Artificial grass or felt

R

Repikeeper

New Member
Hi as a new keeper i just wonder if anyone could tell me if it would be ok to put artificial grass or felt on the bottom of my enclosure many thanks
 
Hello there, from my understanding it is best to have nothing at the bottom of the enclosure. Paper towels or news papers at most.
 
Hi there thanks for that I just thought it might look a lot better and more natural with a little bit of green on the bottom.
 
Do not keep anything on the bottom of the enclosure. You're cham should not spend anytime down there. Can you post a picture of your enclosure so we can help you out a bit better?
 
I got bare bottom. With all the water that gets sprayed in our enclosures, artificial grass or felt will get moldy and gross. Plus, you'll need proper drainage so your cage doesnt have any standing water. The other plus to bare bottom is that its really easy to clean dropping and such.
 
Repikeeper said:
Hi as a new keeper i just wonder if anyone could tell me if it would be ok to put artificial grass or felt on the bottom of my enclosure many thanks
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Hey, Repikeeper! Any kind of substrate on the bottom is actually going to give you another cleaning chore.because your feeders are going to burrow under it, then you have to clean the bottom of the cage and the substrate. A better idea is to just fill the bottom with potted plants. That will help keep your humidity up and look more natural than felt or plastic. You can just pull the pots out and wipe the bottom of the cage down. These are images of the bottom of my quad's cage (a large Reptibreeze). It only took three potted plants and one plastic (to cover his dripper reservoir) to cover the entire bottom.
 

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I know that you can cover up the blank spots with paper towels instead of a substrate/mat. The paper towels can be taken out easily and they keep the cage from getting too dirty. Just as long as you trade them out often.
 
Tattersb said:
Hey, Repikeeper! Any kind of substrate on the bottom is actually going to give you another cleaning chore.because your feeders are going to burrow under it, then you have to clean the bottom of the cage and the substrate. A better idea is to just fill the bottom with potted plants. That will help keep your humidity up and look more natural than felt or plastic. You can just pull the pots out and wipe the bottom of the cage down. These are images of the bottom of my quad's cage (a large Reptibreeze). It only took three potted plants and one plastic (to cover his dripper reservoir) to cover the entire bottom.
Click to expand...
Tattersb said:
Hey, Repikeeper! Any kind of substrate on the bottom is actually going to give you another cleaning chore.because your feeders are going to burrow under it, then you have to clean the bottom of the cage and the substrate. A better idea is to just fill the bottom with potted plants. That will help keep your humidity up and look more natural than felt or plastic. You can just pull the pots out and wipe the bottom of the cage down. These are images of the bottom of my quad's cage (a large Reptibreeze). It only took three potted plants and one plastic (to cover his dripper reservoir) to cover the entire bottom.
Click to expand...
Hi like the bottom of your cage you can't even tell there's nothing on the bottom when it's all planted up good idea think I will have a run to the reptile Shop and see what they have thank you for that.Also how often does yours shed? I have only had now 4 weeks he shed end of first week gone to check him this morning and he is shedding again is that a good sign ? Bearing i mind he is now 13 weeks old .
 
Repikeeper said:
Hi like the bottom of your cage you can't even tell there's nothing on the bottom when it's all planted up good idea think I will have a run to the reptile Shop and see what they have thank you for that.Also how often does yours shed? I have only had now 4 weeks he shed end of first week gone to check him this morning and he is shedding again is that a good sign ? Bearing i mind he is now 13 weeks old .
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My quad and my Jackson's are both full-grown and they shed every 4-6 weeks. I've only had my panther three weeks or so and he's shed once. It sounds like yours is growing on track. Be sure his humidity and hydration are correct, it's easier on them when they are shedding. I usually bump it up a bit for a few days while they shed. Also, home improvement and department stores have really cheap plants. Those three in the bottom of his cage only cost me around $15.
 
Hi Tattersb didn't know you could get the plants from home improvement stores what names of plants would you advice me on, and would they be the ones chameleons can eat ?You obviously no your stuff . Thanking you in anticipation you have been a great help,know doubt you will be hearing from me again.
 
Repikeeper said:
Hi Tattersb didn't know you could get the plants from home improvement stores what names of plants would you advice me on, and would they be the ones chameleons can eat ?You obviously no your stuff . Thanking you in anticipation you have been a great help,know doubt you will be hearing from me again.
Click to expand...
The type of plants really depend on your species. I don't worry too much about my quad and my Jackson's because they don't touch the vegetation. My panther eats a leaf here and there (mainly by accident). My favorites are schefflera, nandina, and umbrella plants for cover and climbing. I like philodendrons for vines. Ferns work well for ground cover for my guys. If you have a veiled, I'm really not much help for what is best for them. Here's a safe plant list from FLChams that I like to refer to. If you do have a veiled, I really would recommend checking with one of the members who has experience with them. Good luck! http://flchams.com/chameleon-safe-plant-list/
 
I love that plant list. The only bad part about buying plants from home improvement stores is that you can't buy any plants in the wintertime! That is my dilemma right now.
I own a veiled, and for some reason my girl is real picky and doesn't munch on the leaves like other chams do. Either way, I would never want to take a risk. I am pretty sure that the site that @Tattersb recommended is the go-to list for all chameleon owners looking for live plants. If you don't find any of those plants that you like at a home improvement store, you can always order them online. Josh's Frogs is really good source to order plants from because 1. they have a chameleon safe plant list that you can purchase from. 2. They usually have the plants in stock. 3. They are one of this site's sponsors! :)

I am currently searching for jasmine, which isn't quite so popular. But Josh's Frogs has basically every popular chameleon plant. Pothos, schefflera, ficus, and more.
 
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