SharpShooter
Avid Member
I'd like some contructive feedback on my husbandry to see if I can improve in any way please.
Apologies if this is long and some things will be repeated as the setups for both my chams are almost the same.
I'll start with Rose as she's gravid and showing no signs of going to her lay bin. After that is Bob (complete nutter and total character)
Rose
◦Your Chameleon -
Panther (Amilobe), Female, 9 months old. Had her 3 months
◦Handling - I never handle Rose unless absolutely necessary for weighing.
◦Feeding - Rose loves locust, dubias, calci, supers and crickets. Usually cup or hand fed. All our feeders are gut loaded for 2 days before use, using a combination of fresh ingredients and bug burger. Fresh includes spring greens, watercress, rocket, carrot, squash and sometimes orange or apple. I also have my own wet frozen gutload made in batches. Some feeders prefer different gutloads over others, so I adjust to suit feeder preference.
◦Supplements - Arcadia Earth Pro A and B on alternate feedings with Reptivite with D3 and Reptivite without D3 alternate weekends.
◦Watering - Swell Reptiles mister system, 1 min at 9am, 4 mins at 12 and 1.5 mins at 5pm. Overnight the fogger comes at 3am until lights on time at 8am. I also have a DIY dripper using a 5 litre tank and pump with fine control of flow done with the same plastic clips used to control IV lines in hospitals. The water drips down pothos leaves and is collected then straight out again. All mister and dripper pipes are cleaned fortnightly using the same product used to clean beer lines in bars and heavily rinsed through. Dripper and mister have fresh RO every day and tanks cleaned every 2 days. Also hand misting on occasions when I want to give the plants a good soaking. Rose usually drinks from plant leaves and the glass after misting which I see often. Never seen her drink from the dripper.
◦Fecal Description - She gets 8/10 as far poop goes. Mostly normal but occasionally it's loose, generally after eating locust. Urates are all white and sometimes pretty big as well. (Overly hydrated?)
Cage Info:
◦Cage Type - Exo Terra Large X-Tall, 60x45x90 cm.
◦Lighting - Arcadia T5HO 6% UVB across full width. 100w standard heat lamp. On at 8am, off at 8pm.
◦Temperature - Daytime 76 and basking spot 82. Overnight 68 and 70. Controlled by dimming thermostat with probe at the basking spot along side temp/humidity meter. Measured by 2 X Exo Terra Combo Meters. 1 at basking spot and 1 bottom, opposite end from heat.
◦Humidity - Between 55% during 'dry' periods of the day and up 99% during and right after the fogger runs. A room fan is also used on a timer comming on 30 mins before misting (not directly at enclosures). Measured by Exo Terra Combo Meters as per temps. ◦Plants - Bio active setup with the usual pothos, peace lilly and a tall grass I can't remember the name of. Soil is a different mix from my males being 50/50 playsand and organic soil, really good for holding a tunnel. Apart from a few fake leaves below UVB to dapple the light in an area, and 3 x oak dowels, the setup is natural and woods/vines etc collected locally. Micro fauna is kept healhty with Arcadia Custodian Fuel and clearly breed well. Arcadia Earth Pro Bio Revitaliser used to keep up mineral levels in the soil. Quite often have to remove excess water from the drainage layer. This is usually to the pothos leaves being moved by Rose and missing the catching funnel (drain out). The soil mix also allows water to pass through much more than my males.
◦Placement - Both my cham cages are on the top of a rack system. Highest basking branches about 8 feet from floor. A middle shelf is used for mister and dripper systems and to store feeders whilst gutloading. Below in the racking is a BRB in naturalistic viv and a Crestie in a bioactive. Room fan on timer, not directed directly at any of the vivs.
◦Location - Stockport, England
Current Problem - She looks mighty gravid but hasn't shown any signs of restlesness, is still eating everything offered and shows no sign of heading down to the floor, where the lay bin is a permanent item. She's just starting to shed this morning as well which can be seen in the pics.
Bob
◦Your Chameleon - Panther (Amilobe), Male, 13 months old. Had him 7 months
◦Handling - Every day, multiple times but always on his terms. I could write an essay explaining this but rest assured he chooses to be in his viv, on his free range or on me. In this respect he's not a typical cham! I never handle my female unless absolutely necessary as she's the polar opposite!
◦Feeding - He chooses BSFL & Supers over all other foods. We always have crickets, locust and dubias here for our other reptiles but he's not interested. 2-3 supers or 10-12 BSFL or combination. Fed every other day. Usually cup or hand fed. All our feeders are gut loaded for 2 days before use, using a combination of fresh ingredients and bug burger. Fresh includes spring greens, watercress, rocket, carrot, squash and sometimes orange or apple. I also have my own wet frozen gutload made in batches. Some feeders prefer different gutloads over others, so I adjust to suit feeder preference.
◦Supplements - Arcadia Earth Pro A and B on alternate feedings with Reptivite with D3 and Reptivite without D3 alternate weekends.
◦Watering - Swell Reptiles mister system, 1 min at 9am, 4 mins at 12 and 1.5 mins at 5pm. Overnight the fogger comes at 3am until lights on time at 8am. I also have a DIY dripper using a 5 litre tank and pump with fine control of flow done with the same plastic clips used to control IV lines in hospitals. The water drips down pothos leaves and is collected then straight out again. All mister and dripper pipes are cleaned fortnightly using the same product used to clean beer lines in bars and heavily rinsed through. Dripper and mister have fresh RO every day and tanks cleaned every 2 days. Also hand misting on occasions when I want to give the plants a good soaking. Bob usually drinks from the pothos leaf tips supplied by the dripper which I see daily. Never seen him drink from other leaves after the mister for example.
◦Fecal Description - He gets 10/10 as far poop goes. Always good colour, size and consisty with a slight orange tint to the urates every time.
Cage Info:
◦Cage Type - Exo Terra X-Large X-Tall, 90x45x90 cm.
◦Lighting - Arcadia T5HO 6% UVB across full width. 100w standard heat lamp. Arcadia Jungle Dawn LED. 8am to 8pm for heat and UVB, 11am to 4pm for Jungle Dawn.
◦Temperature - Daytime 73, 76 and basking spot 85. Overnight 67, 68 and 70. Controlled by dimming thermostat with probe at the basking spot along side temp/humidity meter. Measured by 3 X Exo Terra Combo Meters. 1 at basking spot, 1 at mid point and 1 bottom, opposite end from heat.
◦Humidity - Between 55% during 'dry' periods of the day and up 99% during and right after the fogger runs. A room fan is also used on a timer comming on 30 mins before misting (not directly at enclosures). Measured by Exo Terra Combo Meters as per temps.
◦Plants - Bio active setup with the usual pothos, weeping fig, umbrella, spider and a tall grass I can't remember the name of. Apart from a few fake leaves below the UVB to dapple the light in an area, the entire setup is 100% natural and woods/vines etc. all collected locally. Micro fauna is kept healthy with Arcadia Custodian Fuel and clearly breed well. Arcadia Earth Pro Bio Revitaliser used to keep up mineral levels in the soil. Very very rare to have to remove excess water from the drainage layer.
◦Placement - Both my cham cages are on the top of a rack system. Highest basking branches about 8 feet from floor. The middle shelf is used for mister and dripper systems and to store feeders whilst gutloading. Below in the racking is a BRB in naturalistic viv and a Crestie in a bioactive. Room fan on timer, not directed directly at any of the vivs.
◦Location - Stockport, England
Current Problem - None known. Just thought it time I asked for any constructive feedback to see if I can improve anywhere. If anyone wants more detailed info on any particular part of the setup, please ask.
Apologies if this is long and some things will be repeated as the setups for both my chams are almost the same.
I'll start with Rose as she's gravid and showing no signs of going to her lay bin. After that is Bob (complete nutter and total character)
Rose
◦Your Chameleon -
Panther (Amilobe), Female, 9 months old. Had her 3 months
◦Handling - I never handle Rose unless absolutely necessary for weighing.
◦Feeding - Rose loves locust, dubias, calci, supers and crickets. Usually cup or hand fed. All our feeders are gut loaded for 2 days before use, using a combination of fresh ingredients and bug burger. Fresh includes spring greens, watercress, rocket, carrot, squash and sometimes orange or apple. I also have my own wet frozen gutload made in batches. Some feeders prefer different gutloads over others, so I adjust to suit feeder preference.
◦Supplements - Arcadia Earth Pro A and B on alternate feedings with Reptivite with D3 and Reptivite without D3 alternate weekends.
◦Watering - Swell Reptiles mister system, 1 min at 9am, 4 mins at 12 and 1.5 mins at 5pm. Overnight the fogger comes at 3am until lights on time at 8am. I also have a DIY dripper using a 5 litre tank and pump with fine control of flow done with the same plastic clips used to control IV lines in hospitals. The water drips down pothos leaves and is collected then straight out again. All mister and dripper pipes are cleaned fortnightly using the same product used to clean beer lines in bars and heavily rinsed through. Dripper and mister have fresh RO every day and tanks cleaned every 2 days. Also hand misting on occasions when I want to give the plants a good soaking. Rose usually drinks from plant leaves and the glass after misting which I see often. Never seen her drink from the dripper.
◦Fecal Description - She gets 8/10 as far poop goes. Mostly normal but occasionally it's loose, generally after eating locust. Urates are all white and sometimes pretty big as well. (Overly hydrated?)
Cage Info:
◦Cage Type - Exo Terra Large X-Tall, 60x45x90 cm.
◦Lighting - Arcadia T5HO 6% UVB across full width. 100w standard heat lamp. On at 8am, off at 8pm.
◦Temperature - Daytime 76 and basking spot 82. Overnight 68 and 70. Controlled by dimming thermostat with probe at the basking spot along side temp/humidity meter. Measured by 2 X Exo Terra Combo Meters. 1 at basking spot and 1 bottom, opposite end from heat.
◦Humidity - Between 55% during 'dry' periods of the day and up 99% during and right after the fogger runs. A room fan is also used on a timer comming on 30 mins before misting (not directly at enclosures). Measured by Exo Terra Combo Meters as per temps. ◦Plants - Bio active setup with the usual pothos, peace lilly and a tall grass I can't remember the name of. Soil is a different mix from my males being 50/50 playsand and organic soil, really good for holding a tunnel. Apart from a few fake leaves below UVB to dapple the light in an area, and 3 x oak dowels, the setup is natural and woods/vines etc collected locally. Micro fauna is kept healhty with Arcadia Custodian Fuel and clearly breed well. Arcadia Earth Pro Bio Revitaliser used to keep up mineral levels in the soil. Quite often have to remove excess water from the drainage layer. This is usually to the pothos leaves being moved by Rose and missing the catching funnel (drain out). The soil mix also allows water to pass through much more than my males.
◦Placement - Both my cham cages are on the top of a rack system. Highest basking branches about 8 feet from floor. A middle shelf is used for mister and dripper systems and to store feeders whilst gutloading. Below in the racking is a BRB in naturalistic viv and a Crestie in a bioactive. Room fan on timer, not directed directly at any of the vivs.
◦Location - Stockport, England
Current Problem - She looks mighty gravid but hasn't shown any signs of restlesness, is still eating everything offered and shows no sign of heading down to the floor, where the lay bin is a permanent item. She's just starting to shed this morning as well which can be seen in the pics.Bob
◦Your Chameleon - Panther (Amilobe), Male, 13 months old. Had him 7 months
◦Handling - Every day, multiple times but always on his terms. I could write an essay explaining this but rest assured he chooses to be in his viv, on his free range or on me. In this respect he's not a typical cham! I never handle my female unless absolutely necessary as she's the polar opposite!
◦Feeding - He chooses BSFL & Supers over all other foods. We always have crickets, locust and dubias here for our other reptiles but he's not interested. 2-3 supers or 10-12 BSFL or combination. Fed every other day. Usually cup or hand fed. All our feeders are gut loaded for 2 days before use, using a combination of fresh ingredients and bug burger. Fresh includes spring greens, watercress, rocket, carrot, squash and sometimes orange or apple. I also have my own wet frozen gutload made in batches. Some feeders prefer different gutloads over others, so I adjust to suit feeder preference.
◦Supplements - Arcadia Earth Pro A and B on alternate feedings with Reptivite with D3 and Reptivite without D3 alternate weekends.
◦Watering - Swell Reptiles mister system, 1 min at 9am, 4 mins at 12 and 1.5 mins at 5pm. Overnight the fogger comes at 3am until lights on time at 8am. I also have a DIY dripper using a 5 litre tank and pump with fine control of flow done with the same plastic clips used to control IV lines in hospitals. The water drips down pothos leaves and is collected then straight out again. All mister and dripper pipes are cleaned fortnightly using the same product used to clean beer lines in bars and heavily rinsed through. Dripper and mister have fresh RO every day and tanks cleaned every 2 days. Also hand misting on occasions when I want to give the plants a good soaking. Bob usually drinks from the pothos leaf tips supplied by the dripper which I see daily. Never seen him drink from other leaves after the mister for example.
◦Fecal Description - He gets 10/10 as far poop goes. Always good colour, size and consisty with a slight orange tint to the urates every time.
Cage Info:
◦Cage Type - Exo Terra X-Large X-Tall, 90x45x90 cm.
◦Lighting - Arcadia T5HO 6% UVB across full width. 100w standard heat lamp. Arcadia Jungle Dawn LED. 8am to 8pm for heat and UVB, 11am to 4pm for Jungle Dawn.
◦Temperature - Daytime 73, 76 and basking spot 85. Overnight 67, 68 and 70. Controlled by dimming thermostat with probe at the basking spot along side temp/humidity meter. Measured by 3 X Exo Terra Combo Meters. 1 at basking spot, 1 at mid point and 1 bottom, opposite end from heat.
◦Humidity - Between 55% during 'dry' periods of the day and up 99% during and right after the fogger runs. A room fan is also used on a timer comming on 30 mins before misting (not directly at enclosures). Measured by Exo Terra Combo Meters as per temps.
◦Plants - Bio active setup with the usual pothos, weeping fig, umbrella, spider and a tall grass I can't remember the name of. Apart from a few fake leaves below the UVB to dapple the light in an area, the entire setup is 100% natural and woods/vines etc. all collected locally. Micro fauna is kept healthy with Arcadia Custodian Fuel and clearly breed well. Arcadia Earth Pro Bio Revitaliser used to keep up mineral levels in the soil. Very very rare to have to remove excess water from the drainage layer.
◦Placement - Both my cham cages are on the top of a rack system. Highest basking branches about 8 feet from floor. The middle shelf is used for mister and dripper systems and to store feeders whilst gutloading. Below in the racking is a BRB in naturalistic viv and a Crestie in a bioactive. Room fan on timer, not directed directly at any of the vivs.
◦Location - Stockport, England
Current Problem - None known. Just thought it time I asked for any constructive feedback to see if I can improve anywhere. If anyone wants more detailed info on any particular part of the setup, please ask.
