Mesh enclosure has a problem with maintaining heat and humidity, placed shrink film on 3 sides to see if that helps can I go upto a 100w for added hea

[Honzo's mom]

Any input would be great! I did buy shpagnum moss and reptile soil for the bottom to help the humidity.

 

[kinyonga]

Welcome to the forum!
How old is your chameleon? Male or female? Species?

Please post some photos of your cage including the lights on top of the cage. Is the cage near a window?

Where do you live?

 

[Honzo's mom]

Mine is about 10-1 year it's a male panther chameleon I do have him in front of a window but I'm thinking of moving him to a walled off corner in my living room as it the warmer side of the house

 

[Honzo's mom]

Sorry forgot to add I live in northeastern PA

 

[GrannyK]

I would not go to 100w bulb if it can be avoided. Chameleons are very susceptible to burns because they do not recognize they are being burned. I would consider moving the existing bulb closer until you get correct temp readings at basking branch. They really only need basking to warm up and digest food. The shrink wrap should help with humidity and keeping heat in. I’m in ny, the winter struggles are real on this side of the us. Lol

 

[Honzo's mom]

I would not go to 100w bulb if it can be avoided. Chameleons are very susceptible to burns because they do not recognize they are being burned. I would consider moving the existing bulb closer until you get correct temp readings at basking branch. They really only need basking to warm up and digest food. The shrink wrap should help with humidity and keeping heat in. I’m in ny, the winter struggles are real on this side of the us. Lol

Thank you very much his basking branch is pretty close to the top so I made sure to raise his light about 6-8 inches because I was afraid of that I'm wondering if I should lower it by an inch or so to start or, I'm contemplating moving him into my living room where there are less drafts. Do you ever have a problem with water from the mister and dripping soaking the substrate in the bottom? I am changing it out today and switching to sphagnum moss with soil underneath, have you anyone had better success with that?

 

[Honzo's mom]

Thank you very much his basking branch is pretty close to the top so I made sure to raise his light about 6-8 inches because I was afraid of that I'm wondering if I should lower it by an inch or so to start or, I'm contemplating moving him into my living room where there are less drafts. Do you ever have a problem with water from the mister and dripping soaking the substrate in the bottom? I am changing it out today and switching to sphagnum moss with soil underneath, have you anyone had better success with that?

Also I'm thinking I may have to move his basking branch down further so the light can reast on the top of the cages the heat goes directly in.

 

[GrannyK]

Thank you very much his basking branch is pretty close to the top so I made sure to raise his light about 6-8 inches because I was afraid of that I'm wondering if I should lower it by an inch or so to start or, I'm contemplating moving him into my living room where there are less drafts. Do you ever have a problem with water from the mister and dripping soaking the substrate in the bottom? I am changing it out today and switching to sphagnum moss with soil underneath, have you anyone had better success with that?

You could consider bringing him into another room to help with drafts. It may stabilize his basking temps a little and his humidity. I have a dry bottom no soil, I use a wet vac and take the misting water out daily. Unless it’s fully bioactive with plants, it’s safest with bare bottom. I would remove all bottom soil and moss. It’s bacteria haven unless kept correctly. Maybe buy a pothos plant and put it at the bottom in the pot. It will help keep humidity up and will grow around the enclosure.

 

[GrannyK]

For the light, I would begin with an in or so if you have no way of measuring temps. I have a temp gun I use that was like 25$ but it’s not the best to measure. The petstores usually carry a temp and humidity gage with a stick piece that you connect to the basking branch to measure temps, if you can find one.

 

[Honzo's mom]

You could consider bringing him into another room to help with drafts. It may stabilize his basking temps a little and his humidity. I have a dry bottom no soil, I use a wet vac and take the misting water out daily. Unless it’s fully bioactive with plants, it’s safest with bare bottom. I would remove all bottom soil and moss. It’s bacteria haven unless kept correctly. Maybe buy a pothos plant and put it at the bottom in the pot. It will help keep humidity up and will grow around the enclosure.

I did hear to be careful with anything in the bottom, I did add the moss just to see if it would help humidity is up this morning to 73 heat is also up since I moved the sensors. Thank you! I will get a pothos to add to my other plants, until then I figured since the moss is so cheap I would wring it out daily and change it out every other day until the plants arrive. I have a wet vac, so having it bare makes the most sense so I can avoid molds or bacteria.
I really appreciate all the help, I did a lot of research before ai got him but some things didn't seem to work, everything you all have suggested worked great! I will be moving him. The only other question I have that I can't find an answer to would be, we have air conditioning, so I'm a bit concerned for the summer, any suggestions on that? I don't want him anywhere near my unit obviously but do I need to be concerned about that? I can move him to the opposite corner which would be about 8 feet away from the unit. Honestly I am prepared not to use it at all if it will be a problem. I would think it would make heat maintenance much harder. It's pretty humid here in the summer so hopefully that's not an issue.

 

[GrannyK]

Oh you are so welcome!!! Air conditioning should be ok as long as basking temps stay good and cage stays around 70-72ish at bottom. I will add a husbandry review if you are interested, it’s helpful sometimes in making sure our chams are given the best environment they can for being in captivity.

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
• 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?
• Location - Where are you geographically located?

 

[Honzo's mom]

• Your Chameleon - Honzo is a panther chameleon, hes a male, and I know hes an adult but they didnt know his age. He's been in my care for 2 weeks now.
• Handling - because he's been with me such a short time, I'm trying to go slowly with him. I had to handle him twice so far to help get stuck shed off his feet. He seems a bit timid but rather docile.
• Feeding - Im feeding Honzo a combination of crickets, small super worms and as a treat wax worms approx 10-15 every other day. I feed the crickets carrots but I'm not sure the best thing to give the worms.
• Supplements - I use Zoo med calcium at every feeding and I use rapashy vitamins twice a month. I do dust the feeders at every feed.
• Watering - I have an auto mister that is set to go off more than twice a day at this point because thebwater dripper I had was malfunctioning. I do see him drinking but I was struggling to get him enough water. I have a new one, different brand coming.
• Fecal Description - colors were a brownish white, soft and wet. He has not beenbtrsted for parasites. But I noticed today that his eye was closed so he is at the vet to rule out upper respiratory issues, and he will be checking for parasites while he is there. I didnt want to wait.
• History - I don't have a lot of history on him unfortunately

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Screen, with shrink wrap on thee sides to up the heat. Dimensions are 18X18X36
• Lighting - I have a T5 uvb and a zoomed 75 watt basking bulb. Daily lighting is from 7am to 9pm.
• Temperature - floor humidity is 80 basking spot is now at 85 but was hover in the high 70's until we figured it out. Overnight lowest temp was reading 65 but I think mine is off a bit I put 2 round meters in one for heat and one for humidity on the bottom of the cage.
• Humidity - I think the above comment touches on that as well.
• Plants - not yet my umbrella plant is only 4 inches as I just ordered it, I have hibiscus and the pothos coming this week.
• Placement - Where i High traffic area, in my midroom i am moving the cage while he is at the vet to a warmer corner of my living room? top of the cage sits at about 6 feet from the floor.
• Location - I am located in north east PA

 

[GrannyK]

Great! I will go over this later today when my grandkids leave for the day if no one else grabs it first.

 

[Honzo's mom]

For the light, I would begin with an in or so if you have no way of measuring temps. I have a temp gun I use that was like 25$ but it’s not the best to measure. The petstores usually carry a temp and humidity gage with a stick piece that you connect to the basking branch to measure temps, if you can find one.

Excellent idea! Thank you

 

[Honzo's mom]

Great! I will go over this later today when my grandkids leave for the day if no one else grabs it first.

Very much appreciated!

 

[Carlton]

The live plants you've ordered should help maintain cage humidity. You may need more if the plants you ordered are small. Right now, the cage is literally bare. Not only does that make it hard to maintain proper humidity, but it's probably stressing your cham out too. They don't really enjoy being constantly in plain view. Their nature is to conceal themselves in foliage. Foliage also provides more travel routes around their habitat and that helps them regulate body temp and access water. Foliage will hold onto droplets allowing the cham to rehydrate itself more easily. Also be aware that using loose substrate on the cage bottom can cause trouble because your cham can pick up bits of it on its tongue and swallow them. Especially if you use Sphagnum moss...some contains sharp thorny bits. This is even more of a problem if you allow your feeder insects to free range in the cage. Feeders can hide in the substrate, lose their nutritious gut contents and become empty crunchy nothings. They can also pick up general nastiness that your cham ends up eating.

If you don't have an accurate way to monitor your cham's surface temperature, get one! Your cham does not want the misery of thermal burns and you do not want to treat them either. They can happen so fast. If you haven't read through the husbandry articles located under the forum Resources tab, I'd suggest you do so NOW! They cover everything from setting up a good habitat to maintaining the right parameters, to avoiding health problems such as thermal burns, to proper nutrition for your feeder insects that will help keep your cham healthy. Your cham will thank you for it!

 

[GrannyK]

• Your Chameleon - Honzo is a panther chameleon, hes a male, and I know hes an adult but they didnt know his age. He's been in my care for 2 weeks now.
• Handling - because he's been with me such a short time, I'm trying to go slowly with him. I had to handle him twice so far to help get stuck shed off his feet. He seems a bit timid but rather docile. Building trust is good.
• Feeding - Im feeding Honzo a combination of crickets, small super worms and as a treat wax worms approx 10-15 every other day. I feed the crickets carrots but I'm not sure the best thing to give the worms. Crickets are good, silkworms are a good staple or dubia roaches if you can get them to give variety. Save the superworms as treats and incorporate with wax worms. Really Honzo should only be eating 3-5 bugs every 2-3 days being he’s full grown. Example- staple feeders 3-5 months,wed, fri. And treats Saturday or Sunday. Same amount. Carrots are good but you should incorporate additional like sweet potatoes, bell peppers, apples. Repashy bug burger is a good gutload in addition to the veggies.
• Supplements - I use Zoo med calcium at every feeding and I use rapashy vitamins twice a month. I do dust the feeders at every feed. Make sure the calcium you dust with daily does not have D3 in it. That should be with your vitamin 2x a month only (the d3).
• Watering - I have an auto mister that is set to go off more than twice a day at this point because thebwater dripper I had was malfunctioning. I do see him drinking but I was struggling to get him enough water. I have a new one, different brand coming. 2-3 minutes of misting 15 minutes after lights come on and 15 minutes after lighting goes out is routine. But some situations vary depending on humidity.
• Fecal Description - colors were a brownish white, soft and wet. He has not beenbtrsted for parasites. But I noticed today that his eye was closed so he is at the vet to rule out upper respiratory issues, and he will be checking for parasites while he is there. I didnt want to wait. Best to get a fecal check just to be safe. Eyes closed is bad. Glad you made a vet visit.
• History - I don't have a lot of history on him unfortunately

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Screen, with shrink wrap on thee sides to up the heat. Dimensions are 18X18X36 ideally minimum for a panther is 24x24x48. They love to roam and the more space you can offer the better.
• Lighting - I have a T5 uvb and a zoomed 75 watt basking bulb. Daily lighting is from 7am to 9pm. Is the T5linear? And what % bulb? Basking sounds ok as long as not too hot. (You may have answered this already) as long as the uvb is linear 5or 6 % bulb you are ok.
• Temperature - floor humidity is 80 basking spot is now at 85 but was hover in the high 70's until we figured it out. Overnight lowest temp was reading 65 but I think mine is off a bit I put 2 round meters in one for heat and one for humidity on the bottom of the cage. Not sure which temp and humidity gauges you use but digital is most effective. Govee has a good set I believe affordable. Daytime humidity should be between 40-60%and nighttime 80-100%. If your temps drop at night below 68 it is also good to fog. It’s great for hydration.
• Humidity - I think the above comment touches on that as well.
• Plants - not yet my umbrella plant is only 4 inches as I just ordered it, I have hibiscus and the pothos coming this week. Live plants are best. And lots of sticks . They need them to feel secure. They don’t hide in tunnels they hide behind foliage. If you have fake ones you can hang them on the outside.
• Placement - Where i High traffic area, in my midroom i am moving the cage while he is at the vet to a warmer corner of my living room? top of the cage sits at about 6 feet from the floor. Great . Moving to less traffic and air control the better.
• overall not too bad. Some minor changes. Hopefully all goes well at the vet.

 

[Honzo's mom]

The live plants you've ordered should help maintain cage humidity. You may need more if the plants you ordered are small. Right now, the cage is literally bare. Not only does that make it hard to maintain proper humidity, but it's probably stressing your cham out too. They don't really enjoy being constantly in plain view. Their nature is to conceal themselves in foliage. Foliage also provides more travel routes around their habitat and that helps them regulate body temp and access water. Foliage will hold onto droplets allowing the cham to rehydrate itself more easily. Also be aware that using loose substrate on the cage bottom can cause trouble because your cham can pick up bits of it on its tongue and swallow them. Especially if you use Sphagnum moss...some contains sharp thorny bits. This is even more of a problem if you allow your feeder insects to free range in the cage. Feeders can hide in the substrate, lose their nutritious gut contents and become empty crunchy nothings. They can also pick up general nastiness that your cham ends up eating.

If you don't have an accurate way to monitor your cham's surface temperature, get one! Your cham does not want the misery of thermal burns and you do not want to treat them either. They can happen so fast. If you haven't read through the husbandry articles located under the forum Resources tab, I'd suggest you do so NOW! They cover everything from setting up a good habitat to maintaining the right parameters, to avoiding health problems such as thermal burns, to proper nutrition for your feeder insects that will help keep your cham healthy. Your cham will thank you for it!

I actually gutted it yesterday, got rid of moss, and soil, and i did find a lot of sharp tiny pieces in it that I was not happy about and I was also scared of the potential for a respiratory infection from too much moisture. I like the idea of keeping the bottom bare other than live plants. I am grateful for everyone's help here, all suggestions have worked thank you all again. it's a huge help in figuring out what is right, and what's works best. I now have the cage at 85 for heat and humidity is getting much better and dropping to 65 at night. I bought the fake plants while waiting for the live ones to come in but he pretty much hated them, and I can understand why, he knows they're fake. And they dont hold water. I My actual plan was to get the set up first and get it running at optimal before I got my cham, but my boy Honzo was in a petstore, in a really bad tank basically 4x6 glass he just looked miserable. He was shedding and had basically nothing to rub on to get it off, so I got them to give him to me at a huge discount. Not ideal I know but it broke my heart to see him there. Hopefully once the other plants come in he will be much happier! I did get him to a vet for a check up, thankfully I have a reptile vet in my town. He did say he doesn't have any RI's but he did say his eye looked irritated so he gave me an antibacterial cream he said it was probably from rubbing on the vine I had trying to get the last of his shed off, and he definitely agreed with pretty much everything I was suggested here. And thank you all again for the info I will definitely be reading that. Much appreciated! This is such a great platform and community of people!

 

[Honzo's mom]

• Your Chameleon - Honzo is a panther chameleon, hes a male, and I know hes an adult but they didnt know his age. He's been in my care for 2 weeks now.
• Handling - because he's been with me such a short time, I'm trying to go slowly with him. I had to handle him twice so far to help get stuck shed off his feet. He seems a bit timid but rather docile. Building trust is good.
• Feeding - Im feeding Honzo a combination of crickets, small super worms and as a treat wax worms approx 10-15 every other day. I feed the crickets carrots but I'm not sure the best thing to give the worms. Crickets are good, silkworms are a good staple or dubia roaches if you can get them to give variety. Save the superworms as treats and incorporate with wax worms. Really Honzo should only be eating 3-5 bugs every 2-3 days being he’s full grown. Example- staple feeders 3-5 months,wed, fri. And treats Saturday or Sunday. Same amount. Carrots are good but you should incorporate additional like sweet potatoes, bell peppers, apples. Repashy bug burger is a good gutload in addition to the veggies.
• Supplements - I use Zoo med calcium at every feeding and I use rapashy vitamins twice a month. I do dust the feeders at every feed. Make sure the calcium you dust with daily does not have D3 in it. That should be with your vitamin 2x a month only (the d3).
• Watering - I have an auto mister that is set to go off more than twice a day at this point because thebwater dripper I had was malfunctioning. I do see him drinking but I was struggling to get him enough water. I have a new one, different brand coming. 2-3 minutes of misting 15 minutes after lights come on and 15 minutes after lighting goes out is routine. But some situations vary depending on humidity.
• Fecal Description - colors were a brownish white, soft and wet. He has not beenbtrsted for parasites. But I noticed today that his eye was closed so he is at the vet to rule out upper respiratory issues, and he will be checking for parasites while he is there. I didnt want to wait. Best to get a fecal check just to be safe. Eyes closed is bad. Glad you made a vet visit.
• History - I don't have a lot of history on him unfortunately

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Screen, with shrink wrap on thee sides to up the heat. Dimensions are 18X18X36 ideally minimum for a panther is 24x24x48. They love to roam and the more space you can offer the better.
• Lighting - I have a T5 uvb and a zoomed 75 watt basking bulb. Daily lighting is from 7am to 9pm. Is the T5linear? And what % bulb? Basking sounds ok as long as not too hot. (You may have answered this already) as long as the uvb is linear 5or 6 % bulb you are ok.
• Temperature - floor humidity is 80 basking spot is now at 85 but was hover in the high 70's until we figured it out. Overnight lowest temp was reading 65 but I think mine is off a bit I put 2 round meters in one for heat and one for humidity on the bottom of the cage. Not sure which temp and humidity gauges you use but digital is most effective. Govee has a good set I believe affordable. Daytime humidity should be between 40-60%and nighttime 80-100%. If your temps drop at night below 68 it is also good to fog. It’s great for hydration.
• Humidity - I think the above comment touches on that as well.
• Plants - not yet my umbrella plant is only 4 inches as I just ordered it, I have hibiscus and the pothos coming this week. Live plants are best. And lots of sticks . They need them to feel secure. They don’t hide in tunnels they hide behind foliage. If you have fake ones you can hang them on the outside.
• Placement - Where i High traffic area, in my midroom i am moving the cage while he is at the vet to a warmer corner of my living room? top of the cage sits at about 6 feet from the floor. Great . Moving to less traffic and air control the better.
• overall not too bad. Some minor changes. Hopefully all goes well at the vet.

Thank you for everything and yes vet said no RI just a slightly irritated eye from trying to get his shed off. He gave me antibacterial cream for his eye. He said most likely he would have not made it very long if I had left him there. I added that history to another comment I did order a fogger as well. His color is back to very vibrant today, he did venture to the umbrella tree and is now chilling in there. I did check my digital in my bathroom again my wall humidity and heat gage and it actually much more acurate than I thought, pretty much matched up so now I know I can rely on that over the disc style I have as a back up.
Again I can't thank you and everyone else many thanks!

 

[Honzo's mom]

• Your Chameleon - Honzo is a panther chameleon, hes a male, and I know hes an adult but they didnt know his age. He's been in my care for 2 weeks now.
• Handling - because he's been with me such a short time, I'm trying to go slowly with him. I had to handle him twice so far to help get stuck shed off his feet. He seems a bit timid but rather docile. Building trust is good.
• Feeding - Im feeding Honzo a combination of crickets, small super worms and as a treat wax worms approx 10-15 every other day. I feed the crickets carrots but I'm not sure the best thing to give the worms. Crickets are good, silkworms are a good staple or dubia roaches if you can get them to give variety. Save the superworms as treats and incorporate with wax worms. Really Honzo should only be eating 3-5 bugs every 2-3 days being he’s full grown. Example- staple feeders 3-5 months,wed, fri. And treats Saturday or Sunday. Same amount. Carrots are good but you should incorporate additional like sweet potatoes, bell peppers, apples. Repashy bug burger is a good gutload in addition to the veggies.
• Supplements - I use Zoo med calcium at every feeding and I use rapashy vitamins twice a month. I do dust the feeders at every feed. Make sure the calcium you dust with daily does not have D3 in it. That should be with your vitamin 2x a month only (the d3).
• Watering - I have an auto mister that is set to go off more than twice a day at this point because thebwater dripper I had was malfunctioning. I do see him drinking but I was struggling to get him enough water. I have a new one, different brand coming. 2-3 minutes of misting 15 minutes after lights come on and 15 minutes after lighting goes out is routine. But some situations vary depending on humidity.
• Fecal Description - colors were a brownish white, soft and wet. He has not beenbtrsted for parasites. But I noticed today that his eye was closed so he is at the vet to rule out upper respiratory issues, and he will be checking for parasites while he is there. I didnt want to wait. Best to get a fecal check just to be safe. Eyes closed is bad. Glad you made a vet visit.
• History - I don't have a lot of history on him unfortunately

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Screen, with shrink wrap on thee sides to up the heat. Dimensions are 18X18X36 ideally minimum for a panther is 24x24x48. They love to roam and the more space you can offer the better.
• Lighting - I have a T5 uvb and a zoomed 75 watt basking bulb. Daily lighting is from 7am to 9pm. Is the T5linear? And what % bulb? Basking sounds ok as long as not too hot. (You may have answered this already) as long as the uvb is linear 5or 6 % bulb you are ok.
• Temperature - floor humidity is 80 basking spot is now at 85 but was hover in the high 70's until we figured it out. Overnight lowest temp was reading 65 but I think mine is off a bit I put 2 round meters in one for heat and one for humidity on the bottom of the cage. Not sure which temp and humidity gauges you use but digital is most effective. Govee has a good set I believe affordable. Daytime humidity should be between 40-60%and nighttime 80-100%. If your temps drop at night below 68 it is also good to fog. It’s great for hydration.
• Humidity - I think the above comment touches on that as well.
• Plants - not yet my umbrella plant is only 4 inches as I just ordered it, I have hibiscus and the pothos coming this week. Live plants are best. And lots of sticks . They need them to feel secure. They don’t hide in tunnels they hide behind foliage. If you have fake ones you can hang them on the outside.
• Placement - Where i High traffic area, in my midroom i am moving the cage while he is at the vet to a warmer corner of my living room? top of the cage sits at about 6 feet from the floor. Great . Moving to less traffic and air control the better.
• overall not too bad. Some minor changes. Hopefully all goes well at the vet.

also I did order the XL cage for him, I love that one for him. UV I will have to double check that and I will update.