First Time Owner Questions

[Kyrill91]

Hello everyone,

I am a soon to be first time chameleon owner, I just have a couple of questions that I cant seem to find the answers to.

I plan on having a live plant in my enclosure, probably a Schefflera Arboricola, or a Hibiscus Rosa-Sinensis. My question is, with an automatic misting system such as AquaZamp RainDome, and a 5.0 uvb bulb / 75w uva bulb will that be all the necessary water and light that the plant needs?

Also, what should I do about all the excess water ending up at the bottom of the enclosure?

How should I go about securing vines and branches in a Reptibreeze screen enclosure?


While I have been reading up extensively about chameleon care for the past 3 weeks, any tips you guys may have that you picked up from experience would be great!

 

[slinko9]

The more real plants the better for humidity,,,
What I did for my Reptibreeze enclosure is,,,got some curtain rods mounted on the side then bought a clear shower curtain,,,cut it in half and if its not very humid inside,,,,I can close the curtains,,,heklps keep heat in also,,,and will help with air flow on summer days!!!!!
Too much water will help your plants become less leafy and eventually die,,,my solution was to buy a plastic wash tub sink,,,mount a couple of fridge trays(steel rack type) on top of the sink,,,then drilled holes in the floorboard of my reptibreeze cage,,,put a bucket under the drain hole in the sink and now I dont have to worry about water accumulation on the bottom,,,killing my plants!!!
Although this does bring down the humidity,,,I bought an ultrasonic humidifier to help keep humidity stable in between mistings!!!!
Good Luck,,
And Welcome!!!!!

 

[CLP]

I would get a grow light (fluorescent tube) to add to that. All the garden centers carry them. I have some from Lee Valley that are T5 bulbs. They were not too expensive and are nice and bright. The plants definitely like them and I do have a hibiscus growing well under them. What you have is definitely not enough for a hibiscus, but the other one might be OK.

I should also add that the hibiscus for sure will need quite a bit of water. I don't think the misting system alone will be enough. I just dump some water into the pot every couple of days.

 

[Kyrill91]

The shower curtain is a great idea and would be useful during the winter months. Getting the washtub sink sounds like it would cost more than I would care to pay for, perhaps I can drill a hole into the corner of the floorboard of the enclosure and let that hang off of the desk it will be on, letting excess water drip into a bucket below?

 

[Decadancin]

I would get a grow light (fluorescent tube) to add to that. All the garden centers carry them. I have some from Lee Valley that are T5 bulbs. They were not too expensive and are nice and bright. The plants definitely like them and I do have a hibiscus growing well under them. What you have is definitely not enough for a hibiscus, but the other one might be OK.

I should also add that the hibiscus for sure will need quite a bit of water. I don't think the misting system alone will be enough. I just dump some water into the pot every couple of days.

I agree! Especially with the hibiscus you will need a 6500 k tube light for them.

 

[Kyrill91]

This is actually the UVB lamp fixture I was going to get. Would that work?

 

[cubanbee]

This is actually the UVB lamp fixture I was going to get. Would that work?

These Zilla fixtures and bulbs aren't recommended from my research.

1) The actual fixture that bulb comes in usually has a plastic cover over the bulb that filters UVB. Easily removed, for what it's worth.
2) I've heard negative things about that bulb here on the forum, I think about it giving off too much UVB for a cham potentially.
3) Hibiscus need a bunch of light of a type that that pure UVB bulb you linked does not provide. If you really want a hibiscus, you would need a fixture that houses two florescent bulbs, both a UVB and a 6500K full spectrum bulb. Something like http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/24hot5dobufi.html
4) Some other plants are less needy and might not require that secondary florescent bulb to thrive. Pothos come to mind.
5) You still should use a differnt UVB bulb even if you decide to not go with the 6500K double fixture setup. The site i linked has single bulb setups, or go with a Reptisun 5.0 bulb available at most pet stores and online (cheaper).

Hope that helps!

 

[mrfixit01]

Hello everyone,

I am a soon to be first time chameleon owner, I just have a couple of questions that I cant seem to find the answers to.

I plan on having a live plant in my enclosure, probably a Schefflera Arboricola, or a Hibiscus Rosa-Sinensis. My question is, with an automatic misting system such as AquaZamp RainDome, and a 5.0 uvb bulb / 75w uva bulb will that be all the necessary water and light that the plant needs?
The Schefflera needs more light and less water. I have to take mine out to dry out every other week. Hibiscus, as others have said, needs lots more light also.

Also, what should I do about all the excess water ending up at the bottom of the enclosure?
Depends on what sort of enclosure. I built mine with screen sides and sealed wood bottom. Went to Tractor Supply and bought a 24"X24" droppings pan for about $8. Once a week I take it out and drain/wash it. Covered with screen wire with brick in middle for pot plant to sit on.

How should I go about securing vines and branches in a Reptibreeze screen enclosure?

There are many, many ways on the forum for attaching vines, branches. Some use dowel rods cut to the width of the cage and push pins through the screen to hold them in place. I screwed two big branches to the back of mine (wood/rock wall) and put cup hooks around the top for vines to hang from.