Furcifer lateralis behind glass

[Jmeyer]

Hey everyone, in the future i am planning on getting a pair of Furcifer lateralis and tonight i was looking through old threads and found a few about keeping smaller chameleon species in glass terrariums. I was wondering if Furcifer lateralis would be one of the species that fell under the category of being able to live in glass terrariums. I know these guy need high humidity so a glass tank woudl hold that much better then a screen cage. And as long as there was plenty of plants and branches and cover the chameleon would be happy. If anyone has any experience with this please share here or pm me. I was planning on getting 30x18x18 tanks made by protean for the chameleons. Thanks for any and all comments guys!!

 

[VeiledOwner87]

i would still keep these critters in a screen cage where you live. they do, however, will be kept fine in a smaller cage, but would go bigger housing two together. i would also get two fecals done and have them quarentined before introducing to eachother

 

[jmart]

I kept a gravid female in a glass tank . She laid her eggs and lived another year in one.
I needed to keep her in there as she was too small for my huge chameleon cages and I needed to keep heat in more as I live in Canada.
I think it is ok, as long as temps don't get too high and you cover the sides, as they want to get through the glass.

 

[jamncristian]

the heat from where you live can possibly boil your cham with
the steam and heat not being able to escape the glass

I suggest sticking to the screen cage

I am unsure about keeping them together in a
cage
only because I never kept Furcifer lateralis

 

[gpmo]

F. Lateralis are extremely aggresive towards one another. I've read about them hissing and biting at eachother straight out of the egg.

As far as glass goes it depends on your average temperature in your house. Glass is being used with success in the UK Canada and EU and even here in the states. Though there are things to do differently. How hot is your home and where do you keep your thermostat. Remember that most AC units will dry the air out so misting is more important.

I would highly suggest getting them CB, we have a great member here named Dooley1 who has them hatching every so often. Good luck with them, i absolutely love these Chameleons they are wonderfull to keep.

Gpmo (him)

 

[Jmeyer]

I wasnt planning on keeping them together just keeping them individually in glass tanks. My room stays pretty cool as i am very close to the beach and i keep my windows open. It was more about whether or not anyone has done it with success then thinking about temperatures and humidity. Those i could controlling with no problem

 

[gpmo]

I wonder how the keeping them together came up..

 

[sgvreptiles]

Glass cages all the way. If your doing a 18x18x30 I would say do atleast a 10-12 screen top with a sub door vent. Going to cost more. but for chameleons its better. It will allow it to get humid and be able to dry out and have good air circulation with the sub door vent.
Truely are one of my favorite species. I hope the eggs we have hatch in a few months. They are growin well!

 

[Jmeyer]

Cool, Jeff ill talk to you more later.

 

[Klemins]

I'm curious as to whether or not those who are so adamant about keeping them in screen have ever housed (properly) chameleons in a glass enclosure. Your animals will not "boil" unless you become extremely careless or put them outdoors, which I'm assuming you're not. I would definitely recommend using glass if you're willing to spend the money, and can't recommend Protean enough (you may have seen my post on the custom enclosures I had made). Let us know how they work out.

 

[Chris Anderson]

I have to agree with Daniel on this one. Typically the people who so admittedly recommend against keeping chameleons in glass terrariums (not to be confused with aquariums) are those who have never tried it and are just stuck on the status quo that has been recommended on the forums for so long.

To be honest, I think the "it depends on where you live" argument is bogus too and just another holdback from from the "you should only keep chameleons in screen enclosures" days to try and explain why European and Canadian keepers have no problem using glass terrariums. If you live up north, the winters are very dry and a glass terrarium is perfect to control for that. If you live in the south, you probably have to keep your chams indoors for large parts of the summer and the air conditioning will dry the air, again resulting in glass terrariums being a perfect method to control for that. Basically, unless you live in an area where the temperatures and humidity are ideal all year round and you don't need to cool or heat the environment or increase/decrease the humidity, glass terrariums do an excellent job of mediating the captive environment.

I think a glass terrarium of that size with subdoor ventilation and a screen top would be perfect to house an individual F. lateralis indoors. I recommend planting the terrarium, just like you would a pygmy enclosure, as that too will help maintain humidity and prevent water puddling in the bottom.

Chris

 

[Jmeyer]

Alright i'm convinced i'm gonna do it. Once this eventually happens i will make a new thread to show everyone. Thanks guys!!

 

[gpmo]

I am looking foward to seeing your set up. You are gonna love the F. Lateralis they have great personalities. Only thing imho is make sure to provide lots of bushy cover, i am sure you have already read up about that. I bring it up because ours really relaxed once they had alot of cover. keep us posted on your set ups.

Gpmo (him)

 

[Jmeyer]

Will do!! Thanks for the bushy cover info!