Lots of Questions!!!!

[Thompson]

So in my cage i have the reptile carpet so that it’s not just the plastic tray at the bottom, is that okay to have? i can’t really tell what’s at the bottom of your cage but if there’s something other than plastic or the carpet to put at the bottom of the cage i’d love to change it up!

I wouldn’t use the carpet. U want to stay away from anything that might mold and hold onto moisture where bacteria can breed and thrive. It would get nasty quick and you’d have to wash it often. The bottom of my cage is plastic is some type of plastic that just slides in and out the bottom like a mat. Easy to clean, easy to drill holes in so water can filter. All you would need is some type of reservoir or waist catcher like the one dragon ledges sells to catch the waist that filters (which will could be dead bugs and poop along with soil water) and all you have to do is drain it (some connect a reservoir head and pipe and siphon the contents of the waist catcher into a bucket that can be easily emptied. That would allow you to hold the drain water and remove it whenever the catcher gets full without having to carry it around while the contents splash all over the place and make a mess.

 

[Thompson]

also, i’ve noticed a lot of people saying to invest in a light timer plug in and not the ones you can get from a pet store. Some people say to get them from walmart but all the ones i’ve seen have two plugs in but one is for day time only and the other is for night time only. Since there’s no lights to leave on at night and i need to plug in for the two lights, is there a way to change that or a certain type of timer plug in i’m not finding?

I use to use the zoomed one they made in the past but that was 10 years ago. It worked perfectly fine for me. I use a couple of those same kind of timers you would use to control the lights on your Christmas tree (posted above by crossingtami). Simply follow the 12 hrs on 12 hrs off rule. Before I turn on their lights at 8:30, I fill a spray bottle up with hot water and mist the leaves lightly all around the chameleons cage making sure when I turn the lights right after I’ve finished spraying down his cage I’ll turn on the lights and then he can wake up to “dew on the leaves” is how chameleon academy described it.

 

[cruz.m]

Ok this is why you want the ledges so you can attach branches and plants. I used the wire and just drilled a whole in the branch and attached it to the cages through the mesh (before I made my ledges). Since the plant would be to heavy hanging on the mesh I didn’t put any there. Will you be buying a cage or making it? Keep in mind these are just ideas. Don’t do hot water when you’re spraying. Do room temperature not hot!

 

[Quick Draw Mcgraw]

I use to use the zoomed one they made in the past but that was 10 years ago. It worked perfectly fine for me. I use a couple of those same kind of timers you would use to control the lights on your Christmas tree (posted above by crossingtami). Simply follow the 12 hrs on 12 hrs off rule. Before I turn on their lights at 8:30, I fill a spray bottle up with hot water and mist the leaves lightly all around the chameleons cage making sure when I turn the lights right after I’ve finished spraying down his cage I’ll turn on the lights and then he can wake up to “dew on the leaves” is how chameleon academy described it.

Why hot water vs room temp just curious

 

[ERKleRose]

I fill a spray bottle up with hot water

Why hot water vs room temp just curious

It should never be hot water, just room temp for all mistings, drippings, foggings

 

[cruz.m]

Why hot water vs room temp just curious

To us the water may seem like it’s ok but to the cham it may feel extremely hot. Also heating water in a reservoir can collect bacteria and you don’t want that. Think about is as far as nature goes, the water is not warmed up for them when it rains and such.

 

[jewel0301]

Ok this is why you want the ledges so you can attach branches and plants. I used the wire and just drilled a whole in the branch and attached it to the cages through the mesh (before I made my ledges). Since the plant would be to heavy hanging on the mesh I didn’t put any there. Will you be buying a cage or making it? Keep in mind these are just ideas. Don’t do hot water when you’re spraying. Do room temperature not hot!

Well that’s the thing, if i build one what would i use to build it, where can i get things to build one.
if i buy one where can i buy it that doesn’t include accessories that are not good for my cham to have and that isn’t $200-$350

 

[cruz.m]

Well that’s the thing, if i build one what would i use to build it, where can i get things to build one.
if i buy one where can i buy it that doesn’t include accessories that are not good for my cham to have and that isn’t $200-$350

I put the link to the DIY one that you can buy.
https://www.diycages.com/collections/vertical-screen-reptile-chameleon-cages/products/sc4-48x24x24-jumbo-vertical-screen-cage
You can make it out of wood, there’s lots of ways, I made mine out of wood and window screens with aluminum mesh. You can buy the supplies at Home Depot or any hardware store.

 

[jewel0301]

I put the link to the DIY one that you can buy.
https://www.diycages.com/collections/vertical-screen-reptile-chameleon-cages/products/sc4-48x24x24-jumbo-vertical-screen-cage
You can make it out of wood, there’s lots of ways, I made mine out of wood and window screens with aluminum mesh. You can buy the supplies at Home Depot or any hardware store.

can i see a picture of yours by change?

 

[Thompson]

It should never be hot water, just room temp for all mistings, drippings, foggings

When the water runs through the pipes and out the misting heads it isn’t hot. But yea don’t use hot water in the dripper since the droplets will still be hot. But hot water used in the morning through my mistking heads makes the mist less cold for the chameleons, which probably doesn’t matter much to the chameleon and, cus the water isn’t hot enough when it turns into mist. Sorry I should specify more. I Don’t use boiling water either. I use hot tap water.

 

[Thompson]

Why hot water vs room temp just curious

Honestly I like to use warm mist in the mornings cus my Chams seem to like it. No actually documented reason why I do this just what I do. The mist is not hot though, it’s probably just a little warmer than room temp water once it comes out the mist head.

 

[cruz.m]

can i see a picture of yours by change?

Yes I’m not home right now so I’ll show you when I get home! You can PM if you want to know how I made it and the materials I used. (Click my profile and press start conversation to PM me)

 

[Thompson]

To us the water may seem like it’s ok but to the cham it may feel extremely hot. Also heating water in a reservoir can collect bacteria and you don’t want that. Think about is as far as nature goes, the water is not warmed up for them when it rains and such.

Never use hot water that can be directly sprayed on the chameleon. I also don’t heat the water in the reservoir. The mist comes out cool at most luke warm lol. I will be more specific next time. But yea, the water in the reservoir is sealed/no bacteria should get in there. But the water is allowed to cool throughout the day. I tend to not have to refill it often though so yea I’m not using the hot tap water much only when the reservoir is empty. It is more of a habit, I’ve been doing this for years never have had a problem.

the main thing is to not use hot water directly on the chameleon, though, and hence, since the op does not own a mistking he should simply opt out of using the hot water all together and just stick with room temp, even if he ends up with a mistking, just to make life easier lol.

 

[jamest0o0]

When the water runs through the pipes and out the misting heads it isn’t hot. But yea don’t use hot water in the dripper since the droplets will still be hot. But hot water used in the morning through my mistking heads makes the mist less cold for the chameleons, which probably doesn’t matter much to the chameleon and, cus the water isn’t hot enough when it turns into mist. Sorry I should specify more. I Don’t use boiling water either. I use hot tap water.

Hot water isn't a problem in a fine mist, but using tap water is asking to destroy your mistking nozzles. Hot water will also grow bacteria easier. Best thing for mistking is a container where light can't penetrate, with very smooth sides, and cold distilled/ro water. Could add a powerhead for some aeration as well if you want.