Cham Size

[MOsKeeper]

So over the year and a half my MO has gone through 2 different cages. The first was a turtle tank that i turned upside down so that it had the height he needed to climb. As he got bigger i knew he would need a bigger one, so i bought him a 2'x2'x4' cage. ITS HUGE for him and he loved going into a new home that size. However, I've heard different things about the size of a reptiles cage playing a role on how big they can get. MO grew quite a bit when he moved from hie little cage to his big cage, but hes still not very big. As far as i know hes about 2 years old now. Ive seen members on here that have vieldies the size of half their fore-arms. so I'm just curious if maybe hes just still growing or if its because of the size of his cage.

ALSO: Does the fact that hes an indoor cham effect his growth. I don't take him out very often (mostly cause he's kinda ski-dish) but i do take him out a bit. The guy who i get my crickets from has a veildie and he free roams the cricket store. This cham is HUGE!!!! But he has a cage that is half the size of MO's. Which just adds to my curiosity about the cage size.

Any info would be greatly appreciated thanks

 

[Ulrich]

What is his size and weight? Can we see some pictures? Of course they grow at different rates. Depends on food a lot as well as on the genes. I am not sure about the enclosure. Most reptiles keep growing to adulthood. A small enclosure will not stop them but only cause deformations etc. I am not sure about Chams and growth impact of the cage. I always keep mine in large setups, mainly because they can easily hurt themself in too small an enclosure.

 

[Olimpia]

The cage thing is a myth, I hear about this aaaaall the time at the store where I work. People come in asking about what they can put their turtle in that is smaller than a 10 gal tank so they don't grow. And it's just not true, it's just a cruel myth.

The size of your chameleon could depend on several factors, like supplementation, diet, lighting, genetics, etc. Genetics is a big one if you know your husbandry is in line, because not all chameleons will turn out the same way. My panthers full grown have never weighed in at more than 130 grams, where as there are loads of people on here whose panthers are above 200 grams easily. It's just who they are. Mine aren't abnormally small at all, it's just that others have gotten much bigger/heavier.

 

[Wykd]

fish grow to the size of their enclosure, but thats the only thing I know thats like that.

 

[Olimpia]

fish grow to the size of their enclosure, but thats the only thing I know thats like that.

That's actually false as well. A pleco will still grow to 2' in length despite what tank you have it in, or so will goldfish, who get about 1' in length. Most just don't survive in a small tank and never reach their full size, so this is why the myth holds.

 

[MOsKeeper]

The cage thing is a myth, I hear about this aaaaall the time at the store where I work. People come in asking about what they can put their turtle in that is smaller than a 10 gal tank so they don't grow. And it's just not true, it's just a cruel myth.

The size of your chameleon could depend on several factors, like supplementation, diet, lighting, genetics, etc. Genetics is a big one if you know your husbandry is in line, because not all chameleons will turn out the same way. My panthers full grown have never weighed in at more than 130 grams, where as there are loads of people on here whose panthers are above 200 grams easily. It's just who they are. Mine aren't abnormally small at all, it's just that others have gotten much bigger/heavier.

Im glad to hear that the cage thing is a myth. Ive heard it for years and never knew if it was true or not. As for the factors; He eats mostly crickets that are gut loaded with a type of dry food that's similar to Cricket Crack. I feed him about 10 every other day and dust them with the Repashy Chameleon Calcium. As of this moment i have laid back on the crickets and have been giving him a small combination of large Mealworms and wax worms (trying to put a little weight on him) I have both a UV bulb and Heat lamp running for about 12 hours a day. As far as genetics, i have no idea because i got him from Petsmart. I wish i had a scale that would measure his weight but i don't so i have no idea what his length and weight are. If theres anything that i can do to stimulate his growth i would like to know, or if im not doing something like not feeding him correctly.

 

[MOsKeeper]

pic

This is the most recent picture i have of him
(SOrry for the poor quality, it was on my phone )

 

[Wykd]

That's actually false as well. A pleco will still grow to 2' in length despite what tank you have it in, or so will goldfish, who get about 1' in length. Most just don't survive in a small tank and never reach their full size, so this is why the myth holds.

I should of expanded on that I guess.

Keeping a fish in to small of a tank will STUNT their growth, and if you take them out and put in a larger tank they will resume their potential growth size, unless harm to organs occurred in the 1st small tank.

The waste produced by fish also release hormones and the combination of the 2 in larger dose is what creates that fish will grow to the size of the enclosure. A fish has a possible max size that cap is not increased only limited by the size of the tank.

As for a pleco I dunno if the waste impacts them or not since they are bottom feeders.

I have been trying this size of your environment trick on my wife.... dunno will have to see long term results though.

 

[ASublimeDay]

I should of expanded on that I guess.

Keeping a fish in to small of a tank will STUNT their growth, and if you take them out and put in a larger tank they will resume their potential growth size, unless harm to organs occurred in the 1st small tank.

The waste produced by fish also release hormones and the combination of the 2 in larger dose is what creates that fish will grow to the size of the enclosure. A fish has a possible max size that cap is not increased only limited by the size of the tank.

As for a pleco I dunno if the waste impacts them or not since they are bottom feeders.

I have been trying this size of your environment trick on my wife.... dunno will have to see long term results though.

LOL good idea