Prepping to get my first chameleon

[RyanBRZ]

He's gradually getting his color, it's weird that around 2 weeks ago he looked almost completely green. He puffed up a bit when I had my phone near him, he is also hesitant to eat when he knows I'm recording. Thinking about picking him up (letting him walk on me) using gardening gloves or something.

 

[Brodybreaux25]

Gardening gloves? Man up! Are you scared of him?

 

[RyanBRZ]

I guess, lol, shutup, I dont know how he's going to react and I read that they bite hard.

 

[Brodybreaux25]

They don’t, you have to have confidence. It’s like getting to know a woman, if they sense your hesitation or fear you have no chance, they will eat you alive!

 

[amfire125]

They don’t, you have to have confidence. It’s like getting to know a woman, if they sense your hesitation or fear you have no chance, they will eat you alive!

 

[Ryker]

You have the UVB part but you need a heat lamp and fixture...
https://chameleonsonly.com/collections/cage-accessories/products/zoo-med-basking-spot-lamp
https://chameleonsonly.com/collections/cage-accessories/products/zoo-med-basking-spot-lamp
Also, a good breeder is Kammerflage Kreations, they have some beautiful ones I think you will like.
https://chameleonsonly.com

 

[ERKleRose]

You have the UVB part but you need a heat lamp and fixture...
https://chameleonsonly.com/collections/cage-accessories/products/zoo-med-basking-spot-lamp
https://chameleonsonly.com/collections/cage-accessories/products/zoo-med-basking-spot-lamp
Also, a good breeder is Kammerflage Kreations, they have some beautiful ones I think you will like.
https://chameleonsonly.com

Did you read the entire thread? He has everything now, including a cham

 

[RyanBRZ]

Does anyone breed their own dubia? I am ready to start a colony but not sure about how many males/females to buy. I have only my one young cham, maybe 10 female, 3 males?

 

[Brodybreaux25]

Doesn’t have to be a specific ratio...

 

[RyanBRZ]

I'm trying to avoid having too many than I can use. Or is this unavoidable?

 

[Brodybreaux25]

I'm trying to avoid having too many than I can use. Or is this unavoidable?

There is no such thing as too many. If you only have one Cham and are a successful Dubia breeder you will have more Dubia than your Cham could ever eat. Sell the excess.

You could sell them here, EBay, Facebook, or your local pet shops. Chickens go crazy for them too!

 

[RyanBRZ]

Went with 25 females 10 males, 600 feeder dubias to hold me over, in addition to 250 silkworm eggs, 25 butter worms, 25 hornworms and 200 superworms. I am trying to get my feeders in before it gets freezing cold out. Feeding a cham adds up! I need to get my colony going.

Im going to buy egg flats and a heat pad with a thermostat on amazon and get everything else at home depot.

 

[Brodybreaux25]

Went with 25 females 10 males, 600 feeder dubias to hold me over, in addition to 250 silkworm eggs, 25 butter worms, 25 hornworms and 200 superworms. I am trying to get my feeders in before it gets freezing cold out. Feeding a cham adds up! I need to get my colony going.

Im going to buy egg flats and a heat pad with a thermostat on amazon and get everything else at home depot.

Should be a great start! Once it’s established it’s pretty much on autopilot.

Little tip, and maybe it was obvious to you but it wasn’t to me, put a couple 2x4s in the bottom of the bin and stand your egg crates up vertically. This will keep the crates cleaner and will last for years vs months if you just lay them down in the bin.

 

[KingGoodman]

You can also feed your Cham the silkworm butterflies so if the worms manage to get too big they will still be food eventually.

 

[RyanBRZ]

Good to know. This is my first time hatching eggs but from a cost per feeder perspective its way better than buying them as worms. Hoping this goes smoothly so I can have 2 easy staples in my rotation, and I will mix in superworms/hornworms/butter worms.

 

[ERKleRose]

Good to know. This is my first time hatching eggs but from a cost per feeder perspective its way better than buying them as worms. Hoping this goes smoothly so I can have 2 easy staples in my rotation, and I will mix in superworms/hornworms/butter worms.

Don’t forget about other roaches, like red runners, orange headed, or ivory headed (none of them can climb or fly), BSF and BSFL, and blue bottle flies!

 

[RyanBRZ]

Don’t forget about other roaches, like red runners, orange headed, or ivory headed (none of them can climb or fly), BSF and BSFL, and blue bottle flies!

Yeah, I will mix in whatever I can find. I wish more feeders were available for 2 day amazon prime.

 

[tunerX]

Didn't even have to post my own thread. I had a bunch of questions about a beginner cage setup and they all got answered here.

 

[RyanBRZ]

Didn't even have to post my own thread. I had a bunch of questions about a beginner cage setup and they all got answered here.

You picked the right forum, tunerX. Awesome people here and it is a very active forum.

I built a cage support today to get my Repti Breeze XL off of the storage bin I am using for drainage. I found it tough/annoying when it came time to empty/clean out the bin and when I had to put screen over the holes on the bottom of the reptibreeze cage to prevent feeders from sneaking through. With this support, I can slide out the bin for cleaning and I can get underneath the reptibreeze if I need to if the screens get clogged or whatever.

I sketched out what I wanted and went to home depot to pick up 6 x 72" x 1.5" x 0.75" boards and a clamping miter box with saw which worked out awesome for straight lines. I also picked up some stain + polyurethane which is tomorrows project. I am going to see how the stability feels, I will likely buy some L brackets to prevent it from sliding on the support and secure the reptibreeze itself to the wall with fishing line or something to be safe.

Current setup


Work in progress



For once, everything went as planned and this is all I had left over.


The finished product



I only roughly factored in the bin dimensions but didn't plan for the bottom fitting into the base. I got lucky and it slid in and fits nice and snug. This is the new bin I bought for my dubia colony, which is the same exact one I am using for drainage so I was able to easily do a test fit.

 

[ERKleRose]

You picked the right forum, tunerX. Awesome people here and it is a very active forum.

I built a cage support today to get my Repti Breeze XL off of the storage bin I am using for drainage. I found it tough/annoying when it came time to empty/clean out the bin and when I had to put screen over the holes on the bottom of the reptibreeze cage to prevent feeders from sneaking through. With this support, I can slide out the bin for cleaning and I can get underneath the reptibreeze if I need to if the screens get clogged or whatever.

I sketched out what I wanted and went to home depot to pick up 6 x 72" x 1.5" x 0.75" boards and a clamping miter box with saw which worked out awesome for straight lines. I also picked up some stain + polyurethane which is tomorrows project. I am going to see how the stability feels, I will likely buy some L brackets to prevent it from sliding on the support and secure the reptibreeze itself to the wall with fishing line or something to be safe.

Current setup
View attachment 217891

Work in progress
View attachment 217884
View attachment 217885

For once, everything went as planned and this is all I had left over.
View attachment 217886

The finished product
View attachment 217887
View attachment 217888

I only roughly factored in the bin dimensions but didn't plan for the bottom fitting into the base. I got lucky and it slid in and fits nice and snug. This is the new bin I bought for my dubia colony, which is the same exact one I am using for drainage so I was able to easily do a test fit.
View attachment 217889
View attachment 217890

Awesome!