Chameleons and people

[Calummaty Jane]

Oh my gosh, I was thinking the same thing!

I've lived in a similar house community before, and enjoyed it. I can be very social when I have the mindset for it, and found it to be beneficial. It makes living very affordable, and there's pretty much always someone available to help out/hang out with! My cockatoo loved it. She's a social butterfly! We had a lot of awesome communal dinners, and a communal food store that everyone contributed to.

The food bit is definitely an advantage. It is also fairly cheap rent (but not the cheapest), but considering the size of the common space and location in town, it is indeed a very good deal.

 

[Beman]

I think you seem very grounded and smart and would make an exceptional chameleon keeper. I think a cham would be lucky to have someone like you that does their research and puts a good deal of thoughtfulness into their decisions.

 

[Thehippie]

never said I don't dig it!!

 

[Bigsky]

You might consider a veild Mine are more hardy than my panthers. Cheaper, too.

 

[Calummaty Jane]

Don't yuck her yum. It works for her, and seems to be a pretty good working lifestyle for all involved. Honestly, having people who live with you who are intimately familiar with chameleon care if you have to go out of town unexpectedly is pretty awesome, and a money-saver from having a pet sitter like I have to hire.

I only have 1 more point about cats to add (and may I say that I've cats the entire time I've had chameleons and cannot ever give up either one). In addition to the cats potentially starting at the chameleons and stressing them out, they are also good at both climbing the screen of the cage as well as chewing the cords for your lights and misters. I've had both happen to me (2 different cats, one of whom has passed away), so keeping them separated is vital.

Yes, cats have a special genius for mischief. I've so far managed to successfully cat-proof my tanks and carnivorous plant grow light set up, but you can never be too careful.

Yes! It is awesome having people on hand to cover for me with the plant and animal care. My plant routine is a little wierd, tho, so I try to avoid being gone for long stretches. Although I am hoping that I'd be able to move some plants into a cham enclosure and turn a lot of that care into something a programmed mister can handle.

 

[jamest0o0]

Mind me asking which carnivorous plants you keep? I got into them a couple years back when I was searching for ways to eliminate soil gnats.

 

[salty dog]

The door to my cham room is locked, my wife and I only have a key so my kids and cat can not enter without one of us present, 90 percent of chams are scared of large predators (humans) untill shown otherwise which takes months, my cat is smart and easily aroused by chasing flies, spiders, anything that moves, a cham would be a meal

 

[Calummaty Jane]

Mind me asking which carnivorous plants you keep? I got into them a couple years back when I was searching for ways to eliminate soil gnats.

I have various sundews species, butterworts, one bladderwort, asian and north american pitcher plants, darlingtonia and a requisite venus flytrap. I'm pretty new to these, too (about a year or so), but I have found them easy to care for--they just want lots of light and to have wet feet. They do catch a lot of bugs, judging from the little corpses I find on them, but I don't know how effective they are for pest control! Probably a bladderwort would be your best bet--they can grow like crazy and all that growth has to be fueled by something.

 

[jamest0o0]

I have various sundews species, butterworts, one bladderwort, asian and north american pitcher plants, darlingtonia and a requisite venus flytrap. I'm pretty new to these, too (about a year or so), but I have found them easy to care for--they just want lots of light and to have wet feet. They do catch a lot of bugs, judging from the little corpses I find on them, but I don't know how effective they are for pest control! Probably a bladderwort would be your best bet--they can grow like crazy and all that growth has to be fueled by something.

I was just curious because I love them now, amazing plants. I have sundews(drosera capensis), Mexican butterworts, and several nepenthes. My one nepenthes is thriving in my Parsons enclosure eating thousands of little millipedes, flies, and other bugs that fall into it. They all massacred soil gnats to the point I wish I had more lol. The sundews got the most though, better than any other method of removing flies. If you go bioactive and keep some around, you'll never have a gnat problem guaranteed.

 

[salty dog]

I grow orchids and various other forest non thorny cactus, plants are great!!

 

[Calummaty Jane]

I was just curious because I love them now, amazing plants. I have sundews(drosera capensis), Mexican butterworts, and several nepenthes. My one nepenthes is thriving in my Parsons enclosure eating thousands of little millipedes, flies, and other bugs that fall into it. They all massacred soil gnats to the point I wish I had more lol. The sundews got the most though, better than any other method of removing flies. If you go bioactive and keep some around, you'll never have a gnat problem guaranteed.

Nice! Do you have the dews and butterworts growing on vertical surfaces or in the substrate on the bottom of the cage? If they are dewy enough to make effective flypaper, that means they're getting enough light which makes me wonder where they are in your enclosure and how strong your lights are--also are they just living off the uvb light? Pings and drosera in a vivarium would be nice because they flower so much. Same with the bladderworts, especially some of the epiphytic ones have BEAUTIFUL flowers and they just flower all the time, for practically no reason at all.

I do wonder how plants' light and water needs work with chams'. I also wonder about the nepenthes--is it a fast-growing species? What do you do if it gets too big? I'm not sure I could pruning any of mine.

 

[Calummaty Jane]

I grow orchids and various other forest non thorny cactus, plants are great!!

Do you have the orchids in your cham enclosure? I have this dream that I'll have this set-up that magically works for all my orchids, my ariums and bromeliads and other plants AND a chameleon and then all my care is combined into just cham maintanance, basically. I'm sure it's not that easy, though.

 

[Thehippie]

Do you have the orchids in your cham enclosure? I have this dream that I'll have this set-up that magically works for all my orchids, my ariums and bromeliads and other plants AND a chameleon and then all my care is combined into just cham maintanance, basically. I'm sure it's not that easy, though.

orchids are great to have ive heard, I don't have any in mine since they all keep dying on me but they look great too!

 

[salty dog]

Hoyas, bulbophyllums, dendrobiums, and cattyleyas do great in cham vivs. Dendrobiums are found to have anti cancer properties for humans, by the late dr. Holger perner

 

[jamest0o0]

@Calummaty Jane

I don't keep the sundews and butterworts in my enclosure, they sit on a windowsill next to my enclosure. I'm sure I could make it work, but I'd be worried about the chams getting into a gooey mess lol. I have one nepenthes growing in the center of my parsons enclosure though, I also have bromeliads growing at the top of the enclosure out of some branches, and jeweled orchids down In the substrate(because they like low light). I use 6500k jungle dawn megaspotts alongside the t5ho and t8 5000k LEDS(I use t8s sometimes when it's too hot in the summer for t5s). The watering takes some strategizing with your substrate, I also use a lot of epiphytes. A lot of sand in the substrate helps drainage. I'll post some pictures of my jeweled orchids, broms, and nepenthes in my one enclosure. I drilled holes in the log at the top and put the ends of the bromeliads in, over time they anchored on and have been throwing tons of pups. Right now the growth has stalled a bit since temps are down to 50s for brumation with lower lighting and water, but in the summer it takes off. My nepenthes threw off like 5 monster pitchers in a couple months of being in there.

 

[Rst_Cham]

@Calummaty Jane

I don't keep the sundews and butterworts in my enclosure, they sit on a windowsill next to my enclosure. I'm sure I could make it work, but I'd be worried about the chams getting into a gooey mess lol. I have one nepenthes growing in the center of my parsons enclosure though, I also have bromeliads growing at the top of the enclosure out of some branches, and jeweled orchids down In the substrate(because they like low light). I use 6500k jungle dawn megaspotts alongside the t5ho and t8 5000k LEDS(I use t8s sometimes when it's too hot in the summer for t5s). The watering takes some strategizing with your substrate, I also use a lot of epiphytes. A lot of sand in the substrate helps drainage. I'll post some pictures of my jeweled orchids, broms, and nepenthes in my one enclosure. I drilled holes in the log at the top and put the ends of the bromeliads in, over time they anchored on and have been throwing tons of pups. Right now the growth has stalled a bit since temps are down to 50s for brumation with lower lighting and water, but in the summer it takes off. My nepenthes threw off like 5 monster pitchers in a couple months of being in there.

WOW! What a beautiful enclosure! Lucky chameleon

 

[salty dog]

Here is bulbophyllum and cactus plant with fern

 

[salty dog]

 

[salty dog]

Those 2 pictures above are same enclosure 2 different sides, clove my ambilobe photobombed lol.. I love the grouch!!

 

[salty dog]