Newbie just begining

[bigred]

Hello everyone, I've always wanted to have Chameleons and finally going to. I'm starting slow, I have the cage, grapevines, and greens so far. The cage is 36"Tx24"x24". Here's a picture. Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

[Julirs]

Good start so far. I would get a Pothos of Schefflera-live plants are great for humidity and drinking surfaces-and add some vines about 7-8" from the top so they can bask in the UVB and heat lamps you will put up there. Remember, one chameleon per cage.

 

[laurie]

Well hello & welcome to thee forum. The cage is good. If it were me I would remove the green mossy looking stuff as your chameleon could eat it and have major problems. A couple of live plants will work wonders for your humidity. I use ficus and umbrella plants. The other thing for inside the cage is lots of sticks. They are highways for chameleons so they need to go top to bottom side to side and provide ways for the cham to get around.

Do you have the required lighting and other stuff?
Let us know what you have and we will fill in the gaps on what you need. This chameleon will come home to a good set up.

 

[bigred]

I haven't bought the lights yet. Any recommendations? Also should I do a drip or those waterfalls?

 

[Hoj]

for lighting most members reccomend the zoomed reptisun 5.o for uvb, and a ceramic basking light with standard house bulb for basking area. (wattage depending on temp.)
stay away from waterfalls, as they can breed bacteria and have other issues, drippers work best. a cheap way is to just use a cup or plastic bottle with a small hole so it drips every 3 sec or so.

p.s. welcome

hoj & camo

 

[bigred]

What live plants would you recommend to put in the cage?

 

[Julirs]

What live plants would you recommend to put in the cage?

The ones I mentioned above.

 

[bigred]

Thanks, I'll def put one in the cage. With me living AZ, how many times a day should I mist the cage?

 

[sensation]

I did the same thing. Worked on my enclosure for about a month and then bought my little guy. I signed up here to get feedback on it and everyone has been so nice. The best advice I got from members on this board is to get vines and branches and make it like a highway. Have the vines/branches going high, low, and side to side. Also pothos are easy to maintain. I went to Home Depot and bought one that hangs from the celling, took off the hook and cleaned it real good and now it provides great coverage. Real plants also help with humidity. I added some fake plants to provide a little more foliage and I must say, they are great. With your enclosure, he/she will have no where to hide. Even if they are the friendliest Cham in the world, they need a place to hide!

My only advice would be, don't be in a rush to buy a cham. Take the time to make sure you are doing everything possible so that the little guy feels at home when he arrives. There's nothing worse than messing in the cage and moving/adding/taking out things on the day he arrives.

 

[bigred]

That's what I'm trying to do. Get everything perfect for when I get one and don't have to stress it out by moving stuff. What is the best way to attach the vines to the screen cage?

 

[facelesdoll]

bread tie wraps work wonders on any red neck project or chameleon vine hanging projects. i use these! i am, a redneck! even though i live in the city and act gangster homie. welcome to the forums!

 

[ghettomike]

you can buy a whole roll of plastic coated tie wire at most hardware stores, you can cut it to any length you may need. Thats what I use and it works great. I also recommend a pothos and maybe a schleffera for live plants.

 

[KatCham]

I used the little coated wire tires that were wrapped around the vines and plants etc that I bought, they've worked great.

Welcome, by the way!

I'm a new cham owner too. Well I will be soon. In the process of monitoring enclosure, and have put a deposit on the lucky lil man

Will have him couriered from Global Geckos Surrey,UK when I'm happy with his new home.

You'll learn so much on this site!! Everyone is fab!!!

 

[chriscalvert]

looks good. my questions is where do you find the stick part of your set up, or i guess that called grapevine? ive looked everywhere and i cant find something with good height that would stand on its own

 

[sensation]

looks good. my questions is where do you find the stick part of your set up, or i guess that called grapevine? ive looked everywhere and i cant find something with good height that would stand on its own

Probably outside

 

[carol5208]

if you want to run your branches horizontally, you can use pushpins to keep the branches up. Just attach them on the outside of the screen and into the ends of the branches. Works great and keeps the branches secure and from falling!

 

[esponda55]

you can buy a whole roll of plastic coated tie wire at most hardware stores, you can cut it to any length you may need. Thats what I use and it works great. I also recommend a pothos and maybe a schleffera for live plants.

I just go to the produce section at any Ralph's or Vons and take a dozen or so tie wires =)

 

[pennington]

I'm new to Chameleon keeping, in fact I've only had keith 4 days. BUT i have done a lot of research on keeping them. A very famous museum keeps their Chameleons under dual UV lamps, one at 2.0 and one at 5.0. I have used this set up.

I've been playing around with vines and I have found the waterproof Exo-terra vines are fantastic for bending and shaping to fit how you want them. I use a mix on thin and thick vines and also intertwine them together that makes a thicker vine that you can prize apart to put plants inbetween. This has worked really well and holds my artificial plants so he can walk across from vine to vine using the plants.

Hope what little I have provided helps you get into these brilliant creatures too. I am hooked!

 

[bigred]

Well the branches I have in my cage are actually old grapevines from a orchard about 10 miles from my house. They are all dead and abandoned. I went and picked up some more today. A couple that are 3'+ in length. Here's a picture of what they look like when I get them and when I'm done cleaning it. Also here's a picture with more vines in the cage. I have two good spaces on the bottom for live plants.

 

[bigred]

if you want to run your branches horizontally, you can use pushpins to keep the branches up. Just attach them on the outside of the screen and into the ends of the branches. Works great and keeps the branches secure and from falling!

Also you could drill a small hole at the ends and use the wire ties.