Gooooood morning chameleon forums

[Robert12]

I'm a new member to the chameleon community and have found the forums to be more than helpful in my ambitious researching in proper care for chameleons. I am more than thrilled to go about setting up my future buddy's vivarium and have so many great ideas for thriving plant and chameleon life. I also have some questions
1.) I'm 21 years old and live in New England, Connecticut to be more specific, is anyone from around this area? and have you encountered humidity or temperature problems with your chameleon. ( I have a generator so power outages are not my main concern)
2.) I was curious if it would be detrimental to the health of my future baby panther chameleon (3 month or older) if I only had one enclosure for him to live in for potentially his whole life. I know the minimum size is 22" x 22" x 48" however I was considering going slightly larger to ensure maximum comfort for my chameleon. I know it would be proper to have a smaller one as well, but if I cup / hand fed him, is this a terrible thing?
3.) what feeding regimens do you guys find to be the best? do, or can you have a main type of insect for your chameleon while still changing it up consistently? What are your favorite gutloaders and insects to feed your chameleons, and where do you get them? size per age of chameleon amount/type/variety. etc. brand of dusting formula.
4.) The chameleons enclosure would be in my room, if I were to watch tv on a light volume after the chameleons bedtime would this disturb him? no light from tv entering his enclosure just potentially a light sound.
5.) I have a medium sized dog that is overly nice. it wouldn't stress out the chameleon knowing she was in the house would it? she would be scared of the chameleon big time, but would potentially make visual contact with him at one point or another. I'm actually thinking my poor dog will be the one worried lol =)
6.) I plan on setting the enclosure up and monitoring humidity, temperature, plantlife, and routine for up to 6 months before going for the purchase. Too long, to short? any thoughts id be glad to hear em.
7.) If you made it this far I admire you as a person genuinely, there's no better trait in a person than a solid helping hand. that being said, im open to any suggestions or any answers. ( don't feel obligated to answer them all! ) and sorry for all the questions. THANK YOU GUYS!! I'm more than grateful to have came across the community and can't wait to start things up.

 

[Olimpia]

Hi and welcome to the forum! Let's see if I can answer everything, or at least point you towards further reading.

1. You may find humidity to be a problem during winter but between live plants, misting, and maybe covering up a few sides of an enclosure (if it's screen) usually solve that issue.

2. You'll get different opinions on this. I think it's alright but others don't believe that a baby should have that much space. But I don't think that's giving them enough credit, if you cup feed it really should be a problem. I do think it depends a little on the size of your 3 month old - I've had very hardy big babies and other very small, runty babies so the former would do better than the latter.

3. The food question is probably best answered here: https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/food/

4. No, that would be ok. Chameleons don't hear very clearly so as long as their enclosure is dark they should sleep like babies.

5. That's hard to say, but it probably won't be a big deal. I have two dogs and while the chameleons don't like them they don't seem to mind very much if they are up high in their enclosure and the dogs are down by the floor. Some chameleons dislike dogs a lot and others don't seem to mind them very much, but that will depend on his temperament.

6. 6 months seems like a very long time, probably a lot more than you need. Most people run their cages several days to a couple weeks before a new chameleon, that is usually enough time to adjust temps, humidity, and watering. But that's totally up to you!

7. The only other tips I'd add would be these: if you custom build a cage add horizontal space, not just height. A lot of people custom build cages that might be 7-8' tall, but are still only 2' wide. This is ok, but chameleons seem to really appreciate horizontal space as well, because they can move in and out of their basking areas without having to move downwards, so if you can make the enclosure at least 3' wide, that would automatically be better, in my opinion.

And do not forget about drainage! If you plan on misting for more than a few seconds you will need to figure out how to manage excess water in the enclosure, so look through threads on here about drainage and see if you can come up with anything that works for you. I wish someone would have told me about how important it would be to manage excess water when I started!

 

[Robert12]

awsome

Thank you very much, I appreciate your reply

 

[BrucenBruce]

Hi, Robert - from a fellow Nutmegger!

My chameleons are veiled, not panthers, and I've only had them since January, so take all with a grain or two . . .

I've had no problems with maintaining temperatures or hydration - but I live close enough to work to come home at lunchtime if an extra handspraying is warranted. Larger or smaller wattages of bulbs seem to be enough to get basking temps within range, and the chameleons move throughout their cages when they're done warming up. (Ambient humidity in the house was probably pretty low over the winter, but both chams have live plants in thier enclosures, which seems to help a _lot_)

There are two cats and three dogs living here, two of which are exuberant pit bulls. The chameleons probably don't enjoy the periodic small earthquakes, but I'm not that certain that the motion of their branches is all that different from the breezes coming off the Arabian deserts, either. I'm a bit wary of the cats, cats being cats, but they don't seem to mind the dogs at all. (Doubt they'd enjoy one of the tongue baths some dogs offer, but . . . )

Enjoy the journey!
~Bruce

 

[FlChamMom]

Olympia has given you great info and you can also check the blogs and resource tabs for great info on temps, lighting and water. I use an automatic misting system and love it! Mine is a MistKing but AquaZamp makes a similar product. Also, for lighting, Light Your Reptiles, a sponsor, is great. Todd is a great resource for lighting questions and the Arcadia products are top notch. Good luck with what will soon be an addiction!

 

[laurie]

Hello there, sorry I am late to the welcome wagon.
You have been given all the info that you need. Now let me add an opinion or two. I am almost sure baby chams in the wild have more space than you are going to offer. As Olimpia said just cup feet to make sure he eats well. I live way north, Montana, and I have kept chams here ever since my move up from California. They came along like the rest of the family, my dogs and husband.
You should talk to Light Your Reptiles, you are one of the few who lives close to Todd.