Newbie questions for UK keepers

[Tommot]

Hello all,

I have been thinking about getting myself a cham for some time now and today spent a lot of time in the Northampton reptile centre, oogling at them and dreaming about getting one. I've decided to get a veiled cham, put have a few questions for the UK Keepers with regards to keeping them.

Ideally I want to get as big a viv/cage as possible and have seen that many of the US keepers use cages instead of Vivs.

Whats better a viv or a cage?
How easy is it to keep a cage's temp between 85 and 90 in the UK?
is this viv too small? http://www.reptilecentre.com/vivexotic-viva-chameleon-vivarium_p23259556.htm
How expensive are the running costs?

I appreciate that's a lot of possibly naive/ignorant questions but any help would be muchos appreciated

Thanks
Tom

 

[Mark Andbill]

Hi tommont,
Honestly if you get into this crazy world you will be asking many many questions that you think are obvious but it's good to get answers and none of these guys judge at all.

I have not had my cham long but an share what I have learnt.
I personally use a wooden Viv with full glass front I then cut the top out and replaced with aluminium mesh and added two vents to the front this allows good air flow as the hot air rises out and pulls fresh air in.
A 100watt household bulb keeps the temps fine in there running through a dimming thermostat. I will post a pic for you.

You are doing the best thing doing your research it really is like having a baby haha

 

[Mark Andbill]

 

[Stacey5089]

I was gonna get my panthers from northampton reptile centre but i thought i would go with a private breeder insteadi keep mine in vivariums with glass slidng doors i know people say the cages are alot better for airflow but they just look disgusting i think personally and you can create proper air flow in a vivarium so i dont see the problem

 

[Tommot]

Hello Mark,

thanks for the reply, looks like a good viv to me.
Did you make it? what are its dimensions and whats a dimming thermostat?

Thanks

 

[Tommot]

Thanks Stacey,

I'm coming round to the idea of a viv, initially i wanted a cage as you seem to be able to get them in bigger sizes. Struggling to find a viv that's taller than a meter, im very concious that a veiled cham can grow up to 24inches and would like to be able to give it more than an extra foot in room.

 

[Stacey5089]

Thanks Stacey,

I'm coming round to the idea of a viv, initially i wanted a cage as you seem to be able to get them in bigger sizes. Struggling to find a viv that's taller than a meter, im very concious that a veiled cham can grow up to 24inches and would like to be able to give it more than an extra foot in room.

I had this problem too thats why my boyfriend decided to build are own there just finished we still need to make backgrounds and get everything for inside im gonna put a picture on the enclosure thread now check it out

 

[Mark Andbill]

A dimming thermostat is what you run your basking light through you place the probe on your basking branch an when it reaches the desired temp instead o just turning off it dims the light slightly basically keeping both a light source and correct temp.

What you are looking to achieve is a temperature gradient in your enclosure with the basking spot being the warmest point, this means that your Cham can thermoregulate buy moving to different levels.

I purchased a Viv from eBay and canabalised it in hindsight I should have built it from scratch. It's 4 ft x 3ft x 1.5ft. I built the cabinet around the Viv I brought which had a centre support bar (I will try and find a old pic) I then had new glass cut full length.
The floor is leaves and fake dirt encased in resin to look like a jungle floor. I also fitted a drain and sunk a large flower pot into the base.

 

[Miss Lily]

Check out mujichameleonworld (Muji on here) - they make the best screen cages in the UK having taken over the Terry Thatcher business. They also make the drainage bases (Hydro-Flo) too. http://chameleonworldmuji.co.uk/

I have been keeping chams for nearly 5 years now and have used glass Exo Terras, Reptibreeze screen cages, Viv Exotic wooden vivs and now the Muji screen cage. Temps are not really a problem, but you may need a higher wattage bulb than someone who lives in the US. With my wooden viv I cut a section out of the top and attached screen mesh over the hole to allow the lights to sit on top of the viv out of Tommy's way.

 

[chameleonkev]

Don't use a dimming stat there a complete waste of money and have no use for chameleons as you want it got at the top and cool at the bottom. If its to hot get a smaller watt bulb I use 25w bulbs. And yes th muji vivs are by far the best don't let anyone tell you that the air flow is fine in awooden Viv, without cutting a wooden Viv up there not healthy for a chameleon it will cause problems with the lungs over time and also they hold water, rot and will hold stail air all not good for chameleons

 

[Stacey5089]

Don't use a dimming stat there a complete waste of money and have no use for chameleons as you want it got at the top and cool at the bottom. If its to hot get a smaller watt bulb I use 25w bulbs. And yes th muji vivs are by far the best don't let anyone tell you that the air flow is fine in awooden Viv, without cutting a wooden Viv up there not healthy for a chameleon it will cause problems with the lungs over time and also they hold water, rot and will hold stail air all not good for chameleons

I think if your using fans for airflow wooden vivs are fine nearly all reptile shops here use wooden vivs for chameleons never seen one in a mesh cage.and i know that alot of shops dont do the right things but this is what ill be keeping all of mine in and there will be plenty on airflow.

 

[Miss Lily]

This is Monty's new screen viv that I got from Muji. I also bought my baby Carpet cham from them too. Monty is in the 18 x 18 x 36" cage and he loves it! I think they do a bigger one too - 24 x 24 x 48" and I am pretty sure they also do custom builds to your specifications.

 

[Mark Andbill]

Hi kev, your comments are noted however surely a dimming thermostat is not a complete waste of time if it allows you to fine tune and regulate the temperature of the enclosure especially in a home where the room temp will fluctuate constantly due to weather, heating and if people are home or not?

As for wooden vivs if they are correctly adapted for the purpose of keeping chams then what is the problem with them? A full blown screen enclosure is great if you have a well regulated household temp and predictable weather like in many sunnier climes but especially in the uk the extra insulation can help.

Surely we should be advising new people on here of the different options available instead of dismissing everything that we do not personally do/use.

I apologise if being a relative newcommer myself I am speaking out of line here.

 

[Canadia]

Hi kev, your comments are noted however surely a dimming thermostat is not a complete waste of time if it allows you to fine tune and regulate the temperature of the enclosure especially in a home where the room temp will fluctuate constantly due to weather, heating and if people are home or not?

As for wooden vivs if they are correctly adapted for the purpose of keeping chams then what is the problem with them? A full blown screen enclosure is great if you have a well regulated household temp and predictable weather like in many sunnier climes but especially in the uk the extra insulation can help.

Surely we should be advising new people on here of the different options available instead of dismissing everything that we do not personally do/use.

I apologise if being a relative newcommer myself I am speaking out of line here.

I've been told to use a pulse thermostat.. Dunno if that would help any.
Also I was gonna get a wooden one but I didn't want to restrict myself to only having that.

With the reptibreeze I can attach the plexiglass/ curtains and detach them to suit what I feel is best.

If the viv is set up correctly I don't see the problem.

 

[Mark Andbill]

The pulse has the same effect it basically means that unlike you standard central heating thermostat that will heat too 25 then turn off completely until the temp drops below and again power on full so on and so on. It feeds less power when needed to maintain a constant.

I too looked at the mesh/screen enclosures but wanted a piece of furniture that would look ok. Admittedly I had to do a lot of work to it but it was worth it.

 

[Canadia]

The pulse has the same effect it basically means that unlike you standard central heating thermostat that will heat too 25 then turn off completely until the temp drops below and again power on full so on and so on. It feeds less power when needed to maintain a constant.

I too looked at the mesh/screen enclosures but wanted a piece of furniture that would look ok. Admittedly I had to do a lot of work to it but it was worth it.

Does this mean the pulse is good or not so good. Lol

And it's each to their own rig. Your viv looks really good so who cares as long as its giving a good environment

 

[Mark Andbill]

Well I personally think they are better it means the light will not be switching on and of constantly instead will just dimm a little

 

[chameleonkev]

Hi kev, your comments are noted however surely a dimming thermostat is not a complete waste of time if it allows you to fine tune and regulate the temperature of the enclosure especially in a home where the room temp will fluctuate constantly due to weather, heating and if people are home or not?

As for wooden vivs if they are correctly adapted for the purpose of keeping chams then what is the problem with them? A full blown screen enclosure is great if you have a well regulated household temp and predictable weather like in many sunnier climes but especially in the uk the extra insulation can help.

Surely we should be advising new people on here of the different options available instead of dismissing everything that we do not personally do/use.

I apologise if being a relative newcommer myself I am speaking out of line here.

There an extra cost that is in needed, a little hoter temp or lower temp won't hurt, infact it's more natural for the temp to slightly fluctuate and why buy a wooden Viv to then chop it up to allow better air flow, why not just go mesh and yes reptile shops use wooden vivs for chams, enought said there I think we all no how useless most reptile shops are with the husbandry and information they give out for chameleons

 

[chameleonkev]

Well I personally think they are better it means the light will not be switching on and of constantly instead will just dimm a little

My lights are never on or of, the bulb is on all day giving a basking temp of 84-87 threw out the day so why waste money on a dimmer? Just find the right size bulb and you can if just the temp by raising and lowering the bulb with mesh vivs as its on the outside

 

[Tommot]

Thanks to all of you for your replies, really helpful. I can't wait until i get one now!
With regards to the dimmer, admittedly its an extra initial cost but will it not save money in the long run by reducing the amount of power you use through out the day?
I'm not sure, just considering every option before i get one, I want to be sure i can give my cham as much luxury as possible.
Stacey i haven't been able to find a pic of your Viv?

Cheers
Tom