new member first post! few questions at end :)

[Mike1234]

Good Afternoon everyone!

First post on this site after lurking for a week or so researching chameleons. I have always wanted one but up until recently they were not legal to keep in my state! Hopefully this little intro post is in the correct area as I have a few quick questions as well.

I have been a herp keeper going on 21 years now and I have had a little of everything; Tegus(Columbian and argentine), Bearded Dragons(multiple morphs), Uromastyx(3 types), Iguanas(multiple greens and a rhino), Monitors(peacocks), Turtles, Tortoises and the list goes on. I have just never had a chameleon, hoping to change that soon!

Right now I have a 15yr old male iguana that I have had for close to 12 years now and I also have 2 redfoot tortoises. A lot of my other things I either traded or had to sell off when I moved from my parents’ house to my first apartment 5 years ago . Well in March my girlfriend and myself moved into a house and I now have a dedicated room to keep my reptiles in (this will also serve as a room for my firearms and reloading station as well). Recently I started throwing around the idea of getting a few more reps to add to my collection now that I have room for them, and to my surprise she was keen on the idea. So needless to say I joined the forum and I hope you don’t mind if I pick your brains for some info from time to time. I have been reading a lot and there is so much good info on this site. But as I'm sure you all know sometimes searching for info becomes a little overwhelming. So I will try to not post crazy beginner questions!


Well here is my first little string of questions. These are being based towards Veiled and Panther Chameleons. I like the panthers and my girl like veiled go figure lol. Maybe I will need to get both at one point

Enclosures- I know from past research that screen cages are the best for chameleons for the fresh airflow that they provide to the animal. but my questions are based around humidity. I know that most species are suggested to be kept around 50-70% to be healthy. But how is this possible with a full screen enclosure? In my case I live in the northeast Massachusetts to be exact, so from late October to usually April I have to run heat in my house, which in turn kills any humidity in the air. In my case would I be able to get away with an enclosure that has 3 solid walls and screen on the top and sides? I fell like this will give me the best chance to hold in the humidity that I need and if I add a lot of live potted plants for cover they should help hold in humidity. Running a humidifier in the room isn’t an option at this point. also what kind of screen do you guys use for your cages? Is fine mess preferred? Or bigger holes like you would find in hardware cloth(say close to ¼-1/2 inch)?

Feeding- I know that Chams eat insects and some will nibble on some plant matter. And I know variety is best when feeding any animal. And I like to mimic wild diets as much as I can. During the summer I plan on catching a lot of wild insects from the yard (I use no chemicals in my yard and neither do neighbors) so I don’t see this being an issue. I have lots of grasshoppers and moths around. I know the grasshopper would be ok for food but what about moths? Would those be safe as well? And are there other insects besides crickets and roaches that could be used as a main staple? I have kept/ bred crickets before(smelly) and I’ve also bred dubai roaches(girlfriend will not allow that now). So I am on the lookout for another insect to use as a main staple. I want to avoid crickets getting loose in the house. Been there and done that. Not looking to be chasing chirping crickets around at 2am so I can sleep!


I think that’s all I have right now. I look forward to being a frequent poster on this site and look forward to speaking with you and possibly buying my future chameleons from a fellow poster of the site!

Thanks,
Mike

 

[zlew]

Hi Mike,

To keep up the humidity you can have automatic misters set to go off for 1 minute every three hours or so for 12 hours a day. You want to have dry out periods where the collected water evaporates. It's very hard to keep a constant humidity level, but you don't need one. And having the misting sessions will keep it from dropping too low, because by the time it drops down, the new session will start and Voila! Back up to high humidity.

I would not use wild caught insects. Even though you don't have pesticides, there is still a risk of the insects having parasites and passing them on to your chameleon. However, if you BREED the wild caught bugs, and get rid of the wild ones as soon as possible, (after they lay eggs) the offspring will not have parasites.

 

[Mike1234]

Thanks!

im just used to having the iguana and having a fully enclosed cage(for the most part) to hold in the humidity. so was a little confused at how people maintained humidity in a screen cage. i still like the idea of having 3 solid sides with a screen top and front. i will need to research that a little more. i have seen setups like that on this forum and a few other sites, but that doesnt mean that they are the correct way to setup a chameleon. i just dont want alot of water to get out of the cage and ruin the wood floors or the walls, the girlfriend would kill me!!!

ill scratch the wild caught idea. the idea of parasites didnt even occur to me for some reason. probably becasue i havent had to deal with feeder insects in a long time since all my stuff now eat greens and veggies only.


Now i just need to decide on what kind of chameleon im going to keep so i can search based on that specific one. im torn between the veiled and panthers

 

[zlew]

well, veileds will eat some greens and fruit, make sure you research this because some are toxic to them. (like tomatoes) I have a baby panther and i love him, but he is an extremely picky little **** so i have a hard time feeding him sometimes. Personally, I think a 3-sided glass tank would be fine. People say you NEED screen cages, and you do need a pretty good amount of ventilation, but screen front and top should be just fine, as long as you have the right size cage.

 

[kplatvoet]

Take a look at the Dragonstrand breeder cage- I have one and I love it - I have two other custom built cages which I also love - but the Dragonstrand has 2 solid sides and back- They are a sponsor -
I like how easy they are to set up -
I got a kitchen cart from Overstock and it fit right in - I left the top and drawer out and it gives me room for the misting system underneath. I drilled a hole so it could drain into a hidden bucket and I use a rain dome so I don't get water spraying every where.
We have mulberry trees in NJ - I've been doing a bunch of silkworms- I'm going to hate buying chow and have been starting with eggs. I still end up with crickets (yuck) but not as many - I also use a lot of Blue Bottle flies - some superworms - my husband says no to roaches also - I keep trying to tell him they are really just rollie pollie bugs - but he's not falling for it.

 

[Mike1234]

Thanks for the advice on the cages! I took a look at them and I really like the way they look and are setup. I think I will use them as a template for building my own. I'm fairly certain I could build a few cages for the same price of one of those. I will most likely end up with more than one so I would build the cages together with a divider down the middle. I could probably frame it out of 1x1 lumber and wrap in finish grade ply on the outside and use some sort of a water proof board on the inside. Perhaps the same they use to line shower stalls. Ill also have to figure a way for a drain for the bottom of the cage. But I can probably come up with something using some small diameter PVC pipe.

Even though I won’t be buying for a few months I might start the cages this weekend or the following. I'm pretty sure I have some lumber leftover from when I built my iguanas current enclosure. I know I have some finish grade plywood I can use for the outsides.


im going to keep trying to get her to like the idea of the roaches. i liked the dubais when i was raising them before. to me its a win all around. no smell, reproduce fast, multiple sizes, cant climb well. i loved my colony before. super easy to keep and they reproduced like crazy!

 

[Fogerty]

Welcome, I have two a panther and a veiled both boys ,they seem to get tired of the same feeder so you have to switch it up on them and always have at least two choices, superworms are easy to maintain even easier than dubia, I get crickets by the 500, and hornworms 50 at a time, have a dubia colony , and once in a while do the BB flies which they go crazy for ,but then also seem to get tired of them after a couple of days , the occasional grasshopper ,moth or katydid does seem to keep them interested, Get a Mist king or equivalent misting system and a constant dripper. Fake plants are easier to maintain and keep clean ,I always try to keep one Pothos in each cage to help with humidity. They are a fun hobby ,seem to actually have "personality as opposed to most reptiles. PS: love reloading ,nothing like being a do it yourselfer. Check out my photo albums if you want to see my boys.