Husbandry review please! Want to correct past mistakes ive made and be successful!

[BryanP]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
Hatched May 7th and I got him on Tuesday July 25th

• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
I've been trying to let him settle in but I've "saved" him from the top screen surfing a few times a day.

• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Daily gut loaded (with Bug Burger) 5-8 3/8" dubias and 10-15 small/medium crickets. Just got some BSFL that I'll add.

• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
Daily Arcadia CA and (when the time comes) 2x a month Repashy multi vitamin LoD

• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
Mist king on the following schedule Daily
7:30am - 30sec
9am - 2min15sec
8:30pm - 1min30sec
10pm - 20sec
3am - 15sec

Also run a "little dripper" for about 30min sometime mid day

Yes I've seen him drink

• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
He's new but I've seen one, shape and consistency look good and also urates are white

• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
Only 3 months old and I've had him less than a week


Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
Hybrid cage, 2'x2'x4' with screen top and screen mesh on a 6in section 1ft up from the bottom on top. Also use a 120mm pc fan that's on sunrise/sunset

• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
Arcadia 6% 24in t5ho
Basking bulb 75watt on a dimmer, probably 30%
Plant light, sansi LED

Basking bulb comes on sunrise off at 1pm
Then uvb on at 7:15am off at 7:30pm
Plant light is 7:30am - 7:30pm

His cage is by a window, north facing so zero direct sunlight so he sees the natural day/nigh cycle that why I'm trying to mimic it


• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
See attached govee temp gauge in the middle
Of the enclosure from yesterday

Lowest is 69deg. It's hot in southern California (much like the rest of the US right now)

I want a lower temp at night though so I'm trying to figure out how to build a mini air cooler for his enclosure.

• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
See attached govee graph for yesterday


• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
Live plants, all chameleon safe

• Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
Located in our dining room. High traffic (I know not optimal) but his bottom the enclosure is 36in off the ground and 3 sides are covered and the plants will be growing in soon


• Location - Where are you geographically located?
Southern California


Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

He seems eager to leave the cage at times? Maybe it's his age? Maybe it's all new so he's exploring? Alsp no problem, just a review since he's new and I want a review!

 

[MissSkittles]

Okey doke. I’ll give it a go, but give me a bit of time and hopefully work won’t call me away halfway thru.

 

[MissSkittles]

You’ve given a lot of info and I usually talk a lot, so breaking this down into two parts.
Info:

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
Hatched May 7th and I got him on Tuesday July 25th

• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
I've been trying to let him settle in but I've "saved" him from the top screen surfing a few times a day. Are you familiar with this blog? https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/

• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Daily gut loaded (with Bug Burger) 5-8 3/8" dubias and 10-15 small/medium crickets. Just got some BSFL that I'll add. Very good, but maybe try having rotations of staple feeders. Crickets and roaches are my two main staples and every week or two I give one a respite and combine the other with another feeder like silkworms, bsfl or treats like superworms. Also, since he’s so young you could get away with giving him as much as he can eat in about 15 minutes daily. Add some fresh produce to your bugs diet for added nutrition.

• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
Daily Arcadia CA and (when the time comes) 2x a month Repashy multi vitamin LoD Excellent

• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
Mist king on the following schedule Daily
7:30am - 30sec
9am - 2min15sec
8:30pm - 1min30sec
10pm - 20sec
3am - 15sec

Also run a "little dripper" for about 30min sometime mid day

Yes I've seen him drink
perfect!

• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
He's new but I've seen one, shape and consistency look good and also urates are white Definitely have a wellness check and a fecal for parasites. I know he should be ’clear’, but always err on the side of caution.

• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
Only 3 months old and I've had him less than a week and he’s flipping adorable!

 

[MissSkittles]

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
Hybrid cage, 2'x2'x4' with screen top and screen mesh on a 6in section 1ft up from the bottom on top. Also use a 120mm pc fan that's on sunrise/sunset Is the fan blowing in or out?

• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
Arcadia 6% 24in t5ho
Basking bulb 75watt on a dimmer, probably 30%
Plant light, sansi LED
Good, but to make perfect you should elevate your lights at least a couple of inches off the screen top to prevent burns. Doesn’t have to be anything fancy. I use wire baskets from Dollar Tree.

Basking bulb comes on sunrise off at 1pm
Then uvb on at 7:15am off at 7:30pm
Plant light is 7:30am - 7:30pm
Very good
His cage is by a window, north facing so zero direct sunlight so he sees the natural day/nigh cycle that why I'm trying to mimic it
Nice

• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
See attached govee temp gauge in the middle
Of the enclosure from yesterday
Ok. Maybe keep basking light on for an hour or two longer to keep temp a bit higher longer. Let’s ask @Beman though as she probably knows better than me on this.
Lowest is 69deg. It's hot in southern California (much like the rest of the US right now)

I want a lower temp at night though so I'm trying to figure out how to build a mini air cooler for his enclosure.
I’ve seen ads for tiny ac units that sit on like a tabletop and I think I saw a cooling unit was by Zoo Med or Zilla. Honestly, sit a fan in front of a bowl of ice for a cheap diy.
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
See attached govee graph for yesterday Looks good


• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
Live plants, all chameleon safe Very nice

• Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
Located in our dining room. High traffic (I know not optimal) but his bottom the enclosure is 36in off the ground and 3 sides are covered and the plants will be growing in soon
He is in a corner though, so he has only the front and one side exposed. If you have any artificial plants you could attach those to the front door of his enclosure or the visible parts of the side.

• Location - Where are you geographically located?
Southern California


Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

He seems eager to leave the cage at times? Maybe it's his age? Maybe it's all new so he's exploring? Alsp no problem, just a review since he's new and I want a review! Enjoy his baby months and eagerness to come out. Reinforce trust at every opportunity. You’ve got this and will do great.

 

[Beman]

So this.... What is sunrise for you? Because in AZ mine is at 5:30am. You want a 12 hour cycle lights on and lights off. I would not have the basking fixture be the first one on as this is adding heat. I would do UVB first but I would wait until 7 or 7:30am for this one to kick on. Sansi like 30-45 minutes later and then basking about an hour after uvb on. Then have basking kick off at 1pm... Sansi at 5:30-6 and UVB is the final to turn off. This way you not only have gradual lights on and off but you also are slowly building your temps and reducing them.

• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
Arcadia 6% 24in t5ho
Basking bulb 75watt on a dimmer, probably 30%
Plant light, sansi LED

Basking bulb comes on sunrise off at 1pm
Then uvb on at 7:15am off at 7:30pm
Plant light is 7:30am - 7:30pm