panther chameleon enclosure issues, need help please!

[jenzie1996]

I would like to get my first chameleon and I really hope to get a panther chameleon.
My only issue is the enclosure.
Ive been doing some reading for at least three months now and of course I know an all screen cage is best for a more natural enviroment and lots of ventilation. But the only issue for me is keeping in the humidity/heat in the winter.
I live in northwest Ohio and if anyone knows or heard...we just had a brutal winter that lasted far too long in my opinion.
So i need to know either how to keep the heat and humidity in the cage or any other options if there are any?
Please help!

 

[georgii]

I live in the uk, I had similar problems with my panther chameleon screen caged viv.
I couldn't keep any heat or humidity up, So what I've done is put boards on the outside of the viv, the back and 2 sides! which has really helped keep both up. They're called 'antinox premium surface protection' which are also waterproof and don't make your floors wet, some people use shower curtains too, but when you mist the viv they will get wet and the water gets on the floors.

 

[jenzie1996]

That would work only I cant ruin the floors in a rented house. I would free range him but I dont have much experience with that and at this point it seems as if the breeder will not advise me and my mother until we pay for the chameleon. And or sell it unless we basically replace everything ive already bought. I dont even know where I would put the screen cage since it has to be raised...

 

[georgii]

The boards are probably your best bet, as my viv is on the floor at the minute and never gets anywhere else wet, plus it protects your walls from being damaged. Only problem with free ranging is feeding, the crickets will get everywhere in your home. Plus in a vivarium you can make sure he's always at a suitable heat and getting the right humidity

 

[jenzie1996]

Are the exo terra t errariums an option for housing babies in temporarily? I read for babies but of course not adults.

 

[dacrazycanadian]

I live in MN and what I did was first of all I got a live plant and then I used plastic along the sides of the cage to hold moisture in. I did it around the back three sides, some people just do the two sides though. Also I invested in a mistking and used that to mist longer durations in the day with a finer mist nozzle than most other misters have. Just make sure that the cage is still drying between mistings to prevent RI infections.

 

[oblgobl]

You can house them in glass terrarriums while they are young. They'll quickly outgrow it however so seems like a bit of a waste of money as they're not cheap. A mesh viv really is the best option covering the sides with wooden boards like Georgii said will ensure the walls and floor wont get damaged.
Some people do house them in wooden vivs this is a bit controversial and mostly depends on the humidity were you live if it's very dry it could work, many people in the uk house them in wooden vivs and replace the roof with mesh.
Just because mesh is best it doesn't mean wooden vivs won't work if conditions are right. The wood will warp eventually though if not sealed extremely well. I keep some of my youngsters in wooden vivs and can't really recomend them over mesh vivs. I've had no problems with using them but mesh cages are cheaper and I've had no struggle to keep humidity and heat in them (they're in a warm quite stuffy room though) and plan to move all of them to mesh cages eventually, so they can benefit from the extra ventilation.

 

[jenzie1996]

Well the thing is I already have a exo terra mini/tall terrarium. Ive had it for awhile but I didnt know really what to do with it. So its just sitting taking up space. So if I could at least use it for a month or two until I can get the money around then that would really help. I liked the wood or plastic idea just as long as I find a way to keep it from dripping all over and so that I can keep the humidity and heat inside in the winter. Our summers get humid and hot enough where I think he would be ok. My room is good with the door closed it was getting at between 60 - 70 % humidity and in the 70s and 80s in temps.
This chameleon is to be my graduation present so im hoping to get some more cash then just from my mother. The budget was $500 and the cham is 345. If i get more money the screen cage can be purchased sooner though.

 

[Carlton]

I would like to get my first chameleon and I really hope to get a panther chameleon.
My only issue is the enclosure.
Ive been doing some reading for at least three months now and of course I know an all screen cage is best for a more natural enviroment and lots of ventilation. But the only issue for me is keeping in the humidity/heat in the winter.
I live in northwest Ohio and if anyone knows or heard...we just had a brutal winter that lasted far too long in my opinion.
So i need to know either how to keep the heat and humidity in the cage or any other options if there are any?
Please help!

You can cover sides and the back of any screen cage with shower curtains if you don't want to deal with wood (I don't like wood...no visibility, its dark, and it rots). Hang the curtains from the top of the cage frame, trim them so they loosely drape over the sides. If you need to protect floors or walls from overspray this will really help a lot. To protect the floor just set the entire cage stand on a dropcloth, an office chair mat, or piece of outdoor carpet...whatever is handy.

As for heat in winter, the plastic will help then too, but as long as your room isn't getting below 50 at night you won't need extra heat at night. During the day, your basking light should be providing the correct temps. You MIGHT (can't predict...may have to test it) need to use a slightly higher watt bulb during very cold periods, but be sure the cham can move farther away from the heat easily. They do get burned.

Don't cut your budget too short. The cost of the animal is the least of it! As this is your first cham you may well need to spend more on setting up insect colonies and you should also scope out a herp vet BEFORE you need it...things happen, so put some $$ away for a vet visit. We really hate posts that start off with "my cham is sick and I don't have money for the vet".

 

[jenzie1996]

Honestly I have my old instructor for the vet (she isnt the vet she has one though) as for insects that is not the issue either. Its just the fact that first of all I was about to buy the cham before I got any advice from the breeder which was not a good thing as too him I had everything wrong. And he directed me to his website so my mom thinks hes hot for our money. Can anyone recommend a pet store that would have good quality screen cages (like petsmart petco or anything else) id really like to see what im buying...

 

[oblgobl]

Lots of bad info out there about chameleons unfortunately. In my opinion this is the best place to learn about correct husbandry so it's good you're here.
Most breeders are passionate about what they do, alot of work goes into hatching and raising babies after all. Hard to be certain as I don't know who the breeder you're getting him from is so I don't know their reputation, but I dont think they're saying your setups unsuitable to make more money. I would actually think this makes them loose customers who will just buy elsewere and as a buisnues ofcourse their going to try and get you to buy their own stuff.
If you say the name of the breeder we'll probably know who they are seeing as they have a website and sell their own equipment. There are some good breeders around and their advice is usually spot on.

I don't live in the US so I don't know were the best place to buy things are, but I would imagine the best price would be online somewere. I would imagine that somewere like petsmart will have them but not built ready for you to take a look at.
A $500 budget when the cham takes up most of it isn't going to work many spend that much on the setup alone. If you take into account everything you need it really adds up.

 

[georgii]

I brought my 'zoo med reptibreeze screen cage XL 2x2x4' from 'amazon' it was £99 , not sure what that is in us dollars, but that's the cheapest i found

 

[jenzie1996]

Any other people who comment please read the rest of the thread.
I do not have a $500 budget. That is all i myself has at the time. The money was the graduation present from just my mother. I just got a $50 gift card to use as well.
I actually have been getting all my info from here.
The breeder seemed hot for the money because to my mom he seemed like he said he wouldnt advise us until we paid for the chameleon. Which we do not want to do until we have the correct info.
Being as I was told that I could at least utilize the exo terra terrarium for a month or too. I would like to find someone who will sit and listen to their customers concerns about their climate etc etc.
The breeder is Bruce from Chameleon Paradise. He seems nice enough but he seems to want things done his way or the highway and he didnt really let me and my mom talk he just kept talking and it ended up making me (the yoing one here) angry. If there are other successful techniques then shouldn't he know this?
If any know who im talking about. I wanted a baby from Candy Cane hes so awesome with those red and white stripes.
Forgive me if there are any typos..my phone hates me

 

[reptoman]

If done the wrong way, and exo terra can kill a baby panther pretty quickly. Most people dont realize how quickly a glass tank can heat up so when they apply the same heating and lighting techniques used on all screen enclosures they are basically cooking the chameleon without knowing it. I understand Bruce's concern there. He has been doing this longer than most and really knows what he is talking about.
You might check craigslist or Facebook to find some used screen enclosures. There are plenty of local classifieds for reptiles on Facebook these days. You can check the link below for examples of how I setup my cages using natural branches and live hanging plants. You wil need a digital thermometer to check temps in different levels of the cage.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.531302093590006.1073741831.291375457582672&type=3

 

[jenzie1996]

He didnt say anything on cooking the cham. He actually ended up calling it an aquarium even though it isnt one. He said it would have stagnant air. Even though it has ventilation in the bottom front. I also read that babies dont really need a heat lamp when they are young? Is this true? (3 months or so??)

 

[jenzie1996]

By heat lamp I meant like a basking lamp

 

[reptoman]

I keep babies out of the egg in plastic open top bins with a UVB light over top and rely on that for heat. Once they get to the 2.5 to 3 month mark depending on how fast they are growing, I move them into screen enclosures with a heat lamp (basking light) that gets the basking area between 85 and 90 at the max temp. I also have a dual fixture with a UVB 5.0 and 6500K bulb for brightness.

 

[oblgobl]

You can succesfully keep them in non mesh enclousers depending on your climate and he probably does know this, but what he's probably saying is that they do better in mesh enclousers and theirs no benefit for a cham to be kept in anything else.
I do understand were Bruce is coming from, he hatched these guys from eggs after all so has the right to be particular to what home they go to. My personal opinion is that he'll be fine in the terrarrium for a couple of months but it would be better to get him in a mesh enclouser as soon as. I understand that your excited to get the cham but for the chams sake if I were you I would save up a bit more and wait.
He does have a caresheet on his website that covers housing, I would read it if you havn't. When you said he was hot for your money I assumed he was trying to get you to buy equipment from his website but as far as I can see he doesn't sell any You also say that he wouldn't give you any advice until after you bought the cham but it sounds as though he is giving you advice although it may not what you want to hear.

 

[Devokid]

You also say that he wouldn't give you any advice until after you bought the cham but it sounds as though he is giving you advice although it may not what you want to hear.

I agree with this, he also may have wanted to see how interested you actually were. Chameleons look really neat and there are lots of people who want to have them. However, there are far less people willing to do the work required to keep them healthy. He may have been wanting to see how dedicated you were by telling you where the information is and seeing if you would actually go and get it yourself. Most breeders are not "hot" for money and would rather see their babies go to good homes. Personally, I would not try and keep a chameleon if you do not have at least $1,000 to spend at the beginning.

 

[jenzie1996]

My mom sent him two emails asking him to please advise us on what we need to get and how much it would cost to determine if we really want this pet. She also sent him a quote from this site that stated screen cages are best but depending on your geographical location another caging option may be better. Its been two days and he never responded. To either. He actually did not tell me anything other than the cage needed to be screen and I needed to change my light. He told mom word for word that he would "talk more about what the chameleon will need AFTER YOU PAY ME." My mom buys hospital equipment for the hospital chain up here and she said that is not right and not how you sell something. It would be like a vendor coming to her and saying they have a product and its great but that they will tell you what it does and how it works..after you pay them. I really do want a chameleon but I will not buy from Bruce unfortunately.
Ive decided to get an alligator lizard for now.
Maybe when I have a job and my apartment Ill invest in a chameleon but as of right now im a 17 year old who just graduated and my mom still pays for stuff.
Thanks for your advice and or whatever else I was given.