ASobbleMom
Member
Hi everyone! Soon I will be welcoming home a 4 month old male panther cham. He is not my first, as I had a veiled about 18 years ago, but a bit has changed since then, so I put together a whole new setup.
Will you give me some feedback on anything that can be improved?
Cage Info:
I need to figure out a drainage system. I can drill a hole in this end table I got from grandma. Right now my roach-bin-to-be is under it, and it fits so nicely! I will need to get drainage, though.
I may get the generic tray that is on the outside of the cage rather than the ZooMed one that's on the inside.
I am unsure where to put/how to attach my GoVee wifi thermometer/hygrometer. I don't think it should be misted or watered.
I need to figure out how to water the plants without disturbing the little guy...and figure out how to water them without making a muddy mess.
I don't have a UV meter yet, but I hope I'm close enough with my setup, as seems to be the case in my research.
I will probably get one of those wire racks. I feel like the cage is a hair low (I'm 5'9"). I just feel like the table it's on now, which is 25x23 is too small - will the cage hang off the wire shelving or get warped or unsteady?
I have a bunch of plants sitting on the floor. I'm a plant person so I just bought a bunch and will rearrange, move them out, hang them, etc as needed.
my sticks are driftwood that I washed in my bathtub several times. I licked one and it wasn't salty and I didn't die so I am hoping they are ok. I hope to get more branches. I washed all the leaves off the plants, put some large-ish washed smooth beach rocks in the dirt. Put organic veggie soil where I could on top of plants. Some pots are doubled for easy removal. I used about 92 8' zips and 15 4" zip ties and used a nipper to cut the thingy off the end of the zips. I turned them down so the chameleon doesn't touch the sharp part and I may sand sharp ones down.
Will you give me some feedback on anything that can be improved?
Cage Info:
- Cage Type - 2x2x4 ZooMed reptibreeze screen cage with solid plastic bottom. Dragon ledges installed.
- Lighting - basking: 50W halogen (runs cheaper than incandescent) set directly on screen top in deep reflector; UVB: 24" arcadia 6% in the arcadia high power pro T5 kit and supershiny reflector, directly on top of cage. Both are on a 12 hr cycle, 9:30am-9:30 pm due to matching the light in the bedroom it's in/family's schedule of light/blackout shades, north side of house. This schedule gives the least chance of disruption, so far.
- Temperature - basking is 78-82. ambient daytime in the room is 72. I have a GoVee wifi thermometer and a temp gun, both of which I am still figuring out (emissive properties of surfaces, etc). Room is heated by a mini split and electric mica heater, and sometimes I open the door to get a little warmth from the fireplace in the adjacent room.
- Humidity - 50-80. Ambient humidity normally is around 50% (we live in coastal Connecticut/new England). I have a mistking on the following sched: 4:30am, 3min...8:30am, 5 min...5pm, 5min....11:30pm, 3 min. This might be too much. I adapted/ adjusted the mist+drip schedule from chameleon academy.
- Plants - all live plants, all small: 2 money trees, 3 umbrella plants, 3 philodendron scandens, 4 fittonia argyroneura, one related species tiny, dying pink polka dot plant, 3 creeping fig ficus pumila and 9 pothos.
- Placement - cage is on a 2 ft high end table, in bedroom, next to curtained window on north side of house. Room is very insulated and I know by a window is not ideal, but curtains are closed and we have a very busy small house (indoors: 2 adults, 4 kids ages 1-7, 3 cats, 4 fish and a snake). This is one of the top places for the least disturbance but where I can still keep an eye on him.
- Location - coastal Connecticut, northeast/New England, US
I need to figure out a drainage system. I can drill a hole in this end table I got from grandma. Right now my roach-bin-to-be is under it, and it fits so nicely! I will need to get drainage, though.
I may get the generic tray that is on the outside of the cage rather than the ZooMed one that's on the inside.
I am unsure where to put/how to attach my GoVee wifi thermometer/hygrometer. I don't think it should be misted or watered.
I need to figure out how to water the plants without disturbing the little guy...and figure out how to water them without making a muddy mess.
I don't have a UV meter yet, but I hope I'm close enough with my setup, as seems to be the case in my research.
I will probably get one of those wire racks. I feel like the cage is a hair low (I'm 5'9"). I just feel like the table it's on now, which is 25x23 is too small - will the cage hang off the wire shelving or get warped or unsteady?
I have a bunch of plants sitting on the floor. I'm a plant person so I just bought a bunch and will rearrange, move them out, hang them, etc as needed.
my sticks are driftwood that I washed in my bathtub several times. I licked one and it wasn't salty and I didn't die so I am hoping they are ok. I hope to get more branches. I washed all the leaves off the plants, put some large-ish washed smooth beach rocks in the dirt. Put organic veggie soil where I could on top of plants. Some pots are doubled for easy removal. I used about 92 8' zips and 15 4" zip ties and used a nipper to cut the thingy off the end of the zips. I turned them down so the chameleon doesn't touch the sharp part and I may sand sharp ones down.
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