Need some habitat advice

[BellaCoop]

Hello everyone,
I am trying to rebuild my chameleons home. I have a glass habitat due to living in the desert and it being very difficult to keep humidity.
What I need help with is a way to make it so I can drain the bottom of the tank so I can put my misters on a more consistent cycle. I tried doing the natural way but I spray to much water in there.

 

[javadi]

Hello!

I'm sure others will chime in soon, but out of curiosity, what was your rationale for putting the wood chips at the bottom? What benefit are you intending to offer your chameleon with their addition?

Also, what is the "natural way" you speak of?

With an enclosure like that, you should not have to mist very much at all, and thus probably don't need very much drainage. Could you explain why you want to mist frequently enough to necessitate extra drainage? How much water builds up when you mist? 1/2" on the bottom?

For a tank like that, drainage can be given by drilling a hole in the bottom, but I wouldn't really recommend that. Another way would be to go bioactive and use a clay ball layer at the bottom that is accessible with a turkey baster, so you can simply remove excess water with that and dispose of it.

 

[BellaCoop]

Wood chips where what I had at the time. Not recommended at alll. I am planing on redoing the entire bottom. I’ve never heard the turkey base route! That would work. I am going tomorrow to get some stuff to make it a bio active bottom.

I am working on getting everything together still. I was not planning on getting a chameleon so I am trying to get everything on track. He was passed down to my by someone who couldn’t have him anymore. I am misting frequently to keep the humidity up based on what the humidity reader is saying. Any advise helps a lot! Iv been reading more and more trying to get everything perfect.

 

[Lindasjackson]

I don’t see a uvb light on top but I could have missed it. You need a long linear t5ho fixture with either a reptisun 5.0 or an Arcadia 6% bulb in it. This is the only uvb light recommended. If you have a compact 5.0 it will not work. Is the top of your tank screen? I think once you get a bioactive substrate in there with the required clean up crew of insects your humidity will get much better. Now the round dial type humidity gauges they sell in pet stores aren’t reliable. You can get a good digital readout hygrometer/ thermometer on amazon for about 10 or 11 dollars. I use the govee brand that will pair with your cell phone and it’s pretty accurate. You might want a couple, one near the top one lower down. You’ll also want one with a temp probe that you can attach to your basking branch under the basking light to make sure the basking temp isn’t too high. You’ll want your basking branch to be 9-10 inches below the uvb light to prevent over exposure. I hope this helps

 

[Lindasjackson]

What kind of Cham do you have? You may also want to do a husbandry review. You can find the “how to ask for help“ pinned form in the top of the health clinic forum. answer the questions and copy and past it here and someone will go over your info with you.

 

[Spookies]

What I usually do when it comes to bioactive, I drill a small whole in the pvc pipe and silocone it down to the bottom in case I need to siphon water out.

But from what I learn from Chameleon academy you want give time for the water to evaporate between each misting cycle. Using a fogger at night also help with humidity, since you want it to be more humid at night than day. Day time you want the water to evaporate and let the enclosure dry itself out a bit. Not desert dry, but let the humidity drop from that night time humidity spike. Live plants is also very helpful when it comes humidity.

But you pretty much want to create a micro climate pocket in the enclosure for your chameleon to decided what temperature and humidity level they want to chillax in.

But I would suggest listen to chameleon academy podcast on your free time. It's very entertaining and a lot of useful information. Bill just did a bioactive podcast/video about it with Michael Nash about 2 or 3 weeks ago I think.

But first you have to figure what species of chameleon you gonna house first. Sorry for the long text

 

[Darthroastcoffee]

Just a tip also, if your misting system is on a timer try to turn off the heat lighting 10-15 mins before it misting and keep them off I’d say for another 15 mins to reduce heat, with so much moisture in the air it’s just asking for respiratory infection with the more heat you have. I do also have led lights for plant growth, so when the heat lights go off there’s still light to make the water glisten when it’s rolling off leaves. Definitely get some live plants though. looks like a vailed in the picture. they like to munch on leaves and stuff make sure whatever is in there is safe.

 

[Sonny13]

Hello everyone,
I am trying to rebuild my chameleons home. I have a glass habitat due to living in the desert and it being very difficult to keep humidity.
What I need help with is a way to make it so I can drain the bottom of the tank so I can put my misters on a more consistent cycle. I tried doing the natural way but I spray to much water in there.

Welcome,
Good you joined us and asking for help. And yes you´ll receive some feedback over here for suggested changes. This is pure out of care for those wonderful creatures and the fact he had a terrible start, you should give him the best he can get. What are the dimensions of the enclosure? Required minimum is 24´x24´x48´ for a Veiled.
And my first guess is that he is a she, which means egg laying comes into play. Could you make a picture of backside of rear feet? Then we can say for sure.
I agree with @javadi about the drainage, in the picture you can already see the water standing above the floor. This means a high potential of bacterial growth, because you got best cocktail for bacteria's; standing water - low airflow - high temps - and the wood chunks itself.

To get you as good as possible on track and get everything summarized for you, please fill out form just by copy pasting it. Then we can give you constructive feedback per item.

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?

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

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Please Note:

1. The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.
2. Photos can be very helpful.