameleon tomorrow, and also food for the little guy. I am going to assemble my own drip system and I have a spray bottle to mist him. I also have already purchased supplements to dust crickets with. Is there anything I'm missing?

 

[Bano]

I have the ceramic heater in a porcelain dome, and I just read that they are meant for wire lamps. Is this going to be a problem?