few questions.

[dseriesrider]

hey, we are noobs here and have a few questions.

we are in the process of building our first cage and getting supplies to house 2 veiled chams.

ok first the cage. the demensions will be 3'x2'x4', there will be an extra foot in height for a pan and stuff like that.

what kind of wood do we need? treated or untreated? either way, what if we decide to stain it or anything like that, what brands would be safe?

our local pet store was going out of business so we bought this bulb, its a super uv coil lamp. its a 13 watt and has a light output like a 50 watt. the UVB wavelengths are 290-320nm and the UVA wavelengths are 320-400nm. so my question is, will this bulb be suitable for our setup?

we will have live plants. we have pothos, a rubber plant, asparagus fern and an umbrella plant.

i know the cage will be big for the 2 baby chams we want, we will have a shelf setup to section it off.

we also have those drip cups, but i plan on getting a mist system later on.

let us know what you think! thanks in advance.

 

[Julirs]

First thing most people are going to tell you is that you need 2 cages. Maybe not at first if they are babies, but after they are about 4 months old you want to separate them. Your cage dimensions are pretty good for 1 Veiled Chameleon.
As long as you you use some kind of waterproofing on the wood, you should be fine. You will be misting and getting that wood pretty wet and you don't want it molding!
Coiled/compact UVB bulbs have been causing alot of issues with chameleons to include eye, burns, and even death. Most will recommend a Zoomed Reptisun 5.0 linear bulb and a separate basking lamp.
Good luck in your research! You are well on your way to preparing to get your chameleons. You want everything in place before you bring them home and to make sure temps are spot on, etc...
Lastly I will advise you to buy from a breeder rather than a pet store. Getting healthy animals will do you wonders in the long run!

 

[Chamero]

Hello there, I too second what was said above. I also want to mention a couple problems I noticed with my first cham. Firstly, make sure the screen is big enough for when he grows. Normal screen is good for chams up to about 4 months but then youll realize its too small and thats how nails come off. Also, make sure you dont buy all baby plants. I made the mistake of buying baby plants cuz I had a baby cham. Then I realized the cham grew much faster than the plants. Just some thoughts....

 

[dseriesrider]

what kind of waterproofing do you guys recommend?

as for the bulb, we will put it aside and get the reptisun bulb. will the 36" bulb be fine for our cage setup? also, which basking bulb is recommended?

and we plan on buying from flchams.com.

 

[mczoo]

i would waterproof with the same varnished used for human tables usually waterbased and allow it to dry for a week before putting chams in the cage.

for what it is worth lllreptile has a sale on cages especially for baby chams these are easier and will be cheaper than building you own. the 18 x18x 36 is only 57 dollars and the full adult cage 2x2x4 feet is now 79 dollars. the only problem with these will be nail loss. that area should be discussed with others. my chams are all smaller

Sean

PS check out the classifieds on this site one of the members is selling used cages cheep

good luck

 

[dseriesrider]

thanks for the info guys.

 

[dseriesrider]

ok so we got a 2x2x4 cage and purchased 2 veileds chams at the sc repticon show.

we have plants setup with vines and a dripper system and they seem to be taking water and baby dubias just fine.

we have jurassical calcium, rep cal calcium with d3, and rep cal herptivite multivitamins.

our question is, what is the general guidelines when feeding your chams these supplements? there are a lot and we got a bit confused, also our chams are 4 months old.


we also got some flukers high calcium cricket feed. will that be alright to gut load the crickets for the chams?

 

[mika]

Are you housing both chams in that 2x2x4 cage?

 

[dseriesrider]

yes, Flchams said it would be ok until they are 9 months old.

 

[mika]

Are they male & female? Are they already in there?

 

[dseriesrider]

yes they are.

 

[mika]

Do you have pics of your setup?

Do they have separate basking spots, drippers etc?

 

[dseriesrider]

the female gets her water from the dripper and the male goes down to the rocks in the plants to get water and we also have a bigger clamp lamp for heating.