Chameleon enclosure + humidity = hot room?

[phyber]

Greetings all!

I've been longing for a chameleon my whole life and thankfully I am blessed to be in the position to begin the decision on purchasing one.

I have one main concern and it has to do with the general 'atmosphere' of the room where the chameleon will be in.

I have a smaller living room where the cage would go (or potentially my office, but that has lots of electronics)....I know that chameleons require frequent mistings and etc to keep the humidity up for their comfort. But, with it living in a mesh/open cage, what prevents the mist from going everywhere? also, what prevents any humidity in the cage from expanding to the room?

I already have a saltwater reef aquarium that puts off enough heat/humidity for my taste (100w heater, 100w t5 bulbs, etc).

Would my room turn into a sauna?

 

[Elizadolots]

If it's really humid in your room already, you might not need to mist as often. Just keep a dripper going so the chameleon has a place to go drink.

But, with it living in a mesh/open cage, what prevents the mist from going everywhere?

Very careful misting! You'll get some overs pray, so don't put the cage next to anything that can't be wiped dry easily.

Having live plants in your enclosure will help keep the humidity high and localized.


***edited to add***

HI!! Sorry, I forgot to say that!

 

[phyber]

I suppose i'll have to take a survey of the room to see just how humid it is. Since the winter months have come, I have noticed the tank cooling down, as well as the room.

What would a veiled chameleon's tolerance of it's atmosphere be? I'd like to purchase a juvenile or adult cham to help in its adaptabilty overall. In the saltwater world for instance, I know that i can keep the water's specific gravity between 1.020 and 1.026...

 

[Elizadolots]

I know they don't need it to be super humid all the time. It's important that the cage dry out between misting.

 

[Whatcamo]

Hey nice to see another reefer on here I have over 180g total water volume with my reef tank with halides and all sorts of frag tank lighting it keeps the humidity in the room up around 48-50% but I notice in the terrarium it would drop down to about 38-43% due to the heat of the basking lights and such so what I had to do was plastic off 3 sides of my terrarium and the I built my own misting system from my ROdi booster pump and a few fogging nozzles from home depot, that's ran off of my apex controller! You'll find a lot of your reefing equipment will come in handy at least I have!

 

[phyber]

i definitely would pick up another apex jr for a cham setup to balance the heat/humidity/mister/etc. I love the idea of automated everything.

if you had the halides and etc running and it was only 50% humidity, and chams require 60%, idk if i'll be able to handle it lol. i only have a 30g sumpless setup (LPS/soft corals...clowns and green bubble tip anem).

i just worry that my cham would get too cold at night with the lights off.

also, what is the husbandry like with chams? in essence, how much poop do they make and how often do they need cleaning?

i wish a local pet store had some of these things in stock but alas, they don't. i'd like to get a good grasp on what they like/need in person, as this will be my first reptile pet ever.

i know that chams aren't an entry level reptile, but i figure with my ability to handle the complexity of a reef tank, i should be able to take care of a cham....

 

[Elizadolots]

Chameleons benefit from a cooler night. Unless it gets below 60 degrees, I don't think you need to worry about it.