ChamQuestions
Member
Hello! 
Some of you may remember that I made a few threads here a while ago in preparation to take on the responsibility of chameleon care. I ended up dropping off the site entirely when it occurred to me that I hadn't posted in a long while and decided that posting late would seem kind of awkward. Anyways, since then I haven't purchased a chameleon, but I have welcomed into my house a beautiful little harlequin flame (I think, at least, it is hard to tell his morph when he is young) crested gecko. I decided that it would be more responsible of me, as a keeper, to start off with a beginner's reptile and figured that a crested gecko would provide good practice. That, and they are also very cool! However, I still find chameleons fascinating and would love to care for one someday if I have the ability to do so. So, I will be bringing back the list that I shared a while ago of supplies that I may get (slightly altered and updated) plus continue a discussion on how to get my chameleon's enclosure's humidity up to proper levels. Looking back to a thread where I asked about misting systems, it seemed that most of you are very positive towards a MistKing setup, but (and forgive me if I come across as stubborn) I simply find it perplexing that I should spend so much money (converted from USD to CAD, not to mention) on a system that simply gets water from point A to point B. In discussing with Lisa of Chronic Chameleons, she proposed that I "have a dripper drip from say 9am - 10am and then have another dripper start dripping at 2pm...otherwise one dripper before leaving for work and a good spray when you get home should be completely sufficient!". I believe that this was probably in reference more to Veiled's than Panther's as she suggested that a veiled would be a better choice for me in a previous email, but she is also more experienced in panthers so it could be either way. I thought that this sounded like a good idea and that if I needed to keep him extra humid, I could let some ice melt, keep more drippers going, position said drippers so that the water is carried through the enclosure naturally, or rope in some more people to spray him while I am out (if they are quite willing!) Also, bear in mind that Vancouver City (where Lisa lives) is only a hair more humid than where I live, so this estimate should still be relevant to me. Further, I seem to find it fairly doable to keep my gecko's enclosure at a humidity level of 50% or more, though I don't know how quickly it drops when I leave. However, if any of you think that the plan that I have mentioned would be unhealthy for a chameleon, please let me know and I will reconsider! Beyond that, here is my new list of supplies and such:
- Zoo Med: ReptiBreeze 24"/24"/48" mesh enclosure
- Dripper (Perhaps a larger size than normal, or more than one)
- Mistking (Depending on your responses!)
- UVB light
- Heat light
- Two domes to contain bulbs
- Crickets
- Silkworms
- Hornworms
- More worms? What do you guys recommend? (Oh, by the way, I have since omitted roaches due to finding out that they are illegal in Canada.)
- Feeder food and supplies for gutloading (because I have it on hand already for my crestie [who I have named "Toast", by the way], would crested gecko MRP make a good gutload? It contains lots of fruit, generally, and there is a type that has more insects in it if I am not mistaken.)
- Decorations and sticks for climbing surfaces
- Artificial plant or plants
- Hygrometer/thermometer combo (possibly handheld, possibly electronic, possibly both...)
- P.V.C. pipe to set up simple gravity drain system
- Floor panels, if not already included with ReptiBreeze
Setup would include a basking area, lots of horizontal sticks and plants, some more vertical surfaces, plus all of the stuff that I mentioned above.
Routines: Thoroughly hand spray in morning and night, leave drippers on throughout the day and afternoon, turn lights on in the morning and off at night, feed and dust feeders (maybe breed them. How should I go about doing that?), gut-load feeders, feed to chameleon, let out in backyard for sunlight, introduce to handling early-on, clean floor panels.
And, the last couple of things that I would like to mention/ask... 1) I may get a Chameleon Condo from Terrarium Art, which includes a place to put in bulbs, plenty of climbing space and a drip system already in it. Getting one would be very expensive, but also convenient and hopefully make for a great enclosure, plus they are much more appealing to the eye than a ReptiBreeze in my opinion. 2) If chameleons are arboreal, what is the purpose of floor panels? Why not let their waste fall into the drainage area of the enclosure and clean that every once in a while instead?
So! What do you guys think? Please discuss and/or correct anything that you feel should be discussed and/or corrected.
Some of you may remember that I made a few threads here a while ago in preparation to take on the responsibility of chameleon care. I ended up dropping off the site entirely when it occurred to me that I hadn't posted in a long while and decided that posting late would seem kind of awkward. Anyways, since then I haven't purchased a chameleon, but I have welcomed into my house a beautiful little harlequin flame (I think, at least, it is hard to tell his morph when he is young) crested gecko. I decided that it would be more responsible of me, as a keeper, to start off with a beginner's reptile and figured that a crested gecko would provide good practice. That, and they are also very cool! However, I still find chameleons fascinating and would love to care for one someday if I have the ability to do so. So, I will be bringing back the list that I shared a while ago of supplies that I may get (slightly altered and updated) plus continue a discussion on how to get my chameleon's enclosure's humidity up to proper levels. Looking back to a thread where I asked about misting systems, it seemed that most of you are very positive towards a MistKing setup, but (and forgive me if I come across as stubborn) I simply find it perplexing that I should spend so much money (converted from USD to CAD, not to mention) on a system that simply gets water from point A to point B. In discussing with Lisa of Chronic Chameleons, she proposed that I "have a dripper drip from say 9am - 10am and then have another dripper start dripping at 2pm...otherwise one dripper before leaving for work and a good spray when you get home should be completely sufficient!". I believe that this was probably in reference more to Veiled's than Panther's as she suggested that a veiled would be a better choice for me in a previous email, but she is also more experienced in panthers so it could be either way. I thought that this sounded like a good idea and that if I needed to keep him extra humid, I could let some ice melt, keep more drippers going, position said drippers so that the water is carried through the enclosure naturally, or rope in some more people to spray him while I am out (if they are quite willing!) Also, bear in mind that Vancouver City (where Lisa lives) is only a hair more humid than where I live, so this estimate should still be relevant to me. Further, I seem to find it fairly doable to keep my gecko's enclosure at a humidity level of 50% or more, though I don't know how quickly it drops when I leave. However, if any of you think that the plan that I have mentioned would be unhealthy for a chameleon, please let me know and I will reconsider! Beyond that, here is my new list of supplies and such:
- Zoo Med: ReptiBreeze 24"/24"/48" mesh enclosure
- Dripper (Perhaps a larger size than normal, or more than one)
- Mistking (Depending on your responses!)
- UVB light
- Heat light
- Two domes to contain bulbs
- Crickets
- Silkworms
- Hornworms
- More worms? What do you guys recommend? (Oh, by the way, I have since omitted roaches due to finding out that they are illegal in Canada.
)- Feeder food and supplies for gutloading (because I have it on hand already for my crestie [who I have named "Toast", by the way], would crested gecko MRP make a good gutload? It contains lots of fruit, generally, and there is a type that has more insects in it if I am not mistaken.)
- Decorations and sticks for climbing surfaces
- Artificial plant or plants
- Hygrometer/thermometer combo (possibly handheld, possibly electronic, possibly both...)
- P.V.C. pipe to set up simple gravity drain system
- Floor panels, if not already included with ReptiBreeze
Setup would include a basking area, lots of horizontal sticks and plants, some more vertical surfaces, plus all of the stuff that I mentioned above.
Routines: Thoroughly hand spray in morning and night, leave drippers on throughout the day and afternoon, turn lights on in the morning and off at night, feed and dust feeders (maybe breed them. How should I go about doing that?), gut-load feeders, feed to chameleon, let out in backyard for sunlight, introduce to handling early-on, clean floor panels.
And, the last couple of things that I would like to mention/ask... 1) I may get a Chameleon Condo from Terrarium Art, which includes a place to put in bulbs, plenty of climbing space and a drip system already in it. Getting one would be very expensive, but also convenient and hopefully make for a great enclosure, plus they are much more appealing to the eye than a ReptiBreeze in my opinion. 2) If chameleons are arboreal, what is the purpose of floor panels? Why not let their waste fall into the drainage area of the enclosure and clean that every once in a while instead?
So! What do you guys think? Please discuss and/or correct anything that you feel should be discussed and/or corrected.
