Husbandry Ideas and Questions

Austin.Hopson

Austin.Hopson

Member
Hey guys, I posted a picture of my current husbandry setup, and evidentially it was BAD. That's what I get for listening to a pet shop for what needed to get. I have a 5month old male vieled Cham. He is a grouch, but I think that is becuase of the setup I've got right now. I've put in an order for a screen cage that is 16x16x30, and these are some other things I'm looking at. Any suggestions?

http://www.valuepetsupplies.com/exo...scplp2914731&gclid=CJaE8ZnwissCFQmQaQodjKwLqQ

http://m.ebay.com/itm/171997691823?...56&_trksid=p2141725.c100338.m3726&_mwBanner=1

http://www.lllreptile.com/products/32454-zoo-med-reptibreeze-substrate-tray-medium

I also plan on getting some sticks from outside. I know I need to bake them, but don't know the specific temperature or time.
Also, a question about screen cages...how do I get the humidity to stay inside the cage? If it's a screen, won't the temperature and humidity just equal out to the temperature of the room?
 
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With a 5 month veiled you'll be moving him into his big-boy cage pretty soon. I don't know what you have him in now, but you might as well just move him directly into a 2x2x4 cage, because the 16x16x30 won't last long.

As for humidity you can wrap 1 or 2 sides of your cage in plastic (like a shower curtain liner or something) to help retain humidity. Also, use live plants instead of the fake ones you posted links to. They will boost humidity levels as well as being safe for your veiled to nibble on, something they like to do (make sure you check the safe plant list and clean them thoroughly before putting them into the cage).

You can certainly use the sticks from outside, but I also don't know the baking instructions. Another option would be the bendy vines which are nice because you can more easily mold them to fit your cage. I use them in my cages in varying widths and lengths when I'm making my "highways". Keep asking questions and good luck!
 
absolutbill said:
With a 5 month veiled you'll be moving him into his big-boy cage pretty soon. I don't know what you have him in now, but you might as well just move him directly into a 2x2x4 cage, because the 16x16x30 won't last long.
Click to expand...

Yep. Cancel your order on that 16 x 16 x 30 cage. That's what you should already have him in right now. He will need to be in a 24 x 24 x 48 cage within a few months.

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As for the dripper plant and the fake Amapallo plant you posted a link to.... Don't use the dripper plant. Those are junk. The pumps on them suck. Very poorly made. They also work by dripping water into a collecting cup at the bottom, and a pump sucks the water out of that cup, back up a hose, and spills it back out onto the plant dripper leaves. This means that the SAME WATER will be cycling over and over and over, collecting dirt and dust on it's way down each time. Your chameleon needs FRESH water. Not re-cycled water. This can be achieved by several misting sessions a day, or placing a dripper on top of the cage filled with water, that will drip water down onto the plants in the cage. This will be filled with new, fresh water once it is out. Or you can change the water daily, whichever you prefer. If using tap water, be sure to add a bit of ReptiSafe to the water to make it safe to drink for your chameleon.

The Amapallo plant is okay.... IF YOU HAVE LIVE PLANTS as well. You really need live plants in your cage. One single fake plant will not suffice. You are trying to imitate their natural environment, which has WAAAAYYYY more than one mingly little plant. These animals live in forests - decorate your cage as such. Add more plants, LIVE plants, and lots of them. Humidity will keep at recommended levels much better with real plants in the cage as well. Just make sure your real plants are planted in organic soil, and have rocks or screen covering the dirt so that your chameleon doesn't accidentally ingest it.

As for the humidity and temps in a screen cage - @absolutbill explained that - just wrap a couple sides of the cage in plastic to retain humidity if you are having trouble. Real plants will greatly increase the humidity and make it not so hard to maintain. As for the temps escaping in a screen cage like you was asking about.... you WANT the lowest temp in the cage to be about room temperature, or about 68-75 degrees. The top area of the cage will still be warmed by the heat bulb and create basking temps which will allow your chameleon to move in and out of the light in order to regulate his body temperature.

How do you monitor humidity anyways? In your last post, I asked if you had any temperature or humidity gauges. You stated that "AS so a temp guage though....The pet store owner never told me that i would need one and that the heating lamp would be okay." ................... Well, the pet store owner was wrong, and you NEED to get a gauge to monitor temps. How else are you going to know if your cage is becoming too hot or too cold for your reptile? You never said if you had a humidity gauge either...... I never saw one, so I'm assuming you don't have one. You NEED to get one of those too. Otherwise, how else do you know what the humidity is inside of the cage? You're pretty much just guessing at this point. And as with all pets, it's best not to just guess on things. Go get some gauges. You can get them both as a single dial unit all-in-one for less than $15, or you can spend a bit more and get digital ones. You absolutely need them though, as they are essential to the well being of your cham.

Lastly, as for the substrate tray you posted a link for. NO SUBSTRATE. All a substrate does, is harbor water which in turn, breeds bacteria. The bottom of the cage should be a screening or it should be a piece of plastic (the kind that typically come with cages) with some holes poked into it for water drainage into a tray below. Only female chameleons require substrate, and dirt substrate at that, to lay their eggs. You refer to SMAUG as a "he" so that's telling me that it's a male, and therefore, does not require the use of a substrate tray.
 
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absolutbill said:
With a 5 month veiled you'll be moving him into his big-boy cage pretty soon. I don't know what you have him in now, but you might as well just move him directly into a 2x2x4 cage, because the 16x16x30 won't last long.

As for humidity you can wrap 1 or 2 sides of your cage in plastic (like a shower curtain liner or something) to help retain humidity. Also, use live plants instead of the fake ones you posted links to. They will boost humidity levels as well as being safe for your veiled to nibble on, something they like to do (make sure you check the safe plant list and clean them thoroughly before putting them into the cage).

You can certainly use the sticks from outside, but I also don't know the baking instructions. Another option would be the bendy vines which are nice because you can more easily mold them to fit your cage. I use them in my cages in varying widths and lengths when I'm making my "highways". Keep asking questions and good luck!
Click to expand...

I always use branches from outside but I don't bake them. I scrub them down with a hot water/bleach solution (1 part bleach to 10 parts water), rinse well, and let dry. All you really need to get rid of is very loose rotted bark, lichens, and surface dirt. You don't need to scrub them smooth at all. In fact, the rougher surfaces from bark are better for their feet.
 
trickedoutbiker said:
Yep. Cancel your order on that 16 x 16 x 30 cage. That's what you should already have him in right now. He will need to be in a 24 x 24 x 48 cage within a few months.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

As for the dripper plant and the fake Amapallo plant you posted a link to.... Don't use the dripper plant. Those are junk. The pumps on them suck. Very poorly made. They also work by dripping water into a collecting cup at the bottom, and a pump sucks the water out of that cup, back up a hose, and spills it back out onto the plant dripper leaves. This means that the SAME WATER will be cycling over and over and over, collecting dirt and dust on it's way down each time. Your chameleon needs FRESH water. Not re-cycled water. This can be achieved by several misting sessions a day, or placing a dripper on top of the cage filled with water, that will drip water down onto the plants in the cage. This will be filled with new, fresh water once it is out. Or you can change the water daily, whichever you prefer. If using tap water, be sure to add a bit of ReptiSafe to the water to make it safe to drink for your chameleon.

The Amapallo plant is okay.... IF YOU HAVE LIVE PLANTS as well. You really need live plants in your cage. One single fake plant will not suffice. You are trying to imitate their natural environment, which has WAAAAYYYY more than one mingly little plant. These animals live in forests - decorate your cage as such. Add more plants, LIVE plants, and lots of them. Humidity will keep at recommended levels much better with real plants in the cage as well. Just make sure your real plants are planted in organic soil, and have rocks or screen covering the dirt so that your chameleon doesn't accidentally ingest it.

As for the humidity and temps in a screen cage - @absolutbill explained that - just wrap a couple sides of the cage in plastic to retain humidity if you are having trouble. Real plants will greatly increase the humidity and make it not so hard to maintain. As for the temps escaping in a screen cage like you was asking about.... you WANT the lowest temp in the cage to be about room temperature, or about 68-75 degrees. The top area of the cage will still be warmed by the heat bulb and create basking temps which will allow your chameleon to move in and out of the light in order to regulate his body temperature.

How do you monitor humidity anyways? In your last post, I asked if you had any temperature or humidity gauges. You stated that "AS so a temp guage though....The pet store owner never told me that i would need one and that the heating lamp would be okay." ................... Well, the pet store owner was wrong, and you NEED to get a gauge to monitor temps. How else are you going to know if your cage is becoming too hot or too cold for your reptile? You never said if you had a humidity gauge either...... I never saw one, so I'm assuming you don't have one. You NEED to get one of those too. Otherwise, how else do you know what the humidity is inside of the cage? You're pretty much just guessing at this point. And as with all pets, it's best not to just guess on things. Go get some gauges. You can get them both as a single dial unit all-in-one for less than $15, or you can spend a bit more and get digital ones. You absolutely need them though, as they are essential to the well being of your cham.

Lastly, as for the substrate tray you posted a link for. NO SUBSTRATE. All a substrate does, is harbor water which in turn, breeds bacteria. The bottom of the cage should be a screening or it should be a piece of plastic (the kind that typically come with cages) with some holes poked into it for water drainage into a tray below. Only female chameleons require substrate, and dirt substrate at that, to lay their eggs. You refer to SMAUG as a "he" so that's telling me that it's a male, and therefore, does not require the use of a substrate tray.
Click to expand...
About the temp and humidity gauge, I went and got one the next day
 
I know what you mean re pet shop advice. My cham has issues with MBD because of whet his previous owner was told to do by the shop she bought him from. This is a great site and have learnt loads since joinjng. Thank you
 
trickedoutbiker said:
Yep. Cancel your order on that 16 x 16 x 30 cage. That's what you should already have him in right now. He will need to be in a 24 x 24 x 48 cage within a few months.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

As for the dripper plant and the fake Amapallo plant you posted a link to.... Don't use the dripper plant. Those are junk. The pumps on them suck. Very poorly made. They also work by dripping water into a collecting cup at the bottom, and a pump sucks the water out of that cup, back up a hose, and spills it back out onto the plant dripper leaves. This means that the SAME WATER will be cycling over and over and over, collecting dirt and dust on it's way down each time. Your chameleon needs FRESH water. Not re-cycled water. This can be achieved by several misting sessions a day, or placing a dripper on top of the cage filled with water, that will drip water down onto the plants in the cage. This will be filled with new, fresh water once it is out. Or you can change the water daily, whichever you prefer. If using tap water, be sure to add a bit of ReptiSafe to the water to make it safe to drink for your chameleon.

The Amapallo plant is okay.... IF YOU HAVE LIVE PLANTS as well. You really need live plants in your cage. One single fake plant will not suffice. You are trying to imitate their natural environment, which has WAAAAYYYY more than one mingly little plant. These animals live in forests - decorate your cage as such. Add more plants, LIVE plants, and lots of them. Humidity will keep at recommended levels much better with real plants in the cage as well. Just make sure your real plants are planted in organic soil, and have rocks or screen covering the dirt so that your chameleon doesn't accidentally ingest it.

As for the humidity and temps in a screen cage - @absolutbill explained that - just wrap a couple sides of the cage in plastic to retain humidity if you are having trouble. Real plants will greatly increase the humidity and make it not so hard to maintain. As for the temps escaping in a screen cage like you was asking about.... you WANT the lowest temp in the cage to be about room temperature, or about 68-75 degrees. The top area of the cage will still be warmed by the heat bulb and create basking temps which will allow your chameleon to move in and out of the light in order to regulate his body temperature.

How do you monitor humidity anyways? In your last post, I asked if you had any temperature or humidity gauges. You stated that "AS so a temp guage though....The pet store owner never told me that i would need one and that the heating lamp would be okay." ................... Well, the pet store owner was wrong, and you NEED to get a gauge to monitor temps. How else are you going to know if your cage is becoming too hot or too cold for your reptile? You never said if you had a humidity gauge either...... I never saw one, so I'm assuming you don't have one. You NEED to get one of those too. Otherwise, how else do you know what the humidity is inside of the cage? You're pretty much just guessing at this point. And as with all pets, it's best not to just guess on things. Go get some gauges. You can get them both as a single dial unit all-in-one for less than $15, or you can spend a bit more and get digital ones. You absolutely need them though, as they are essential to the well being of your cham.

Lastly, as for the substrate tray you posted a link for. NO SUBSTRATE. All a substrate does, is harbor water which in turn, breeds bacteria. The bottom of the cage should be a screening or it should be a piece of plastic (the kind that typically come with cages) with some holes poked into it for water drainage into a tray below. Only female chameleons require substrate, and dirt substrate at that, to lay their eggs. You refer to SMAUG as a "he" so that's telling me that it's a male, and therefore, does not require the use of a substrate tray.
Click to expand...
Bravo Chad bravo, another well writen novel! Lol

For real though you, what @trickedoutbiker was saying is all true. Except, substrate. While you're buying you're new cage and all, a possibility that you could look at is a bioactive enclosure. There's quite a few threads on here that you could go read up on to take a look at and see if it will work for you. But yeah, I would definitely get some gauges to monitor your temperatures. It's definitely a need And as for pertaining to humidity, as long as you're misting 3 to 4 times a day for at least 1-2 minutes at a time, I wouldn't sweat it. Veileds don't need extreme humidity. Just a few spikes of it per day.
 
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