Viv and plants

[jac]

Good afternoon people,

Ive found out my viv isnt very good for jac. I need a all mesh viv. Ive had a look on the internet and cant seem to find anything adequate for him. Has anyone got any sites with ones on please?

Also, Ive got loads of plastic plants and branches but want to get some hibiscus for him. Do I just go to the garden centre and buy some hibiscus with the flowers on?? What other plants can I use for the branchy leafy kinda plant?

He is a male, roughly around 6 months old. He's in an exo-terra glass sides and mesh top viv at the min. He's got a lighting unit at the top. We want to get a unit with the long UV light and a basking area with a heat bulb in a metal cover thing. That would be better for him wouldnt it? We are going to take out the waterfall. Carry on mising and using the dripper. We've stopped using the fogger.

The above improvements will make it right? Right? All suggestions and advice welcome. Thanks x

 

[CammieNLeno]

LLL reptile has really good prices on screen cages, check em out.

http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/reptile-supplies/reptile-cages-glass-and-screen/

His permanent cage size will eventually be a 24x24x48, and that will run you about 100 bucks for the screen type. You can also try getting the all "soft mesh" ones, and you would probably want to go with the 100 gal - 30 x 16.5 x 48 and about 70 bucks.

for live plants, alot of people (including myself) have great success with the following:

Hibiscus, Ficus benjamina, Schefflera arboricola.

There are literally hundreds of "safe" plants, but the above 3 are typically the most available and common used with chams.

 

[DarkRapture]

its great to hear that you are modifying the cham cage so that he can live a long and happy life i am guessing that he is a veiled?

one thing to remember when adding live plants it to make sure that it does not have any pesticides on it. take it right out of the planter take all the dirt off the roots and wash the whole thing with the hose (best to do this outside). then take some dish soap in warm water with a little tiny bit of bleach and wash all the leaves and branches. try not to get bleach on the roots. make sure to wash each leaf both sides. then rinse and repeat. the final rinse should be very thorough! it may sound like a lot of work, but if your chameleon decides to snack on it you can be assured he won't be poisoned. then re-pot it in organic soil or multipurpose soil without fertilizers. if the soil has vermiculite (white thingies) or you aren't sure if its completely safe, a layer of river rocks look nice and can cover completely. that's what i did and i think that it looks great

glad that the waterfall is coming out. when i first got my cham i had one and everyone told me to take it out. it would have been a bother to disinfect it everyday, anyways!

when you get everything for the new cage, try to set it up a day or 2 before you plan to move him in. it is best to check all the temps first and move lights/branches to get the right setup. make sure that when you get the tube UVB light you place it so that your chameleon can get within 8-10" of the tube. on top of the cage is perfect. place the basking lamp/heat near one side of the tube so that he gets warm when he basks. have more than one basking spot so he can choose the temps himself.

if he is a veiled about 6 months old, he should be big enough to go to a full sized cage. 24"X24"X48" is the recommended size for males. if you are having trouble finding a cage, why not build your own? i built mine and am loving it

see here:

 

[jac]

THanks for the help, that viv is amazing. its massive. have you got anymore photos of it please. like of the lighting on it etc....

 

[jac]

Good afternoon,

Ive been tot he garden centre today and bought hibiscus and ficus benj and a couple of umbrella plants. I have took all the soil off the roots, washed it all completed and re-soiled in organic soil. Is this alright? He has had a nibble of the ficus already. He doesnt look very happy, but we have just disturbed his home again. hahaha

It looks amazing with the plants in. Ive not managed to get him a new viv yet though :0( It is on my list. The waterfall is out and his humidity is kept at around 50% now. Spraying him 3 times a day and using his dripper occassionally. It does look a little over crowded with greenary now. but he has plenty of branches to climb round on. Can someone advise if all this is alright please?

 

[jac]

just a quick one please?

Is this one going to be alright for Jac for the rest of his life? he's getting very big now and we need to desprately change his home.
Please reply as soon as you can, thank you.

http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...een/-/24-x-24-x-48-inch-aluminum-screen-cage/

 

[JoshCrane1]

good cage, i just bought one and its nice, goes together really easy. and it will be big enough for an adult.

 

[Scott85]

Thats a great cage at a good price. Bigger is always better when it comes to a cham, but that should be fine for him long term. As far as the crowding with the plants goes, as long as he can thermoregulate and get within the money zone of the uvb should be fine. As long as it isnt so crowded in there that he cannot move, but I doubt that will be a problem.

 

[DarkRapture]

THanks for the help, that viv is amazing. its massive. have you got anymore photos of it please. like of the lighting on it etc....

I am sure that you have already set up your new cage by now, but you asked for more pix of my cham's viv so I will add some . I just happened to be looking at old posts of mine and realized that I never responded to yours lol.

The front view and dimensions; 30"W x 24"D x 75"H (total height is including the legs). All three doors open on the front as well:

You can see my home made dripper resevior (used a 3 gallon bucket and vinyl tubing with a clamp - to regulate flow)

About the lighting, I am using 2 clamp lamps on the top near the back corners. The lamp on the left is closest to a west facing window so not needing to provide light, I put a 75W red spotlight in it. For the other lamp I use a 65W plant spot light (it has a blue coating on the bulb). I have a 24" tube repti-sun 5.0 in a hood that is centered on the top from side to side. This set-up allows Marley to bask in the UVA while choosing his basking temperature. There are about 5 different spots that range from 95F down to about 85F all about 7"-13" from the tube.

Here is a picture of when I was still finishing the cage, it illustrates the solution I came up with so as not to soak the wall behind the cage. I also use the dowel to clip the lamps onto:

This pic is more recent and shows Marley chillin on one of the branches beside his big ficus. I think that plant is about 8 feet tall (measured from the bottom of the plant pot to the end of the tallest branch) and it stuffed it in there well - not too crowded... I just have to keep clipping the leaves at the very top that try to spread out and steal all the UVA rays. He's so cute:

hope to see pix of your setup!!