Newbie with Set-up Questions

[jessi4jc]

Hi there,
I am considering purchasing a chameleon. I have been researching and trying to sort out the proper set-up. It is a bit daunting because everyone has a different opinion.

I've seen it said that you can't put a young chameleon in a large mesh enclosure and I've seen it said that it is better to put the chameleon in the same enclosure that you will use when he/she is an adult because changing habitats can be extremely stressful.

I've seen various advice on what is best to feed chameleons (in addition to crickets). Some say that mealworms are best, some say wax worms, some say butterworms. I've also heard that they need a more diverse insect diet than worms and crickets. Also, the smallest quantity of crickets that I am finding is 500. I read that 8-10 small crickets are recommended for a small chameleon and that you should not have more than a 2 week supply. The math on that would be 100-140 crickets. Where can I purchase this smaller quantity?

I plan to put a ficus and a hibiscus in my chameleon's habitat. Is that sufficient?

I know that spinach and broccoli aren't recommended. What leafy greens and fruits does your chameleon enjoy?

Lastly...a friend of ours has a reptile. She does not have a complex misting system. She has a spray bottle. How hardcore do we need to go with the misting? Several times a day for at least 5 minutes is the rule that I heard. Does it matter if that is via a system or by hand?

I'd appreciate any opinions that anyone wants to offer. We want a happy, healthy pet.

ETA: I've also seen various recommendations for bedding in the bottom of the enclosure. One person said that she uses pine chips. We used to have a snake and pine chips were NOT recommended for a reptile because they may have mites that can make the animal sick. I've heard of people using sand but saw that the calcium enriched sand that pet suppliers sell is not recommended - why not? Someone else recommended newsprint but I would think that there would be toxins in the ink that could be harmful. Thoughts?

 

[romulan]

Hi Jessi, and welcome to the forums!

The problem with a large mesh enclosure is that it will be hard for your baby chameleon to hunt for food. Especially with pinhead/small crickets, they will usually just hide along the edges. If you used a feeding cup instead of free ranging the food, this won't really be a problem. My experience with the mesh cages that come with a PVC frame is that they are low quality and don't provide much visibility. I currently have my juvenile panther in an 18x18x36 screen cage. I am going to have to get a 24x24x48 (minimum size for adults) soon though because he is growing fast. I think a 24x24x48 would be okay to start with if you didn't want to buy two cages.

My chameleon's diet consists of crickets, silkworms, hornworms, dubia roaches, butterworms and mealworms. You will have to order everything besides mealworms/crickets online. Crickets you can find at pretty much any pet store, in smaller quantities. I buy 50 at a time which lasts about a week. Chameleons only eat live food, I wouldn't recommend trying to feed fruits/vegetables. But you can gutload your crickets with those, so your chameleon gets the nutrition.

Hibiscus, pothos, and ficus trees all work great for live plants and will keep humidity levels up. If you get a plant that is really thick, consider thinning it out. The hibiscus I bought to start made the cage too crowded and my guy didn't eat much until I took it out. I'll put it back in his adult cage.

Get a hand mister that you can pump. Home depot sells a really good one for like $8 that gives a superfine mist. I spray mine a few times a day with warm water for about 2 or 3 minutes. If you can invest $100 in a Mist King (for the sake of convenience), do it. You will also want a dripper system as a water source as well. You can buy one, or just make one yourself out of a water jug with a pinhole at the bottom.

I don't recommend having any substrate at the bottom. Crickets will hide down there, and your cham can potentially eat a peace of bark and have digestive issues. I wouldn't even use sand. Having a bare bottom works best.

Here is a good blog to read

 

[bluewuta]

I would not use any bedding it tends to end up with problems. Insects hide in it, some mold or mildew will grow, and they may miss the insect and ingest the the bedding. I do not use anything on the bottom of any of my cages except cages for egg laying.

 

[jessi4jc]

Awesome, thanks! I will check that blog out now!

This is the enclosure that I am considering...the "large kit":
http://www.flchams.com/complete-cages-for-sale.asp

You don't feed dandelion greens, etc to your chameleon? Glad I asked...all of the posts and pics that I have fruits and greens.

Is it safe to feed insects that I source myself?

 

[romulan]

You will mixed answers regarding wild insects. If you are sure they have not been exposed to pesticides, I suppose you can take that chance. Personally, I would not just because they can be carrying parasites and it just wouldn't be worth it if your cham got sick. Better safe than sorry.

The large kit is an excellent setup. FLchams is very trustworthy and know chameleons. Get a few branches and a live plant in there, you are good to go.

 

[jessi4jc]

You will mixed answers regarding wild insects. If you are sure they have not been exposed to pesticides, I suppose you can take that chance. Personally, I would not just because they can be carrying parasites and it just wouldn't be worth it if your cham got sick. Better safe than sorry.

The large kit is an excellent setup. FLchams is very trustworthy and know chameleons. Get a few branches and a live plant in there, you are good to go.

It is much more expensive than other kits that I have seen but seems more comprehensive.

How often do I have to change out the bulbs in my lamps? Would it be prudent to keep an extra set on hand?

Do chameleons tolerate natural sunlight? The corner that I think would be nice for my cham has a small window with blinds. Of course I could find a different spot for him/her...it just seemed like an obvious place.

 

[romulan]

To be honest I have no idea about the life of a UVB bulb. I would say change it every 6-8 months? I've only had my setup for two months now. That is just a guess, I'm sure someone will chime in about this.

Nothing beats natural sunlight. I have my setup next to a window as well. When it is time for him to sleep I close the blinds and cover 3 sides of his cage with a sheet. I have it out in a low traffic living room so I make it as dark as possible for him

 

[romulan]

This is my setup after I took the hibiscus out. I took this pic about a month ago, he is a lot bigger now and I added a ficus tree. It is less "bushy" than a hibiscus

 

[bluewuta]

I change my bulbs out about every 6 months or so depending on me remembering. I started to put a garage sale circle sticker you can write on with the date on the top of my cages for when I put them in to remember. lol

 

[danTHAman152000]

Hey guys,

I have been out of the game for years but I am going to be building my own set up soon for a new veiled chameleon.

In addition to those tasty insects that were mentioned, I ended up ordering silkworms from Mullberry Farms, and my chameleon loved them. I also found a pet shop with Madagascar hissing cockroaches, which were bigger than my chameleon's head, but in a few weeks I had a ton of babies that my cham loved. (I kept the rubbermaid box in our shed, with a nice thick layer of vaseline around the top, but they STILL managed to escape and unfortunately infested my entire shed, so keep an eye out if you do that!)

My first cage was maybe two feet tall, two feet wide, and a foot deep, which was good for my cham until he outgrew it. Then I bought the 24 24 48 from cages.net which lasted me a long time. Ultimately I did not have much time for my cham and gave him and the cage to a good home.

I have been reading around and saw http://www.diycages.com/15201/15243.html recommended on another post. This is the cheapest Ive seen for that price, however I cannot vouch for its quality. The one from cages.net however was fine and I had no issues with visibility. The biggest pain was to figure out how to drain the water, as my ficus benjamin was not a fan of the dripper system.

Hope to be some help!

 

[Irwinthechameleon]

For substrate I use either toilet paper or reptile carpet as they are cheap and easily cleaned/replaced , you could use soil if you have live plants but it tends to stick on ur chameleon. Also the question on feeders I heard wax worms are very fatty and should only be used as a treat , I heard meal worms are hard to digest but I have fed some before fine. And you could feed them locusts and maybe a pinky mice when they are bigger. As with the cage I am using a exo terra mini for the time being and when he outgrows it then will I move him to his adult cage.