Critique/suggestions - new cham owner & DIY terrarium

bassjunkie

bassjunkie

Member
Hi, folks, I am a new cham owner and I have had my baby veiled for about 6 weeks now. He is about 2 ½ months old. I took a 50g aquarium with a screen top, and turned it on its end for my terrarium. I have 4 potted pothos and a schefflera in addition to some found wood that I bleached and some stick/viney thigns purchased from the reptile store in his tank.

For heat i have what i think is an infared ceramic heat lamp that's hung above the terrarium and the thermometer closest to it usually reads about 85*. I got the heat lamp free so i'm not sure whether it's the right thing. I also have a 60w incandescent light aimed into the tank from another side to create a different basking spot. I also have a reptisun 5.0 UVB bulb hung above the tank.

My cham hangs out by both of the lights alternately and seems to move around quite a bit and not favor one spot over the other.. hope that is a good thing.

I mist 3-4x a day with a hand sprayer bottle and I use reptisafe or an aquarium water conditioner in the water.

I feed about 10 crickets a day and dust with calcium every day. I alternate Calc +D3 and Reptivite multivitamin every saturday so he gets those each 2x a month.

It seems my cham's color has washed out a little since i moved him from the tiny tank I started with to the bigger one. He looks a little more dull brownish green instead of a bright baby green, but it changes. Should I be concerned about this?

thanks for any advice, critique, concerns. I wanna keep this guy happy and healthy!
 

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Unfortunately, UVB cannot pass through glass. So your cham isn't getting any of the UV rays while in the cage. I hate to say it, but this is one of the reasons aquariums are not recommended, because they don't have a screen top to allow UVB light through.

It's a shame because I like how your tank is decorated. It looks really cool. But I would recommend you look into a terrarium (the ones with the screen top and the ventilation holes in the front) or an all screen cage. Or, you could always build your own cage, so long as you have a screen top and adequate ventilation throughout the enclosure.
 
Olimpia, thanks a million, great advice. I'll remove the glass top section and replace it with a screen myself. I had been considering that but really appreciate the heads up. for the time being I'll move the UVB light to the side of the tank (the front is all screen) so he'll get the UVB. My cham's name is also Daedelus, and I checked out your artwork, so beautiful :) thanks again!
 
Your Daedelus is so pretty!!! Mine's just a little plain guy for now, but he's still super cute. My avatar is him the day i got him. :)
 

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Awww what a cutie pie! Reminds me of my Charlotte when she was just a few weeks old. They grow up in no time, he'll loose his little baby face in the blink of an eye.
 
It does look good, you don't really need the ceramic bulb, but it won't hurt as long as you have a gradient.
All young Veileds look the same, so keep taking the pictures - Daedelus really will grow up fast. Has he shed with you yet?
 
Thanks, David! by gradient do you mean warmer and cooler areas for him to thermoregulate? If not, please correct me. The tank is pretty tall and I have the thermometer up close to the top,and it usually reads about 85 when the ceramic bulb is on. I'm assuming this is the warmest area of the tank.

He's shed a couple times already and eats about 10 medium crickets a day. I've also noticed he sometimes looks dull brownish green since i moved him into this new tank. Before he always looked bright baby green- is this anything I should be concerned about?
 
That's exactly what I meant, and all sounds good. When I moved my guy into his bigger viv he went a little duller for a while. I got him some more foliage and he brightened up a bit again .....but he's never going to be as bright as he was as a baby (except when he sleeps - or wants to impress a girl...). Keep up the good work :)
 
Mine went through a duller phase, although nothing changed in her cage. Then she shed and went back to green. So I don't know, it's probably nothing.

This is a difference of a few weeks:

charlotte85weeks6.jpg


13weeks.jpg


I will say one thing, outside time seemed to help. It seemed to help her color (and is generally good for them). You might want to try taking him out during the day if it's not to hot/cold.
 
Yay! I've also noticed he's brighter green when he sleeps! So glad to hear this is normal... thanks for the validation- it's somewhat nerve wracking as I have never had a chameleon before and he was somewhat of an impulse purchase because of a bad breakup :p

I like to joke that the guy was replaced by something that has no obligations to me except to NOT DIE... if I put the same care and effort into him as I did into my relationship... LOL.
 
bassjunkie said:
I like to joke that the guy was replaced by something that has no obligations to me except to NOT DIE... if I put the same care and effort into him as I did into my relationship... LOL.
Click to expand...

Totally normal.....I like to joke that if you want more from a relationship with me than not dying then you're pushing your luck.......that way nobody gets too disappointed (yet) :D
 
Hahahaha Oh boy... I can relate. I'm planning on getting a boy puppy soon, and it sort of coincides with a breakup that just happened, so I joke with my sister that if my boyfriend won't love me, I'll just buy a boy that will!

At least we're not alone in burying ourselves in our animals! :D:D
 
Olimpia, thanks for posting the photos! that's just what's happening to my little guy. So I guess all is well :) I can't wait for him to lose his baby look and get big and awesome! I saw pictures of his parents and they were both really colorful, so I've got my fingers crossed he will be as well. When do they start developing colors other than shades of brown, green and yellow?

David, LMAO!! Might as well keep it simple for everyone, right?? So far Daedelus has proven himself to be way more gratifying and interesting than that last guy... ha!
 
I only had a female, but she started getting pretty spots at about 5.5-6 months. Daedalus might start a little sooner, perhaps at 4-5 months, but it should all get brighter after 6 months. That seems to be the norm, anyway!
 
Olimpia said:
Hahahaha Oh boy... I can relate. I'm planning on getting a boy puppy soon, and it sort of coincides with a breakup that just happened, so I joke with my sister that if my boyfriend won't love me, I'll just buy a boy that will!

At least we're not alone in burying ourselves in our animals! :D:D
Click to expand...

The animals are way better company! If I could find a man to treat me as well as my dogs do, I would be set :D Borderline hoarding? LOL I think not.
 
popwell89 said:
check out the cage i made out of a curio cabinet my family was going to give away.

AzYV4-NJvyY

Click to expand...


Super cage!! what a great setup. I have a large wardrobe from Ikea that i'm considering revamping into a terrarium eventually. Nice work, thanks for sharing!
 
thank you. It really turned out exactly like i wanted it to. This one could be for sale haha but shipping would be rediculous. Im going to start on an entertainment center next after i re-coup from doing this one
 
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