be honest

[jamest0o0]

Having a chameleon in the beginning is a lot of work and expense.

As far as your environment. Many of us make changes to accommodate our chameleons. I happen to live where it is very humid. Daytime levels are at the minimum of 70% during the day which is much too high for my Veiled. I had to buy a $250 dehumidifier to put in my room to pull it down to an acceptable level. Others that live where the humidity is low run a cool mist humidifier in the room (NOT IN THE CAGE) during the day to up the ambient humidity level.

It is a hobby where critical thinking is crucial. Checking your temps, humidity levels, and watching for behavior changes in your chameleon should be done daily. IME it took about 6 months to get everything in my husbandry perfected. There are a lot of different aspects. Just buying the bare essentials never seems to be enough.

There is always more to learn. And as they mature they change. Their needs change.

Your house gets to 70+% humidity? Lol if that's the case, you should have had a dehumidifier way before getting the chameleon! Just messing with you of course.

 

[MissSkittles]

I live in the hot & humid armpit of the country...Florida. I keep my ac on 24/7. It keeps my house at a perfect 35-40% humidity. I have a cool mist humidifier to run at night to raise the humidity and also a dehumidifier on stand by just in case (never need to use it) I use screen enclosures with the back and 1/2 of each side covered with a shower curtain. Currently my chams are in my bedroom and there are no odors nor mold.
Chameleons are a lot of work, especially getting everything they need and setting it all up. It all seems complicated and overwhelming at first. Like everything, it gets easier with time and doing. If you are truly committed to a chameleon, it’s all well worth it.

 

[Prince of Duval]

Depending on when you are looking to get a chameleon, you could spend some time tracking your ambient temperature and humidity levels throughout the year to get a better idea of what you’ll need as far as a setup. I use the Govee Mini which is relatively cheap and can view a graph of temperature and humidity over the hour, day, week, month, and year.

 

[Beman]

Your house gets to 70+% humidity? Lol if that's the case, you should have had a dehumidifier way before getting the chameleon! Just messing with you of course.

Yeah we do not have central heat or air either... So my minimum is about 65% indoors... When we get socked in by rain it can get as high as 80% in the house.

I enjoy breathing water ya know

 

[jamest0o0]

Yeah we do not have central heat or air either... So my minimum is about 65% indoors... When we get socked in by rain it can get as high as 80% in the house.

I enjoy breathing water ya know

I understand though, we have crazy humidity here too. No central air, but heat is a law here lol. Our heater is boiler so it actually raises the humidity which is kind of cool for the winter. Wed have mold everywhere if we didnt run the dehumidifiers

 

[Reptofreak]

how bad is the smell?

This is my bedroom and there is no smell.

 

[samcham1020]

This is my bedroom and there is no smell.View attachment 266456

first of all that’s beautiful! good job!

 

[Reptofreak]

first of all that’s beautiful! good job!

Thanks! ?

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

i’m worried about keeping humidity up without my room stinking. i really don’t want mold or a must/dank smell.

but everyone gets a little nervous, so just keep researching, and you might just have to deal with a little smell and during the summer if its worm maybe open your windows.

Uh... what (kind/s of) stinking smells are we talking about here... exactly?

Before I got my bearded dragon, I saw a YT video by Clint Laidlaw about them that mentioned any room they're housed in would have a definite dragon odor. From my own experience over the past few months, I can definitely attest, "Nuh-uh!" As long as a keeper is diligent about daily cleaning, there is no such odor. Believe me, if there were, I'd hear about it from the Missus—AND HOW! ? As a test, I've had her (and other people) stick their heads right in the enclosure, and zip, nada—no odor whatsoever.

I know that crickets stink, but I've been using dubias & supers as staple feeders, and no odors there either unless one doesn't keep them reasonably clean. I also have live plants in the enclosure (not bioactive), and no odors there either.

So... what kind of odors are we talking about with chameleons, and are they a real issue, or only for those enclosures that are not properly balanced & maintained?

(FWIW, I consider this part of my research before taking the plunge... )

THX

 

[Beman]

Uh... what (kind/s of) stinking smells are we talking about here... exactly?

Before I got my bearded dragon, I saw a YT video by Clint Laidlaw about them that mentioned any room they're housed in would have a definite dragon odor. From my own experience over the past few months, I can definitely attest, "Nuh-uh!" As long as a keeper is diligent about daily cleaning, there is no such odor. Believe me, if there were, I'd hear about it from the Missus—AND HOW! ? As a test, I've had her (and other people) stick their heads right in the enclosure, and zip, nada—no odor whatsoever.

I know that crickets stink, but I've been using dubias & supers as staple feeders, and no odors there either unless one doesn't keep them reasonably clean. I also have live plants in the enclosure (not bioactive), and no odors there either.

So... what kind of odors are we talking about with chameleons, and are they a real issue, or only for those enclosures that are not properly balanced & maintained?

(FWIW, I consider this part of my research before taking the plunge... )

THX

LOL it is a matter of not setting something up properly and not maintaining properly... So with plants that get waterlogged... You know the smell. You over water consistantly and it just gets nasty. That rotting plant smell.

With bio active and with doing a pot in a pot method. If it is set up correctly it should not smell.

With the cage itself if it is not bio active. If you have a funky drainage and the pan is just sitting there with water and who knows what else it is going to get nasty. So again proper set up. Proper drainage or wet vacing out the drain pan. Spot cleaning each day and a thorough cleaning once a month.

So if done right the enclosure should never stink.

Now feeders are a whole different story... No mater how clean you keep certain feeders they will smell. But heck they are bugs so you have to expect a certain amount of ick. With that said some feeders can be set up in bio active bins which will reduce the smell.

 

[jamest0o0]

A thing to mention about crickets. IME banded crickets do not smell at all.

 

[Reptofreak]

A thing to mention about crickets. IME banded crickets do not smell at all.

I agree! I have thousands of crickets in my bug room in bens and there is no smell.

I keep everything I own in a bioactive environment including my crickets. This coupled with the fact that I have dermacide beetles in every bin equals no smell, nature is good!

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

LOL it is a matter of not setting something up properly and not maintaining properly...

THAT—I can handle. As I regaled, it's pretty much the same with beardies.
Good to know & be aware of though. THX again.

 

[Mrjamwin]

This is my bedroom and there is no smell.View attachment 266456

What is in the small glass enclosure to the right?

 

[AmandaS]

What is in the small glass enclosure to the right?

He has a Pacman frog. Lol. I asked too.

 

[Mrjamwin]

My house is starting to look like this too. We have recently acquired a baby Jackson, two Red eyed tree frogs. We have a Veiled and as of last night a new Bearded Dragon. Not too mention a dog and two cats.

 

[jamest0o0]

I agree! I have thousands of crickets in my bug room in bens and there is no smell.

I keep everything I own in a bioactive environment including my crickets. This coupled with the fact that I have dermacide beetles in every bin equals no smell, nature is good!

For a couple years now I've wanted to try and set up a bio cricket enclosure that they naturally reproduce in. Even if it's just a small amount. Did it with superworms, but still haven't gotten around to it yet with crickets.

Banded are great though, there's no reason to not use them. I've gotten boxes of a thousand at a time that only smell like the cardboard they come in.

 

[Reptofreak]

He has a Pacman frog. Lol. I asked too.

Yup, his name is Cheese ?

 

[Mrjamwin]

Yup, his name is Cheese ? View attachment 266551

Wow, he's pretty cool. I did not know they can eat mice.

 

[MissSkittles]

@james and other buggy people. We need a thread on how to keep our feeders in a bioactive bin. When I went to feed my banded crickets last night, their bin smelled like death! ?Took the egg flats out and odor gone.