New setup for veiled cham, need some advice

[kairi143]

This is my setup for my baby veiled cham (still waiting for the cham to get here). I ordered a 2 mo premium veiled cham from flchams and the description says the babies are a nice size like the sire. The suggested size was a medium cage, but I went ahead and ordered the large Zoo Med reptibreeze (18x18x36) so there was room to grow in the next few months. I have a few concerns with this though and wanted to get some opinions. First, is it okay that I have this larger cage for the baby? I elevated the plants and branches so the bottom part of the cage isn't really used, hoping that would give him a little smaller of a space to not be so overwhelmed and lost. His basking branch is 9 inches from the top of the screen, and the basking lamp is clamped to the top and hangs 3 inches from the top. Giving him a good foot away from the light. Another concern I have though is that the temp is still in the upper 80's. Should I lower everything down (plants and vines) or maybe move the lamp a little further away? I will attach some pictures below of the setup.

For lighting I have the Zoo Med ReptiSun 15 watt 18-Inch T8 fluorescent lamp, and a 75 watt Zoo Med Reptile Basking spot lamp which is housed in the 5.5 inch zoo med deluxe porcelain clamp lamp dome. I also have the 18-inch zoo med naturalistic terrarium hood on the way so I can add a light for the plants.

The inside of the cage has a live Dracaena fragrans (with screening in the bottom so he can't eat the soil), a fake large exo terra ampallo plant, a small exo terra jungle vine, and another vine, forgot to keep the label but I think it was made by zoo med. The free range tree to the right is a fake ficus from Michael's Arts and Crafts store. The two on the left are both real, one is dracaena fragrans, the other is golden pothos. I have an extra exo terra vine and large fake ampallo plants that I will use to connect the two and have some branches for him to walk on. I can also add the golden pothos to the inside of the cage if that wouldn't be too much or cause him to get lost or have problems finding food.

For water/humidity I have a little dripper and plan to hand mist until I get my next paycheck and will uprade to an automatic mister. Does anyone have any suggestions to keep the water from spraying on the wall behind the cage? I've read that some people use a shower curtain liner to hang up behind the cage, but doesn't that still drop down onto the floor?

I am completely new at this and am open to all suggestions and criticism! It doesn't look like much inside, but the cage is a large and he's only 2 months. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

 

[DeremensisBlue]

I think your little guy will enjoy the set up. The challenge you will run into is making sure he can get at his food. 2 month baby food tends to disperse quickly. You may be cup feeding for a little while. Calyptratus are hunters (generally speaking) so he will probably go to food.

Is the Reptisun bulb the Repti-sun 5.0? I have heard the 10.0 is too much UVB.

Once he gets in let him settle for a couple days. Once he gets settled, watch his behavior. If he keeps trying to get closer to the heat lamp you may have to move your basking branch closer.

Bill

 

[DeremensisBlue]

As for overspray, that is a part of using an all screen cage. You can line the cage with a shower curtain or any sort of plastic sheeting. You just make sure the bottom ends are going inside your drainage tray and it should work out fine.

Bill

 

[kairi143]

Is the Reptisun bulb the Repti-sun 5.0? I have heard the 10.0 is too much UVB.
Bill

Oops, knew I was forgetting something! It is the 5.0

I would prefer to cup feed, I just hope he does okay with it.

If he tries getting closer to the heat lamp, you don't think it'd be too hot for him if I moved the branch closer? The temp at the branch is already around 87 degrees and that's a foot away from the bulb lol I just don't want him to get a burn :-/ I will definitely keep my eye out for that though. He should be here tomorrow, and I'm off all weekend so I'm hoping that will give me enough time to make sure he's doing well with the heat and eating.
Happy Valentine's Day to me!

 

[kairi143]

As for overspray, that is a part of using an all screen cage. You can line the cage with a shower curtain or any sort of plastic sheeting. You just make sure the bottom ends are going inside your drainage tray and it should work out fine.

Bill

Oooh ok, I always pictured the shower curtain outside of the cage. Derp. I'll see about cutting out a piece just for the back. It drips behind the desk and I can't reach it to wipe down the walls. Thanks for all of the advice!

 

[DeremensisBlue]

Ah, I think see an issue here! Do you have a tray under your cage? There is an optional drainage tray that goes under these cages to catch the excess water. You would have to find one compatible with the zoomed cages. You would have the plastic on the outside of the cage and it would drape inside the drainage tray. The screen cages alone are not designed to hold water.
I am in a bad Internet area so am having trouble accessing the Zoomed site (but for some reason I can post here). I am assuming they offer a drainage tray. Check back with where you got your cage and ask about a drainage tray.
If you can't find one through them you could measure your cage foot print and I could see if the Dragon Strand medium tray will fit.

Bill

 

[DeremensisBlue]

Oops, knew I was forgetting something! It is the 5.0

I would prefer to cup feed, I just hope he does okay with it.

If he tries getting closer to the heat lamp, you don't think it'd be too hot for him if I moved the branch closer? The temp at the branch is already around 87 degrees and that's a foot away from the bulb lol I just don't want him to get a burn :-/ I will definitely keep my eye out for that though. He should be here tomorrow, and I'm off all weekend so I'm hoping that will give me enough time to make sure he's doing well with the heat and eating.
Happy Valentine's Day to me!

It sounds like a good branch placement. Just watch his basking habits and that will tell you what he needs.

Have fun with him!

Bill

 

[kairi143]

Ah, I think see an issue here! Do you have a tray under your cage? There is an optional drainage tray that goes under these cages to catch the excess water. You would have to find one compatible with the zoomed cages. You would have the plastic on the outside of the cage and it would drape inside the drainage tray. The screen cages alone are not designed to hold water.
I am in a bad Internet area so am having trouble accessing the Zoomed site (but for some reason I can post here). I am assuming they offer a drainage tray. Check back with where you got your cage and ask about a drainage tray.
If you can't find one through them you could measure your cage foot print and I could see if the Dragon Strand medium tray will fit.

Bill

I don't currently have a drainage tray. That has been my biggest concern with this cage. My neighbor said her husband could possibly drill a hole in the PVC bottom of the cage and also the desk it's sitting on, so I could put in some type of a drainage system and have a bucket underneath to catch the water.. but I haven't heard back from her about that. Right now, most of the water is dripping into the plant's pot, which is sitting in a little water catch tray and I have a turkey baster to get that water out. I've also been wiping up the excess water around the cage and in the bottom with paper towels. I know that's not going to last long though bc even hand misting him for 3-5 minutes produces a ton of excess water.

I ordered my cage off Amazon and didn't see any type of drainage tray for the cage. I also checked the zoo med website and couldn't find anything. I can measure the cage footprint when I get home and will let you know the measurements!

 

[kairi143]

If you can't find one through them you could measure your cage foot print and I could see if the Dragon Strand medium tray will fit.

Bill

I wasn't sure what you meant by foot print, but the base is 18x18. Once I take the bottom out, the hole measures about 16x16 since the cage is about an inch thick on each side.