Width is important as well as height?

[Damien]

i have a tall chameleon enclosure but it is also very wide, i've discovered that the chameleon likes to cool down more if he basks in the top right corner and then goes down and across to the middle left- this keeps his cooling spot higher, which he likes, and also prevents overheating.
I've found that many people with smaller enclosures have unnecessarily thin enclosures
Does anyone agree? Or is it just me

 

[cushcameleon]

Have any pictures of your enclosure?

 

[Damien]

no sorry cameras on the mend

 

[luevelvet]

I've always been a fan of wider rather than taller. Or better yet, both width and height are accounted for, but I recently moved from 2'x2'x4's to custom made 2'x2'x2' cubes and my chameleons haven't noticed a difference. I still keep our pardalis in 2x2x4's but that's more because they actually use the extra height, but I wouldn't an issue with them in 2x2x3's or 2x3x3's.

Luis

 

[mikee51]

hi there

i know a few persons that keep their parsonii in cages that also are very wide.

 

[Damien]

thats gd to kno maybe people take advantage of the chameleons love for height and climbing because it is easier to place a tall enclosure in your house than a wide one

 

[kinyonga]

I've always been a fan of wider/longer cages too. Only a portion of a tree's branches run vertically...and it gives them a wider range of temperatures to sit in without having to go lower in the cage.

 

[lisa h]

I've always been a fan of wider rather than taller. Or better yet, both width and height are accounted for, but I recently moved from 2'x2'x4's to custom made 2'x2'x2' cubes and my chameleons haven't noticed a difference. I still keep our pardalis in 2x2x4's but that's more because they actually use the extra height, but I wouldn't an issue with them in 2x2x3's or 2x3x3's.

Luis

What sort do you keep in 2x2x2s?

 

[Damien]

my veiled is in a 2x2x2 doing fine

 

[lisa h]

my veiled is in a 2x2x2 doing fine

Do veileds tend to move around less than other large chams? Is this an adult? Male or female?

 

[sandrachameleon]

My smallest cages are 2wx2dx4h
The larger cages are 4wx2dx4h

I find my panthers actively use all the available space. Bigger is definately better. I consider 2x2x2 kinda cruel.

 

[Damien]

thats why i take him out for a wander everyday - i wouldnt say 2x2x2 is cruel though however some people might not have the time to do that

 

[nick barta]

Just a general comment, "he seems to be doing fine" and similar observations like "he seems to like it" are IMHO are not valid reasons for defining our husbandry standards.

A cham may display behavior that we interpret as favorable ("he climbs up my arm because he wants to be held/he loves me"), but continuing that behavior may be detrimental to the cham.

The danger is, we can begin to blur good husbandry with opinions imposed onto the behavior we see, which is not good for the cham, or for us in the long run.

That being said, I think that wider is beneficial, as it gives more horizontal movement and perching choices, and vertical choices give more thermal regulating choices to the cham. I also think 2x2x2 is WAY to small for medium to large chams. For smaller species as Carpets, Rudis, and other small species, 2x2x2 would be appropriate.

Nick

 

[luevelvet]

Lisa,
Nothing big. Well except for my male deremensis, but he doesn't move anyway. I don't think he's moved an inch in the past two weeks. We also keep our B. transvaalense, T. quadricornis (two 7-8 month old from josh) and a female C. senegalensis.

It also depends on how well they take to the enclosures. They are well planted for those that prefer more cover and less for those that don't care. I honestly believe that in some cases it is down the individual animal and what they prefer. For instance, we also have a male senegalensis that has his own 2x2x4 cage because he just can't be in a smaller cage. He just won't have it. We're just about the free range this guy since I think he took some advice from our mellers and decided to pace every time he sees screen in front of him.

Luis

 

[Damien]

Just a general comment, "he seems to be doing fine" and similar observations like "he seems to like it" are IMHO are not valid reasons for defining our husbandry standards.

A cham may display behavior that we interpret as favorable ("he climbs up my arm because he wants to be held/he loves me"), but continuing that behavior may be detrimental to the cham.

The danger is, we can begin to blur good husbandry with opinions imposed onto the behavior we see, which is not good for the cham, or for us in the long run.

That being said, I think that wider is beneficial, as it gives more horizontal movement and perching choices, and vertical choices give more thermal regulating choices to the cham. I also think 2x2x2 is WAY to small for medium to large chams. For smaller species as Carpets, Rudis, and other small species, 2x2x2 would be appropriate.

Nick

Maybe i should get a bigger one then thanks

 

[Pure]

Having a wider cage isn't a reason to have an overall smaller cage. A 2/2/2 isn't the same as a 2/2/4. If you don't want to have a 2/2/4 then make the cage with a larger foot print, say a 3/3/2 and put it up high.

It does somewhat boil down to individuals and species. Kristina recommends the 6 ft reptairium laying on it's side put up at eye level for Melleri. My Melleri cage is only 4 ft in hight but the top is 7 ft off the ground. But it's also 8 ft wide. 1 of them never moves and could probably live in a shoe box ( I would never do that, no matter what). The other makes use of the entire enclosure.

 

[chamit]

my veiled is in a 18x18x36 and he hates it now, when i open the door to his cage he always bolts out. i am buying a 2'x2'x4' because he loves space.