New enclosure and Cricket the Cham seems stressed

[Troubledluna80]

I got my baby panther chameleon named cricket in December he or she could’ve been up to one month old. The initial set up they had was completely wrong and after researching I started to change everything. I got my new cage set up with live plants but there is artificial vines in it as well until my pothos grow. I got a chameleon pouch and terrafirma from biodude in case she is a female she will have a place to climb down to to lay. I do have a mist King pro it just isn’t set up yet so I’m hand misting for 2 minutes 3 times a day. I also have a rack coming in the mail to get the cage off the ground. I am waiting for my isopods pods and springtails to add to the soil. Cricket is hiding in the back of the cage clinging to the money tree and looks super stressed since I put him/her in new enclosure. I triple checked and there is several pathways Cricket can take to get out put he/she doesn’t want to. I don’t handle Cricket and from what I’ve read I should leave Cricket alone but is there anything else I can do to help the transition? I banned kids and dogs from room and only go in the room to periodically check on Cricket but there’s no movement so far it’s been like that for three hours. Should I be worried?

 

[Troubledluna80]

Sorry I should’ve done it this way.
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Panther Chameleon. I’ve had him/her since beginning of Dec. so in between 3-4 months old

• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? I don’t although I did have to offer a stick to climb on to to move cages.
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? Dubai roaches, crickets alternating days. I bought super worms and horn worms but most of the were too big. He ate a couple hornworms and super worms I let pupate so I can have some smaller worms soon. Yes guy load bugs with oranges, sweet potatoes, spinach, grapes, green beans.
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Eco-terra Calcium (no D3) eco-terra with d3 ever Sunday
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? Currently hand mist for 2-3 mins before turn on lights, once around 2pm when I turn off basking light, by this time he is avoiding light, and once before turning all lights off. I only rarely see him drink. I got a room humidifier to increase the humidity in his cage at night. I do have mist king and am setting it up this weekend.
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? He poops 2 x’s a day firm brown with white urates most of time. Once in a while I don’t see urates in second poop. Yes test I bought in a couple different fresh samples no parasites.
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. Last time Cricket shed it wasn’t his entire body at once like first two times.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? Dragon King Hybrid 2x2x4
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? Arcadia linear uvb 6% I believe it’s 20inches. Normal house bulb for basking, and I have a grow light for plants.
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? At night temp at soil level is 60 middle is 62-65 top 62-66. Day basking 80% but I turn that off once he is trying to get away from spot usually on from 7am-2pm. Rest of change bottom 65-70 middle 68-72 top without basking light on is 70-73
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? Hand misting day is between 30-40% at night the most I’ve been able to get it up to is 60% Hopefully mister, more life plants, and soil will help. Plus I will buy a digger mine broke. I do have a room humidifier that blows cool air to increase the room Humidity.
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? Yes. 2 golden pothos, 2 spider plants, one money tree, 2 ferns (can’t remember what type got from biodude on chameleon specific safe plants)
• 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? Unfortunately on floor put muscle rack on its way. In bedroom no vents
• Location - Where are you geographically located? Central Illinois

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

 

[Troubledluna80]

Sorry I should’ve done it this way.
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Panther Chameleon. I’ve had him/her since beginning of Dec. so in between 3-4 months old

• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? I don’t although I did have to offer a stick to climb on to to move cages.
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? Dubai roaches, crickets alternating days. I bought super worms and horn worms but most of the were too big. He ate a couple hornworms and super worms I let pupate so I can have some smaller worms soon. Yes guy load bugs with oranges, sweet potatoes, spinach, grapes, green beans.
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Eco-terra Calcium (no D3) eco-terra with d3 ever Sunday
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? Currently hand mist for 2-3 mins before turn on lights, once around 2pm when I turn off basking light, by this time he is avoiding light, and once before turning all lights off. I only rarely see him drink. I got a room humidifier to increase the humidity in his cage at night. I do have mist king and am setting it up this weekend.
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? He poops 2 x’s a day firm brown with white urates most of time. Once in a while I don’t see urates in second poop. Yes test I bought in a couple different fresh samples no parasites.
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. Last time Cricket shed it wasn’t his entire body at once like first two times.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? Dragon King Hybrid 2x2x4
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? Arcadia linear uvb 6% I believe it’s 20inches. Normal house bulb for basking, and I have a grow light for plants.
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? At night temp at soil level is 60 middle is 62-65 top 62-66. Day basking 80% but I turn that off once he is trying to get away from spot usually on from 7am-2pm. Rest of change bottom 65-70 middle 68-72 top without basking light on is 70-73
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? Hand misting day is between 30-40% at night the most I’ve been able to get it up to is 60% Hopefully mister, more life plants, and soil will help. Plus I will buy a digger mine broke. I do have a room humidifier that blows cool air to increase the room Humidity.
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? Yes. 2 golden pothos, 2 spider plants, one money tree, 2 ferns (can’t remember what type got from biodude on chameleon specific safe plants)
• 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? Unfortunately on floor put muscle rack on its way. In bedroom no vents
• Location - Where are you geographically located? Central Illinois

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about. New enclosure and he/she seems super stressed hiding in the back.

 

[Richardl046]

What time is it? They be ready to sleep. Or you can try luring them out a little with a treat bug/food. Also, leave the basking bulb on the 12 hour schedule. Turning it off early may make them think it’s getting dark and it time for bed.

 

[Mendez]

Bump

I wish I had the time to go through your husbandry right now. But hopefully, with a bump, this will pop back up on the home page so others can help you out.

But I will say that:
1) moving/upgrading them to a new location can be stressful and it takes some time to adjust.
2) Incorrect husbandry parameters can cause stress such as too low humidity. Panthers need 50-60% during the day and closer to 100% at night.
3) It seems like you are giving too much D3. The brand eco-terra has more D3 than most brands and should be given only once or twice a month. Over 14,000 IU/lb is quite a bit higher than the more commonly used brands. Repashy calcium plus lod is right around 8,000 and then next is reptivite around 10,000.
4) You need to add a multivitamin supplement into your routine. Otherwise, tongue-eye coordination will suffer. Some good brands that include a multivitamin in with D3 (which is nice because you essentially hit two birds with one stone) are Repashy calcium plus lod or reptivite with D3. Both of these include D3 and multivitamins which can be supplemented twice a month. If you get either of the brands mentioned, you can throw out the D3 supplement you are currently using.

Hopefully someone can come in with more time on their hands and help you out. If no one goes through your form extensively within the next day, I'll go back through it with a thin-tipped comb (thin-tipped??--doesn't sound right).

Edit: *fine-tooth comb and not thin-tipped

 

[Troubledluna80]

What time is it? They be ready to sleep. Or you can try luring them out a little with a treat bug/food. Also, leave the basking bulb on the 12 hour schedule. Turning it off early may make them think it’s getting dark and it time for bed.

Thank you I read someplace to only leave on basking light when they are using it. So I was leaving on the other lights for 12 hours but turning that one off. I will change that.

 

[Troubledluna80]

Bump

I wish I had the time to go through your husbandry right now. But hopefully, with a bump, this will pop back up on the home page so others can help you out.

But I will say that:
1) moving/upgrading them to a new location can be stressful and it takes some time to adjust.
2) Incorrect husbandry parameters can cause stress such as too low humidity. Panthers need 50-60% during the day and closer to 100% at night.
3) It seems like you are giving too much D3. The brand eco-terra has more D3 than most brands and should be given only once or twice a month. Over 14,000 IU/lb is quite a bit higher than the more commonly used brands. Repashy calcium plus lod is right around 8,000 and then next is reptivite around 10,000.
4) You need to add a multivitamin supplement into your routine. Otherwise, tongue-eye coordination will suffer. Some good brands that include a multivitamin in with D3 (which is nice because you essentially hit two birds with one stone) are Repashy calcium plus lod or reptivite with D3. Both of these include D3 and multivitamins which can be supplemented twice a month. If you get either of the brands mentioned, you can throw out the D3 supplement you are currently using.

Hopefully someone can come in with more time on their hands and help you out. If no one goes through your form extensively within the next day, I'll go back through it with a thin-tipped comb (thin-tipped??--doesn't sound right).

Edit: *fine-tooth comb and not thin-tipped

Thank you. I actually have repashy calium first but I saw a YouTube video saying it wasn’t good so I switched. I will go back to repashy and make other adjustments to supplements. I used to keep his humidify at 50% during day but again YouTube steered me wrong. I’m beginning to understand if you want accurate information to come here first and will make those changes. Thank you I appreciate you helping me.

 

[GrayMadder]

I dont see anything that immediately stands out in your husbandry that hasnt already been mentioned.

It does take some time for them to adjust and establish a routine. I dont think its anything to worry, just keep an eye out for any other symptoms.

 

[Troubledluna80]

He’s exploring today!

 

[Beman]

@Troubledluna80 Hi there... Welcome to the forum. I am going to go through your form. I may repeat stuff @Mendez said but I will be the fine tooth comb lol. See feedback in bold. as far as the hiding it can take time for them to get used to changes.

Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Panther Chameleon. I’ve had him/her since beginning of Dec. so in between 3-4 months old Is there a reason you do not know gender? Do you have other pics you can post so we can see the baby with tail sticking out? Based on the pic above of baby hiding I am going to say female due to lack of bright coloring. But other pics would help us tell you for sure.

• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? I don’t although I did have to offer a stick to climb on to to move cages. Are you working on trust building with hand feeding? See this blog to learn more. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? Dubai roaches, crickets alternating days. I bought super worms and horn worms but most of the were too big. He ate a couple hornworms and super worms I let pupate so I can have some smaller worms soon. Yes guy load bugs with oranges, sweet potatoes, spinach, grapes, green beans. How much and how often are you feeding now? So you can use other items like black soldier fly larvae and silkworms. I will post an image below for feeders and gutload. With your gutload I would stop using Spinach as it can be calicum binding. Switch it out for one of the other leafy greens and consider adding another leafy green to replace the grapes.
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Eco-terra Calcium (no D3) eco-terra with d3 ever Sunday. I would replace the exo terra calcium with D3 for Reptivite with D3. You need the multivitamin and this has it with D3. You should only give this 2 times a month say the first and the 15th. Currently you are giving too much D3. So this is a priority to change out. Then at all other feedings you want to use the calcium without D3. So this one with D3 version and the 2 oz bottle https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Rept...0&sr=1-1-7bf78e84-8ef2-4f13-9926-bee5153e81cb
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? Currently hand mist for 2-3 mins before turn on lights, once around 2pm when I turn off basking light, by this time he is avoiding light, and once before turning all lights off. I only rarely see him drink. I got a room humidifier to increase the humidity in his cage at night. I do have mist king and am setting it up this weekend. Mist king will be better. It will allow you to set your mistings but also it is a much finer misting then a bottle. For shyer chams they work better because your not standing there in their cage. Don't worry about the cham getting wet they will go down out of the spray if they want to but alot of panthers like sitting in the mist. More likely to do it when you have the automated mister set up though. If the fogger is going directly into the cage at night make sure your running it after temps have dropped under 68. But lower is better.
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? He poops 2 x’s a day firm brown with white urates most of time. Once in a while I don’t see urates in second poop. Yes test I bought in a couple different fresh samples no parasites.perfect.
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. Last time Cricket shed it wasn’t his entire body at once like first two times. Normal as they mature they start shedding in sections.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? Dragon King Hybrid 2x2x4. Great enclosure. Few questions here. did you drill holes in the bottom white PVC panel on the floor so that the water will drip into your tray from the bag? I notice your walls are not white. What did you use to paint them did you make sure it was water proof and gassed off prior to putting stuff in?
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? Arcadia linear uvb 6% I believe it’s 20inches. Normal house bulb for basking, and I have a grow light for plants. Good what is your distance to basking under the UVB? Should be 8-9 measured inches for the correct UVI level.
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? At night temp at soil level is 60 middle is 62-65 top 62-66. Day basking 80% but I turn that off once he is trying to get away from spot usually on from 7am-2pm. Rest of change bottom 65-70 middle 68-72 top without basking light on is 70-73. Good.
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? Hand misting day is between 30-40% at night the most I’ve been able to get it up to is 60% Hopefully mister, more life plants, and soil will help. Plus I will buy a digger mine broke. I do have a room humidifier that blows cool air to increase the room Humidity. I would expect your humidity to be higher then it is... Looking for 50-60% during the day. Basking will be lower due to the lighting. Gauge type matters here. Analogs are inaccurate alot of the time. I like the govee ones. They work great for ambient temps and humidity. Hook in with a zip tie and make sure they are out of a direct spray path of water. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07R586J37/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? Yes. 2 golden pothos, 2 spider plants, one money tree, 2 ferns (can’t remember what type got from biodude on chameleon specific safe plants) good.
• 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? Unfortunately on floor put muscle rack on its way. In bedroom no vents good getting it up on a rack will help.... Might consider drilling a hole in the bottom drain pan and then putting a bucket under it. It is much harder to remove water with a wet vac from the pan since you can not pull up the bottom floor panel.
• Location - Where are you geographically located? Central Illinois

 

[Troubledluna80]

Thank you so much for going through here and helping me I am new to chameleons. I did drill holes on the bottom and plan to make a drainage system once it’s on its rack. Yes I spray painted and sealed it with waterproofing two weeks ago. I had a lot of other things happen in that time frame so I wasn’t able to put it together ask quickly as I wanted. Right now he is eating at least four bugs that I see a day. I am using a cup and then putting my hand in the cage underneath him and allowing him to move closer to get bugs. I have noticed if I look away he is more comfortable. At first he wouldn’t eat anything from the cup so I would try and then let the bugs go one by one on a leaf that he would eat from. He will eat for bugs from the cup for me now but then starts yawning and showing signs that he doesn’t want my hand in there so I put the bugs on the leaves and let him free range the rest. I offer at least 8 bugs daily the crickets and roaches are small sized. Thank you for the information on got loading that will be very helpful and I got an alert that his rack will be here on Monday so I will immediately get him off of the floor. I also will be able to put his lighting and things off of the top of his cage. I am following the build guide from dragon strand site and that’s what he recommended. I will also buy something to measure uvb if you think it’s helpful. I Well measure to make sure it’s the basking spot is that correct distance I actually do not believe it is now it looks closer than that so thank you for the info. Is it OK after I make the changes that I take pictures again and re-do the Chamaeleon help form? Everything seems very complicated and I want to make sure that I made the correct changes so that he or she is healthy. I don’t know the sex of it I had posted before to ask and there was mixed answers. I will post another picture. Although now when cricket extends his throat pouch and puffs his body up the entire underneath of his chin is red. Do females get that?

 

[Troubledluna80]

Sorry I forgot to address this. I was measuring humidity with the gauge that also had a thermometer on it. I just ordered the recommended one so it will be switched to.

 

[Beman]

So I would expect the little one to be eating much more then it is. Where did you get it from? Are the feeders 1/4 inch in size? You may want to consider ordering a feeder run. I like these in the 3 inch feeder cup and you want the flat surface attachment for your enclosure. https://www.fullthrottlefeeders.com/feedercups

Tail base looks female to me. And yes females can get red in the gular area. You could post a thread just asking the gender then you will get people that know it much better then I do. http://www.muchadoaboutchameleons.com/2013/04/male-or-female-how-to-sex-baby-panther.html

 

[Troubledluna80]

Thank you I will order her one. They are 1/2 inch banded crickets. She does eat more of the roaches at once. I’ve been Alternating days but if I should be feeding her both every day I will I just wasn’t sure what to do. Or if I need to offer her food more than once a day. How many bugs a day should she be eating?

 

[Gingero]

Definitely looks female to me.

At that age they should be eating as much as they can. 10-15 bugs/day is the general recommendation but this will vary on the size of the bug. You can just feed her 1x/day and you can use a variety of bugs -- the more types of bugs the better. Since you have a female you will want to cut back on food once she is older to help reduce the number of eggs she will lay.

 

[Troubledluna80]

Thank you!

 

[Beman]

Thank you I will order her one. They are 1/2 inch banded crickets. She does eat more of the roaches at once. I’ve been Alternating days but if I should be feeding her both every day I will I just wasn’t sure what to do. Or if I need to offer her food more than once a day. How many bugs a day should she be eating?

Try the feeder run... Depending on her size tip of nose to her vent you may want to drop back to 1/4 inch feeders. So I give a variety every day. My current feeders are superworms (which you can order in a small or medium size), dubia, silkworms, and blue bottle flies. I rotate one feeder out and add a different one in when I reorder feeders the following month.

@Gingero gave info above that will help you in her videos. Let us know if you have more questions.

 

[Troubledluna80]

@Troubledluna80 Hi there... Welcome to the forum. I am going to go through your form. I may repeat stuff @Mendez said but I will be the fine tooth comb lol. See feedback in bold. as far as the hiding it can take time for them to get used to changes.

Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Panther Chameleon. I’ve had him/her since beginning of Dec. so in between 3-4 months old Is there a reason you do not know gender? Do you have other pics you can post so we can see the baby with tail sticking out? Based on the pic above of baby hiding I am going to say female due to lack of bright coloring. But other pics would help us tell you for sure.

• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? I don’t although I did have to offer a stick to climb on to to move cages. Are you working on trust building with hand feeding? See this blog to learn more. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? Dubai roaches, crickets alternating days. I bought super worms and horn worms but most of the were too big. He ate a couple hornworms and super worms I let pupate so I can have some smaller worms soon. Yes guy load bugs with oranges, sweet potatoes, spinach, grapes, green beans. How much and how often are you feeding now? So you can use other items like black soldier fly larvae and silkworms. I will post an image below for feeders and gutload. With your gutload I would stop using Spinach as it can be calicum binding. Switch it out for one of the other leafy greens and consider adding another leafy green to replace the grapes.
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Eco-terra Calcium (no D3) eco-terra with d3 ever Sunday. I would replace the exo terra calcium with D3 for Reptivite with D3. You need the multivitamin and this has it with D3. You should only give this 2 times a month say the first and the 15th. Currently you are giving too much D3. So this is a priority to change out. Then at all other feedings you want to use the calcium without D3. So this one with D3 version and the 2 oz bottle https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Rept...0&sr=1-1-7bf78e84-8ef2-4f13-9926-bee5153e81cb
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? Currently hand mist for 2-3 mins before turn on lights, once around 2pm when I turn off basking light, by this time he is avoiding light, and once before turning all lights off. I only rarely see him drink. I got a room humidifier to increase the humidity in his cage at night. I do have mist king and am setting it up this weekend. Mist king will be better. It will allow you to set your mistings but also it is a much finer misting then a bottle. For shyer chams they work better because your not standing there in their cage. Don't worry about the cham getting wet they will go down out of the spray if they want to but alot of panthers like sitting in the mist. More likely to do it when you have the automated mister set up though. If the fogger is going directly into the cage at night make sure your running it after temps have dropped under 68. But lower is better.
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? He poops 2 x’s a day firm brown with white urates most of time. Once in a while I don’t see urates in second poop. Yes test I bought in a couple different fresh samples no parasites.perfect.
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. Last time Cricket shed it wasn’t his entire body at once like first two times. Normal as they mature they start shedding in sections.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? Dragon King Hybrid 2x2x4. Great enclosure. Few questions here. did you drill holes in the bottom white PVC panel on the floor so that the water will drip into your tray from the bag? I notice your walls are not white. What did you use to paint them did you make sure it was water proof and gassed off prior to putting stuff in?
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? Arcadia linear uvb 6% I believe it’s 20inches. Normal house bulb for basking, and I have a grow light for plants. Good what is your distance to basking under the UVB? Should be 8-9 measured inches for the correct UVI level.
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? At night temp at soil level is 60 middle is 62-65 top 62-66. Day basking 80% but I turn that off once he is trying to get away from spot usually on from 7am-2pm. Rest of change bottom 65-70 middle 68-72 top without basking light on is 70-73. Good.
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? Hand misting day is between 30-40% at night the most I’ve been able to get it up to is 60% Hopefully mister, more life plants, and soil will help. Plus I will buy a digger mine broke. I do have a room humidifier that blows cool air to increase the room Humidity. I would expect your humidity to be higher then it is... Looking for 50-60% during the day. Basking will be lower due to the lighting. Gauge type matters here. Analogs are inaccurate alot of the time. I like the govee ones. They work great for ambient temps and humidity. Hook in with a zip tie and make sure they are out of a direct spray path of water. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07R586J37/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? Yes. 2 golden pothos, 2 spider plants, one money tree, 2 ferns (can’t remember what type got from biodude on chameleon specific safe plants) good.
• 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? Unfortunately on floor put muscle rack on its way. In bedroom no vents good getting it up on a rack will help.... Might consider drilling a hole in the bottom drain pan and then putting a bucket under it. It is much harder to remove water with a wet vac from the pan since you can not pull up the bottom floor panel.
• Location - Where are you geographically located? Central Illinois

View attachment 296355View attachment 296356

I just got my new hygrometer today and I can not believe how different the reading are. My old one said it was 30% and the new one says 80%. I’m going to have to drastically change what I’m doing to be in the right ranges but thank you for the suggestion I would have never known. Also some of my plants have started to get root rot and I wondered why because I didn’t think it was that humid so this explains a lot. Thank you again for taking the time to help me and my little one!

 

[Beman]

I just got my new hygrometer today and I can not believe how different the reading are. My old one said it was 30% and the new one says 80%. I’m going to have to drastically change what I’m doing to be in the right ranges but thank you for the suggestion I would have never known. Also some of my plants have started to get root rot and I wondered why because I didn’t think it was that humid so this explains a lot. Thank you again for taking the time to help me and my little one!

So root rot tends to be from over watering. So if your watering them directly this can be too much with mistings every day.

Per the humidity... Where is it showing 80% in the middle or up on the basking level?

One thing with the DS hybrid and having it converted to bio active... you are blocking most of the screen in the bottom and unable to get real airflow. With it sitting on the floor this is probably going to reduce air flow even more. I would suggest getting a small PC fan and place it on the top and have it running pulling the air up and out of the enclosure. This one would be good. Just remember when you place it you want it pulling air not blowing air in. This also reduces stagnant air in the enclosure and may help with lowering the humidity. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009OWVUJ0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Troubledluna80]

Great. I got my stand also so the cage will be Elevated tomorrow. I was Misting it way too much because my gauge said it was too low. I’m hooking up my Mist King system tomorrow when I put it on the stand. Part of the bottom is blocked but not all of it I will attach a picture. After I set the misting system to go off right before his lights turn on one short period during the day and then right after his lights turn off I can monitor to see if she needs a fan for the cage too. I was thoroughly surprised by the differences between the two gauges. I did put the new gauge in the middle of back right corner because that seemed the most protected from getting directly sprayed but please let me know if I should move it or add another one at a different part of the cage they’re not very expensive.