Viv Advice

Js52766

New Member
Hi all,

Iv recently become very very interested in chameleons. Obvously I want to learn as much as I can about them before buying one and therefore was hoping maybe someone could answer a few questions I have?

1) I live in the UK in the south east, not the warmest place and my house can get quite Cold at times, what would be the best type of housing I could get for a yemen chameleon? And what size?

2) What types of lamps etc will I need?

3) Recommended websites for Yemen chams

4) Any other information you feel necassary

I look forward to your replies and can't wait to get my first chameleon

Thanks

J
 
In the states here most of us use the screen enclosures and I know alot of people in the UK use the glass. As long as you have proper ventilation, glass can work as long as it is of a decent size. You need two types of lamps. A basking lamp (UVA) and a UVB lamp. Most of us just use ordinary housebulbs for basking. No need to buy anything expensive and fancy for that. The most recommended UVB bulb would be the Reptisun 5.0 linear tube, but not sure if that is available to you over there. So a linear 5.0 tube of some kind if you cannot get the reptisun. Depending on how old it is will determine your temperatures for basking and overall ambient. Humidity is also important and you can keep the humidity up by using live plants in your enclosure and misting. You will also need something to measure both of those and the best is a digital thermometer versus an alalog one. You will need some type of misting system to hydrate your chameleon, either manually with a spray bottle or a misting system that does the work for you. Also a dripping system is nice also to ensure extra hydration. You will also need a variety of branches and vines to create highways both vertically and horizontally for your chameleon. The preferred size for an adult cage is 24 X 24 X 48 and the juveniles can be kept in something smaller but will outgrow it quickly! Hope some of this info helps you! Welcome to the forums!!!
 
There should be some excellent sources in the UK for advice.
Back in the early 90s I found some excellent pioneering work in the british herpetological society's journal on chameleon keeping and breeding by Robert Bustard (scotland I think) who at that time had bred a number of species both indoors and out- outdoors he described a brick walled vivarium with glass top and gauze ends and indoors he used glass or plexiglass cubes about 1 meter square with ventilation on a panel along the top (he considered this a lot of ventilation and I sometimes wonder if this got lost in translation by early chameleon keepers in the states who applied this idea of a lot of ventilation as he was ahead of us and breeding successfully long before our time), and another excellent article on breeding johnstons year round in a walk-in shed used for group housing and another similar setup for quadricornis in a UK magazine. The quad breeder just made sure the shed remained above freezing and they thrived in that setup- laid eggs in the substrate and hatched there and everything...
 
Thanks

Thank you both for your replies I have found them very helpful.

Another question I have is:

1) What are the basics about dusting the chams food? I plan on getting the youngest Cham I can get and wouldn't want anything to happen to it whilst it's young and vulnerable.

Thanks again for welcoming me into the community
 
welcome!!! you should get a calcium powder without d3, used at every feeding, and a vitamin powder, used about twice a month and then a calcium supplement WITH d3 used about twice a month. i know some keepers on here pick a day and rotate the calcium with d3 and multivitamin :) hope that helps!!
 
Thanks

Brilliant thank you very much

Does anyone here have a glass viv that they could upload so ican see there setups

Thanks
 
That guide is brilliant, it virtually has everything you need to know as a beginner, very impressed.

If I had a baby Cham but in a large cage could I hand feed the Cham?

Thanks again for all your wisdom
 
I think it all depends on the cham's personality.
I have 4 chams : 2 Jackson's xanths and 2 Kinyongia multis.
One cham of each type will zap insects from my fingers, the other 2 see my hand and get mad/scared and don't care that it is holding a tasty insect.
As for glass enclosures, here is a link to Chris Anderson's informative article.
He is a research biologist and doctoral candidate in biology, as well as being an avid cham keeper and forum member.
http://chameleonnews.com/10JulAndersonGlass.html
 
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