OldChamKeeper
Chameleon Enthusiast
I'm a member there too and those are my pictures
Opinions on my ZooMed 10.0 lighting & habitat
- Thread starter OldChamKeeper
- Start date
I'm a member there too and those are my pictures
Brad Ramsey
Retired Moderator
Try making some feeder cups like these:
http://www.chameleonnews.com/year2003/jan2003/hints/hints.html
-Brad
OldChamKeeper
Chameleon Enthusiast
The concept of using the climbing to elicit a feeding response is intriguing. I'll make one and let everyone know how it goes.
DarkRapture
New Member
OldChamKeeper
Chameleon Enthusiast
summoner12
Avid Member
I like your setup!
My concerns with your lighting are directed at how far the lights are from the chameleons. I would use two 10.0 lamps to get as much UV as you can out of the lamp fixture. I would also provide a nice warm basking lamp near the linear lamps and some good climbing options for them to bask on. I would creat two basking places seeing as you have two chameleons.
I would also get rid of the 10.0 compact unless you provide sufficiant distance between it and your chameleons, you don't want them to get too close. I don't think this is a huge issue since your habitat is so large.
I don't know much about the species you are keeping, but can you keep a male and female in one place like that without causing them too much stress?
My concerns with your lighting are directed at how far the lights are from the chameleons. I would use two 10.0 lamps to get as much UV as you can out of the lamp fixture. I would also provide a nice warm basking lamp near the linear lamps and some good climbing options for them to bask on. I would creat two basking places seeing as you have two chameleons.
I would also get rid of the 10.0 compact unless you provide sufficiant distance between it and your chameleons, you don't want them to get too close. I don't think this is a huge issue since your habitat is so large.
I don't know much about the species you are keeping, but can you keep a male and female in one place like that without causing them too much stress?
OldChamKeeper
Chameleon Enthusiast
The 10.0 compact is limited to one corner and the animals can't get any closer than 14" to it. The plants near it are growing faster than others farther away so over all it seems to be working out. The Chameleons seem to hang near it for a bit and then go about roaming the cage so based on this observation it looks like they know what they need and then move on.
The Quad species is a docile one. The male does not pursue the female or harass her. While they don't sit next to each other they also don't seem to mind being within 12" of each other either. The female has eaten while the male is near so I know she's not stressed. I'm told that Males will tolerate other males but I won't be putting that one to the test.
Overall the habitat seems to be performing to my expectations, the feeding problem was a bit unexpected. The new "feeding bin" I built courtesy of Brad's suggestion seems to have gotten their attention. I used a 1 quart plastic container to which I cut off the front, sides, and top. The bottom was left attached as a "bowl" while the back was also left attached to where I taped up the cloth screening for a climbing area.
They are WC, no parasites but thin, eating a bit, but just scared to death of me. After time and they see I'm the food source they'll warm up.
The Quad species is a docile one. The male does not pursue the female or harass her. While they don't sit next to each other they also don't seem to mind being within 12" of each other either. The female has eaten while the male is near so I know she's not stressed. I'm told that Males will tolerate other males but I won't be putting that one to the test.
Overall the habitat seems to be performing to my expectations, the feeding problem was a bit unexpected. The new "feeding bin" I built courtesy of Brad's suggestion seems to have gotten their attention. I used a 1 quart plastic container to which I cut off the front, sides, and top. The bottom was left attached as a "bowl" while the back was also left attached to where I taped up the cloth screening for a climbing area.
They are WC, no parasites but thin, eating a bit, but just scared to death of me. After time and they see I'm the food source they'll warm up.
I was looking into lighting and the website I was at said that the 5.0 is good up to about 10 inches for shallower setups and the 10.0 is good up to 20 inches. I bought two compact 10.0 bulbs because I figured my cham wouldn't get enough light from the 5.0 since it had to be within 10 or so inches and she likes to stroll around the cage. I intended on putting the to 10.0 bulbs in a hood directly on top of the screen cage.
Then I read everything here and people are saying it is unsafe for the cham to get so close to the bulb. Someone mentioned keeping the cham 14" away but doesn't that defeat the purpose of buying a light that is supposed to reach UVB farther, as in the 5.0 at 10" and the 10.0 at 20"?
Please inform me if I'm wrong, I want the best for Zanzibar (my cham).
Then I read everything here and people are saying it is unsafe for the cham to get so close to the bulb. Someone mentioned keeping the cham 14" away but doesn't that defeat the purpose of buying a light that is supposed to reach UVB farther, as in the 5.0 at 10" and the 10.0 at 20"?
Please inform me if I'm wrong, I want the best for Zanzibar (my cham).
summoner12
Avid Member
Dyesub Dave
New Member
Hey OldChamKeeper I love the closet setup!! It's every chameleons dream come true .... well .... besides being free!! LOL
I'm no expert on the lighting but I think with the size of your cage you should be OK. I was wondering why you wouldn't have one of your sliding doors with a screen on it to allow more airflow?? I tried building one of those critter cups too but I didn't spend a lot of time constructing it. My cham kept knocking it down so I just stopped using it.
Have you tried just letting the food loose in their cage. That's what I do with my chams mind you their enclosures aren't quite that big!!
But in the wild they need to hunt their prey and if they're W/C then they may be sitting still waiting to spot a prey item at a distance? You may also want to try different foods for the chams to catch their interest. I only use a cup when feeding butterworms.
Well good luck on the feeding part and let us know how they make out !!
Dyesub Dave.
I'm no expert on the lighting but I think with the size of your cage you should be OK. I was wondering why you wouldn't have one of your sliding doors with a screen on it to allow more airflow?? I tried building one of those critter cups too but I didn't spend a lot of time constructing it. My cham kept knocking it down so I just stopped using it.
Have you tried just letting the food loose in their cage. That's what I do with my chams mind you their enclosures aren't quite that big!!
But in the wild they need to hunt their prey and if they're W/C then they may be sitting still waiting to spot a prey item at a distance? You may also want to try different foods for the chams to catch their interest. I only use a cup when feeding butterworms.Well good luck on the feeding part and let us know how they make out !!
Dyesub Dave.
Scotty
New Member
I'm still in the closet, maybe i'll take my chams in there with me too...lol
Only joking guys couldn't help myself...
BTW, I was thinking about the feeding difficulties as I was reading through this thread and there you go, you experienced it...great job, well done on your uniqeness!
cheers
Scott....the non-gay one!
Only joking guys couldn't help myself...
BTW, I was thinking about the feeding difficulties as I was reading through this thread and there you go, you experienced it...great job, well done on your uniqeness!
cheers
Scott....the non-gay one!
Marc10edora
Avid Member
Glad to hear that you solved the feeding problem. You might also want to add these bugs to the diet: Silkworms, and Zophobas (Kingworms). I gave up on the phoenix worms because my cham couldn't digest them. He always pooped them out alive. But they are great for babies. The Silkworms are great because they provide my cham with an easter egg hunt as I put them on different branches in the morning. Then at the end of the day, I can easily find the survivors and gutload them again with mullberry leaves for the next day.
OldChamKeeper
Chameleon Enthusiast
Final update, I'm surprised the thread ran this long.
Both Chams are now visibly gaining weight, displaying hunting behaviour, roaming the whole darn cage, and in general now recovering from being WC.
Current diet:
Hornworms
Silkworms
Butterworms
Crickets
Flies
Small Dubia roaches.
The feeding bin works great for the crickets which I give credit for the Chams gaining some weight. The hornworms/silkworms/butterworms I place on large open leaves or branches. There is a curtain rod in front of the habitat, with the curtain pulled I can observe the animals without them being too scared to eat. Overall it's working fine. As for letting food items get loose, I'd rather not since they seem to find their way out despite my habitat.
The Chams are now also displaying non-stress colors and seem to be basking under the 10.0 compact for about 30-40 mins in the morning before moving on from it. Lighting seems to be fine.
Humidity and drainage seem to be fine. The mister kicks on at 10 am for 15 mins, 3pm for 30 mins, and 8pm for 15 mins. With the Vornado min fan up top pushing the air it's evaporating fairly quickly.
Overall. The habitat seems to be working fine. The animals are doing well.
There's a picture of Mr.Nameless below
Both Chams are now visibly gaining weight, displaying hunting behaviour, roaming the whole darn cage, and in general now recovering from being WC.
Current diet:
Hornworms
Silkworms
Butterworms
Crickets
Flies
Small Dubia roaches.
The feeding bin works great for the crickets which I give credit for the Chams gaining some weight. The hornworms/silkworms/butterworms I place on large open leaves or branches. There is a curtain rod in front of the habitat, with the curtain pulled I can observe the animals without them being too scared to eat. Overall it's working fine. As for letting food items get loose, I'd rather not since they seem to find their way out despite my habitat.
The Chams are now also displaying non-stress colors and seem to be basking under the 10.0 compact for about 30-40 mins in the morning before moving on from it. Lighting seems to be fine.
Humidity and drainage seem to be fine. The mister kicks on at 10 am for 15 mins, 3pm for 30 mins, and 8pm for 15 mins. With the Vornado min fan up top pushing the air it's evaporating fairly quickly.
Overall. The habitat seems to be working fine. The animals are doing well.
There's a picture of Mr.Nameless below
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