Best Advice (rather than trusting google)

[pocoray]

Hi lovelies!!
Hope your all very well!
Me and my partner are currently making an enclosure for a Cham were planning on getting in the near future.
Of course we have been reading up a lot about chams and their needs and requirements but i sometimes find with google that it can give you the wrong info, or info thats outdated. So i would rather as you lovely lot!!

Our home for our cham will be - H4.1ft W2.4 D20 inches (sorry for the crappy measurements im terrible with a tape measure - but i am good at eyeballing size haha)
Were currently adding a lot of ventilation as it came as a unit that we are upcycling, I have made sure im using appropriate paint on the inside as its going black.

My wife has owned a lot of reptiles in the past so we have everything we need heat and UV wise and basking.
I will upload an image of what were working with once im on my phone

So the question is whats your best advice for first time Cham owners, is there any tips and tricks you dont see on google that are amazingly good help?
If any of you have pictures of your set ups that would be great help as were looking to use live plants

Were looking to get a Female as everything in our house is female ( cat - dog - owl... not sure about most of the fish i will have to ask them what they identify as)
I understand that females can be hard work ( from what iv read on google... ) is there any tips that will help not just us but the cham as our life will be around her as it is with all our babies.

In a nut shell to sum up, how do we not, as ru paul says F it up

Thank you in advance!!

 

[pocoray]

Photos of the start of the build

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi and welcome. The best source for current and correct husbandry guidelines and so very much more is https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-basics/ Neptune the chameleon on YouTube is also another great resource. Husbandry guidelines will depend on which species you get.
Care of (veiled or Yemen) girls is pretty much the same as the boys until they reach sexual maturity. http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/2007/12/keeping-female-veiled.html
We love helping new keepers and can certainly help make sure you get everything set up perfectly. All safe washed live plants is best. Here’s a pic of one of my enclosures that was for my male panther.

 

[pocoray]

Hi and welcome. The best source for current and correct husbandry guidelines and so very much more is https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-basics/ Neptune the chameleon on YouTube is also another great resource. Husbandry guidelines will depend on which species you get.
Care of (veiled or Yemen) girls is pretty much the same as the boys until they reach sexual maturity. http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/2007/12/keeping-female-veiled.html
We love helping new keepers and can certainly help make sure you get everything set up perfectly. All safe washed live plants is best. Here’s a pic of one of my enclosures that was for my male panther.
View attachment 318742

Thank you!! ill be having a good look!! I think we will be getting a vailed, i think... it may change tuesday when we have a look at them, as we have a store near us that has a variety and takes amazing care of them.
WOW thats beautiful, and its the plants i was wanting to get! I do and have killed prayer plants dead... i love them and care for them and they die xD
how did you do your misting system iv seen them a lot and i was going add just a humidifer... thingie... Its late and i cant remeber the name

 

[MissSkittles]

Thank you!! ill be having a good look!! I think we will be getting a vailed, i think... it may change tuesday when we have a look at them, as we have a store near us that has a variety and takes amazing care of them.
WOW thats beautiful, and its the plants i was wanting to get! I do and have killed prayer plants dead... i love them and care for them and they die xD
how did you do your misting system iv seen them a lot and i was going add just a humidifer... thingie... Its late and i cant remeber the name

My prayer plants have since died. They are a bit less hearty than others. For most plants, you’ll need a good plant light. There’s lots of choices out there. I and a few others use/like these https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07TKKG8Q3/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Every now and then the company has a sale on their website.
For misting, Mist King is one of the best systems there is. It’s a bit pricey, but we’ll worth it. Some also use a humidifier at night (check out natural hydration podcast at chameleon academy) when temps drop. I just add some quick mistings at night instead.

 

[kinyonga]

Welcome to the forum!
You have an owl??? How is it that you have an owl? What kind?

Please be aware tha in this link the crickets I used were mediums...so I now recommend 4 to 6 crickets (or equivalent in other insects) if your using large...
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/2007/12/keeping-female-veiled.html

 

[pocoray]

Welcome to the forum!
You have an owl??? How is it that you have an owl? What kind?

We dooo, we have barn owl called Dahlia, although we live in a terraced house we have a big enclosure for her outside, she does come in and judge us harshly.
We found her online and form what she came from to where she is, is a massive improvement, shes not a cuddly owl and she likes her own space, but she loves my other half and accepts kisses, and throws a bowl at me... although she does watch lord of the rings xD

 

[pocoray]

My prayer plants have since died. They are a bit less hearty than others. For most plants, you’ll need a good plant light. There’s lots of choices out there. I and a few others use/like these https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07TKKG8Q3/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Every now and then the company has a sale on their website.
For misting, Mist King is one of the best systems there is. It’s a bit pricey, but we’ll worth it. Some also use a humidifier at night (check out natural hydration podcast at chameleon academy) when temps drop. I just add some quick mistings at night instead.

Iv found prayer plants are divas, my neighbour keeps them amazing i think its because shes catholic (couldnt help but make a terrible dad joke), iv got a plant like from her and its a good one with a timer and intensity monitor on it so ill be adding that to the tank, it does have a standard light on it aswell... i think, ill have to ask as iv the memory that rivals Dory.
Is it at all possible to make a misting system? as we tend to make our own things, like on my smaller tank with our puffer in we have a feature filter in it made from a bottle

we do have a humidifier that has a temp setting on it, not sure how effective it is.
Im so excited to get it all set up! one of my favourite thing to do is aquascape and make amazing enrichment areas for our animals, our owl has a better enclosure than our house haha
P.s thank you for all your help. its so refreshing to see lovely people on a forum

 

[kinyonga]

Barn owls are beautiful!
Do you know it's a she for sure?

 

[pocoray]

Barn owls are beautiful!
Do you know it's a she for sure?

We doo, the person we had her off has been breeding for a while, and we can tell from the markings and size.
Also the fact she is less vocal but she does occasionally shout at the dog while shes pooping... ill upload a picture of her if you like
Shes lovely shes only half a year old or so and shes honestly the sassiest pet we own! she beats the cat that will fight you for pop corn

 

[MissSkittles]

Iv found prayer plants are divas, my neighbour keeps them amazing i think its because shes catholic (couldnt help but make a terrible dad joke), iv got a plant like from her and its a good one with a timer and intensity monitor on it so ill be adding that to the tank, it does have a standard light on it aswell... i think, ill have to ask as iv the memory that rivals Dory.
Is it at all possible to make a misting system? as we tend to make our own things, like on my smaller tank with our puffer in we have a feature filter in it made from a bottle

we do have a humidifier that has a temp setting on it, not sure how effective it is.
Im so excited to get it all set up! one of my favourite thing to do is aquascape and make amazing enrichment areas for our animals, our owl has a better enclosure than our house haha
P.s thank you for all your help. its so refreshing to see lovely people on a forum

Yes, you can make your own misting system. I’m not sure if it will be a $$ saver as you will still need to get a pump, timer and mist head components. You can do a search of the forum to see what others have done. I believe it is something that had been talked about within the past couple of weeks. There’s also tutorials on YT.

 

[pocoray]

Barn owls are beautiful!
Do you know it's a she for sure?

clearly i disturbed her judging next door xD

 

[kinyonga]

I'd love to see a photo.

 

[pocoray]

Yes, you can make your own misting system. I’m not sure if it will be a $$ saver as you will still need to get a pump, timer and mist head components. You can do a search of the forum to see what others have done. I believe it is something that had been talked about within the past couple of weeks. There’s also tutorials on YT.

we have pretty much everything in as we had at one point 30+ fish tanks at one point, we had to downsize because it was becoming a problem haha. thank youuu! ill have a good look, DIY keeps us good you see

 

[pocoray]

I'd love to see a photo.

iv replied to your comment with some pictures but shes not too happy about it, and she quickly went into her box after i took them... clearly she doesnt like being judged, although she judges hard

 

[kinyonga]

I don't see any photos.

 

[pocoray]

I don't see any photos.

 

[Mark_C]

Hi!
Mark here. I'm new around these parts as well.
Folks here are fantastic with their experience and generosity in advice.

I'll hold any advice as I have none of value, aside this...
A trained chameleon, with a small lance and tiny helmet, riding an owl into battle.

 

[pocoray]

Hi!
Mark here. I'm new around these parts as well.
Folks here are fantastic with their experience and generosity in advice.

I'll hold any advice as I have none of value, aside this...
A trained chameleon, with a small lance and tiny helmet, riding an owl into battle.

WELCOMEEEE, least im not the only newbie here haha,
One day i will train them to do it!!! and it will be my downfall as they'll attack the hierarchy xD

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

Our home for our cham will be - H4.1ft W2.4 D20 inches (sorry for the crappy measurements im terrible with a tape measure - but i am good at eyeballing size haha)
Were currently adding a lot of ventilation as it came as a unit that we are upcycling, I have made sure im using appropriate paint on the inside as its going black.

It's an OK size, but why black? It's been shown that animals can be affected positively and/or negatively by color. Chameleons aren't nocturnal, and rainforest backgrounds aren't black.

IIRC, you're in the UK, so a hybrid enclosure would be best, IMO, but you don't need to blow out both side panels to get sufficient ventilation. A panel on the front—below the door—should be sufficient along with replacing the top with screen.

Will this be a standard enclosure (no substrate) or full bioactive?

So the question is whats your best advice for first time Cham owners, is there any tips and tricks you dont see on google that are amazingly good help?

I'll second MissSkittles on Chameleon Academy, along with the archives here.

If any of you have pictures of your set ups that would be great help as were looking to use live plants

Tomorrow is cleaning day, and I need to do some pruning.

Were looking to get a Female as everything in our house is female ( cat - dog - owl... not sure about most of the fish i will have to ask them what they identify as)
I understand that females can be hard work ( from what iv read on google... ) is there any tips that will help not just us but the cham as our life will be around her as it is with all our babies.

Then you're likely aware that she'll still lay infertile eggs without mating, so she'll need a lay box, some lower temperatures, and you'll need to monitor food & supplements more carefully than for a male. You'll find all that on the Chameleon Academy site.