Hello after research and trial and error I believe I have finished Neptunes enclosure for the time being. He is in a 18x18x36 repti breeze screen enclosure. With 8 or live plants (zz plant in left corner, and pothos through out. He has a dripper, fogger than runs at night, and heat lamp (75w), and T5 linear light bar. He gets misted an hour before lights on an hour after lights out. His basking temps are 80-85 and his humidity levels are about 90% through out the night and around 50-60 during the day (currently working on getting those a bit lower for day time). The last touch I need to do is wrap the back and side with a clear liner to protect my walls from the moisture. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. He’s currently eating as much crickets as he wants that are dusted w/o D3. ( he typically only eats like 6-7). He’s also relatively small believed to be 3 months old.
Feedback on Husbandry/Enclosure
- Thread starter destyyyy
- Start date
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
Hi. 
I can offer some feedback. At a quick glance, everything looks good. However, looking closer I can see some things that need to be changed, improved and questioned.
First is the enclosure size. For an adult chameleon, this is going to be too small. The standard minimum is 2x2x4’ or equivalent. Rather than buy the correct size enclosure, I suggest buying another of the same size as you have and joining to two side by side. This is not only more economical, but will give your chameleon more space, which they always appreciate. If you want to do that and need a little help on how, just ask.
I’m afraid the vine with the moss needs to be replaced. Veileds like to nibble and the moss is an impaction risk. As your pothos grows more, you can wrap or drape that around your vines and branches if you like that aesthetic. Also, is the other vine the black Exo Terra one? If so, I hate to tell you that will need to be replaced too. Those shed tiny particles that always seem to make their way into chameleon eyes. Definitely need more branches and vines…more little chameleon roads to travel and patrol. I like natural branches of varied diameters, from thicker than my thumb (to fully stretch out little mitten feet) to quite thin. It helps them to fully exercise their mitten muscles.
I have to ask if you have your branches, vines or plants attached to the screen itself. That’s what it looks like. If so, you most definitely need to change that. Screen rips very easily and while it’s not hard to replace screening, it is a pain in the butt. There are dragon ledges, garden trellis and make your own scaffold structure, but all needs to be attached to the frame, which is strong enough to bear the weight. I do see something on the sides, but not sure what it is.
It’s correct to lightly dust every feeding with a phosphorus free calcium without D3. What are you using for vitamin D3 and multivitamin? I like and use a combination product of Repashy Calcium plus LoD for one feeding every other week (or twice a month if you prefer). Reptivite with D3 is another combination product that could be used instead of the Repashy LoD.
Yes, you definitely need to reduce your daytime humidity as it places your chameleon at risk for a respiratory infection. You may need to invest in a dehumidifier. What type of drainage system are you using? If you have water drainage sitting on the floor of the enclosure, that will keep your humidity up. Do be careful in wrapping the sides and back as you don’t want to further add to the humidity being retained. Full ventilation/air circulation helps reduce risks of RI a bit.
You’ve definitely got a good start and your plant cover is great. I like that you have some pothos on the floor, so that as they are growing upwards, the leaves will grow larger. If there’s anything I can do to help you any further, just ask.
I can offer some feedback. At a quick glance, everything looks good. However, looking closer I can see some things that need to be changed, improved and questioned.First is the enclosure size. For an adult chameleon, this is going to be too small. The standard minimum is 2x2x4’ or equivalent. Rather than buy the correct size enclosure, I suggest buying another of the same size as you have and joining to two side by side. This is not only more economical, but will give your chameleon more space, which they always appreciate. If you want to do that and need a little help on how, just ask.
I’m afraid the vine with the moss needs to be replaced. Veileds like to nibble and the moss is an impaction risk. As your pothos grows more, you can wrap or drape that around your vines and branches if you like that aesthetic. Also, is the other vine the black Exo Terra one? If so, I hate to tell you that will need to be replaced too. Those shed tiny particles that always seem to make their way into chameleon eyes. Definitely need more branches and vines…more little chameleon roads to travel and patrol. I like natural branches of varied diameters, from thicker than my thumb (to fully stretch out little mitten feet) to quite thin. It helps them to fully exercise their mitten muscles.
I have to ask if you have your branches, vines or plants attached to the screen itself. That’s what it looks like. If so, you most definitely need to change that. Screen rips very easily and while it’s not hard to replace screening, it is a pain in the butt. There are dragon ledges, garden trellis and make your own scaffold structure, but all needs to be attached to the frame, which is strong enough to bear the weight. I do see something on the sides, but not sure what it is.
It’s correct to lightly dust every feeding with a phosphorus free calcium without D3. What are you using for vitamin D3 and multivitamin? I like and use a combination product of Repashy Calcium plus LoD for one feeding every other week (or twice a month if you prefer). Reptivite with D3 is another combination product that could be used instead of the Repashy LoD.
Yes, you definitely need to reduce your daytime humidity as it places your chameleon at risk for a respiratory infection. You may need to invest in a dehumidifier. What type of drainage system are you using? If you have water drainage sitting on the floor of the enclosure, that will keep your humidity up. Do be careful in wrapping the sides and back as you don’t want to further add to the humidity being retained. Full ventilation/air circulation helps reduce risks of RI a bit.
You’ve definitely got a good start and your plant cover is great. I like that you have some pothos on the floor, so that as they are growing upwards, the leaves will grow larger. If there’s anything I can do to help you any further, just ask.
Thank you the feedback is greatly appreciated! I actually had some small twigs and branches that needed to be placed I just hadn’t drilled the holes in them yet to attach them. I can upload a pic of the updated version in the morning when his lights come back on . I can definitely do without the mossy vine and black exo terra twig and add more natural ones. I do put up towels in the night to keep the humidity up and have been removing them during the day to help the enclosure ventilate. The drainage system on the bottom so far doesn’t collect much water and my plants seem to obtaining most of it in the pots. It’s a little difficult to explain but I have a black plastic plexi glass thing with holes drilled in it and a drainage tray under it with napkins that I change out in the morning. I feel like that’s the best time to do so as the fogger runs thru the night. As for how I attach them I use fishing wire to hold it in place through out the enclosure as well as zip ties. I understand that it might cause tears in the enclosure I wish I knew that before hand as that’s what I had saw on a few chameleon enclosures. I can slowly change that up tho! Ty!!
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
I’ve been using garden trellis to attach my branches and plants to. Whether you use that or Dragon Ledges though, it’s easiest to set that up when the enclosure is disassembled. I cut the trellis to size, test fit it and then sand all the edges dull. Drill some tiny holes where needed and attach to the frame with thin wires. I do add some small screw to the frame to attach the wires to, to prevent the trellis from sliding down. I think I have at least one vine in each enclosure and the rest is all natural branches. I just wash them with dish soap, rinse like crazy, dry and use. No need to bleach, bake or sterilize. On some, the lichen is still attached and I like the way that looks.
I have 2 XL screen enclosures joined for each of my chameleons. To do this, you need to remove the screening from the two sides that will be up against each other. Also on those sides, the regular screws with their rounded heads create gaps. To avoid this, I either sink the screws down enough or use the flattest head screws I can find. Then I join the frame pieces together with wires. I had tried to find something sturdy and solid to join them, and the best I could find was tiny hinges. They do work, but I still have to add wires. I do like that the wire is easily moldable to help everything joined fit better. As a bit of insurance to keep the two enclosures together, I found a heavy duty shelving unit with just the right measurement and the small ends that stick up act as a frame. To prevent overspray on my walls and block chameleon views of each other, I use fabric shower curtain. I chose a blue cloudy sky print for a brighter look.
I hope this maybe gives you some ideas or inspiration. There’s so many different ways to do things and several enclosure threads thru the archives.
I have 2 XL screen enclosures joined for each of my chameleons. To do this, you need to remove the screening from the two sides that will be up against each other. Also on those sides, the regular screws with their rounded heads create gaps. To avoid this, I either sink the screws down enough or use the flattest head screws I can find. Then I join the frame pieces together with wires. I had tried to find something sturdy and solid to join them, and the best I could find was tiny hinges. They do work, but I still have to add wires. I do like that the wire is easily moldable to help everything joined fit better. As a bit of insurance to keep the two enclosures together, I found a heavy duty shelving unit with just the right measurement and the small ends that stick up act as a frame. To prevent overspray on my walls and block chameleon views of each other, I use fabric shower curtain. I chose a blue cloudy sky print for a brighter look.
I hope this maybe gives you some ideas or inspiration. There’s so many different ways to do things and several enclosure threads thru the archives.
Welcome to the forum. Start reading everything in this husbandry program https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/
Also look up Neptune the Chameleon's Youtube channel. She has correct info in short videos on subjects.
Then ask questions here.
Also look up Neptune the Chameleon's Youtube channel. She has correct info in short videos on subjects.
Then ask questions here.
