What kinda substrate

[ChameleoG]

I have had several chameleons before but im worried that the substrate i am using is not good for them because of intestinal blockage. What do you guys recommend?

 

[alchemy]

no substrate is the best substrate....one less thing to worry about

 

[pohchunyee]

No substrate is recomended. But, If you still wanna put something at the bottom,...paper towel is good for eazy cleaning

 

[Jordan]

No substrate is probably the best way to go. I have seen some things recently that have got my mind churning though.

A false bottom raised up about an inch with a drain on the floor, egg crates (plastic ones) wrapped in panty hose and then a couple inches of substrate. A veiled cage would look pretty cool with play sand and a little peat moss mixed together. The panty hose would keep the substrate from running off and is not organic so it would not rot. Of course with heavy mistings the water might stand for a minute or two. Maybe something I will look into in the future but then again I am pretty lazy so maybe not.

 

[Kam808]

I'm trying out this guys approach to substrate: http://www.veiled-chameleon.com/weblog/archives/000154.html

Use the ecoearth wrapped up in weed blocker. It sits on raised flooring and I just use Shop Towels on the very top to soak up most the moisture. It definitely keeps the substrate controlled so it wont be eaten and the crix or feeders cant burrow or hide in it.

Have only been trying it for the last week. So far so good. And his idea to use fishing wire and ceiling hooks to hang plants is a great idea. Not sure if this would work with all setups though.

 

[Tygerr]

A false bottom raised up about an inch with a drain on the floor, egg crates (plastic ones) wrapped in panty hose and then a couple inches of substrate. A veiled cage would look pretty cool with play sand and a little peat moss mixed together. The panty hose would keep the substrate from running off and is not organic so it would not rot. Of course with heavy mistings the water might stand for a minute or two. Maybe something I will look into in the future but then again I am pretty lazy so maybe not.

The pantyhose might not rot, but won't you still have a bacterial growth problem from fecal matter dropped by the cham getting into the wet peat moss/sand mixture?

 

[Jordan]

Yeah Tygerr that is what I ment by I am to lazy. You would have to be pretty diligent about picking up the feces daily. Straight sand might be better but I think the color of the peat moss makes it look more natural for their area. The sand, peat moss and the panty hose do drain slow so you would have a bit of puddling. Then again two 12-15 minute mistings a day and a strech in between the ground would have plenty of time to dry out good, especially with the air flow below.