New to the Chameleon world.

[dzydvl]

Hello forum!!!! I’m new here, I’ve had reptiles of all kinds but I always wanted the bug-eyed chameleon. Well, I normally wouldn’t do what I did, but a local pet shore had a veiled female who was there for months. It was killing me seeing her not in a good home. Having experienced with pythons, bearded dragons, iguanas, tortoise, I brought her home. I bought the basic ReptiZoo enclosure, but I immediately upgraded to T5HO strip which I use on my Salcada tortoise. Right now there plastic plants (I know not ideal) sturdy logs, a drip system but here mister will be here tomorrow as well as her bowl. My goal is to create a bioactive system with live plants. All that being said, I’m struggling to keep heat up. Fortunately it’s only been 8 hours, so I plan on getting a new bulb for heat tomorrow. I have CHE’s for my other reptiles, can I use them, or is there better options. I’m all ears, I did searches and info is all over, I’m just trying to do best for my girl. I’m also digging into ChameleonAcadamy. I’m sorry for the newb questions, but I care about any and all animal I have. They rely on us to treat them with the love and care they need.

 

[Ambilobe123]

Hello forum!!!! I’m new here, I’ve had reptiles of all kinds but I always wanted the bug-eyed chameleon. Well, I normally wouldn’t do what I did, but a local pet shore had a veiled female who was there for months. It was killing me seeing her not in a good home. Having experienced with pythons, bearded dragons, iguanas, tortoise, I brought her home. I bought the basic ReptiZoo enclosure, but I immediately upgraded to T5HO strip which I use on my Salcada tortoise. Right now there plastic plants (I know not ideal) sturdy logs, a drip system but here mister will be here tomorrow as well as her bowl. My goal is to create a bioactive system with live plants. All that being said, I’m struggling to keep heat up. Fortunately it’s only been 8 hours, so I plan on getting a new bulb for heat tomorrow. I have CHE’s for my other reptiles, can I use them, or is there better options. I’m all ears, I did searches and info is all over, I’m just trying to do best for my girl. I’m also digging into ChameleonAcadamy. I’m sorry for the newb questions, but I care about any and all animal I have. They rely on us to treat them with the love and care they need.

Hello, and welcome to the forums!

A couple questions/pointers for you:

- CHEs are not ideal, household incandescent bulbs are generally the best option for heating.

- How big is your enclosure? It looks a bit smaller than is recommended.

- So far the setup looks good, but you’ll want to replace the plastic plants ASAP due to the risk of impaction.

- What temperatures do you have/are aiming for? Low 80s are ideal for basking, and unless it’s dropping into the 50s overnight you won’t need nighttime heating.

- I would remove the carpet from the bottom. It’s unnecessary, and a breeding ground for bacteria.

- Are you using the bowl as a feeding cup?

- Have you done/are you planning on doing a fecal test for parasites?

Unfortunately there is a lot of incorrect info out there on these guys, but here and chameleonacademy are the best sources.

 

[dzydvl]

Hello, and welcome to the forums!

A couple questions/pointers for you:

- CHEs are not ideal, household incandescent bulbs are generally the best option for heating.

- How big is your enclosure? It looks a bit smaller than is recommended.

- So far the setup looks good, but you’ll want to replace the plastic plants ASAP due to the risk of impaction.

- What temperatures do you have/are aiming for? Low 80s are ideal for basking, and unless it’s dropping into the 50s overnight you won’t need nighttime heating.

- I would remove the carpet from the bottom. It’s unnecessary, and a breeding ground for bacteria.

- Are you using the bowl as a feeding cup?

- Have you done/are you planning on doing a fecal test for parasites?

Unfortunately there is a lot of incorrect info out there on these guys, but here and chameleonacademy are the best sources.

Thank you so much for your response. Parasite tests will be done on the first stool I get. I have a great reptile vet.

16x16x30 is the enclosure size. Again, I had to take what I could get, but it’s bigger than she was in.

I will remove the carpet immediately, thank you for the recommendation.

In terms of temps, I’m shooting for no higher than 90. I have a
Hygrometer/temperature device to maintain both. I have them on all my reptiles. Again, tonight is drip, but my mister will be here tomorrow. I’ve made sure to mist multiple times today using a spray bottle.

I will attach a pic of the hood that came with the enclosure, again I have a separate UBV light with this bulb. Arcadia 12% UV-B.

I know the 60w isn’t strong enough. I’m using a laser temp gun that I use for my other reptiles.

 

[Ambilobe123]

Thank you so much for your response. Parasite tests will be done on the first stool I get. I have a great reptile vet.

16x16x30 is the enclosure size. Again, I had to take what I could get, but it’s bigger than she was in.

I will remove the carpet immediately, thank you for the recommendation.

In terms of temps, I’m shooting for no higher than 90. I have a
Hygrometer/temperature device to maintain both. I have them on all my reptiles. Again, tonight is drip, but my mister will be here tomorrow. I’ve made sure to mist multiple times today using a spray bottle.

I will attach a pic of the hood that came with the enclosure, again I have a separate UBV light with this bulb. Arcadia 12% UV-B.

I know the 60w isn’t strong enough. I’m using a laser temp gun that I use for my other reptiles.

Good to hear with testing for parasites, good herp vets are not terribly common. UVB looks good, and manual misting with a drip should be more than enough until tomorrow.

90 is too hot, even for a basking spot. As I said earlier, under 85 is best. If an incandescent doesn’t get it warm enough just avoid “spot” basking bulbs and coloured bulbs. A CHE is not ideal as they will go to the brightest spot to bask, and they typically put out too much heat.

The chameleon kit is not at all recommended, as well as the enclosure itself being too small the bulbs that come with it are not correct and the carpet/fake plants can even be dangerous.

 

[dzydvl]

I will focus on a better basking bulb for tomorrow. From there I will work on a better enclosure. It may take me some time, BUT I will start to find a way to incorporate life plants. I have several plexiglass pieces that would allow me to create a substrate for live plants.

 

[dzydvl]

I will focus on a better basking bulb for tomorrow. From there I will work on a better enclosure. It may take me some time, BUT I will start to find a way to incorporate life plants. I have several plexiglass pieces that would allow me to create a substrate for live plants.

Thank you for your help!!!