Work in progress

[ophelia9488]

I'm looking for constructive criticism on my 7 month old (I think) piebald veiled chameleon, Cornelius' cage. I built it (with the help of my Dad) out of old storm door inserts. The front and back are glass and the sides and top are screen. The cage is 57"h x 28"w x 30"d. It sits on a base on wheels, so the total height is 76". All the plants are live. Mostly pothos, a spider plant, wandering jew and palm. For lighting I use a 39w T5 HO linear reptisun bulb and heating bulbs (sorry I forgot the wattage on those) The general temps are 80 - 90° in his basking spot and 70° elsewhere. I have a 1 nozzle mister and I mist for 2 min twice a day. The substrate is bioactive. Thanks in advance for all your help. I strive to make the best environment for Cornelius.

 

[ophelia9488]

I forgot to mention, the humidity is about 60%.

 

[Beman]

Looks good. And he is more of the Piebald morph because he has more white and black over the translucent pink skin. He is a handsome boy.
Do you remember what bulb strength you bought? 5.0 or 10.0.

Per the basking temp. Really you do not want over 85 there. So make sure your using a wired probe gauge below on the branch to verify temp.

What supplements are you using for him?

 

[ophelia9488]

Thanks, I have the 10.0. For supplements I use a calcium without d3 at every feeding, calcium with d3 1x every other and a multivitamin 1x on the opposite every other.

 

[Beman]

Thanks, I have the 10.0. For supplements I use a calcium without d3 at every feeding, calcium with d3 1x every other and a multivitamin 1x on the opposite every other.

What is the measured distance to the closest branch below the UVB lighting? And what type of screen did you use for the top panel aluminum window screen?

Does 1x every other mean every other week? Just want to ensure that you are giving calcium with D3 two times a month and the multivitamin 2 times a month. These rotate week to week at one feeding.

 

[ophelia9488]

Yes, alternating every other week. Sorry, I didn't catch the missing word before posting. I just used regular screen for the top and the branches I see him sitting on under the uvb are 6-8 inches away. Should the uvb light be under the screen?

 

[Beman]

Yes, alternating every other week. Sorry, I didn't catch the missing word before posting. I just used regular screen for the top and the branches I see him sitting on under the uvb are 6-8 inches away. Should the uvb light be under the screen?

Ok supplements are perfect.
Typically with a 10.0 we want a good 11-12 inches between basking and the UVB sitting on top of the enclosure. With a 5.0 it would be 8-9 inches. Really your looking at the areas below that uvb fixture because out from the sides there is a further reduction. So if the branches go up higher away from it your fine. 6-8 inches with a 10.0 is going to be a bit too close and provide too high of a UVB level for him long term.

 

[ophelia9488]

Thanks again. Now for the dumb question....does it matter if I raise the uvb higher above the cage or rework the branches to lower them?

 

[Beman]

Thanks again. Now for the dumb question....does it matter if I raise the uvb higher above the cage or rework the branches to lower them?

Not dumb at all. You can do either.... Raise the UVB up off the top... Your looking for a total distance between the bottom of the fixture and the basking branch below it. 11-12 inches is the approximate to give them a 3 UVI level with a single bulb T5HO and a 10.0 uvb bulb.

 

[ophelia9488]

I will rework uvb placement tomorrow. Thanks again for all your advice. One of the reasons I posted his enclosure is because 9 times out of 10 when a human walks by his cage he walks up to the front and if you open the door he comes right out. Maybe he just likes the walking trees but I want to rule out anything about his cage first.

 

[Beman]

I will rework uvb placement tomorrow. Thanks again for all your advice. One of the reasons I posted his enclosure is because 9 times out of 10 when a human walks by his cage he walks up to the front and if you open the door he comes right out. Maybe he just likes the walking trees but I want to rule out anything about his cage first.

Great idea... Some do just like their humans most don't lol but some do. Your overall set up is correct on the enclosure. So your ahead of most people

 

[ophelia9488]

I bought him on a whim while in Petco....he was black and since I had never seen a black chameleon I looked it up on my phone. When I read it was stress I took him home with the little reptibreeze chameleon kit. I've had reptiles but never a chameleon. So I went down the rabbit hole of research. I think I listened to every podcast with Bill Strand and I was glad to find this site. So, many thanks to you and everyone else on this site.

 

[Beman]

I bought him on a whim while in Petco....he was black and since I had never seen a black chameleon I looked it up on my phone. When I read it was stress I took him home with the little reptibreeze chameleon kit. I've had reptiles but never a chameleon. So I went down the rabbit hole of research. I think I listened to every podcast with Bill Strand and I was glad to find this site. So, many thanks to you and everyone else on this site.

Yeah this site and Bill Strand are the reason I did not kill my first cham Beman 2 years ago. he was an impulse buy as well