Zilla Spring Caves... Good, Bad, or Ugly?

[Jabba93]

I recently saw this at a pet store in Reptile Supplies. Has anyone ever used the Zilla Spring Cave in their enclosures? I like the idea of giving my Cham some cover and water in one location. Thoughts?

 

[Chameleophlaged]

Give your cham cover with a whole bunch of live plants and water with good long mistings and forget about the cave.

 

[Chameleophlaged]

Look around on the forums about standing water in enclosures

 

[timw1]

Don't waste your money on that, like Chameleophlaged said, provide live plants for cover.

 

[GDiggs]

Based on all the information I have read, chameleons should not have standing water as a drinking source because old mold and other factors.. I am no expert but I would not do it for my baby I wouldn’t want you to do it to yours

 

[JoshD49]

As others have stated pass on any fountains or waterfalls. Chams just do not see that as a water source. Chams will need to see water droplets on leaves or dripping water. Misting, good plant cover and proper humidity keeps the hydration where it should be. I know these fountains look cool but to a Cham they see it as a toilet sometimes and unless you want to wash it out daily it's not worth it. If they for whatever reason start to look dehydrated after doing all the previously stated there are other means to rehydrate so don't panic and add one. One thing I do to help with hydration and make my Cham happy is offer a couple hornworms a week. He absolutely loves them like they are some kind of delicasy. Hornworms are basically a bag of fluid and since he loves them so much he will even walk right out of the cage on to my hand to get it.

 

[Decadancin]

Think simplicity when designing enclosures. You want to be able to clean it easily, or have a bioactive setup that maintains itself (harder to establish, but still easy to maintain) and not have things that can harbor bacteria and promote mold, etc. For hydration, go with misting and perhaps a humidifier to achieve the desired results, not waterfalls and fountains in my opinion.

This is a great answer!

Give your cham cover with a whole bunch of live plants and water with good long mistings and forget about the cave.

 

[Jabba93]

Sounds good! Thanks for all the input! I’m glad I double checked here first before getting anything!