artgecko
Member
Hello all,
I am getting my supplies list together for my first setup and wanted your advice. I am planning on setting up an XL reptibreeze enclosure for a veiled chameleon. I will list my setup ideas and the items I'm intending to buy below and would appreciate any advice you can give. I am not trying to do a super cheap setup, but also would appreciate your advice on selecting items that are of good quality, while not spending more than I need to..
Lighting: I'm looking at this fixture, which has 2 T5 bulbs. I am planning on switching one out for a reptisun 5.0 uv bulb and keeping the other as a 6500k bulb. I may also add an LED spotlight for plant growth. If there is a less expensive, and slimmer fixture out there that would hold the T5 UV bulb, please let me know. I have searched, but have been unable to find one online.
Heating: Depending on how things go with the LED spot, (I may not need another heat source), I will use a 5" dome fixture and a 50 watt basking bulb. I would appreciate thoughts on which bulb would be best. Room temps do not drop below 75f (heater on commercial t-stat), but can rise higher in the summer.
Gauges / controls: I will be using a digital indoor / outdoor thermometer / hygrometer with probe to measure basking area, ambient (at bottom of cage) and humidity. I will use a rheostat on the heat lamp and check the basking area with a temp gun to adjust it as needed.
Water: Planning on a drip system for drinking with a large water dish at the bottom of cage to collect the runoff. Will hand-mist daily also. I'd appreciate thoughts on what would be the best and simplist drip system to use. Ideally, I'd like something that needs to be refilled either daily, or less frequently. I was looking at this commercially made one, or using this along with airline hose and a bucket. Room humidity tends to stay ~45%-55%.
Plants / accessories: I will start off using fake vine and foliage along with some oak branches for climbing but will plan on purchasing a ficus or other large plant and potting in organic soil.. Ideally, I'd like to do maybe 2-3 potted plants in the enclosure.
Feeding: I have a large dubia colony that I already use to feed my tree frogs. I am hoping that will be a good main food source, along with supplemented worms and grubs. I use bowls to feed dubia out of for my frogs and will probably try to rig some sort of hanging bowl setup... with the plan to use one of these (if that will work with dubia). I'd appreciate your thoughts, as I do not want to feed / use crickets and want to make sure there is a good way to feed dubia without them getting lost in the enclosure. I love the design of those feeders, but am not sure if dubia would climb on them.
I would love your advice on how to attach items (vines, branches, etc.) to the sides of the enclosure. I do have zip ties on hand, but don't want to use methods that will greatly damage it (if possible). I would also appreciate your advice on bins or substrate containers that would fit this enclosure. I would eventually like to invest in a dragonstrand cage with a deep substrate bin and solid sides so that I can do a fully-planted bioactive setup.
Please let me know if I missed anything or if you have any additional advice.
Thank you for your time and help!
I am getting my supplies list together for my first setup and wanted your advice. I am planning on setting up an XL reptibreeze enclosure for a veiled chameleon. I will list my setup ideas and the items I'm intending to buy below and would appreciate any advice you can give. I am not trying to do a super cheap setup, but also would appreciate your advice on selecting items that are of good quality, while not spending more than I need to..
Lighting: I'm looking at this fixture, which has 2 T5 bulbs. I am planning on switching one out for a reptisun 5.0 uv bulb and keeping the other as a 6500k bulb. I may also add an LED spotlight for plant growth. If there is a less expensive, and slimmer fixture out there that would hold the T5 UV bulb, please let me know. I have searched, but have been unable to find one online.
Heating: Depending on how things go with the LED spot, (I may not need another heat source), I will use a 5" dome fixture and a 50 watt basking bulb. I would appreciate thoughts on which bulb would be best. Room temps do not drop below 75f (heater on commercial t-stat), but can rise higher in the summer.
Gauges / controls: I will be using a digital indoor / outdoor thermometer / hygrometer with probe to measure basking area, ambient (at bottom of cage) and humidity. I will use a rheostat on the heat lamp and check the basking area with a temp gun to adjust it as needed.
Water: Planning on a drip system for drinking with a large water dish at the bottom of cage to collect the runoff. Will hand-mist daily also. I'd appreciate thoughts on what would be the best and simplist drip system to use. Ideally, I'd like something that needs to be refilled either daily, or less frequently. I was looking at this commercially made one, or using this along with airline hose and a bucket. Room humidity tends to stay ~45%-55%.
Plants / accessories: I will start off using fake vine and foliage along with some oak branches for climbing but will plan on purchasing a ficus or other large plant and potting in organic soil.. Ideally, I'd like to do maybe 2-3 potted plants in the enclosure.
Feeding: I have a large dubia colony that I already use to feed my tree frogs. I am hoping that will be a good main food source, along with supplemented worms and grubs. I use bowls to feed dubia out of for my frogs and will probably try to rig some sort of hanging bowl setup... with the plan to use one of these (if that will work with dubia). I'd appreciate your thoughts, as I do not want to feed / use crickets and want to make sure there is a good way to feed dubia without them getting lost in the enclosure. I love the design of those feeders, but am not sure if dubia would climb on them.
I would love your advice on how to attach items (vines, branches, etc.) to the sides of the enclosure. I do have zip ties on hand, but don't want to use methods that will greatly damage it (if possible). I would also appreciate your advice on bins or substrate containers that would fit this enclosure. I would eventually like to invest in a dragonstrand cage with a deep substrate bin and solid sides so that I can do a fully-planted bioactive setup.
Please let me know if I missed anything or if you have any additional advice.
Thank you for your time and help!
