Enclosure question??

DierdreDreamwalker

DierdreDreamwalker

New Member
Hey everybody! :) I'm not new to reptiles, but new to chameleons and to the forum. I got my first veiled the other day, and I had a few questions about the proper substrate to put in the enclosure. When We bought her (from Petsmart) we were told that the best substrate to use in her enclosure was coconut fiber. His reasoning was that it would hold humidity, thus keeping the cage as humid as it needs to be. Well, I have not had very good luck with it at all. We got her about two weeks ago, brought her home and got her all set up in her new home. I have been checking every other day for poop and other waste and getting it out etc. and misting her cage. I checked it last night and it appeared as though her climbing sticks (both of which were brand new) were staring to attempt to mold around the base and into the substrate, and I have no idea how! Is it just a bad substrate to use? If so what is the proper substrate to replace it and should I be cleaning every day instead of every other? Also, What is the best way to keep the humidity at a decent level in the enclosure? I read that they needed moderate humidity since that's how they get their water, but where does it need to be at exactly and how do you keep it regulated? (If I can ever even get it there. lol) ....

But, yea. Sorry for all the questions. As I said, I am new to my little lizard, so I just want to make sure that I am doing everything right. (lol) Thanks in advance for any advice etc. :)
 
Hey, welcome to the forums :]

A lot of people tend to stay away from substrate because your Chameleon can eat it, also because its a breeding ground for bacteria. As for myself, I have used papertowels to line the bottom of my enclosure. Replacing them as you see fit, usually once a week. Lately I've been leaving the bottom of my cage bare. Every night I take a cloth and soak up all the water that has trickled down from misting sessions. Also picking up poop and what not.
As far as humidity, having live plants within your enclosure will help out a great deal. The leaves retain water which allow your cham to drink but also the heat from your lamps will cause the water to evaporate creating humidity.

Hope this helps.
 
I have noticed that substrate is just a breeding ground, because that mess built up in a flash. XP I think I will go ahead and remove the rest of the dirt out of the enclosure and maybe just leave it bare. Have you ever tried reptile carpet? If so how did it fare? I ask because we use that in some of the tanks we put our leopard geckos in and it has seemed to do okay with them. Though they are WAY different than a chameleon. (lol)

And does it matter what sort of plant? Like is there certain plants that they may be allergic to, etc.? (jw)

And thanks for the advice btw, and the welcome!! (lol) :)
 
For chameleons it's good to have a constant drip of water since they can't see still water. You can go to petco and get this product called "the little dripper" for like 10bucks. It's basically a plastic jug with a valve so you can control the amount of flow and a plastic tube so you can direct it to the cage. I have mine dripping on a leaf and my chameleon drinks from it. And like BeBoSON said dong use any substrate because he can swallow it.
 
Schefflera arboricola a.k.a umbrella plant is not toxic, also there's different types of ficus and pothos and ivy plants. I have the umbrella plant in my cage with a few thin sticks and vines going in different directions.
 
I've never used reptile carpet.
I'm still fairly new to Chameleon game, but I've learned a lot from this forum and constantly doing research.

As far as plants go, people tend to use: Ficus (When branches snap they tend to leak out a bit of sap, so keep an eye out for that), Pothos, and dwarf umbrella. There are a lot of options to chose from. Just do some research. Also if you do purchase some plants to put into your cage, make sure to clean (spray) them off because a lot of places use pesticides.

Anytime :]
 
I don't use any substrate. This makes for easier clean up. As far as humidity, wallgreens makes a cold air humidifier that seems to be pretty popular. This will help keep the humidity up. For drinking water, I recommend getting a mist king. Costs about $100, but well worth the money.
 
as for the reptile carpet its a waste just leave it bare, trust me i had the carpet and its so hard to pick up poop off of it and everything i took it all out and just have paper towels in one (only cause hes sick) and bare in the others.
 
Okay. I think I got all that. (lol) Thanks so much for the help guys. :) I have to go to walmart today, so Ill stop by the plant nursery on the way there and see what they have, then I'm on my way to Petsmart to look at a water supply thing of some sort. (lol) That dirt is getting shop vac-d out today too! Stupid dirt.....(lol) ....

Thanks again for the help and advice guys!! :)
 
Walter85 said:
The little dripper thing only petco carries it... I've looked! Good luck :)
Click to expand...

Oh dang!! (lol) Guess I could just order it off their site. Though there is a Petco like 30 mins away. *hmmmm* To drive or not to drive? (lol) Thanks for that info so I don't waste my time looking everywhere from here to kingdom come. (Lol) :)
 
Instead of buying the little dripper you could just poke a small hole in the bottom of a plastic or styrofoam cup so it drips slowly and voila!

Pet stores always recommend the substrate since they're used to selling terrestrial reptiles that will actually use it. But chams as arboreal reptiles don't need substrate, can ingest it when shooting bugs, and because of their wet conditions it molds and allows bacteria to grow quickly. So I agree with everyone who has commented already. I have reptile carpet in my cages but my dripper drips into a plant and has a containment system that prevents water from soaking the carpet. If you don't have good drainage then bare bottom cage would be better because wet carpet has the same effect as wet substrate because it retains moisture and lets unwanted stuff grow.
 
ferretinmyshoes said:
Instead of buying the little dripper you could just poke a small hole in the bottom of a plastic or styrofoam cup so it drips slowly and voila!

Pet stores always recommend the substrate since they're used to selling terrestrial reptiles that will actually use it. But chams as arboreal reptiles don't need substrate, can ingest it when shooting bugs, and because of their wet conditions it molds and allows bacteria to grow quickly. So I agree with everyone who has commented already. I have reptile carpet in my cages but my dripper drips into a plant and has a containment system that prevents water from soaking the carpet. If you don't have good drainage then bare bottom cage would be better because wet carpet has the same effect as wet substrate because it retains moisture and lets unwanted stuff grow.
Click to expand...


I had read somewhere that you could use a styrofoam cup, but I wasnt sure if that was just something ghetto that you could do ro how dependable it actually was. (lol)

Yeah. I think that we will be just going with bare bottom. I know that the reptile carpet is a dream for our leopard geckos, but as I said they are way different than chameleons! (lol)
 
Enclosure question

I tried a cup, water bottle, plastic Tupperware, no matter how I made the whole I just could not get the flow right. It was dripping too slow or squirting too fast, so I just went to petco and bought the little dripper for 10 bucks and problem solved...! I also have the exxo terra rs400 misting system my humidity stays pretty hi.:D
 
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