!First Timer Needing A Lot Of Advice!

[TommyTsunami88]

Hey everyone. I have always dreamed of owning a cham since I was little. And now I have the place and ALL of the supplies to do so. Im going to order one this coming Monday. Anyway I have a few questions and give me lots of feedback because I am new to this even though I have researched. My questions are:
1. Where should I order my veiled from? I live in SC and I am leaning towards FLChams
2. I hate the plain looking background of the screen enclosure. I wanna decorate the back somehow but have no clue where to start. Im looking for a very natural habitat look. Ive read a few posts about building a wall like a paludarium but I dont wanna run water and such. Id like to have vines creeping down and it be like a massive tree trunk. Anyway how should I go about decorating the three sides of the enclosure?

I would LOVE to see pictures of you guys/girls enclosures.

Thanks in advance and remember, leave me tons of feedback.
Tommy

 

[veildowner]

if you have a look in enclosures and supplys theres loads of piks of peoples setups you can look at and get ideas from

 

[carol5208]

Hi and welcome to the Forums! You can click on the green tab above that says Forums. You will then find a link for Enclosures. There are tons of threads with pics for you to view.

 

[beeze]

Welcome to the forums. Before you buy your chameleon test out your set up and make sure you have the heat and humidity correct before putting a cham in there.

I would recommend buying from a member here in the classified section.

Here's a link to pictures of my female veileds enclosure. https://www.chameleonforums.com/members/beeze-albums-making-aluminum-cage.html

 

[carol5208]

You can order from any reputable breeder on here. It doesn't matter if it is close to your state or not. They ship them all over the country. I live in florida and got mine all the way out in California. One thing, it is winter though in almost every part of the country! I keep forgetting, I live in Florida and don't have to deal with the cold!

 

[sandrachameleon]

I would LOVE to see pictures of you guys/girls enclosures.

This blog entry is all links related to enclosures:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/82-enclosures-housing.html

less than half way down the list, you'll find links to some truly fantastic enclosures. In some cases included info on how it was done.

 

[rcutchens]

Hi Tommy - I have pictures of Rico's setup in the album I posted

https://www.chameleonforums.com/members/rcutchens-albums-rico-s-world.html

 

[laurie]

Hello Tommy I have seen you out looking around here and that is great that you are researching prior to buying.

Here are my thoughts in no special order

Test your set up thoroughly as recommended above

When decoration the sides remember the cham will need good airflow

Misting and a dripper are a necessity for a veiled, consider that and drainage as a requirement when putting it all together

Consider the size of the cham at the time of purchase and as an adult, may need to start with one size cage and go to an adult size later.

I would order from a member as most of those have more time to provide support to a new keeper than a company will have

Talk to several veiled owners, we have lots here, some free range some use cages, concede which way you want/need to go

Ask any direct questions you have of us

Good luck

 

[rcutchens]

Hi Tommy - One thing I fogot is that you'd mentioned decorating the back of the cage and I agree, asthetically it looks better and one of the added benefits is that you can provide more areas for your chameleon to explore and hide in.

If you look at the pictures of Rico's setup I took some fake jungle plants - specifically Exo Terra medium Abutilon vines - and hung them on the back of the cage so that they would drape down and provide a nice looking backdrop as well as places for Rico to climb in and explore or even hide in. The way I planned it these came down far enough to fall behind the live plants that were coming up from the bottom to create a kind of curtain. It works well for retaining water from mistings as well and Rico does climb in the vines from time to time.