GilaTequila
New Member
I have a Veiled Chameleon that I got about two weeks ago from Petco. It is my first Chameleon but I have been keeping and breeding reptiles for over a decade. The lady that got him for me said they had had him for about 3 months and he was around 2 months when they got him in. So with it being what it is I am not really sure on the age but around 5 months. I have named him Chester.
Here are some pictures of the cage after I set it up today. I will be adding a lot more plants, t5 lighting for the plants, as well as some more fake vine. I will take the fake plants out once I have sufficient coverage. I got a Hoya carnosa vine at Lowe's today. Once I find out how I want to pot it and put it in the cage I will clean it up with soapy water and flush it with the same.
Another thing I came up with to keep the cham from the soil is to use a plant tray and just flip it upside down to cover the pot. I simply cut a hole in the center to put the stem of my hibiscus through. I tried it for my zz plant but did not work well do to so many stalks.
Also, If any one is looking for drainage trays for lager cages Lowe's (and I assume home depot) has trays for washing machines that have built in drain. It was only $25 and is a little larger than my 24" cage foot print but it is not too big. I just used an old card table and cut a hole for the drainage hole and it is working great! I used small pieces of duct tape to tape thin clear plastic around the sides and back to keep the water in. I use one of the pressurized hand held sprayers like people use to spray bugs outside.
Let me know if you have any suggestions.
Questions I have:
1. How to hang potted plants on the screen with out creating too much stress on it? I don't want to rip the screen trying to get a plant in there. I do plan on mounting some on cork but others will need coco coir at the lest.
2. I have seen people with both two bulb and four bulb HO t5 set ups for this size cage. Everyone uses at least one uvb bulb and the others 6500k. The question is do I really need the 4 bulb system or will the two bulb system and the two lights I have now be enough to get good growth from my plants? The lights now are a 60watt heat bulb and a 26 watt exo terra 5.0 uvb bulb.
3. Does the size and placement of the feeding cup look good? If not, how should I change it?
Here are some pictures of the cage after I set it up today. I will be adding a lot more plants, t5 lighting for the plants, as well as some more fake vine. I will take the fake plants out once I have sufficient coverage. I got a Hoya carnosa vine at Lowe's today. Once I find out how I want to pot it and put it in the cage I will clean it up with soapy water and flush it with the same.
Another thing I came up with to keep the cham from the soil is to use a plant tray and just flip it upside down to cover the pot. I simply cut a hole in the center to put the stem of my hibiscus through. I tried it for my zz plant but did not work well do to so many stalks.
Also, If any one is looking for drainage trays for lager cages Lowe's (and I assume home depot) has trays for washing machines that have built in drain. It was only $25 and is a little larger than my 24" cage foot print but it is not too big. I just used an old card table and cut a hole for the drainage hole and it is working great! I used small pieces of duct tape to tape thin clear plastic around the sides and back to keep the water in. I use one of the pressurized hand held sprayers like people use to spray bugs outside.
Let me know if you have any suggestions.
Questions I have:
1. How to hang potted plants on the screen with out creating too much stress on it? I don't want to rip the screen trying to get a plant in there. I do plan on mounting some on cork but others will need coco coir at the lest.
2. I have seen people with both two bulb and four bulb HO t5 set ups for this size cage. Everyone uses at least one uvb bulb and the others 6500k. The question is do I really need the 4 bulb system or will the two bulb system and the two lights I have now be enough to get good growth from my plants? The lights now are a 60watt heat bulb and a 26 watt exo terra 5.0 uvb bulb.
3. Does the size and placement of the feeding cup look good? If not, how should I change it?
