How’s my enclosure looking?

[Eshelton3]

I finally got the most part have the enclosure completed. I have a mist king order and being delivered soon. In the mean time I have a manual misting bottle. I have the egg bin in the back with plants I front for privacy with 3 ways to get down. I may need to put plastic on the sides to keep the humidity in. Says in the gage 60% at night so definitely needs to be higher. Just finished this tonight so wanted it to be ready before my chameleon gets here.

 

[nightanole]

Might be the angle, but it looks like the cham cant get closer than 18" from the UVB bulb. You want the little guy to have at least one branch be able to get a little closer than a foot. But the current "hang out zone" should have plenty of UVB as is.

 

[Eshelton3]

Might be the angle, but it looks like the cham cant get closer than 18" from the UVB bulb. You want the little guy to have at least one branch be able to get a little closer than a foot. But the current "hang out zone" should have plenty of UVB as is.

I think it may be the angle. I mean we with a ruler and the closet branch is measuring 3.5 inch from the top. But maybe I should add one more. Definitely wouldn’t hurt right

 

[nightanole]

I think it may be the angle. I mean we with a ruler and the closet branch is measuring 3.5 inch from the top. But maybe I should add one more. Definitely wouldn’t hurt right

You want one "UVB basking branch" for the high 3.0 UVI. That is normally when the top of the chameleons head is 10" away from the bulb.

Mind you this is from the bulb, not the top of the tank. You can have branches going all the way to the top, but you dont want them closer than the 3.0 UVI measurement from the UVB bulb.

And yes some are filthy screen climbers when they are small, so you may have to baby proof the basking bulb etc...

 

[Eshelton3]

You want one "UVB basking branch" for the high 3.0 UVI. That is normally when the top of the chameleons head is 10" away from the bulb.

Mind you this is from the bulb, not the top of the tank. You can have branches going all the way to the top, but you dont want them closer than the 3.0 UVI measurement from the UVB bulb.

And yes some are filthy screen climbers when they are small, so you may have to baby proof the basking bulb etc...

Okay make sure the actual bulb is 10” away from the head?

 

[nightanole]

Okay make sure the actual bulb is 10” away from the head?

YUP.

Here is a bit more info and a chart

https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-cage-set-up-replicating-the-sun/

 

[Eshelton3]

YUP.

Here is a bit more info and a chart

https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-cage-set-up-replicating-the-sun/

Thank you. Sometimes it’s just so much information. So should the heat lamp be 10” away as well?

 

[nightanole]

Thank you. Sometimes it’s just so much information. So should the heat lamp be 10” away as well?

The heat lamp should be at an angle to the chameleon(either angle the stick or bulb so its an ellipse and not a round hot spot), but i have no clue how far away. I use wee 35 watt bulb, so to heat up my cham to the upper 80's, would require a much shorter distance vs someone using a 80-100 watt bulb.

 

[Lindasjackson]

It’s a great start. You need more horizontal branches especially in the mid to lower range of your cage and more foliage for your Cham to hide in. A central small tree that sort of fills the cage is what some people use such as an umbrella tree or ficus benjamina or you can use some smaller but fuller plants at various levels of the cage like pothos.

 

[Eshelton3]

It’s a great start. You need more horizontal branches especially in the mid to lower range of your cage and more foliage for your Cham to hide in. A central small tree that sort of fills the cage is what some people use such as an umbrella tree or ficus benjamina or you can use some smaller but fuller plants at various levels of the cage like pothos.

Yeah I kind of figured about the plant part. I’ve really struggled to find plants in my local stores like Home Depot or Lowes. The little bunch they do have they are not considered safe. I really wanted just all live plants but do you think until my plants grow at the bottom than in should use the artificial vines just for a temporary filler in the mean time?

 

[Lindasjackson]

Yeah I kind of figured about the plant part. I’ve really struggled to find plants in my local stores like Home Depot or Lowes. The little bunch they do have they are not considered safe. I really wanted just all live plants but do you think until my plants grow at the bottom than in should use the artificial vines just for a temporary filler in the mean time?

I forget what kind of chameleon youre getting. If it’s a veiled or panther then no, fake plants are impaction hazards if they eat them. I know how hard it is to find the plants, I went through that myself. I eventually found some I could use. Just keep making the rounds of the stores and eventually you’ll find some.

 

[Eshelton3]

I forget what kind of chameleon youre getting. If it’s a veiled or panther then no, fake plants are impaction hazards if they eat them. I know how hard it is to find the plants, I went through that myself. I eventually found some I could use. Just keep making the rounds of the stores and eventually you’ll find some.

It’s a panther. Yeah I don’t want to make it worse by doing something I’m not suppose to

 

[Lindasjackson]

Just keep your eyes open for some good plants, it’s not a rush since you don’t have him yet. You’ll find some I’m sure.

 

[xxaprilrose]

To chime in on plants just letting u know they sell some on joshsfrogs and thebiodude website! I know with it getting out of season they are going to be pretty hard to find in stores but I just started ordering them online and they’ve been fantastic

 

[Eshelton3]

To chime in on plants just letting u know they sell some on joshsfrogs and thebiodude website! I know with it getting out of season they are going to be pretty hard to find in stores but I just started ordering them online and they’ve been fantastic

I will look into those too. Thanks