Diving back in, but need some assistance!

Lpsouth1978

Lpsouth1978

Avid Member
Hello all! It has been a number of years since I last visited the forums. I am not new to keeping chameleons, but have not had any for almost 5 years. That was in Colorado, but I have since moved to Arizona and am now working on getting things ready for a new Ambilobe Panther. I have not purchased the panther yet, but hope to get one from Kammerflage in the near future. For now I am getting everything prepared so it is ready when the time comes. Here is my plan, most has already been purchased.

2x2x4' Reptibreeze XL cage w/substrate tray and drip tray
Mistking misting system
DIY stand
24" T5HO UVB bulb
75W Basking bulb (not sure how much need there is for this in AZ)
Repcal w/o D3 daily
Repcal w/D3 once every other week
Multi vitamin weekly
Manzanita branches
Flukers vines with and without fake leaves

I plan on keeping a small Dubia roach colony (also not my first time) and feeding Crickets, hornworms, and Blue Bottle Flies. All will be gut loaded, as much as possible.

I need help on a couple of things, mainly humidity and heat related. Heat was not really an issue in Colorado, but I anticipate having a difficult time keeping things cool. I keep the thermostat @ 80 degrees whether I am home or not. A/C costs a small fortune to run here, so the house stays a little warmer than I like. During the summer, the house won't cool below 80 even in the middle of the night. Will a chameleon be ok at 80+ 24/7? Or am I going to have to cool the house more at night?

The other issue is humidity. How do you other folks in AZ keep the humidity up? I have seen several methods of covering 3 sides of the enclosure with plastic to help with the humidity. I will probably employ one of them, just need to decide which. I would also like to hear thoughts on whether to get the misting system with a timer, or go with the Hygrometer control?

Sorry for all the questions, but I would like to have everything done and tested BEFORE getting the new chameleon. I appreciate all the help!
 
Mine does fine at 80 ish 24/7 for 4 months out of the year. At they live with humans, so its rarely going to drop below 70 or get above 85 anyway. I will say my veiled did not like 85-90 indoor temps, they all went into hiding mid day.

As for humidity, the 3 sides with plastic works. I would run the mister on a timer. Its "good soaking" wait for things to dry out "good soaking".


Since you are getting back into the game, a few things have changed in the last few years.

T5HO's came out. You want a 6%/5.0, it will still put out 4x the UVB as the old T8 10.0/12%. Another newer method is to go even higher with UVB ( UVI 3.0 at cham hangout zone) and forgo D3 supplements altogether. I will warn you that some get the formula wrong, and do high UVB and still do the d3, and end up with edema and other issues.

Many of us are not misting during the day, but are misting at midnight/morning/evening. I have not tried this, but this is the new "natural hydration" to not mist during the heat of the day.
 
nightanole said:
Mine does fine at 80 ish 24/7 for 4 months out of the year. At they live with humans, so its rarely going to drop below 70 or get above 85 anyway. I will say my veiled did not like 85-90 indoor temps, they all went into hiding mid day.

As for humidity, the 3 sides with plastic works. I would run the mister on a timer. Its "good soaking" wait for things to dry out "good soaking".


Since you are getting back into the game, a few things have changed in the last few years.

T5HO's came out. You want a 6%/5.0, it will still put out 4x the UVB as the old T8 10.0/12%. Another newer method is to go even higher with UVB ( UVI 3.0 at cham hangout zone) and forgo D3 supplements altogether. I will warn you that some get the formula wrong, and do high UVB and still do the d3, and end up with edema and other issues.

Many of us are not misting during the day, but are misting at midnight/morning/evening. I have not tried this, but this is the new "natural hydration" to not mist during the heat of the day.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the help. I will get the misting system with the timer, and cover the sides and back of the cage in plastic. T5HO has been out for quite some time and is what I used before. I plan on using it again with the 5.0 Reptisun bulb.
 
I live in Arizona also. I keep a humidifier running in my Cham room to get the humidity up to 60%+. I have my ac set at 81-82 during the day and drop to 77ish at night. Don’t know if that helps but good luck?? Also have ambilobe panthers set to hatch in the next week or so, so I can hook you up if you need. Good luck!
 
twistychams said:
I live in Arizona also. I keep a humidifier running in my Cham room to get the humidity up to 60%+. I have my ac set at 81-82 during the day and drop to 77ish at night. Don’t know if that helps but good luck?? Also have ambilobe panthers set to hatch in the next week or so, so I can hook you up if you need. Good luck!
Click to expand...
Thank you!. I would definitely like to see what the sire and Dams sire look like for your little ones. I should have the cage ready in the next couple of weeks, well before your hatchlings will be ready for homes. I just ordered the plastic for the cage, and Dragon Ledges from Dragon Strand today. Only thing I need to order next week is the MistKing system, and the lights. I also need to find a starter Dubia roach colony. I have the bin ready to go with eggcrate, feeder dishes, FlexWatt, and temp controller, but everyone seems to be out of Dubias.

I am unable to run a humidifier, but would a fogger set on a timer or Hygrostat get the job done?
 
Lpsouth1978 said:
Thank you!. I would definitely like to see what the sire and Dams sire look like for your little ones. I should have the cage ready in the next couple of weeks, well before your hatchlings will be ready for homes. I just ordered the plastic for the cage, and Dragon Ledges from Dragon Strand today. Only thing I need to order next week is the MistKing system, and the lights. I also need to find a starter Dubia roach colony. I have the bin ready to go with eggcrate, feeder dishes, FlexWatt, and temp controller, but everyone seems to be out of Dubias.

I am unable to run a humidifier, but would a fogger set on a timer or Hygrostat get the job done?
Click to expand...
Check out twistychams on insta! Sounds like you got it all going well, congrats. I have a number of a guy here in the valley that sells 100 count starter colonies for like 20-25. DM me on insta for a quick response. Thanks!
 
Thank you all for the help. I am accumulating everything for the setup still.

I currently have:
- 2'x2'x4' XL Reptibreeze
- Reptibreeze XL stand
- Reptibreeze XL Substrate tray
- Zoo Med 24" T5HO Fixture w/5.0 UVB bulb
- Zoo Med Deep Dome Light fixture and 75W basking bulb
- Dubia roaches to start a colony (10 males, 25 females)
- Manzanita branches
- Vines
- Plastic (to wrap around enclosure as needed)

On Order:
- 5pc set of Dragon Ledges
- Plastic plant pots

Still need to get:
- Mistking System
- Fogger
- Live plants
- Plant light
- Hygrometer (maybe Hygrostat for fogger)
- Thermometers
- Calcium and vitamins
- Temp gun

Have I left out anything I should consider getting before investing in a chameleon? I hope to be able to get everything remaining ordered in the next week and have the cage completed in the next couple weeks. Then it is just a matter of finding and waiting for the perfect chameleon. I am VERY excited to be getting back into things again.
 
twistychams said:
I live in Arizona also. I keep a humidifier running in my Cham room to get the humidity up to 60%+. I have my ac set at 81-82 during the day and drop to 77ish at night. Don’t know if that helps but good luck?? Also have ambilobe panthers set to hatch in the next week or so, so I can hook you up if you need. Good luck!
Click to expand...
Where in AZ?
 
Lpsouth1978 said:
Thank you all for the help. I am accumulating everything for the setup still.

I currently have:
- 2'x2'x4' XL Reptibreeze
- Reptibreeze XL stand
- Reptibreeze XL Substrate tray
- Zoo Med 24" T5HO Fixture w/5.0 UVB bulb
- Zoo Med Deep Dome Light fixture and 75W basking bulb
- Dubia roaches to start a colony (10 males, 25 females)
- Manzanita branches
- Vines
- Plastic (to wrap around enclosure as needed)

On Order:
- 5pc set of Dragon Ledges
- Plastic plant pots

Still need to get:
- Mistking System
- Fogger
- Live plants
- Plant light
- Hygrometer (maybe Hygrostat for fogger)
- Thermometers
- Calcium and vitamins
- Temp gun

Have I left out anything I should consider getting before investing in a chameleon? I hope to be able to get everything remaining ordered in the next week and have the cage completed in the next couple weeks. Then it is just a matter of finding and waiting for the perfect chameleon. I am VERY excited to be getting back into things again.
Click to expand...
I see you chose a substrate tray as opposed to a drainage try. Any particular reason? Are you going to be using substrate?
 
AmandaS said:
I see you chose a substrate tray as opposed to a drainage try. Any particular reason? Are you going to be using substrate?
Click to expand...
I do not plan to have substrate. I looked at both options, but chose the substrate for for a couple reasons. The main reason is that it fits. I am using the Reptibreeze stand which barely fits the cage. The drip tray will not fit in the space provided by the stand. The other is that I can easily remove the substrate tray for cleaning. I plan to have 2 trays. This way I can simply remove one and replace it with a clean tray, wash the dirty tray, and repeat.
 
You mentioned multivitamin weekly. I think it’s every other week alternating with the calcium with d. Someone please correct me if I’m wrong.
 
Remember misting helps cool things down and it will also help with humidity issues. Make a good drain system that will collect the run off.
 
Lpsouth1978 said:
Thank you all for the help. I am accumulating everything for the setup still.

I currently have:
- 2'x2'x4' XL Reptibreeze
- Reptibreeze XL stand
- Reptibreeze XL Substrate tray
- Zoo Med 24" T5HO Fixture w/5.0 UVB bulb
- Zoo Med Deep Dome Light fixture and 75W basking bulb
- Dubia roaches to start a colony (10 males, 25 females)
- Manzanita branches
- Vines
- Plastic (to wrap around enclosure as needed)

On Order:
- 5pc set of Dragon Ledges
- Plastic plant pots

Still need to get:
- Mistking System
- Fogger
- Live plants
- Plant light
- Hygrometer (maybe Hygrostat for fogger)
- Thermometers
- Calcium and vitamins
- Temp gun

Have I left out anything I should consider getting before investing in a chameleon? I hope to be able to get everything remaining ordered in the next week and have the cage completed in the next couple weeks. Then it is just a matter of finding and waiting for the perfect chameleon. I am VERY excited to be getting back into things again.
Click to expand...
For consideration: Feeder run cup, commercial gutload if planning to use (I use Repashy Bug Burger in addition to fruits and veggies), plastic bin and substrate for your roach colony, egg crates, bucket and distilled water for your misting system, Solarmeter...probably some other stuff ?... it never ends.
 
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