Panther chameleon new set up do i plant it or not

Golly said:
Good idea with the cap method, I mist for 30 seconds every three hours with the last misting at 7PM, it spikes to about 85-90% then drops to 40-45% in basking spot, and any where between 55-65% mid tank so that's about 4 mistings a day with it having a good dry out inbetween.
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I won’t pretend to know a good misting schedule for your setup. For a screen enclosure I could give you my opinion but honestly that’s a question better asked to one of those guys who has a bioactive setup. I believe in night time fogging for about 4 hours and a mist right before he wakes up about 30 minutes before to create a nice humid environment and dew on the ground when he wakes up. But with your enclosure this method may be overkill and I don’t wanna suggest something like that.
 
WashingtonCham said:
I’ve heard and seen some horror stories. Some people think bioactive means no work. And that’s not how it is. But like I say I’m not trying to steer anyone away. but maintaining the proper misting schedule and amount of time the mist has to be on and being able to absorb that amount of water in a sealed enclosure is not always easy. A water well of some sort in the corner with a cap is a method I’ve see where you can suck any excess water out with a turkey Baster. Or drill a hole of some kind in the glass and have a drainage hole you can cap and uncap as needed.
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Which horror stories? I've been doing bioactive for several years now. It has been next to no work other than putting it together correctly. Also, I can't imagine these sterile set ups are doing a lot of good for our chameleon's immune systems.
 
jamest0o0 said:
Which horror stories? I've been doing bioactive for several years now. It has been next to no work other than putting it together correctly. Also, I can't imagine these sterile set ups are doing a lot of good for our chameleon's immune systems.
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People ending up with a swamp in their cham cages cuz of drainage issues like I was talking about. I’m not doubting them I think their awesome I would love to have one myself I’m just not comfortable with them yet and also I’ve heard it’s hard to find and examine fresh fecal samples with a bioactive is another complaint I’ve hear wether it’s founded or unfounded. I don’t think there’s any right or wrong way I was just trying to say make sure and say educate yourself of the risks of any setup.
 
WashingtonCham said:
People ending up with a swamp in their cham cages cuz of drainage issues like I was talking about. I’m not doubting them I think their awesome I would love to have one myself I’m just not comfortable with them yet and also I’ve heard it’s hard to find and examine fresh fecal samples with a bioactive is another complaint I’ve hear wether it’s founded or unfounded. I don’t think there’s any right or wrong way I was just trying to say make sure and say educate yourself of the risks of any setup.
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Oh I see what you're saying, if it's not set up right yeah it can be a problem. I have had that problem trying to find a fecal exam as well lol. I have to catch my cham in the act or the CuC takes care of it in hours.
 
jamest0o0 said:
Oh I see what you're saying, if it's not set up right yeah it can be a problem. I have had that problem trying to find a fecal exam as well lol. I have to catch my cham in the act or the CuC takes care of it in hours.
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Ya I was really lucky to find his poop on the ground plant for the fecal exam a few days ago.
 
Not sure about your local ambient humidity bit I think your misting schedule could use some tweaks especially if your having residual water your gonna want it to evaporate before the next mist goes off for sure. Also might want one or two overnight mists to help with naturalistic hydration. And to simulate condensation from overnight temp drops.
 
Multivitamins said:
Not sure about your local ambient humidity bit I think your misting schedule could use some tweaks especially if your having residual water your gonna want it to evaporate before the next mist goes off for sure. Also might want one or two overnight mists to help with naturalistic hydration. And to simulate condensation from overnight temp drops.
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My ambient humidity is about 55%, I'm in one of the wettest parts of the uk the humidity at night goes to about 75-80 inside the tank. I'm ok for it evaporating at 3 hour intervals any smaller amount of time and it doesn't evaporate, I'm adding a new hood so I'll have 2 35w basking bulbs instead of one, so i could cut the misting time to 20 seconds every 2 hours
 
Golly said:
My ambient humidity is about 55%, I'm in one of the wettest parts of the uk the humidity at night goes to about 75-80 inside the tank. I'm ok for it evaporating at 3 hour intervals any smaller amount of time and it doesn't evaporate, I'm adding a new hood so I'll have 2 35w basking bulbs instead of one, so i could cut the misting time to 20 seconds every 2 hours
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Also remember to check your actual ambient humidity inside the room. Can’t go by outside humidity in the area cuz heaters and ac units kill humidity.
 
My opinion is that the exoterra/zoo med glass enclosures are designed to be set up as bioactive. If they aren't set up that way you will constantly be soaking up soup out of the bottom of the cage. I live in Washington so fairly similar climate to what you have described. I have my carpet cham set up in bio active exoterra, and it has been performing well with no need for drainage. 1:45 minute session shortly after the lights come on in the morning, and another 1:45 minute session about an hour before lights off. The only thing might be the 36" height of your cage. You may need to add Jungle Dawn LED(or similar) spot light to get enough light to the plants at the bottom of the enclosure.
 
Ok I was thinking of a 6500k t5 itll be 2ft long the ones at the bottom are growing well with the 2 tubes that's in the hood
 
Mines 60 wide 45 deep and 90 high, the guy in the shop said it would be fine for when it's a adult so that's why I got it.
 
Golly said:
Mines 60 wide 45 deep and 90 high, the guy in the shop said it would be fine for when it's a adult so that's why I got it.
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TBH, that's the guy wanting to sell you something. Having both I can tell you honestly that it's not going to be big enough for an adult male. It will work for a female and I have the lay bin as permanent part of the setup on mine. 30cm doesn't sound much but it is in fact 30×45×90 which is a hefty chunk of chameleon real estate.
 
Golly said:
Mines 60 wide 45 deep and 90 high, the guy in the shop said it would be fine for when it's a adult so that's why I got it.
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Id bring it back to the guy and say I found out it wasn’t big enough from someone who really knew what they were talking about . I’d like my money back and the larger size. Never take pet store advice as the end all be all, many of them are average joes that know nothing but since they work at a pet store they gotta act like they do.
 
I said to him I was going to buy that tank for it and he said yea itll be fine I didnt purchase from him directly I bought the full set up 2nd hand
 
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