A matter of smell.....

[ZEROPILOT]

I have my 3 Veiled Chameleons caged in our spare bedroom.
They are all set up the same way:

Reptibreeze XXL with 3 sides covered by shower curtain to guard against drafts. All 3 are in our spare room. It is roughly 12' x 12'. The door of that room is usually closed and is a bit warmer and a bit more humid than the rest of the house.


Each has a single MISTKING nozzle that sprays for 1 to 3 minutes about every 4 hours. Also, each has a little dripper that drip for about 2 to 2.5 hours every morning.

Each enclosure has a Sheflerra in a pot and a small Pothos. The bottoms are bare and they all drain through the bottom and into a bucket.

There are some dead leaves and some poop...That I remove regularly.

The issue is smell...
My wife says the whole house smells like lizard poop.
I disagree.
I smell the humidity. The plants and some earthy smell. But nothing strong or particularly objectionable. (To me)
What have others done to compensate or to combat issues of smell?
I see no mold.
I see no poop piled up.
I'm not sure what to do to stop this conversation from becoming an argument.

 

[jannb]

My chameleons don’t smell not even their poop. Smelly poop is the sign of parasites. When’s the last time your chameleons had a fecal?

 

[CasqueAbove]

I have the same with my wife. You are keeping them clean. You are both smelling the same thing you just have different perspectives. You could try an air filter, but I don't think it will make a real difference, but it might make her happy. If the room has a window, you could open it for a couple mins when she asks. Just trying to meet halfway can go far in stopping the argument part.
The other thing would be using a small fan and make an exhaust tube out the window. I have done this with window fans and it worked great. But I did not have humidity or temp as it was for ferrets.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

My chameleons don’t smell not even their poop. Smelly poop is the sign of parasites. When’s the last time your chameleons had a fecal?

None of them have ever had a fecal exam.
When I wipe up/ pick up poop with a paper towel, it smells like the paper towel.

 

[jannb]

None of them have ever had a fecal exam.
When I wipe up/ pick up poop with a paper towel, it smells like the paper towel.

I highly recommend a fecal if they have not had one. The feeders that chameleons eat often carry parasites and a fecal is recommended every 4 to 6 months. They can have parasites without smelly poop and when looking and acting perfectly healthy.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I've placed a few air fresheners in the room as well as one in the air inlet part of my house A/C system.
Now it's just fruity....

 

[Ares05]

For sure get a fecal. I put off getting a fecal in the beginning. Ended up with high counts of coccidia, instead of catching it early.

Test all of your chams.

 

[cloverthechameleon]

Have you thought about converting their cages into Bioactive ? Or do you think your wife would be opposed to the idea of microfauna and isopods in the cages. Id be careful with the air fresheners, im always wary of air fresheners and oil diffusers and such releasing chemicals into the air near my chameleons.

 

[JacksJill]

Fecals are a good plan. On top of that you might consider mixing some activated charcoal into your plant pots. It might control the wet earth smell.

 

[Thatwizard420]

Fecal Transplant
Spice Malogne

I came back from Phoenix today, my enclosure has dead leaves, poop and urate. It does not smell. like it smells like humidity but nothing else

 

[CasqueAbove]

I came back from Phoenix today, my enclosure has dead leaves, poop and urate. It does not smell. like it smells like humidity but nothing else

We are talking about a non animal person wife. I have one. In her eyes all animals smell, and if it ain't roses it stinks. jokingly of course.

I think Zeropilot is more concerned about his wife. The animals are fine, but if she does't like them it can be a battle. He is on the right course making sure his wife's environment is perfect too. ?

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Fecal Transplant
Spice Malogne

I came back from Phoenix today, my enclosure has dead leaves, poop and urate. It does not smell. like it smells like humidity but nothing else

Same here.
But the wife doesn't like it.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I came back from Phoenix today, my enclosure has dead leaves, poop and urate. It does not smell. like it smells like humidity but nothing else

We are talking about a non animal person wife. I have one. In her eyes all animals smell, and if it ain't roses it stinks. jokingly of course.

I think Zeropilot is more concerned about his wife. The animals are fine, but if she does't like them it can be a battle. He is on the right course making sure his wife's environment is perfect too. ?

I also keep tortoises.
She hates them, too.
But they live outdoors.
There absolutely is no foul smell. It's just humid and earthy smell that I'm afraid I can do little about except mask it.
I'll try the activated carbon idea.
Thanks.

 

[Lennoncham]

What are you using for substrate? Is it staying to wet?

 

[castroj1188]

After reading this article, it does seem to answer the question of random odors.

https://www.insidescience.org/news/why-chameleons-sometimes-smell-rotting-meat

 

[jamest0o0]

I also keep tortoises.
She hates them, too.
But they live outdoors.
There absolutely is no foul smell. It's just humid and earthy smell that I'm afraid I can do little about except mask it.
I'll try the activated carbon idea.
Thanks.

What kind of person hates a tortoise?

 

[Christel]

While I have no suggestions on what to do to eliminate the non-existent odor, I do want to extend condolences that you are having to deal with this issue. It confuses me how you have had these animals for so long without controversy regarding 'odor'. My personal opinion is that no matter what you do, she will always 'smell' them... for sadly, she thinks/believes it's there - therefore it is, and always will be, no matter what you do.
?

 

[Redman]

My wife also has an ultra-sensitive nose. What worked out for me, was letting her get a reptile of her own that was different from mine and completely hers to care for.

For us, that was a wonderful male Blue Tongue Skink. He lives in a 75g tank below one row of my cham cages and has a 3' x 6' play area in her office. He makes a total mess in his water bowl which smells worse than my chams do, for sure. Since we got him, she doesn't give me grief as often about the alleged smell of my chams.

Not saying that what worked for me will work for anyone else, or vice versa, but just that I can relate. The current topic of contention for us is the sound of crickets. If I could, she would have me pull off their legs before feeding them. It's a nightly struggle.

 

[Christel]

WoW. I adore the sound of crickets, it just always seemed magical and soothing to me.
Guess I'm just an odd one, LoL.

 

[Redman]

I actually like the sound of the crickets, but I like staying married even more, so I don't mention that fact. LOL