New Chameleon // Want opinion on setup/equipment

[Pascalcham]

Hi so I am new to reptiles and just purchased a Panther chameleon 5 months old and just wanted to get some expert opinions on the equipment I am using and the setup I currently have. I have done hours of research into what is neccessary and think I have a fairly good perspective but am grateful for any critiques you have. Some general information I live in northern arizona so humidity is tough to keep high and summers are hot but winters can get very cold. It is currently set up in my living room and unfortunately we have no spare rooms to use and we have no low traffic areas to keep him in.

In my setup(pictured) I am using a zoo med screen cage 24-24-48
I am using a 100 watt basking bulb with a dimmer lamp and during the upcoming winter if it gets below 60 I have a ceramic heater with lamp. Using a uv 15 light with hood. Most people recommend the reptisun 5 but all the stores show the higher uv lights suggested for chameleons so I am a little confused at the resoning here(if anyone can explain this would be great)

For the interior of the cage currently I have a pothos plant that is still growing and we have the vines growing up the sticks. Also we have 3 fake vine plants at 3 different corners connecting the various bamboo sticks that allow our chameleon to access the different heights and corners of the cage. Two of the bamboo sticks are horizontal and are the primary basking spot for our chameleon. The bottom of the cage is bare except some fake branches and my wife insisted on a pumpkin(for halloween).

For humidity I use a pump mister 2 or 3 times daily and recently moved a humidifier next to the cage(jumped 10 percent in a few hours). Also I use a zoo med little dripper during the mistings to provide drinking water for about an hour. The last thing we have is a humidity stone which is supposed to provide more humidity but I haven't noticed a spike from that.

I use two digital thermometers and a digital hygrometer to measure the sections of the cage. For 5 month panther the basking spot sits at 85 - 90 degrees and has a good gradient through the rest of the cage.

Our panther who is named Barnabus(barny for short) seems active and happy for the few days we have had him and has been eating regularly.

 

[csmolins89]

You need a lot more sticks and walkways going side to side in the cage. If you have the ability more plans as well. The more hiding spots your have for him the happier he will be. The best way pothos works is if you have it up and it can grow down. Thats the best way it will fill the cage. If you do a search on here you can see how people have used hanging baskets, fishing line, and a dowel rod to hang it without damaging the cage. Word of warning about the fake vines you have, in my own experience they are junk and start to fall apart after a short time. If you can get rid of them. Also, pumpkin needs to go, it will rot with all the moisture and that can make your cham very sick. I will post a picture of my setup when I get home tonight to show you an example.

 

[ZiggyStardust]

Hi and welcome to the wonderful and addictive world of chameleons!

You do need much more in there, about 90 percent of the space should be filled really. Here is a pic of my setup to give you an idea of what I mean.... I have the same sized cage as you.

 

[Pascalcham]

Thank you both for your input. I will take out the pumpkin. Ziggystardust how do you attach your sticks going side to side? I see zip ties but cant tell if they are what is holding them up or did you just drill holes in the cage? csmolins89 if you could post about hanging it I will look into it. I was actually considering a second plant at until one gets big enough for the whole cage.

 

[zlew]

thumbtacks work.
Thats what I use. I also have magnatural bridges

 

[Pascalcham]

What kind of sticks/branches do you use? I have bamboo sticks that I bought from home depot and they are too soft in the middle for thumb tacks.

 

[ZiggyStardust]

Mine are willow sticks, bought from a local garden centre and then washed and disinfected before cutting down to size.

Thumbtacks work brilliantly, you just push them through into the sticks from the outside of the cage, through the mesh. Once you have a lot in there, it becomes easier to add more, as the branches support themselves on the ones already in situ. The willow sticks are a lot harder than bamboo, so the centres of them hold the thumbtacks really well.

 

[Pascalcham]

Awesome thanks I will pick some up this week.

 

[sharp229]

Welcome to the forums!

To answer your question about UVB, most people us ReptiSun 5.0 or Arcadia 6% bulbs because they are proven and put out enough UVB for chameleons. Some people also use ReptiSun 10.0 bulbs successfully, in that case you may just want a little more distance between the bulb and the basking spot. I wouldn't recommend using a T5 10% bulb like an Arcadia 12% just because the UV will most likely be too much.

Regardless of the bulb, you will want to ensure you change it every 6 months even if it is still putting out visible light, because the UV output decreases. The only exception would be that some people have reported Arcadia bulbs lasting for a year. If you have your own UVB meter you can also change when the UV gets low instead of basing it on time.

I would agree that he would appreciate more branches and foliage, and you can use fake plants to fill in gaps until the real ones grow out. Although many people hang pothos, you can also train it climb up from the bottom if you prefer. You could also get an umbrella tree (schefflera) if you want hardy, cheap, upright foliage. Everyone has a different way of doing things. Dowels from a hardware store are super easy to use and can be installed with thumbtacks easily, but they obviously don't have the "realistic" look if that is what you are going for.

I think the pumpkins are fine for a decoration as long as they don't stay wet and you regularly check whether they are getting soft. Obviously you would need to take them out as soon as they show any signs of getting old or soft.

Check out Olimpia's blog for more examples of good cage setups:

http://muchadoaboutchameleons.blogspot.com/2012/04/how-to-set-up-proper-chameleon.html

 

[Pascalcham]

Thanks Sharp229 that is good information. I was aware of the fading of uvb lights just was sketchy on if mine was too strong or not. We actually got our first chameleon from someone we knew and after we did our research we found out he wasn't keeping her properly healthy and had used the same uvb bulb for over a year. Unfortunately she ended up dying right after laying eggs only 3 weeks after we got her. Thus the new male panther chameleon.

 

[jbauer]

Another Newbie .... I know, I know

Greetings everyone, I just happened upon this Forum while browsing all the on-line information about Chameleons and it seemed like THE place to be for great information.
I'm so new that I've yet to start my set-up even though I have a good idea of the Chameleon(s) I want. I need to get my enclosure all set up before I visit the Reptile show in early November where I hope to pick up either 1 or 2 Juvi Jacksons (male & female).

So a few questions:
1) Is an open-air enclosure better or worse than a Terrarium such as a ZooMed Naturalistic Terrarium? I've been told the ZooMed makes it easier to control temp/humidity.
2) Are live plants better than natural looking fake plants? Being a Bonsai enthusiest I've had problems with little nats in keeping live plants in my Den.
3) There's a Repile store here that the owner/operator seems to be pretty knowlegable and he has a Juvi pair of Jacksons in the same enclosure and says that as long as the enclosure is "roomy" that there shouldn't be a problem keeping them together (until they're too big for the enclosure). I'm not sure how fast they reach adulthood but thinking at least a year or so??

I'm thinking about an enclosure that is 18"X18"X36" to start.

Thanks, I'm looking forward to learning LOTS from this Forum.

PS. I'm browsing the FAQ pages as well.
jb

 

[csmolins89]

Thank you both for your input. I will take out the pumpkin. Ziggystardust how do you attach your sticks going side to side? I see zip ties but cant tell if they are what is holding them up or did you just drill holes in the cage? csmolins89 if you could post about hanging it I will look into it. I was actually considering a second plant at until one gets big enough for the whole cage.

I actually do not have that in my setup, just something I have seen on the forums. For my setup I use magnaturals plant holders. the attach to the side of the cage with magnets and hold a 4 inch pot. I have three of them in my setup and they work swimmingly.