what do you all think of this setup?

[ellrrz]

hey everyone.

im eagerly waiting the arrival of my ambilobe that is scheduled to arrive on wednesday. with that being said what do you think of how i have things setup.

he is about 3.5 months old right now so the cage is kind of on the smaller side. the zilla fresh air habitat. (20"h, 18"w, 12"d i think). ive put in a live hibiscus, fake plant leaves and a few sticks from a tree after i baked them. any tips on things that could be done better or things to make the little fella happy.







oh and forgot to mention im replanting the plant tomorrow and am going to put bigger sized rocks on top of the soil so he wont accidentally eat some.

 

[Seeco]

Fake plants are bad -- put them on the outside of the cage. More sticks in the top 1/4 of the cage -- just close enough to the top for him to sit comfortably.

 

[ellrrz]

ok ill give that a shot. the fake plants are those ones going horizontally across the cage and they are wrapped around some stick. i picked up the kit from screameleons and that came with it.

 

[Seeco]

Ya they are not good. Your cham could "potentially" eat them. The risk outweighs the benefit and for concealment and security they are just a useful on the outside. Looks nice on the outside too.

Anyway the real point is you need more sticks at the top.

 

[ellrrz]

yea i dont want that to happen. ill take the plastic plant stuff off and use it elsewhere. as far as the rest any other tips you can share or would everything else seem to be ok.

and thanks for the help

 

[Robyrango]

Small, but is a good start
You could get another potted plant to put beside the hibiscus.. It will help to keep humidity and give your chameleon more places to hide

 

[Trin]

Hmmm... I'd take a nice leggy pothos and use those vines to wrap around instead of the fake leaved plants (but leave the brown vines, pothos trailers aren't always too strong). Usually you'll find pothos hanging in stores, just find the one with the longest trailers and then you can repot it. You can also (gently) attach the trailers to the sides of the tank with wire ties (just make sure the ends are outside!) to give your cham some crazy coverage, and the additional plant will help with humidity.

Or you can go the scheffluera route... that is, get a scheffleura arbicola and drop that in the tank, if you take care of 'em, they fill out well and get really bushy, giving a lot of hiding space.

I hope you and your little guy have a great life together!

 

[ellrrz]

thanks roby for the input. yea i wish the cage could be a little bigger but he is really young so this will work for now.

and trin i went to the nursery today and picked up a few of those umbrella plants. ive decided to take the hibiscus out as it was looking a little weepy. and i also added a few extra branches by the basking light and one across the cage under the uvb.

here is the updated setup.


any opinions of how it looks?

 

[Seeco]

Oh yeah, that will do. As you find good ones just add more horizontal branches towards the top -- assuming it is not too crowed for him to squeeze through.

 

[ellrrz]

nice. i think it will have to do for now. the enclosure is tine but in time im hoping to turn half if not my full closet into a home for him. i might be able to get one more plant in there. the nursery sells umbrellas about 10" tall for $2

 

[patrickfraser]

What a simple major transformation. It looks 100% better without the fake vine and a real plants, instead. Maybe it's the two together. That other plant looks like it needs to be outside for a bit. Good call.

 

[coldbloodedAL]

Ya they are not good. Your cham could "potentially" eat them. The risk outweighs the benefit and for concealment and security they are just a useful on the outside. Looks nice on the outside too.

Anyway the real point is you need more sticks at the top.

That is a great idea to put plants on the outside... You never cease to amaze me man!

 

[ellrrz]

What a simple major transformation. It looks 100% better without the fake vine and a real plants, instead. Maybe it's the two together. That other plant looks like it needs to be outside for a bit. Good call.

yea i thought it did too. that hibiscus did look droopy when i had it in there. cant wait till wednesday to get here now

 

[K9Luvn]

yea i thought it did too. that hibiscus did look droopy when i had it in there. cant wait till wednesday to get here now

I bet you're counting down the days!!

 

[ellrrz]

I bet you're counting down the days!!

oh yea is it possible to just sleep till wednesday morning? time will go by faster that way. haha


one other question. i have a misting system for the cage is it a good idea to have a dripper as well? i have it set to go off ever 3 hours (minus the night) for about 45 seconds at a time would having the dripper be to much?