Check my setup please

[Emmariver]

Hi I’ve had river a week tomorrow just hoping you all can check my set up and give me any pointers for my male veiled chameleon I got him from a breeder he hatched on the 29/01/21 he’s my first chameleon but I do have 3leopard geckos 1 gargoyle gecko all have deep heat projector and uvb

his basking spot branch is 82/84 with rest of set up 71/75 to bottom lowest 66 I live in uk I spray him twice a day one early morning one when he’s a sleep his heat and lights go out 7ish and on 7ish he as deep heat projector Arcadia and Arcadia shade dweller 7% and jungle dawn plant light

supplements Arcadia earthpro a (every fed) and calciumpromg (every 5th fed) exo terra multi vitamin 1 a month (he’s only had one feeding with this as only had him a week
Are these supplements ok ? And have I got schedule right ?

he as live plants
Which I’ve just repotted into grow bags at bottom hoping this helps with drainage a bit
Do you think I could make these bioactive isopod n springtails does anyone have any experience do you think they would stay in grow bags (my gargoyle is bioactive) so do have a bit of experience but that’s a glass viv this is mesh

mesh screen front is plastic it’s swell 45x45x80
I will have to go bigger as he’s older ?

he’s eating ok if I sit still I watch him he’s had fruit flies mini crickets little loctcus (which seem to be his least fav) silkworms I’ve got calci worms but he’s not touch them bean weevils dubia roaches and he likes a wax worm but I’ve only given a few as know they are like reptile chocolate
All bugs gutloaded with leafy greens apples carrots
Is there anything I shouldn’t gutload with ?

poo is brown with white haven’t seen him drink yet but know it’s a treat to see

he as eaten some of his plants
Do you think he as enough cover ?
I am thinking of swapping g out the big leaf plant all plants have been brought from reptile shops and the branches have too

Handled twice to get down from screen top and put on branches or plant (turned dark and hissed but crossed fingers he’s stopped this

I have put a pic of a parcord vine my gargoyle gecko as them and loves them she as little toe nails too and hasn’t lossed any
Do you think I could use it for river ?

ive done my research hopefully to the best but somethings online can be a mixed answers so any pointers would be amazing and much appreciated

just want to do best i can by him hopefully I am

sorry long read but if you are at bottom thank you

Pictures attached hopefully done it right

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi and welcome! Give me a bit of time and I’ll give you feedback.

 

[Emmariver]

@MissSkittles thank you

 

[MissSkittles]

I’ll be putting my feedback in red.
Hi I’ve had river a week tomorrow just hoping you all can check my set up and give me any pointers for my male veiled chameleon I got him from a breeder he hatched on the 29/01/21 he’s my first chameleon but I do have 3leopard geckos 1 gargoyle gecko all have deep heat projector and uvb

his basking spot branch is 82/84 with rest of set up 71/75 to bottom lowest 66 I live in uk I spray him twice a day one early morning one when he’s a sleep You may want to add a dripper for about 15-20 minutes mid day to give more opportunity for drinking. his heat and lights go out 7ish and on 7ish he as deep heat projector Unless your night time temps go below 12-13c, no need for the heat projector. Arcadia and Arcadia shade dweller 7% Usually we say to use a 6%, but I don’t see any problem with a 7%. and jungle dawn plant light

supplements Arcadia earthpro a (every fed) and calciumpromg (every 5th fed) exo terra multi vitamin 1 a month (he’s only had one feeding with this as only had him a week
Are these supplements ok ? What about vitamin D3? I’d say go with the full Arcadia regimen and get rid of the Exo Terra and get Arcadia revitalize D3 and use the attached scheduleAnd have I got schedule right ?

he as live plants
Which I’ve just repotted into grow bags at bottom hoping this helps with drainage a bit
Do you think I could make these bioactive isopod n springtails does anyone have any experience do you think they would stay in grow bags (my gargoyle is bioactive) so do have a bit of experience but that’s a glass viv this is mesh Absolutely! I use root or grow bags for my bioactive set up and have had no problem. Every now and then I find an escaped isopod around the house, but those could be coming from my leopard geckos tanks too. If you don’t add some clean up crew, I’d say get rid of the soil and bag as it will become a bacterial mess. For added insurance against leaking, I do have a substrate tray beneath the bag to contain any potential water overflow.

mesh screen front is plastic it’s swell 45x45x80
I will have to go bigger as he’s older ? Yes, you will. Start planning for upgrading to at least a 60x60x120cm enclosure.

he’s eating ok if I sit still I watch him he’s had fruit flies mini crickets little loctcus (which seem to be his least fav) silkworms I’ve got calci worms but he’s not touch them bean weevils dubia roaches and he likes a wax worm but I’ve only given a few as know they are like reptile chocolate Beautiful variety!
All bugs gutloaded with leafy greens apples carrots
Is there anything I shouldn’t gutload with ? You’ve got a decent gutload, but could add more. In addition to dandelion greens, watercress, collards, chard and a few berries, I also feed my bugs various squashes, sweet potato and Repashy Bug Burger that I’ve added some bee pollen and spirulina to. I have a bearded dragon so the bugs get the same stuff I put in his salads. I keep the bugs well fed all the time, so don’t need to specifically ‘gutload’.

poo is brown with white haven’t seen him drink yet but know it’s a treat to see Yes! It is! I have 4 chams and have only twice seen a tiny little lap of water. I swear it’s a chameleon conspiracy!

he as eaten some of his plants
Do you think he as enough cover ? Yes, it looks great!
I am thinking of swapping g out the big leaf plant all plants have been brought from reptile shops and the branches have too You could add more branches...give more little roads for him to travel. As you upgrade to a larger enclosure, the big leaf plant will probably be dwarfed. Pothos is always a favorite for chameleons...easy and fast growing, nice long vines to drape around and add more roads.

Handled twice to get down from screen top and put on branches or plant (turned dark and hissed but crossed fingers he’s stopped this Yea...about that...lol. Veileds are somewhat notorious for their attitudes. It’s important to build trust with him though. Mine will probably never stop hissing at me when I get too close, but they do trust I won’t eat or hurt them. Here’s a great blog. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/

I have put a pic of a parcord vine my gargoyle gecko as them and loves them she as little toe nails too and hasn’t lossed any
Do you think I could use it for river ? I’m going to say no...don’t risk it.

ive done my research hopefully to the best but somethings online can be a mixed answers so any pointers would be amazing and much appreciated Honestly I think you’re doing great! It’s hard to sort through all of the misinformation about chameleon care and find what is correct, but you’ve done it very well! You deserve a happy dance!

just want to do best i can by him hopefully I am

sorry long read but if you are at bottom thank you

Pictures attached hopefully done it right

 

[Emmariver]

@MissSkittles thank you so much for your reply
Will the D3 Arcadia have all bits he needs then ?

I do have a dripper well a make shift one I fill it about 12/1 and it drips for a few hours
I did order a dripper of eBay but I am a bit scared of it not sure what chemicals are in the blue stone my fault for not reading it properly

Glad to hear the grow bags work as bioactive are your leopard geckos bioactive if so how do you find it ?

thank you again I am glad I am on right track

 

[Beman]

You won't want to use the braided rope thing. Baby will just get its nails stuck in it and it will hold bacteria.

 

[Flick boy]

Hi and welcome. The shade dweller is 7% so uvb with the right distance is fine but it produces less uva / actual light vs the 6% desert. So your enclosure will be darker with the shade dweller 17% uva vs the 6% desert uva 30 %

 

[MissSkittles]

@MissSkittles thank you so much for your reply
Will the D3 Arcadia have all bits he needs then ?

I do have a dripper well a make shift one I fill it about 12/1 and it drips for a few hours
I did order a dripper of eBay but I am a bit scared of it not sure what chemicals are in the blue stone my fault for not reading it properly

Glad to hear the grow bags work as bioactive are your leopard geckos bioactive if so how do you find it ?

thank you again I am glad I am on right track

Make-shift drippers work just as well as bought ones, if not in some cases better. A plastic cup with a small hole in the bottom is often better and easier to use than a brand dripper.
My leopard geckos are bioactive but not with grow bags...just put substrate in their tanks. My first one I got the special substrate mix from the Bio Dude and no drainage layer. Hasn’t been a problem. My other tanks I did put a drainage layer and I had more confidence and just mixed up my own substrate.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/leopard-gecko-substrate.181895/

 

[Emmariver]

@Beman thank you I won’t risk it then

@Flick boy I’ve got jungle dawn which lights up enclosure good or do I need to get better uvb ?

@MissSkittles they look amazing ur leopard gecko setup my next mission bioactive for mine too I just have slate and cork bark paper towel at min

 

[Flick boy]

Hi if you are happy with the amount of light your enclosure has ( I also have a jungle dawn led bar) which does light up quite a bit lol. Then thats fine. When your current 7 % shade dweller tube needs changed i would personally opt for a 6% forest. My basking bulb is also arcadia which provides uva and infared which really lights the enclosure

 

[Emmariver]

@Flick boy do you know if the 6% forest bulb by Arcadia fits in the shade dweller unit ? I did see that bulb but already had the unit and wasn’t sure if it would fit

 

[Beman]

@Flick boy do you know if the 6% forest bulb by Arcadia fits in the shade dweller unit ? I did see that bulb but already had the unit and wasn’t sure if it would fit

Shade dweller fixture should be a T5... So you can use any T5 bulb in it. 24 inch fixture takes a 22 inch bulb.

 

[Emmariver]

@Beman thank you

 

[Flick boy]

@Flick boy do you know if the 6% forest bulb by Arcadia fits in the shade dweller unit ? I did see that bulb but already had the unit and wasn’t sure if it would fit

If they are both the same length and t5 then yes

 

[Troubledluna80]

I’m a very new chameleon owner but I do have a bag with isopods and springtails. I added them several weeks ago and at first I thought i killed them because I didn’t see any. I checked a little deeper today when adding more branches and the were just deeper in the leaf litter than I expected. I turned over some palm bark that was under leaf litter and there was so many of them. It looks like they have at least tripled in numbers it was very cool to see. Hopefully soon they will be all over in the bag instead of just on the back right side. Good luck with your set up!