Leaf chameleon enclosures

[Chameleon55]

Hi everyone, my first post here, here we go.
What is the ideal setup for a leaf chameleon. I have a 30"x18x12 fish tank. That i dont use anymore could i use that i could cover the top with mesh or something. I have a repti mat (if thats any use).
What kind of lights, wattage, good brands etc?
any 'special' requiments ect?
And any general good information that i could use. I dont plan on getting the chameleon any time soon. Just in prepration stages.
Thanks very much,
Sean

 

[kinyonga]

Here are some sites with some good information on brevs (assuming that is the chameleon you are referring to)...
http://www.chameleonnews.com/brevcare.html
http://adcham.com/html/taxonomy/species/r-brevicaudatus.html

 

[roo_71]

Check out this article on pygmy enclosures. If I understand the specs of that tank correctly then it looks to be 12” high. I normally go with something around 17” or higher since drainage layers can easily take away several inches of height. When you don’t have a lot of height to work with then it really limits you to the type of plants you can use. More height gives the brevs a bit of a heat gradient too for thermal regulation. The top of the tank (near the fluorescents) can be around 77-78F while at ground level it can be around 69-70F – you wont be able to offer that heat gradient with a smaller/lower tank. A 30, 29, 20H, or 15H is what I go with depending on how many I plan on putting in.

You can use that tank though if you want – not saying you can’t – just not my preference since I have used lower tanks before and just didn’t like them.

http://www.chameleonnews.com/stumphabitat.html

-roo

 

[Chameleon55]

You said you use a 17inch high tank. My one is 18 inches high and 36 inches long (got it wrong in first one). Also dumb question whats a brev???
Thanks

 

[kinyonga]

Chameleon55, here are sites that show brevs...
http://adcham.com/html/taxonomy/species/r-brevicaudatus.html
http://www.chameleonnews.com/brevcare.html

 

[Chris Anderson]

brev is just a shortening of the species name brevicaudatus. R. brevicaudatus is the most commonly seen leaf chameleon.

Chris

 

[jleahl]

I am SO not an expert....but thought I'd show you what I did. It mostly goes along with Roo's article suggestions for a brev tank...although it's a 10g. I have three young brevs in there (2 males). I did use styrofoam packing peanuts as the bottom drainage layer, b/c I can't find hydroton around here. I moved them in yesterday; one male kept crawling around the bottom of the temp tank I had them in; poor guy wanted some leaves to rustle around in!

 

[Heika]

That turned out really nice. Lots of climbing room in there!

Please let me know how the packing peanuts work out.. I have to have hydroton shipped in, and it would be great to use something so readily available for the drain layer.

Heika

 

[roo_71]

That tank looks perfectly fine – better then my first. The peanuts was a creative idea and off hand the only thing that crosses my mind is that the peanuts, given time, may get shushed.

-roo

 

[jleahl]

Thanks, guys...I have to admit, it's not the first tank I've made, just the first one for brevs. I made a partitioned newt tank, where I used the packing peanuts on the land side, and a 10g frog tank w/packing peanuts too. I did use egg crate in the 29g high for the White's tree frog, b/c I was putting in a waterfall. The waterfall hasn't worked too well, though...long story..

I was pleased w/the look of the bark background and the driftwood in this tank, but you really can't see it with that big pothos and all the other stuff! Oh well, the chams like it, I think....

Heika, I haven't had much of a problem with the styro peanuts, although I think the s-shaped ones don't "smush" as easily as the 8-shaped ones. In the newt tank, I have a persistant leak in the land/water barrier, and I occasionally drain the land part with a piece of rigid airline tubing I have down behind the cork bark, to the peanut layer. Actually right now it's a swamp...time to revamp it...If you partition a tank w/plexiglas, use thicker than 1/8"

 

[Chameleon55]

sorry gone for a day and look,
thanks for all of the replys. I am going to look at my LPS and see what kinda stock they got etc. Thanks for all of the information guys.
Sean