Help With My Cage Setup

MCSEB

MCSEB

Member
So a few hours ago I posted a thread saying that my chameleon cage finally came in today and I put it together. It's 18x18x36'. I uploaded pictures but for some reason they didn't show up unless you right clicked on them and opened them on a new window. So I'm ordering my chameleon online in a few days. I just want to know what exactly should I put inside my cage to make my chameleon feel comfortable and happy? Any tips and advice would be great please :D

Here's how my cage looks like so far. I want to begin working on it this weekend.

IMG_0782_zps3b4c597b.jpg
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Find live plants. Schefflera, pothos, hibiscus, etc. Wash the crap out of them. Go to hobby lobby, Lowe's, Home Depot, etc and find bamboo sticks. They're pretty cheap. Make sure to get a hand mister bottle, if you don't already have a mister. A digital timer for your lights would be extremely helpful. That should get you started. Oh, don't forget to get the supplements if you haven't already done so! Do you have a local pet shop to supply a VARIETY of feeders? If not, you may want to order ahead of time... :)
 
maxttu said:
Find live plants. Schefflera, pothos, hibiscus, etc. Wash the crap out of them. Go to hobby lobby, Lowe's, Home Depot, etc and find bamboo sticks. They're pretty cheap. Make sure to get a hand mister bottle, if you don't already have a mister. A digital timer for your lights would be extremely helpful. That should get you started. Oh, don't forget to get the supplements if you haven't already done so! Do you have a local pet shop to supply a VARIETY of feeders? If not, you may want to order ahead of time... :)
Click to expand...

Yeah I'm getting myself a couple plants this weekend. I'll definitely look into the bamboo sticks. I have an exotic pet shop 2 minutes away from my house. I did buy myself a hand mister, dripper, thermometer and humidifier, and calcium powder. It should be arriving between Saturday-Wednesday. As for the food, I'm planning on getting it this weekend too. I have a few pet shops about 15 minutes away from my house that I will also go check out and see if I find some stuff. I just need to get myself some branches, plants, maybe a little food bowl for my cham and some vines. Anything else I should look into?
 
You said calcium powder. Make sure you have with and without d3. You'll also need a multivitamin. Don you know about supplementing schedules?
 
maxttu said:
You said calcium powder. Make sure you have with and without d3. You'll also need a multivitamin. Don you know about supplementing schedules?
Click to expand...

Just a little bit. I have to do my reading on that tomorrow. If you could explain or link me to something, that would be great!
 
A double fluorescent fixture so you can have a 6500K plant light, as well as the UVB bulb in it. You know to have a basking bulb as well?
You might want to plan for drainage to drain away the water from a dripper.
An automatic misting system comes in handy, especially if you like to go away for a weekend now and then.
Don't waste any money on substrates for the floor. Between the fact that they become breeding grounds for mold and bacteria, and that chams sometimes ingest the stuff and become impacted (intestinal blockage) it is bad news.

The dusting schedule depends on whether you're getting a lowland species, like a Veiled or Panther or a montane species like Jackson's or Montiums.
Figure basically 1/2 the dusting frequency of Veileds for the montanes.
 
Veiled, correct? Calcium w/o d3 every day. Calcium with d3 2 times/month (every other weekend or 1st and 15th, whatever you can remember). Multivitamin 2 times/month (same as d3 only on different wknds). Orrrrrrr get the Repashy all-in-one and you're set... :p
 
Oh and feed your cham a variety of feeders. They benefit nutritionwise from eating more than just one food.
It is also important to feed your feeders a good diet to optimize their food value.
Good feeders are shown here but waxworms are very fatty and mealworms are said to cause impaction.
http://www.mulberryfarms.com/
They call feeding feeders gutloading.
Details are here
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/75-feeder-nutrition-gutloading.html

You might find this detailed care sheet on Veileds helpful
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/chameleonsinmyhouse/395-veiled-chameleon-care-sheet.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...e/396-veiled-chameleon-care-sheet-part-2.html
 
Lovereps said:
A double fluorescent fixture so you can have a 6500K plant light, as well as the UVB bulb in it. You know to have a basking bulb as well?
You might want to plan for drainage to drain away the water from a dripper.
An automatic misting system comes in handy, especially if you like to go away for a weekend now and then.
Don't waste any money on substrates for the floor. Between the fact that they become breeding grounds for mold and bacteria, and that chams sometimes ingest the stuff and become impacted (intestinal blockage) it is bad news.

The dusting schedule depends on whether you're getting a lowland species, like a Veiled or Panther or a montane species like Jackson's or Montiums.
Figure basically 1/2 the dusting frequency of Veileds for the montanes.
Click to expand...

As of now I got myself a hood only. I have a UVB bulb coming in very soon. So I need another bulb too right? I'll try to see if I could build my own drainage system. I'm planning on getting myself a misting system in about an month or so. For now I will be home right after work so I will hand mist him. I'm getting a veield. I know how to dust them. Just put a litte powder on them, dont make them into a ghost lol. By the way, I appreciate the links. I will definitely check them out. Thank you :)
 
maxttu said:
Veiled, correct? Calcium w/o d3 every day. Calcium with d3 2 times/month (every other weekend or 1st and 15th, whatever you can remember). Multivitamin 2 times/month (same as d3 only on different wknds). Orrrrrrr get the Repashy all-in-one and you're set... :p
Click to expand...

Yes. Baby veiled chameleon (male). What do you mean by multivitamins? I'm sorry, I'm just new to this. I'm trying to get all this information correct so I could know what I'm doing. I only have calcium powder with d3 coming in. I'll get myself regular calcium powder with no d3 either later on today or tomorrow. I know I have to give them d3 twice a month.
 
:D When you are just starting out or have a bad memory Like me you may want to get a calender too. I write what my vit. schedule is so even if someone else feeds they know his schedule. Every week day plain cal. And on Sundays I alternate cal w/D3 and reptivite. You and also keep up with other stuff like age, wt, shed or whatever. I will link you too the enclosure thread. Look at others setups and help you get ideas of what you may want to do.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/official-enclosure-picture-thread-49688/
There are also free ranges.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/free-range/
 
Welcome to the forum!!! I have found that you can get almost any question answered just by using the info at your finger tips. Go to forum,general discussion then start with basic husbandry. I think you will find more information then you can digest in a day or so and this will also have links to much more info as well
again welcome
 
mcbdz said:
:D When you are just starting out or have a bad memory Like me you may want to get a calender too. I write what my vit. schedule is so even if someone else feeds they know his schedule. Every week day plain cal. And on Sundays I alternate cal w/D3 and reptivite. You and also keep up with other stuff like age, wt, shed or whatever. I will link you too the enclosure thread. Look at others setups and help you get ideas of what you may want to do.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/official-enclosure-picture-thread-49688/
There are also free ranges.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/free-range/
Click to expand...

That's actually a great idea! I do have a calendar and I already began writing things such as when my items are arriving. I'll definitely keep all this in mind, thanks! :D
 
SMCNARY said:
Welcome to the forum!!! I have found that you can get almost any question answered just by using the info at your finger tips. Go to forum,general discussion then start with basic husbandry. I think you will find more information then you can digest in a day or so and this will also have links to much more info as well
again welcome
Click to expand...

Thank you, and yeah I will keep this in mind. I'll definitely check it out!
 
MCSEB said:
Yes. Baby veiled chameleon (male). What do you mean by multivitamins? I'm sorry, I'm just new to this. I'm trying to get all this information correct so I could know what I'm doing. I only have calcium powder with d3 coming in. I'll get myself regular calcium powder with no d3 either later on today or tomorrow. I know I have to give them d3 twice a month.
Click to expand...

With the fairly small number of different feeders available, chams aren't getting a diet that is as good as what they would have in the wild, so we add a multivitamin 2x a month, to help compensate.

This is one brand of multivitamins that is good for chams:
http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...-vitamins/-/zoo-med-reptivite-without-d3-2oz/
 
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