Waterfalls with Veiled's

[gentlejamo]

I am setting up a vivarium for a veiled chameleon. I am wondering if any of you guys have every used a waterfall in the same enclosure. I am not talking a homemade waterfall with drainage, but more so like the Exo Terra ones that recycle the water and have the filter in it.

Are they safe?

Also, veileds don't need really high humidity. I am building the environment in the a glass tank so will the waterfall maintain too high a humidity level in the glass tank? It's a decent size, 45'x45'x60'.

Let me know what you think.
Thanks guys.

 

[CammieNLeno]

You are opening yourself to a world of hurt with this one

Cliff notesversion: Scrap the idea entirely.. dont even consider it.

Inc more reasons below im sure

V V V V

 

[Cainschams]

Yeah you dont want the water fall or a glass aquarium.
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/
This is a link to a care sheet one of the members on here made. It is very detailed and will answer all your questions about what you need as far as set up, feeding, and watering.

 

[Eric Adrignola]

Well, it's usually easier to use a screen cage. Ventilation is the main problem. it's entirely possible to use a glass tank for a chameleon - especially a big tank - but it makes keeping the animal much more difficult.

Veileds don't need humidity as high as other species, but they prefer a higher humidity than most people believe. Though they come from a desert country, they live mainly in the oases. They can tolerate long periods of dry weather with no rain, but they do better if they have water more often.

Glass will sometimes confuse the chameleon, and they'll endlessly try to climb through the glass.

Chameleons have complex lungs, and if the air is stagnant, then respiratory infections are likley.

Air flow can be fixed with a small fan - it's the glass that's the main problem, especially with veileds. If they can reach the glass, they might try to get through it. With screen, they know there's a barrier.

In my opinion, glass is best used only in large cages where the animal will not be able to reach it. A display case, or a zoo-like exhibit.

45 inches by 45 inches by 60 inches high would be huge, and in my opinion, perfectly suitable for a chameleon if ventilation is maintained. If it's 60 inches long (ok it's a tank, so I assume it's not 60" high!), then it would be fine if it was mounted off the ground considerably.


Don't use a waterfall. Especially in a tank. They get dirty really fast, and are a pain to clean. With the lack of ventilation in a glass tank, they'd just increase the likelihood of bacterial problems.

and it's really hard to emphasize the difficulty in cleaning a waterfall, and how poor a choice they are with chameleons - they SEEM like a perfect device for them, but they are not!

Water is another reason why tanks are often more problems than they are worth: chameleons drink from water sprayed on leaves and dripped onto the plants (like rain). It often takes a lot of water dripping to get them to drink a small amount. you have to contain the runoff an dremove it. A REAL pain - I know, been there, done that, many times, different ways - it's always a pain.

Unless you want to drill a hole in a 45'x45'x60' tank. And if you have a 500 gallon tank, and you're planning on drilling a hole in it... hell, if you're planning on using it for a lizard.... I'll make you a deal: You give me the 500 gallon tank, and I'll supply you with the equivilant size screen cage AND a beautiful male veiled chameleon!

 

[Marc10edora]

Here are my thoughts on waterfalls-

-Builds up too much bacteria
- Hard to maintain
- Chams love to poop in them
- crickets love to die in them
-must clean it out everyday even with a filter.
-Cham most likely won't drink from them
-if they do drink from them, they could die.

 

[christyo2o2]

my cham used the waterfall as a toilet. he never drank out of it. it was an expensive waste of money! i just use a dripper and mist. it works just fine!

 

[gentlejamo]

Thanks guys for all the help and suggestions. I think you misunderstood me in one regard; the tank is 45 cm by 45 cm by 60 cm. Not inches. Sorry for the confusion. Anyways, I think I am gonna skip the waterfall. Bad idea I guess. No worries.

Tonight I just finished working on a custom background I am building. It is very similar to the ones on www.blackjungle.com.

Thans for the input though.

 

[Simon]

How are you addressing ventialtion? Exo terra glass enclosures dont have adequate ventilation.

 

[apollo]

yeah i may be new here but i dont think any still water is good for any reptile. I pulled the water dish out of my iguana's cage and people say its need for ig's but they just use it as a toliet and I have no clue if they are drinking out of when I am gone or not.

Bacteria may also grow through out the fountian and which may get your cham sick as well.

For me with my ig's I just spray them down and give them a water dish for an hour 4 times a day, so that I can watch them. So unless you plan on doing a complete water change every day at least lol I would not do it. Also crickets will drown in the water and you will have a bunch of suicidal crickets on your hand.

Maybe get a picture of a water fall and play the soothing sound of the water fall on the stereo lol jk sorry im a smart a!%

 

[plop9025]

No waterfalls what so ever.

 

[gentlejamo]

For the ventilation issue I have a small fan pointing into the cage to circulate the air, I am also going to take the lighting fixture off at night so the entire top can breathe, as well as open the front doors when I am in the room in order to get more air flow. I have a VERY knowledgeable friend who think this will do just fine.

Thanks for the help again guys.

I am not gonna even touch the waterfall.