Nearly there

[thomas041]

Hello everybody,
Well I have sarted getting all the bits, man there alot of stuff. The preparations are nearly all set for the new arrival mid October. I need to get hold of a small tank to house him in for the first few months before he can go into the main Viv but they are easily obtainable.

"VERY EXCITING"

It is rather odd though, how the more you research ,the more you read, how much infomation differs. From temperature to size of viv to amount to feed to the best supplements. Has anyone else found this?

I have though decided on Repton supplements and REPTISUN 5.0 UVB 24, two thermometers one hydrometer, bark chippings for the substate, a few plastic plants, well a fair few the little guys needs to feel at home, a load of branches and stuff for him to climb on and a 60watt bulb with metal reflector.

Lets see how it goes.

 

[hallenhe]

It is very exciting getting ready for your new chameleon. I'm afraid people are going to quail in horror at the phrase "bark chippings for the substrate", though; chameleons run the risk of ingesting substrate, and substrate of any sort is discouraged (an exception is pygmy chameleons, which may have fine material, such as coconut bark, in their terraria). No substrate also makes cleanup easier.
By "tank" do you mean glass? - In the US and Canada, keepers favor screen cages for good ventilation, while UK keepers do succeed with glass enclosures.
There's nothing inherently wrong with plastic plants, but if you can add a real plant or two, they often look a bit better and help keep the humidity up. General practice involves washing the plant, repotting in fresh soil (in case of pesticides) and covering the soil with the sort of course pebbles/"river rocks" that are too big to be ingested and keep the soil out of reach of questing chameleon tongues.
Hope I don't seem like I'm jumping on you with all kinds of criticism; just want to help get your chameleon off to the best start possible.

 

[thomas041]

Hellenah

Thank you, its why I asked, it all helps. It make sense about the substrate think I will leave it out.

I was going to add live plaants in the big enclosure not much room in the tank.

Any on else with any suggestions?

 

[jojackson]

Thomas, while its small you will get away with misting for a water source, especially in a baby tank where drainage will be a problem, However it may well be worth considering a dripper system and good drainage for its adult cage.

 

[thomas041]

Dripper system

I have been looking at a un-used sports bottle, just need a long tube and should be it, a drop every couple of seconds drained into a dot plant, but the thing is getting it to drain is the going to take a bit of planning.

 

[SRTtoZ]

I also advise Reptile carpet (green or brown) instead of wood chips...

 

[Crazy Pet Lady]

Dripper: use a large container, like a milk jug or other large juice container. Your drips should be about 15 to 30 seconds apart. A piece of aquarium tubing with a small valve to regulate the drip works great. No substrate...paper towels or none, you want the water to drain away...Lots of vines, plants,etc. Most important...Have fun!!! You're in for a great ride. Enjoy!

 

[thomas041]

A little concerned



The best UBV to use????

It is true you can read too much. So which is better Arcadia or the reptisun 5.0 uvb. I guess its down to expeimenting but at the end of the day I dont really want t to experiment with this sort of thing, I thing everyone understands why. Though I had this all figured out, anyone fancy giving me some hints please.

I am praying to shebba

 

[beeze]

I use the Reptisun 5.0. Most members here recommend that one.