Working on a customized house

[PrincessSpaz]

Spazzy is getting a new house where she'll have 5 feet of climbing space ...
So far I have 2 pothos and a "money tree" as far as live plants and over 80 feet of vines for her to climb on. Her lighting consists of two T8/10.0 UVB, a dual dome blue light/5.0 compact UVB and a 2nd blue bulb in a singular fixture (for some reason she likes the dual dome)
One of the T8/10.0 lights will sit above her house, one will be anchored along the wall towards the side of her house
She has an automatic fogger and two dripper plants (one on each side, set at different levels aka one at the top, one about halfway down)
Her lay bin is a large critter carry container from the pet store with washed play sand
I have some plastic vines/plants on the outside for privacy until her pothos starts growing more
Is there anything else she should have in her new house? Anything I should change?

 

[Beman]

Hi there. So I would not use the UVB you have. Neither the T8 or the compact will work on that cage type. Compacts really should not be used at all due to the shallow distance of uvb exposure and the MBD that can develop because of this. T8 fixtures with the 10.0 can be great on small enclosures where the branches are about 5 inches below the screen. But not for a large enclosure like you have now. They simply do not push the UVB far enough away from the bulb. You really want to be using a T5HO fixture and a 5.0 or 6% bulb. With the gauged wire type your using you would want a full 11-12 inch distance between the bottom of the fixture and the highest branch below it. You can either raise the fixture to do this or lower the branch if needed. All lighting should come from above at the correct distances. I would try to find some really large plants to fill out the cage more in height.

Make sure her feeders are not right next to the cage... This will make a chameleon absolutely crazy trying to get to them.

Double check temps in front of that window. Window placement can be dangerous if it gets direct sun and in the winter it can lower temps too much.

 

[PrincessSpaz]

Hi there. So I would not use the UVB you have. Neither the T8 or the compact will work on that cage type. Compacts really should not be used at all due to the shallow distance of uvb exposure and the MBD that can develop because of this. T8 fixtures with the 10.0 can be great on small enclosures where the branches are about 5 inches below the screen. But not for a large enclosure like you have now. They simply do not push the UVB far enough away from the bulb. You really want to be using a T5HO fixture and a 5.0 or 6% bulb. With the gauged wire type your using you would want a full 11-12 inch distance between the bottom of the fixture and the highest branch below it. You can either raise the fixture to do this or lower the branch if needed. All lighting should come from above at the correct distances. I would try to find some really large plants to fill out the cage more in height.

Make sure her feeders are not right next to the cage... This will make a chameleon absolutely crazy trying to get to them.

Double check temps in front of that window. Window placement can be dangerous if it gets direct sun and in the winter it can lower temps too much.

Hi there. So I would not use the UVB you have. Neither the T8 or the compact will work on that cage type. Compacts really should not be used at all due to the shallow distance of uvb exposure and the MBD that can develop because of this. T8 fixtures with the 10.0 can be great on small enclosures where the branches are about 5 inches below the screen. But not for a large enclosure like you have now. They simply do not push the UVB far enough away from the bulb. You really want to be using a T5HO fixture and a 5.0 or 6% bulb. With the gauged wire type your using you would want a full 11-12 inch distance between the bottom of the fixture and the highest branch below it. You can either raise the fixture to do this or lower the branch if needed. All lighting should come from above at the correct distances. I would try to find some really large plants to fill out the cage more in height.

Make sure her feeders are not right next to the cage... This will make a chameleon absolutely crazy trying to get to them.

Double check temps in front of that window. Window placement can be dangerous if it gets direct sun and in the winter it can lower temps too much.

I apologize for the placement of her house in the photos, it's kind of in the middle of the floor so I can work on it and get to all sides ... Spaz isn't staying in it just yet but I have let her explore it a couple times in hopes that will make her more comfortable with the change to the new house. The cart with all her supplies usually sits on the other side of the room so she doesn't see the crickets or the cups of worms (hornworms and waxworms are her favorite treats) ... she gets very excited when she sees the cups so we make sure she doesn't see them.
I have a stand for the UVB (I thought the mesh would get too hot if the lights were directly on top) I can also angle it down the side using the stand. Would it be better to get her another light for the top and angle the T8/10.0 down the side so she'll have UVB rays in multiple directions? As for the dual dome light, she seeks that out for some reason that we haven't figured out. I tried just the heating bulbs in it but she wasn't having it.
I also have grow lights on a stand (it's 5 lights you can angle any direction) for the plants since there's no natural light where her house will be. Are those beneficial or detrimental for her?
Also in addition to the pothos and money tree, what other plants are good for her?
I live in Virginia and have been unable to get her a weeping fig

 

[PrincessSpaz]

This is Spaz when we first got her to now

 

[Beman]

I apologize for the placement of her house in the photos, it's kind of in the middle of the floor so I can work on it and get to all sides ... Spaz isn't staying in it just yet but I have let her explore it a couple times in hopes that will make her more comfortable with the change to the new house. The cart with all her supplies usually sits on the other side of the room so she doesn't see the crickets or the cups of worms (hornworms and waxworms are her favorite treats) ... she gets very excited when she sees the cups so we make sure she doesn't see them.
I have a stand for the UVB (I thought the mesh would get too hot if the lights were directly on top) I can also angle it down the side using the stand. Would it be better to get her another light for the top and angle the T8/10.0 down the side so she'll have UVB rays in multiple directions? As for the dual dome light, she seeks that out for some reason that we haven't figured out. I tried just the heating bulbs in it but she wasn't having it.
I also have grow lights on a stand (it's 5 lights you can angle any direction) for the plants since there's no natural light where her house will be. Are those beneficial or detrimental for her?
Also in addition to the pothos and money tree, what other plants are good for her?
I live in Virginia and have been unable to get her a weeping fig

So you want all lighting to come from the top of the cage. This allows them to move out of exposure and keeps temps cooler as you move down into the cage.

I would replace the T8 and get the T5Ho fixture with the 5.0 or 6% uvb bulb. Wide enough to go the width of the cage from one side to the other. Then it would need a distance of 11-12 inches to the branches below due to the large gauge of the screen you used. If this means lifting it up off the cage you can do so as long as the measured distance is 11-12 inches to the closest branches below the fixture.
I would not have the T8 on a stand at all. You will lose your penetration distance for UVB doing this. So until you can replace the UVB fixtures make sure they are sitting on the cage.

I would remove the compact completely. She is going to that fixture for heat. Most people will use a clamp lamp or something like it to provide a basking area that is angled toward the UVB area.

Um per the plant lights it depends on what you are using really. But again you ideally want these at the top of the cage. Led bulbs still can put out heat. You do not want her basking down below and not getting uvb.

Per the plants. I would try to get some tall veiled tested centerpiece plants. See below. I shop at home depot in their indoor nursery area. This time of year they start getting quite a bit in.

 

[PrincessSpaz]

So you want all lighting to come from the top of the cage. This allows them to move out of exposure and keeps temps cooler as you move down into the cage.

I would replace the T8 and get the T5Ho fixture with the 5.0 or 6% uvb bulb. Wide enough to go the width of the cage from one side to the other. Then it would need a distance of 11-12 inches to the branches below due to the large gauge of the screen you used. If this means lifting it up off the cage you can do so as long as the measured distance is 11-12 inches to the closest branches below the fixture.
I would not have the T8 on a stand at all. You will lose your penetration distance for UVB doing this. So until you can replace the UVB fixtures make sure they are sitting on the cage.

I would remove the compact completely. She is going to that fixture for heat. Most people will use a clamp lamp or something like it to provide a basking area that is angled toward the UVB area.

Um per the plant lights it depends on what you are using really. But again you ideally want these at the top of the cage. Led bulbs still can put out heat. You do not want her basking down below and not getting uvb.

Per the plants. I would try to get some tall veiled tested centerpiece plants. See below. I shop at home depot in their indoor nursery area. This time of year they start getting quite a bit in.

View attachment 322653

Thank you

 

[Beman]

Thank you

Your welcome. Let me know if you have any questions.

If you want to post pics with dimensions of your lay bin then @MissSkittles can give you feedback on that as well.

 

[Sonny13]

Beautiful girl and enclosure she’s getting

You received some good advice already. Just one more thing, didn’t directly read anything about it, but please ditch anything that is different then white light. Colored light(s) / bulbs can be harmful for your chameleon eyes, because their eyes are really sensitive and colored lights just interfere with their visual.
It’s still a shame they sell them to use as chameleon safe items.

Her lighting consists of two T8/10.0 UVB, a dual dome blue light/5.0 compact UVB and a 2nd blue bulb in a singular fixture (for some reason she likes the dual dome)

And one (okay three) question, how old is she and how many and often are you feeding her?

 

[PrincessSpaz]

Beautiful girl and enclosure she’s getting

You received some good advice already. Just one more thing, didn’t directly read anything about it, but please ditch anything that is different then white light. Colored light(s) / bulbs can be harmful for your chameleon eyes, because their eyes are really sensitive and colored lights just interfere with their visual.
It’s still a shame they sell them to use as chameleon safe items.



And one (okay three) question, how old is she and how many and often are you feeding her?

No idea how old, my daughter got her the first Sunday of August 2021... I'm assuming she was roughly 2 months old. She eats mainly banded crickets I get at PetSmart with occasional hornworms or waxworms as a treat (mostly when I'm "deep cleaning" her house and have my hands in her space)
She is super defensive about her space as I would expect. She comes out on her own fairly often and expects to be held once she's out of her house. Honestly I try not to invade her space any more than just cleaning out her poops/urates daily.
The amount of food varies, she's offered a cricket every other day and if she goes after it immediately I'll give her a few more in her bowl. If she turns her head, she isn't interested (she's full of personality lol)
2x a month she gets crickets dusted in calcium powder that includes D3, the rest of the time I use the calcium powder without D3
The weeks she doesn't get the D3 calcium, she gets reptile vitamins that does not include D3
All her food is gut loaded for a few days before she gets it (including her worms) and no, I don't use the orange cubes as I have been told they weren't good
Here she is just a few minutes ago in my kitchen ... she HATES my husband so she's irked he walked in the kitchen lol
I believe she's on her 10th shed since we've had her (her yellow/orange and blue show up so pretty in person, not so much on my phone)

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

Spazzy is getting a new house where she'll have 5 feet of climbing space ...
So far I have 2 pothos and a "money tree" as far as live plants and over 80 feet of vines for her to climb on. Her lighting consists of two T8/10.0 UVB, a dual dome blue light/5.0 compact UVB and a 2nd blue bulb in a singular fixture (for some reason she likes the dual dome)
One of the T8/10.0 lights will sit above her house, one will be anchored along the wall towards the side of her house
She has an automatic fogger and two dripper plants (one on each side, set at different levels aka one at the top, one about halfway down)
Her lay bin is a large critter carry container from the pet store with washed play sand
I have some plastic vines/plants on the outside for privacy until her pothos starts growing more
Is there anything else she should have in her new house? Anything I should change?

I would lose the fake vines, the blue lights, the compact UVB, and the T8 along the wall.
Do you have a mister as well? IMO, a mister is more important/versatile than a fogger or dripper, especially if the dripper plants are those that cycle the same water over & over.

Until some live vines grow in (Inchplant, pothos, & philodendron can grow a foot per month), I would use lots of branches and some hanging/trailing plants.

The best bulbs/lights for basking/heat are:

1. Household incandescent
2. Incandescent flood (not a spot)
3. Halogen flood (not a spot)

There have been too many problems with colored lights of any kind/color.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/search/1734799/?q=blue+lights&c[title_only]=1&o=relevance
https://www.chameleonforums.com/search/1734820/?q=colored+lights&c[title_only]=1&o=relevance

Compact UVBs just don't have the range of linear. One T8 UVB is fine for now (at the proper distance), but you might think toward getting a T5HO running the full width of the enclosure.
Most T5 fixtures with mirror-like reflectors (that increase the range directly below them) are made by Shenzen Lighting, so shop for price.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/quick-question-about-lights.186644/#post-1724912

All lights should be coming from overhead.

 

[Sonny13]

No idea how old, my daughter got her the first Sunday of August 2021... I'm assuming she was roughly 2 months old. She eats mainly banded crickets I get at PetSmart with occasional hornworms or waxworms as a treat (mostly when I'm "deep cleaning" her house and have my hands in her space)
She is super defensive about her space as I would expect. She comes out on her own fairly often and expects to be held once she's out of her house. Honestly I try not to invade her space any more than just cleaning out her poops/urates daily.
The amount of food varies, she's offered a cricket every other day and if she goes after it immediately I'll give her a few more in her bowl. If she turns her head, she isn't interested (she's full of personality lol)
2x a month she gets crickets dusted in calcium powder that includes D3, the rest of the time I use the calcium powder without D3
The weeks she doesn't get the D3 calcium, she gets reptile vitamins that does not include D3
All her food is gut loaded for a few days before she gets it (including her worms) and no, I don't use the orange cubes as I have been told they weren't good
Here she is just a few minutes ago in my kitchen ... she HATES my husband so she's irked he walked in the kitchen lol
I believe she's on her 10th shed since we've had her (her yellow/orange and blue show up so pretty in person, not so much on my phone)

You got a really beautiful and healthy girl and now things start to get interesting and serious, because she´s maturing. Looking at your feeding that looks okay, still I got that feeling she could be cut back a little further. Because the reason I asked about it, is her casque starts to puff out a bit, which isn´t directly concerning but indicates she´s storing fat, from either too much feeders or the waxworms (they´re highly on the fat) or the combination of both. At this age we need to be careful with the feeding and the temperatures, so we don´t make them highly productive on the clutches. Meaning, basking temps should be at the max of 80°F and feeding should be around 2-3 feedings a week, for 3 till max 5 medium sized feeders per feeding. This should reduce the clutch size and directly reduce egg laying problems, which in the end will expend their lifespan.

Talking about egg laying, the beautiful yellow/ orange and blue indicate she´s receptive (meaning she will start to get restless due the desperate need of searching for a male), the next phase will be becoming gravid with infertile eggs and she needs to lay those eggs. This can be terrible the first time for her and you, here was my experience and of course every girl is different

https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/first-successful-free-range-bioactive-egg-laying.182715/

This also means you need to get a lay bin in there asap, asap as like yesterday. Because without it she can´t lay her eggs and will become eggbound. Also in her receptive phase, it´s got for her to know where her lay bin is. Here some info on a lay bin.

Once this is arranged we talked about the rest progress, but most important for now is this lay bin to get in there asap.

 

[PrincessSpaz]

You got a really beautiful and healthy girl and now things start to get interesting and serious, because she´s maturing. Looking at your feeding that looks okay, still I got that feeling she could be cut back a little further. Because the reason I asked about it, is her casque starts to puff out a bit, which isn´t directly concerning but indicates she´s storing fat, from either too much feeders or the waxworms (they´re highly on the fat) or the combination of both. At this age we need to be careful with the feeding and the temperatures, so we don´t make them highly productive on the clutches. Meaning, basking temps should be at the max of 80°F and feeding should be around 2-3 feedings a week, for 3 till max 5 medium sized feeders per feeding. This should reduce the clutch size and directly reduce egg laying problems, which in the end will expend their lifespan.

Talking about egg laying, the beautiful yellow/ orange and blue indicate she´s receptive (meaning she will start to get restless due the desperate need of searching for a male), the next phase will be becoming gravid with infertile eggs and she needs to lay those eggs. This can be terrible the first time for her and you, here was my experience and of course every girl is different

https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/first-successful-free-range-bioactive-egg-laying.182715/

This also means you need to get a lay bin in there asap, asap as like yesterday. Because without it she can´t lay her eggs and will become eggbound. Also in her receptive phase, it´s got for her to know where her lay bin is. Here some info on a lay bin.

View attachment 322681

Once this is arranged we talked about the rest progress, but most important for now is this lay bin to get in there asap.

The smaller house she's currently in does have a lay bin. Has for a few months now ... I just have to figure out how to keep her from eating the sand
Her bin is large enough for her to tunnel in, it currently covers the whole bottom of her house (as of yet she hasn't shown any interest in digging but has been in it a few times)
I only let her have 1 or 2 waxworms at a time because of the high fat content. Mostly I use hornworms as a treat/bribe when I'm cleaning and she's irritated by my presence lol

 

[Sonny13]

That’s good, she has it in her other enclosure
Mine never showed interest in it, until she needed to.

I only let her have 1 or 2 waxworms at a time because of the high fat content

Okay, i assume this is monthly and not weekly?

 

[PrincessSpaz]

That’s good, she has it in her other enclosure
Mine never showed interest in it, until she needed to.


Okay, i assume this is monthly and not weekly?

Weekly ... I'm guessing too many

 

[Sonny13]

Weekly ... I'm guessing too many

That would be too much indeed. Just a treat so once awhile is okay. Weekly, could be already a bit too much.

 

[Sonny13]

I still wanted to say, you got a beautiful and big (not fat, just in a good way) lady She’s pretty long in size that’s absolutely great and she will love that extra space

 

[PrincessSpaz]

You got a really beautiful and healthy girl and now things start to get interesting and serious, because she´s maturing. Looking at your feeding that looks okay, still I got that feeling she could be cut back a little further. Because the reason I asked about it, is her casque starts to puff out a bit, which isn´t directly concerning but indicates she´s storing fat, from either too much feeders or the waxworms (they´re highly on the fat) or the combination of both. At this age we need to be careful with the feeding and the temperatures, so we don´t make them highly productive on the clutches. Meaning, basking temps should be at the max of 80°F and feeding should be around 2-3 feedings a week, for 3 till max 5 medium sized feeders per feeding. This should reduce the clutch size and directly reduce egg laying problems, which in the end will expend their lifespan.

Talking about egg laying, the beautiful yellow/ orange and blue indicate she´s receptive (meaning she will start to get restless due the desperate need of searching for a male), the next phase will be becoming gravid with infertile eggs and she needs to lay those eggs. This can be terrible the first time for her and you, here was my experience and of course every girl is different

https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/first-successful-free-range-bioactive-egg-laying.182715/

This also means you need to get a lay bin in there asap, asap as like yesterday. Because without it she can´t lay her eggs and will become eggbound. Also in her receptive phase, it´s got for her to know where her lay bin is. Here some info on a lay bin.

View attachment 322681

Once this is arranged we talked about the rest progress, but most important for now is this lay bin to get in there asap.

Princess prissy pants (aka Spaz) has moved in to her new house ... she seems to be adjusting well (48 hours so far)
Her UVB and heat lights have changed (T5HO, 5.0 and a white heat bulb ... looks like a regular household bulb but puts out more heat) it's a 60 watt but the temp readings are above 92° so I have a cool mist humidifier aimed just under the bulb which brings her basking temp to a consistent 83°
We're misting 3x a day since my drippers both gave out and I'm waiting on new ones to arrive
Tossed the dial thermometer/hydrometer and bought a digital
Lowe's just put out the wandering jews so she got 2 today
I left the vines because she prefers climbing those to the grapewood limbs I'd bought for her (I'd love to know what she's thinking most days)
The large black tub underneath her house will be her lay bin, for this week she has the smaller one (I only had half a day off )
She loves looking out the window so I thought it might help her adjust to her new environment a little better. Those windows don't get any direct sun though.
Hopefully one of these days she'll get used to me taking pictures of her lol

 

[Beman]

Princess prissy pants (aka Spaz) has moved in to her new house ... she seems to be adjusting well (48 hours so far)
Her UVB and heat lights have changed (T5HO, 5.0 and a white heat bulb ... looks like a regular household bulb but puts out more heat) it's a 60 watt but the temp readings are above 92° so I have a cool mist humidifier aimed just under the bulb which brings her basking temp to a consistent 83°
We're misting 3x a day since my drippers both gave out and I'm waiting on new ones to arrive
Tossed the dial thermometer/hydrometer and bought a digital
Lowe's just put out the wandering jews so she got 2 today
I left the vines because she prefers climbing those to the grapewood limbs I'd bought for her (I'd love to know what she's thinking most days)
The large black tub underneath her house will be her lay bin, for this week she has the smaller one (I only had half a day off )
She loves looking out the window so I thought it might help her adjust to her new environment a little better. Those windows don't get any direct sun though.
Hopefully one of these days she'll get used to me taking pictures of her lol

Hi there. I just wanted to mention that temps are far too high for her. Females need 78-80 max. Not sure how close she is able to get to the heat fixture. But raising it up off the cage would be a good idea. Running a cool mist humidifier into the cage during the day when temps are high is not recommended. This can actually cause them to develop a respiratory infection.

Also if you have the same gauge screen on the top panel then you need a full 11-12 inches between where the fixture sits with the 5.0 T5 bulb and the branch below it. So lifting the fixture or dropping the vines is needed. You do not have regular screen which causes a reduction in UVI level. So at the distance it is now she would be in over exposure levels.

 

[PrincessSpaz]

Hi there. I just wanted to mention that temps are far too high for her. Females need 78-80 max. Not sure how close she is able to get to the heat fixture. But raising it up off the cage would be a good idea. Running a cool mist humidifier into the cage during the day when temps are high is not recommended. This can actually cause them to develop a respiratory infection.

Also if you have the same gauge screen on the top panel then you need a full 11-12 inches between where the fixture sits with the 5.0 T5 bulb and the branch below it. So lifting the fixture or dropping the vines is needed. You do not have regular screen which causes a reduction in UVI level. So at the distance it is now she would be in over exposure levels.

I'm sorry I should have taken a picture of the very top as well ... she has a regular window screen underneath her UVB, separating it from the 1/4 in mesh ... does that filter the UV enough or do I need to add a 2nd piece of screen? I do have another piece I can add if needed. Also I think I've gotten her basking temps just right with moving the heat light to the top of the screen, she's been at a consistent 79° today (my daughter has been home with her today as I work 0530-2130)
Her 0645 temp bothered me a little though, is 69° too cold for overnight???
I also got some acrylic sheets to put on the back of her house to help keep some humidity in ... her humidity was way too low this morning
No matter where she goes (unless she climbs the very top) she can't sit closer than 11 3/8 in from her UVB ... too close? too far? Acceptable?
Side note, my daughter saw her in her sandbox this morning so now I'm a little scared to go near her in case she's been digging I don't want to disturb her in case she's ready to lay (I'm assuming she's around 11 months now)

 

[Beman]

I'm sorry I should have taken a picture of the very top as well ... she has a regular window screen underneath her UVB, separating it from the 1/4 in mesh ... does that filter the UV enough or do I need to add a 2nd piece of screen? I do have another piece I can add if needed. Also I think I've gotten her basking temps just right with moving the heat light to the top of the screen, she's been at a consistent 79° today (my daughter has been home with her today as I work 0530-2130)
Her 0645 temp bothered me a little though, is 69° too cold for overnight???
I also got some acrylic sheets to put on the back of her house to help keep some humidity in ... her humidity was way too low this morning
No matter where she goes (unless she climbs the very top) she can't sit closer than 11 3/8 in from her UVB ... too close? too far? Acceptable?
Side note, my daughter saw her in her sandbox this morning so now I'm a little scared to go near her in case she's been digging I don't want to disturb her in case she's ready to lay (I'm assuming she's around 11 months now)

So if you are using a piece of aluminum screen in between the UVB and basking branch you want a total distance of 8-9 inches between to put her in the perfect level with the 5.0 bulb. OR remove the aluminum screen in between and the distance will be perfect. If she is now digging wait until she is done to adjust this though.

69 is not cold for a night time temp. I keep my night time temps between 62-65. They need the cool down.

How are you measuring her basking temp?