Living Habitat

[ijmccollum]

I am a new member to this forum and am really enjoying it. It so wonderful to have so many critter people in one place. I am thrilled to be a member and am hoping to get some wonderful ideas and methods for setting up a new living habitat. Currently all I have is the furniture (36x18x24 exo-terra). I am waiting on Hydroton Balls to come in so I can start putting it together. The base plan is to layer, with mesh in between the balls, charcoal, sandy loam heavy with husk, complete with live plants. Inhabitant is to be one female Jackson. I know, I know... The word is screen is best but she has been good in a 18x18x12 exo-terra for the past six months and I am wanting to get her a larger place. Though I suppose I could put up a divider and get a male for the other side. Then again, I kind of like the idea of a pondless waterfall (miniture of coarse). What do you think?

 

[ballin]

I'm sure lots of people are gonna get on you for the glass cage thing.
Water falls are breeding grounds for bacteria though

 

[Sage]

i have a large waterful and clean it every few days and my cham loved it and never got to dirty. But its your choice.

 

[ijmccollum]

Sage: How did you set up your waterfall?

 

[ijmccollum]

Ballin: I am hoping they won't be too severe. I know there is a thread going right now regarding glass so maybe that will help. I think the water will be the biggest issue -- but then who knows.

 

[Sage]

I have an Exo-Terra large waterfall. It sits in the corner of his cage and he drinks it like a water foutian. Just clean it every 2-3 days and youll be alright

 

[Sage]

And when i get my new panther cham im going to have a dripper dripping onto fake leaves then going down into the foutain. Sage died a few weeks ago so im gettin a new little guy

 

[ijmccollum]

Sad to hear about your loss. My chi-chi-girl came in gravid (we didn't know) and we lost the babies -- they are little family members and can be missed in such a big way. Let me know what you end up with -- `cause we all know critter people must have critters in their lives.

 

[pssh]

Waterfalls have to be cleaned more than every few days to keep them clean, more like every few hours. They have to be bleached and completely cleaned so often it isn't even worth it. Drippers are easier, plus the chams can't poop or drown in them like they are prone to do with waterfalls.

 

[chameleon97]

I agree with pssh, waterfalls are for gardens.

Drippers and misters are the way to go. drainage in that tank is near impossible. I recommend screen for that reason.

-Steve

 

[Jakedn]

Sage, how is it that your chameleon died? How old was he?

 

[Sage]

3 and 1/2. I think he fell and broke his rib and puncutured his lung or somethin cause his side was kinda weird and he had trouble breathing. I took the plants out 2 weeks b4 tht because they were almost dead. he was super healthy and hydrated

 

[Pure]

I have an Exo-Terra large waterfall. It sits in the corner of his cage and he drinks it like a water foutian. Just clean it every 2-3 days and youll be alright

This coming from someone who just had an unexpected death with no apparent reason behind it other than improper husbandry. Pleas don't give advice like this.

ijmccollum, Being that the species you are trying to keep is a small Montane, your new enclosure should do it just fine. But seriously unless you plan on bleaching the water fall daily, just forget about it. It's really not worth the risk.

 

[Sage]

i dont see how a random fall on the ground tht lead to his death relaltes to my clean foutain

 

[pssh]

A fall from such a short distance probably shouldn't have hurt your cham if he was healthy. In fact I witnessed my healthy, now passed, male fall from quite a distance when I accidentally scared him and he was perfect, though cranky, after.

 

[Pure]

Well for starters, this ironically is the first I've seen you mention his "fall", you said nothing of the sort in the death thread. Secondly unless your cham had MBD to begin with, a fall should not have hurt him, unless it was out of your second story window and on to concrete. And thirdly, you truthfully have no clue what killed your cham, and looking at your set up it's a safe bet that improper husbandry had everything to do with it.

Bottom line is, your cham just died a very young cham, you were keeping it improperly, and have no place telling others to copy your bad keeping practices.

 

[Sage]

When I went to bury him he had a weird bump on his side. Dont know wht he died of.

unknown death, end of story.

 

[pssh]

If he was healthy you can rule out a fall. Anyways, back on topic. Don't use waterfalls.

 

[ijmccollum]

okay, there is some strong opinions on waterfalls. How about planting? Straight in to the substrate or potted? I like the natural look but have seen some good use of potted plants made to look like they are in the substrate but can be removed for maintinance. Chi-Chi's current viv is planted in the substrate but can be a challenge for maintaining strong roots. And on a completely different note... I have repcal-calcium with D3 and have been hearing Chams need daily calcium but not daily D3 (which can be harmful). Is this true? Do I need a straight Ca2+ daily with supplemental vits and D3 periodically?

 

[Pure]

Personally I like the planted without pots look. But really it boils down to what "you" like. Both have their pros and cons.

Yes what you have heard about the D3 is correct. Only provide D3 2 to 3 times a month. Just dust with pure phosphate free calcium daily. You need to provide a UVB bulb, preferably a reptisun 5.0 liner (non coil) type bulb for your cham to manufacture his own D3 as he needs it.