Enclosure and random help?

jcv115 said:

Hello,
I was going to get a Pygmy Chameleon but changed my mind. Here are the questions:

1) Will this screen cage work for a flapneck chameleon: http://canvaschams.com/product/lifetime-series-cage
2) Can two be in one cage?
3) I want a substrate in my tank what is the best?
4) Can flapneck chameleons be handled?(see it a lot in pictures)
5) If I et an aquazamp rain do I not need any other form of water for its thirst? Also do I not need to mist the aqaurium?
6) My flapneck needs to have a daily temp of 82 degrees. My hose is normally 70 what is a heat lamp that lets you pick how much to raise the temp like a fish tank heater but with a light? Do I need a night light heater for him?

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Carlton said:

First, you can get many answers to your questions by reading the forum link "cham care...the basics". Much of this will apply to flapnecks.

Yes, that cage would work for ONE flapneck. They really shouldn't be sharing any cage smaller than a free-standing greenhouse (unless they are pygmies).

Generally, no substrate at all. Substrates tend to mold, concentrate bacteria, and your cham can accidentally pick up particles on its tongue that can lead to an intestinal blockage or injuries.

With an auto misting or an aquazamp you can set it up to provide enough drinking water and humidity. You will need to track the humidity with a good quality hygrometer. The little analog types most pet shops sell are not very accurate.

Your flapneck may well be wildcaught and imported. It not want much if any handling, especially when you first get it. Chams are individuals; some are more tolerant than others. Just be happy with what you get. Don't be fooled by pictures you see online...they handle the cham to take the picture!

A regular house light bulb should work for basking. The 82 degree temp is probably for the basking area. Other areas of the cage can and should be lower so the cham can select where it needs to be at certain times of day. We can't tell you what wattage you need, because there are too many variables in our setups. You can adjust the basking perch temp by moving the lamp closer or farther from the top of the cage. Trial and error.

Unless your room gets colder than 50 F at night, you don't need heat at night. Chams require a drop in temp of at least 10 degrees so their metabolism can rest. NO lights of any color at night.

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Djturna4thakidz said:

If your house is 70 during the day and 60 at night that is great, you wont need any heat at night. During the day you will need to provide a heat lamp (basking lamp) with temps below it in the low 80's. Chameleons need a temperature gradient from the hottest point (basking spot) to lowest (bottom of cage). As long as they can move around to get different temps you will be fine.

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kplatvoet said:

I have a flapneck - she was hatched in Nov - I think she would do great in the cage your looking at - I'm upgrading mine but I'm sort of afraid I'm not going to be able to find her - I went a little bigger for her as I wanted my upgrades to match and my other chameleons are bigger - I got my flapneck from flchams - a sponsor here- she is captive born which I paid extra for but I since she was parasite free and healthy I actually think I saved money.
I don't handle any of my chams often but she's more shy than my other chameleons - but calming down - I need to work with her more with hand feeding but she likes blue bottle flies so much - I have some silkworms that should be growing to the right hand feeding size and she went crazy for little ones I gave her this morning so it's mostly a matter of having the time and the right feeder -
She's in a smaller cage right now but as I said she's moving in to either a dragonstrand large breeder or the canvas cage that I had made to the same size - I love the Canvas HD screens - and the decals at the bottom- I'm planing on having them make me another custom size as soon as I figure out what I want them to build - Nick was great to work with and I got just what I wanted with the first - as far as basking I change the wattage depending on the time of year - and check the temps - I upped her to a higher wattage recently as it's been cooler here but not cool enough to run the furnace-
I use an aquazamp rain dome on all my cages (3) they all seem to love the rain- I also have a dripper for my jackson as she's tough to get to drink - I haven't had a problem with hydration at all for the flapneck-

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Djturna4thakidz said:

For basking light just get a standard incandescent house bulb. The higher the wattage the more temp you need. I use 40 watt

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kplatvoet said:

I hoping to move her in to her new cage this weekend - right now she's her baby cage still - I'm moving them to a new room and have to move all 3 at the same time as the aquazamp has to move too.
I'll try to get a picture up by the end of the weekend-
She likes a lot of cover and spends a lot of time moving about her cage so I'm trying to fill it up with lots of paths - she's always on a mission - There's not as much information on flapnecks around so I've tried to give her lots of choices in terms of temps - so she can pick her spot. I mix fake and real plants - I'm not good with live plants -

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