Please critique my very first chameleon/enclosure

[WarMachine]

Hey guys I've finally had the pleasure (please note Join date to current date ratio) of buying a chameleon. Time and money are no longer a deterrent from owning a chameleon.

Suggestions are welcome as I will strive to improve my cham's environment the best I can.

Enclosure contains a Hibiscus plant, a weeping fig, bendable vine, some fake leaves, bamboo for some extra climbing etc..

Here he is, a little camera shy. But he's already eaten ~6 crickets and is drinking water frequently.

 

[WarMachine]

bump, any suggestions?

 

[Psychobunny]

Looks good to me, you thought of everything, it's like a little piece of the jungle in there
What kind of UVB are you using?

For a dripper, you can use a plastic Gatorade bottle with a hole at the bottom for a piece of tubing which can be epoxied to the bottle and put a in-line stopcock on it to regulate the flow.
Very easy, but would need to buy the stopcock with flanged hose fittings on both ends.
I work in a lab, so I can get stuff like that, but I have seen them on Amazon.com.

Anyway, looking good! your cham will be happy in it

 

[melrito]

The enclosure looks good, but you don't need that piece of driftwood on the bottom - chameleons rarely go down there and it will just be something extra to clean and a place for the crickets to hide under. I don't see a basking light in there - I assume the light is a UVB light on top?

 

[chameleonkev]

Drift wood looks like its just there for the Cham to get back up If he/she falls to the ground as some don't climb the mesh

 

[Thezillaman21]

The enclosure looks good, but you don't need that piece of driftwood on the bottom - chameleons rarely go down there and it will just be something extra to clean and a place for the crickets to hide under. I don't see a basking light in there - I assume the light is a UVB light on top?

Lol crickets always hide. They will hide under the papertowels too.

 

[Psychobunny]

The enclosure looks good, but you don't need that piece of driftwood on the bottom - chameleons rarely go down there and it will just be something extra to clean and a place for the crickets to hide under. I don't see a basking light in there - I assume the light is a UVB light on top?

Yeah, he will just use it for a poop target

 

[Psychobunny]

Lol crickets always hide. They will hide under the papertowels too.

If it has a plastic bottom, like a Reptibreeze, you dont need paper towels.
I used to use them too, then decided they make more work to remove because they get all soggy and nasty.
Now I use wipe up the droppings with a paper towel and toss it.

Also, if you use the cup feeding method, fewer cricks will get out into the cage and you will know how much your cham is eating.
When the cricks free range, you have to assume they are being eaten because you see poop the next day!

 

[WarMachine]

Looks good to me, you thought of everything, it's like a little piece of the jungle in there
What kind of UVB are you using?

For a dripper, you can use a plastic Gatorade bottle with a hole at the bottom for a piece of tubing which can be epoxied to the bottle and put a in-line stopcock on it to regulate the flow.
Very easy, but would need to buy the stopcock with flanged hose fittings on both ends.
I work in a lab, so I can get stuff like that, but I have seen them on Amazon.com.

Anyway, looking good! your cham will be happy in it

I'm using a Reptibreeze 5.0 UVB light, the actual assembly is from a 18" cage but I got a deal on it. If it doesn't suffice I will buy 2 seperate pot lamps.

Great idea on the D.I.Y. dripper. I must have sacrificed 8 plastic cups trying to make the right size hole the a needle. Unfortunately the closest I came was about 1 drop / second

The enclosure looks good, but you don't need that piece of driftwood on the bottom - chameleons rarely go down there and it will just be something extra to clean and a place for the crickets to hide under. I don't see a basking light in there - I assume the light is a UVB light on top?

Thanks my thinking was as someone stated below, just as a ladder to get back up.

The UVB / basking light are both up top, just just inside 1 light fixture. Poor angle to see.

Drift wood looks like its just there for the Cham to get back up If he/she falls to the ground as some don't climb the mesh

Yep

Lol crickets always hide. They will hide under the papertowels too.

But then they get curious and climb up high only to be slaughtered

Yeah, he will just use it for a poop target

If it becomes a hassle/redundant I think I will remove it.

If it has a plastic bottom, like a Reptibreeze, you dont need paper towels.
I used to use them too, then decided they make more work to remove because they get all soggy and nasty.
Now I use wipe up the droppings with a paper towel and toss it.

Also, if you use the cup feeding method, fewer cricks will get out into the cage and you will know how much your cham is eating.
When the cricks free range, you have to assume they are being eaten because you see poop the next day!

Good idea, if they are a hassle I will remove them. atm they are just there to collect any stray water droplets, since the dripper falling onto my weeping fig is like a game of Plinko. Hard to predict where the drops land

I think my guy loves to hunt, I had a feeding cup initially, but he walked up to it, looked inside, and walked away. Yet when i released the crickets into the cage he went on a wild hunt.

Also, I'm going to slowly ease him into hand feeding. He's still intimidated by a giant hand coming into the cage.



Thanks for the posts guys and gals.

 

[WarMachine]

Sorry, I think it's an Exo-Terra 5.0 UVB + Basking Light 2-in-1 fixture ***

 

[Psychobunny]

I'm using a Reptibreeze 5.0 UVB light, the actual assembly is from a 18" cage but I got a deal on it. If it doesn't suffice I will buy 2 seperate pot lamps.

Great idea on the D.I.Y. dripper. I must have sacrificed 8 plastic cups trying to make the right size hole the a needle. Unfortunately the closest I came was about 1 drop / second



Thanks my thinking was as someone stated below, just as a ladder to get back up.

The UVB / basking light are both up top, just just inside 1 light fixture. Poor angle to see.



Yep



But then they get curious and climb up high only to be slaughtered



If it becomes a hassle/redundant I think I will remove it.



Good idea, if they are a hassle I will remove them. atm they are just there to collect any stray water droplets, since the dripper falling onto my weeping fig is like a game of Plinko. Hard to predict where the drops land

I think my guy loves to hunt, I had a feeding cup initially, but he walked up to it, looked inside, and walked away. Yet when i released the crickets into the cage he went on a wild hunt.

Also, I'm going to slowly ease him into hand feeding. He's still intimidated by a giant hand coming into the cage.



Thanks for the posts guys and gals.

LOL!! thats good that he likes to hunt. Try feeding blue bottle flies! chams love them
I know what you mean about the hand feeding. Gotta try it every day, and use something yummy, like a silk or hornworm.
Just keep it up, and one day he will surprise you

 

[laurie]

I think the look of your first enclosure is wonderful. So many people put in 1 stick and a fake plant. You guy can hide and wander to his little heart content. He should be a happy cham.

Don't give up on the hand feeding it can take a good long while with sone chams. A couple of mine are in that category.