My new setup :)

[dlaunde]

Just finished putting together my new setup for a baby veiled I'll be receiving Tuesday from FLChams (from the Naval line, a very vibrant orange sire).

Bottom is planted: 1" layer of clay pebbles, screen and weed barrier, then 5" of soil (made up of sponge moss, bark, sand, and eco earth). I have about 7 large pothos vines planted and will keep wrapping them upwards.

The dead branches are from LLLreptile and I wrapped them in moss vines that may regrow with watering and UV light.

Lighting is a T5 HO Arcadia 6% bulb and 75w incandescent bulb.

Misting is a Mistking setup.

Definitely a lot more money for this setup then any of my previous ones. Hope the veiled likes it.

Now gotta think of a name.

 

[Ares05]

Is the moss live? Sort of looks like fake moss vines.

I would ditch any fake plants you have. You can get another pothos and put it more toward the top to give your baby more foliage.

Do you have a grow light? Pothos can survive in low light but having a decent grow light Is always recommended.

You need some more horizontal branches as well.

Im not experienced with bioactive so I cant guide you on that. Im sure others will chime in

 

[dlaunde]

Is the moss live? Sort of looks like fake moss vines.

I would ditch any fake plants you have. You can get another pothos and put it more toward the top to give your baby more foliage.

Do you have a grow light? Pothos can survive in low light but having a decent grow light Is always recommended.

You need some more horizontal branches as well.

Im not experienced with bioactive so I cant guide you on that. Im sure others will chime in

The arcadia bulb "counts" as a grow light, no? (UVA/UVB). I also have a large bay window right next to the cage that faces the west so it will get some natural sunlight in the morning and evening (though the glass will diminish the UV exposure of course).

I plan on ditching the artificial plants as the pothos grows. Two of the vines already came about 16" long so it shouldn't take more than a couple of months for it to start growing enough to replace the plastic plants.
I also did wash all the artificial plants in vinegar+water and then rinsed off in water to be safe.

There is actually a few horizontal vines and pathways, they are just hidden well with the fake leaves.

And the moss vines were advertised as real/natural (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KZDT4BI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fab_z5NzFbMFW8C18)

 

[Ares05]

No UVB bulbs aren't grow lights.

The concern isnt if they are clean/natural, its that veiled chameleons tend to eat their foliage. You do not want them eating fake plants. It's an impaction risk.
Think of the vines/sticks as roadways to get from place to place. Id add some more horizontal ones toward the front of the cage.

These moss vines are not live. They wont grow.

Make sure your cage wont heat up too much from the sun it's receiving.

Its a great start though!

 

[janjan20]

Looks pretty good! What are the dimensions, how are the temps and humidity? This enclosure looks like it’s on the smaller size so I would start looking into a larger one. Veild’s grow pretty fast... I agree with the above to add more horizontal branches. Do you have a clean up crew for the bio active substrate?

 

[PabloTheCham]

Just finished putting together my new setup for a baby veiled I'll be receiving Tuesday from FLChams (from the Naval line, a very vibrant orange sire).

Bottom is planted: 1" layer of clay pebbles, screen and weed barrier, then 5" of soil (made up of sponge moss, bark, sand, and eco earth). I have about 7 large pothos vines planted and will keep wrapping them upwards.

The dead branches are from LLLreptile and I wrapped them in moss vines that may regrow with watering and UV light.

Lighting is a T5 HO Arcadia 6% bulb and 75w incandescent bulb.

Misting is a Mistking setup.

Definitely a lot more money for this setup then any of my previous ones. Hope the veiled likes it.

Now gotta think of a name.

Stupid question but you did add isopods and springtails right?

 

[dlaunde]

So I wasn't going for a full bioactive setup. Just a simple planted one that I'll clean up every weekend for poop and unwanted debris (save for natural leaves that fall off and cover the soil). I had thought this was okay to not add a cleanup crew then?

And here is a picture of the fake leaves stripped away and some more horizontal paths added/moved around.

I am still going to add back one strand of the larger plastic leaves as hell need cover from the lights if he should choose so. As the pothos grow I'll position those to take over the job.

 

[janjan20]

The cleanup crew is critical for keeping bacteria and mold/fungus in check. Especially with a glass enclosure that doesn’t have as much ventilation as mesh. I would recommend adding some springtails and isopods.

 

[dlaunde]

The cleanup crew is critical for keeping bacteria and mold/fungus in check. Especially with a glass enclosure that doesn’t have as much ventilation as mesh. I would recommend adding some springtails and isopods.

Ahh ok. The entire right side is screen btw...I definitely didn't want to go all glass.

Can I add these with my my chameleon already in the enclosure?

And what's a good place to buy them from/a good amount to get?

 

[janjan20]

Ok cool, I was wondering how the shooting gallery was staying ?

It’s better to add them before so they get established but if that’s not possible it should still be ok. I got my clean up crew (CUC) from @jamest0o0. You can DM him to put in an order. I’m sure there are other places but James has good prices. ?

 

[dlaunde]

Yea I put the screen on that side as that's where the bay window is so on nice days I can open it and get a good breeze. And better sunlight (with curtains if it gets too hot).

I'll shoot him a DM.
I'll read up on the CUC, but other than adding them.... anything special I have to do or extra care steps? Or is it like a CUC for an aquarium where they just do their thing and never need love?

 

[janjan20]

You can feed them. I think Repashy sells a product specifically for CUC. I throw in some hibiscus when I have extra blooms.

 

[dlaunde]

You can feed them. I think Repashy sells a product specifically for CUC. I throw in some hibiscus when I have extra blooms.

Weird question but...will the CUC try to get out/crawl around the upper parts of the cage or just stay to the soil?

 

[KRGEE21]

Weird question but...will the CUC try to get out/crawl around the upper parts of the cage or just stay to the soil?

The CUC will stay hidden under the leaf litter for the most part. I have never had one get out of my enclosures.
Another thing you might want to consider is drainage. How are you going to get the excess water out of the bottom?

 

[dlaunde]

The CUC will stay hidden under the leaf litter for the most part. I have never had one get out of my enclosures.
Another thing you might want to consider is drainage. How are you going to get the excess water out of the bottom?

I have a piece of pvc pipe in the back left corner I can siphon water out of when necessary.

So I probably need a lot more leaf litter than right? At the moment I only have a layer of one to two leaves thick. Whereas the soil guide says 1-2" of leafs....

 

[MissSkittles]

I think it’s pretty unusual for the cuc to escape. I have roach baits though which would probably attract any escapees (I every now and then drop and lose a roach).
In addition to the leaf litter, you could add some pieces of cork bark for your cuc to hide under. I find springtails love the cork and my always hungry ladies have discovered isopod make nice snacks.
I love the look of the mossy vines, but sadly they aren’t practical. Veileds will eat the moss and it’s an impaction risk. Train some of your pothos to vine up around/over your fake vines for a pretty look and more little cham roads. Definitely add some more horizontal branches. You may need to get creative how to do so.

 

[dlaunde]

I think it’s pretty unusual for the cuc to escape. I have roach baits though which would probably attract any escapees (I every now and then drop and lose a roach).
In addition to the leaf litter, you could add some pieces of cork bark for your cuc to hide under. I find springtails love the cork and my always hungry ladies have discovered isopod make nice snacks.
I love the look of the mossy vines, but sadly they aren’t practical. Veileds will eat the moss and it’s an impaction risk. Train some of your pothos to vine up around/over your fake vines for a pretty look and more little cham roads. Definitely add some more horizontal branches. You may need to get creative how to do so.

Thanks! I'm going to take out the moss vines today, add a lot more fake vine roads tomorrow (just vines no fake leaves), and litter some more leaves and cork bark on the bottom. I am also in contact with James and he is recommending giant canyon iso's.

Another question: should I cover every inch of soil with leaves and debris or should I have some spots of soil open, like around the pothos stems, for watering purposes?

 

[MissSkittles]

Thanks! I'm going to take out the moss vines today, add a lot more fake vine roads tomorrow (just vines no fake leaves), and litter some more leaves and cork bark on the bottom. I am also in contact with James and he is recommending giant canyon iso's.

Another question: should I cover every inch of soil with leaves and debris or should I have some spots of soil open, like around the pothos stems, for watering purposes?

I have a pretty thick and thorough layer of leaf litter and the water for the plants gets thru fine. I do have to water the plants every week or so as the mister doesn’t reach them all.

 

[dlaunde]

I have a pretty thick and thorough layer of leaf litter and the water for the plants gets thru fine. I do have to water the plants every week or so as the mister doesn’t reach them all.

Thanks! Starting on the redo right now. I also just picked about 50 leafs off the remaining Pothos vines I didn't use (it was a very large pothos plant I got) and will litter those around the bottom for a more natural look as well. And order some cork bark

 

[dlaunde]

I have a pretty thick and thorough layer of leaf litter and the water for the plants gets thru fine. I do have to water the plants every week or so as the mister doesn’t reach them all.

One last question: since I'll have an iso CUC, do I just leave any droppings/feces from my veiled on the leaf litter/substrate? Or should I still clean up once a week like I used to with my old setups (sans bio active)?