My enclosure so far....

[shazz]

I am in the process of setting up my first enclosure, It has 1 umbrella plant, 2 Fiscus and 1 pothos vine all are real. There is a vine plus dowells for climbing. A zoo med 5.0 Linear bulb and a 60W Halogen bulb for heat. I have a couple of questions...





The plants have all been washed and rinsed thouroughly, they have got washed pebbles on top of the soil and then a layer of mesh on top.

Is the top of the enclosure too full with the plants? It does look bushier in the photo's than it is!

The humidity is 99% when sprayed and drops to 65% in 3 hours is this ok?

The temp is 35 on the basking spot and 15 at night (its very cold here with snow)

I am now getting a 10 month old Male veiled. Please can you advise me on the right conditions for him!

Many Thanks
Sharron

 

[shazz]

PLEASE Comment!!

Please can you comment on my enclosure so I can make any changes necessary before I get my cham.

Also the tub at the bottom is to collect water from the dripper it is an ice cream tub with a mesh panel in the top so it can be emptied and cleaned but he can't fall in it!

 

[Olimpia]

I don't know the specifics on veiled chams, so I'm just going to help bump this thread up. I think it looks really good, with lots of places to hide. I get the feeling the temp might be a little cold at night. Maybe someone will suggest that you get a night-time red bulb or something to keep the temps a little higher.

 

[Chameleon Jim]

35 Fahrenheit or Celsius?

Fahrenheit, no that is not acceptable at all.

Celsius, the temps are within a good range. Also depends on the species, some have different temperature ranges than others. There are literally hundreds of places to look that up, it is as easy as using google and typing "veiled chameleon care" or "veiled chameleon temperatures" or "how do I xxxxxx?"

But, for the sake of not being a jerk and only chastising you for not using search, which seems to be a common occurrence round these parts.... I will provide you with all the info you need and the site it came from.

"One of the most common mistakes I have discovered with new keepers is that they believe their chameleon's environment needs to be kept at suffocatingly high tropical temperatures at all times.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
It is true that veiled chameleons love to bask, and the temperature in the basking area should be the highest in the enclosure.
It is my opinion that a basking temp of 95 degrees f. is plenty hot for an adult and younger animals should be provided with a cooler "hot spot".
A basking temperature of 80 degrees f. is sufficient for chameleons 3 months old and younger. Young animals are not terribly good at thermoregulation and may not know to get out of the heat when they need to. This is often evidenced by the observation of a gaping chameleon. They can cool themselves by opening their mouths and young animals will tend to do this rather than move to a cooler spot in the enclosure.
Thermoregulation is the term used in reference to a cold blooded animal's ability to control it's body temperature by moving to warmer or cooler locations. It is essential that chameleons be provided a gradient of temperatures within the enclosure to allow them to warm or cool themselves.
The basking light will provide the hottest spot in a corner at the top of the enclosure. At the bottom of the enclosure should be the coolest temp (perhaps 68 or 70 degrees) in the middle will be an ambient temp of anywhere from 72 to 80 degrees.
Night time temperatures are where people most often make a mistake.
No ceramic heater or red heat lamp should be provided at night...regardless of what the "expert" at the pet store tells you. Veiled Chameleons can withstand night time temps into the 40's. A good night time temp is between 60 and 65 degrees f.
The drop in temp is required for them at night. It slows down their metabolism and facilitates heavy sleeping. They will not rest well at night with temps that are too high.
In the morning your chameleon will make it's way to the basking spot and warm up for the day. This is very important as well, as it speeds up the metabolism allowing them hunt and digest their food properly. "

Cited- http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/

You are welcome and I suggest you do as much research as possible before buying a chameleon. They are not for novice keepers and if you cant find the motivation to do the research on them, you will be hard pressed to find the motivation to care for them adequately.

 

[Chameleon Jim]

Also, looking at your enclosure,

what kind of screen is that on the front door?
is there a mist system?
Is there drainage on the bottom?
Don't ice cream containers eventually spring leaks if filled with water (cardboard)
What is that wood sealed with?
Did you seal it or is it an old piece of furniture?
Is it water resistant?

etc etc

Writing the details of the cage would help for us to analyse it.

Thanks

 

[shazz]

Many thanks

I have spent weeks doing research and typing different questions into search bars, I since joined this Forum and have found that I have got more accurate answers from the people on this site as some websites can have mis-leading advice. I would never purchase an animal without feeling 100% confident that I can provide the correct amount of care and supervision of the animal.

I have had the enclosure set up for a week and have monitored the enclosure for temperatures and humidity and experimented with spraying to keep an eye on humidity.

The Basking temp is 35 Celsius = 95 Fahrenheit
The bottom of the enclosure is 21 Celsius = 69 Fahrenheit

 

[shazz]

what kind of screen is that on the front door? .. Alluminium Mesh
is there a mist system? No using a spray
Is there drainage on the bottom? Not yet, still monitoring where the water pools etc.
Don't ice cream containers eventually spring leaks if filled with water (cardboard) The ice cream container is plastic.
What is that wood sealed with? The joins are sealed with safe silicon, i did my research!
Did you seal it or is it an old piece of furniture? It is a piece of furniture converted. It is made from the same material as The wood vivariums sold.
Is it water resistant? Yes it is

 

[Chameleon Jim]

Well I am glad you do research, typically when people ask questions about basics like temperature/water/etc it is assumed that they don't know the answer.

My mistake I suppose. Over the course of your research I imagine you would have found that 90% of all sources say the same thing about the temps, those 90% are accurate.

As I mentioned previously, at Celsius the temps are fine.

 

[Chameleon Jim]

Aside from the mesh and the lack of drainage it sounds fine to me. Metal mesh is typically best if coated with something like pvc so as not to hurt their feet.

My questions about sealing were not how is it sealed together, it was like "what type of (weather) sealant is on the wood". The reason I ask if it is furniture is because most furniture isn't "sealed" to be outside in water. The type of wood is not as important as what is used to protect it from the elements. Which is also why I asked if you personally sealed it or not, so we could find out what chemicals exactly were used to seal it.

There is a method to my madness

 

[shazz]

Thank you

Thanks I really appreciate help from experienced keepers. I have saved your text and printed it off! I am glad that the temps are ok. What are your opinions of the enclosure, is it too full of live plants?

Thanks

Sharron

 

[shazz]

I used a low VOC varnish to seal the wood plus an aquarium safe silicon to seal the joins.

What would be the best form of drainage to use as the base is wood?

 

[Chameleon Jim]

The plants look alright, and they will help with the overall humidity since there is no mist system in place (hand misting will help to but doing that multiple times a day is a hassle I imagine)

Just make sure the plants do not get so large that the cham can get right next to the heat bulb and they should be fine. Honestly it looks good to me, best of luck with your new housemate and congrats on getting everything together as it is so far.

 

[pssh]

I think 35 is a bit hot, 33-34 might be better. I like to be safe Misting humidity sounds fine. If it looks like he has trouble moving through it, then it's too much. What are the dimentions?

 

[Chameleon Jim]

I personally installed literal "drains" on my cages. I have tubing running to a catch bucket that is stored underneath them. Since the bottom of yours is wood it will be a flat surface, but you can direct the flow of water by scoring the wood and resealing the score lines. You could put a drain in the center and do a series of light cuts from the outside of the cage towards the drain, making them slightly deeper as they get closer to the drain. This will cause all the water to run down them towards the drain, just make sure the drain is slightly lower than the level of the wood and you will be fine.

You could also try using an absorbent substrate and changing it out semi-regularly, drilling a series of holes in the bottom and constructing a "catch" that has sloping sides that feeds into a collection bucket. Lots of possibilities.

 

[shazz]

Thanks Pssh

Good point I can't believe I forgot to put the dimensions

They are: 49 Inches high by 19 inches deep by 27 inches wide

 

[pssh]

It's a bit small for an adult... You may want to consider a bigger cage for when he is a full adult/older.

 

[shazz]

Yeah I agree I think it needs to be deeper from front to back. That is something I shall work on.

Thanks