Ventilation help

[georgew]

Any tips on how to improve ventilation? My Cham is in a viv with a mesh top by glass sides however I am not currently in a position to buy a new one. He has had respiratory problems in the past so I’m looking to improve ventilation any tips at all would be great.

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi. Does your glass enclosure have any ventilation vents in it? If so, where are they - close to top or bottom? Maybe post some pics of your enclosure so we can see what you’re working with. Usually people have placed small fans on the top screen to draw air out, but they usually had some side vents.

 

[georgew]

 

[kinyonga]

Regarding the respiratory issues…how were they treated?

Please post some photos of your chameleon.

Where do you live? Is the cage near a window?

 

[georgew]

I live in the south of England with very cold temps however has two windows that are always left open a little. We went to an exotic vet and they said that I had caught the respiratory infection early so didn’t need meds yet they told me to ensure his humidity was correct and come back in three weeks. I went back after the three weeks and they said he had cleared up and had recovered from his respiratory infection. He is overweight but is on a diet to fix that.

 

[MissSkittles]

Ok. So the black plastic just at the bottom of the doors is a ventilation strip. It uses the chimney effect to draw air in and then up and out thru the top. To enhance this air flow, you’ll want to add a small fan to the top and have it sucking the air out from the top. You’ll also may also need to adjust your misting or fogging. You’ll should never fog during the day and at night, you fog only if your temps are below 68F/20c. For misting, the ideal standard is to mist for 2 minutes, twice a day - right before lights go on and off. This is usually enough hydration for most chams. If urates are looking dark or orange, you can either add a short 1 minute misting in the afternoon or add a dripper for about 15 minutes a day. Your goal humidity for daytime is between 30-50%. If even doing all of this, you are still having trouble, I suppose you could place a small fan to blow air in thru the ventilation strip. It isn’t just the high humidity that increases risks for RI, but poor ir circulation as well. I hope some of this helps.

 

[georgew]

Thank you much appreciated.

 

[MistakenCritter]

I'm in south east uk, I have a very big reptione viv, (4ft x 4ft x 2ft and I have changed one of my doors for a mesh door (DIY jobbie) but I'm sure I read somewhere that someone makes exo terra mesh doors,