Prepping to get my first chameleon

Yeah, and if you're going to keep him inside year-round it shouldn't affect anything. It is okay to change their lighting schedule slightly from time to time (some people change it seasonally, especially for the time change and whatnot), but just like us humans, they do best on a regular routine, whatever that routine is. I agree that if 11 to 11 works for you and your cham, then it should be fine as long as it's completely dark when it's lights out for him/her. That computer is so close that you definitely want the monitor 100% off when your cham is sleeping. I even got black out curtains for the window next to my setup because the sun comes through that window in the morning (before his lights turn on) and I wanted to make sure he was getting enough sleep, haha. I've even noticed that my super dim lamp across the room will disturb my cham if I sometimes turn it on to not trip over something, lol.
 
Thanks for the info guys, I didn't realize they had a strict darkness rule when they are sleeping.

It gets light around 7am here right now but i keep my blinds shut and bushes are in front of my windows. Its not pitch black but its relatively dark without a light on.
 
RyanBRZ said:
Thanks for the input and thank you for the compliment, thats a good point, I do trust those who have more experience such as breeders and keepers on these forums. Just because it's in a magazine does not mean it is accurate. Overall I am happy with the setup, though my humidity is not ideal -- it is sitting at 30 with the sensor at the top front left corner of the cage. I read somewhere, maybe on these forums, that captive bred chameleons can thrive in lower humidity levels as long as they have adequate drinking water--I believe this was quoted from a book. I just got my mist king and light timers setup last night, I'm going to start with 11am-11pm for lighting and I'm still trying to figure out a good misting schedule. I only bought a 2 gallon bucket for a res, thinking I should go bigger because I will need to keep refilling which can get annoying since I will be buying 1 gallon distilled jugs.

Hoping to pick up my cham in a few days, I'm waiting to hear back from the breeder cbreptiles. They are around a 1 hour drive from me and they are offering an option for me to pickup from their shipping facility so it will not have to be shipped.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I missed some of this! Sorry! Running low on coffee in my house this week. o_O Definitely trust this site on humidity levels. You said you were getting a panther chameleon right? They NEED higher humidities and 30% just isn't going to cut it. There are several ways to increase humidity. I live where it's naturally pretty humid and I still use a humidifier near the setup to boost my humidity sometimes....and this changes seasonally. Misting will obviously increase the humidity, but ideally your enclosure is drying out almost completely in between mistings. What you want to do is go back to the caresheet for panther chams and check the lowest humidity level that's acceptable and make sure you don't drop below it in between mistings. I normally check this right before my mister is about to go off (when the humidity is in theory the lowest).

Another pro-tip is to make sure you can trust your meters. I've switched meters (for humidity and temperature) a few times and used multiple meters because I've gotten wildly different results and whatnot. I had to experiment with that a bit at first, but now I feel like I've gotten a feel for it. Sometimes it's just a matter of being smart about your own setup and figuring out what works for you (which you seem like you're already doing with the interior decorating ;)).

Keep it up! Sorry I'm all over the place, haha.
 
RyanBRZ said:
Thanks for the info guys, I didn't realize they had a strict darkness rule when they are sleeping.

It gets light around 7am here right now but i keep my blinds shut and bushes are in front of my windows. Its not pitch black but its relatively dark without a light on.
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Yeah, I'd just see how your cham reacts. Mine just seemed really sensitive, but also the sun comes directly into my window in the morning...and I had thin white curtains...so it's all in the details! The first few weeks are so crucial in that you will need to almost embody Jane Goodall and observe your chameleon like a scientist, hahaha. I'm exaggerating, but only a little. :p
 
@RyanBRZ Looking back at your picture...is that a small 3D printer in the corner? Can those lights, or the machine turn off too? I wonder if all of the other lights in the room are off if those lights are bright enough to keep a cham awake. It's iffy, and if it was me and my cham I'd definitely turn it off. Just some more opinions, lol.
 
Thanks! Yeah humidity is on the low side, part of it could be because im not misting enough. I'm misting 3 times a day for 1 minute, really to just test out the setup. It does get pretty dry here in the Northeast in the winter. I may need to get a humidifier and close my bedroom heat vents, while maintaining heat for the cham.

I am using a digital temp/humidity guage combo which had 2 sensors that you can place anywhere in the enclosure. I may need to try more basic dial style guages to be sure.
 
amfire125 said:
@RyanBRZ Looking back at your picture...is that a small 3D printer in the corner? Can those lights, or the machine turn off too? I wonder if all of the other lights in the room are off if those lights are bright enough to keep a cham awake. It's iffy, and if it was me and my cham I'd definitely turn it off. Just some more opinions, lol.
Click to expand...
No, that's a water cooled computer i built earlier this year, many of the components have rgb LEDs. I'm in bed or at least the computer turned off by 11 so I should hopefully be fine
 
amfire125 said:
@RyanBRZ Looking back at your picture...is that a small 3D printer in the corner? Can those lights, or the machine turn off too? I wonder if all of the other lights in the room are off if those lights are bright enough to keep a cham awake. It's iffy, and if it was me and my cham I'd definitely turn it off. Just some more opinions, lol.
Click to expand...
Hahahaha :p
It's a gaming PC, and a nice one too! Props to you @RyanBRZ
 
I published a review of the monitor tonight actually, thought a cham shot was fitting

Screenshot_20181022-213802.png
 
Do you guys think it would be helpful to add a Mist King rain nozzle to my reptibreeze 24x24x48 cage, or is that too much? I currently have one nozzle in the back left corner pointing to the right front corner. Trying to maximize humidity
 
RyanBRZ said:
Do you guys think it would be helpful to add a Mist King rain nozzle to my reptibreeze 24x24x48 cage, or is that too much? I currently have one nozzle in the back left corner pointing to the right front corner. Trying to maximize humidity
Click to expand...
I made my own by poking a hole in the bottom of a red solo cup, turning it upside down, and adding a nozzle through the hole. Works perfectly!
 
RyanBRZ said:
No, that's a water cooled computer i built earlier this year, many of the components have rgb LEDs. I'm in bed or at least the computer turned off by 11 so I should hopefully be fine
Click to expand...

TheLetterAfterP(Q) said:
Hahahaha :p
It's a gaming PC, and a nice one too! Props to you @RyanBRZ
Click to expand...

Hahaha, I don't know anything about gaming computers, but I thought I saw a small tray for 3D printing. Anyways, glad to know the lights will be off for your cham. :D

RyanBRZ said:
Do you guys think it would be helpful to add a Mist King rain nozzle to my reptibreeze 24x24x48 cage, or is that too much? I currently have one nozzle in the back left corner pointing to the right front corner. Trying to maximize humidity
Click to expand...

I looked up the rain nozzle since I don't have one, never used one, and am not familiar with it. I'm not sure it would help significantly with the humidity, although maybe that's what it's designed for? Maybe someone else can chime in who has one...

To raise the humidity most people recommend trying things like: adding more live plants and overall density of interior, covering 2 sides of the enclosure with shower curtain, longer misting sessions (both for humidity and for your cham health - they need prolonged misting sessions to clean out their eyes and to help with shedding when that happens), and cool air humidifiers near the enclosures (although warm air ones work too - they're just way more prone to bacteria and mold to make your cham sick). I'm probably forgetting a few things, but these are all pretty common ways to boost humidity.
 
I think you would benefit more than most by installing or building your own rain nozzle because you do not have a lot of foliage. Water droplets will form right below the nozzle on the screen, they shine brightly under your vivs lights and really get your chams attention. The droplets draw them in to drink and the mist that makes it through the screen can then be used by your Cham to take care of other bodily functions such as cleaning his eyes.

Don’t think it would really help you raise humidity any more than a regular nozzle would, you will need to either add more plants or wrap the viv to do that.
 
Regarding foliage, I am hoping the dwarf umbrella plant that is coming in tomorrow will help, the attached pic is how it looks in the listing, I am hoping it is nearly as bushy as it is in the pic. It comes in a 10" pot which is a good sign. I think the Pothos plants will fill in over time, I am trying to avoid hanging a third Pothos plant. Perhaps once one gets big enough to move to the floor level I will hang a third one. Need to run to home depot tonight to get more organic soil and pond rocks to cover up the soil in all of my plants.

@Brodybreaux25, I think I am going to do what you did and place a vine directly under the droplets on the screen so he can get up to it to drink. And great idea regarding creating my own rain nozzle, it is such a simple concept that it makes no sense to spend $20 on a pre-made one. Not sure I am going to implement one, but if I do I am going to make it.

I am about to place an order for dubia roaches at https://dubiaroaches.com, does anyone have experience with them? Hopefully they will arrive by Friday along with my cham, if not I can always run to petco. I am trying to avoid crickets though since the small ones can be annoying to manage. FLChams says the cham I bought is approx. 5 inches and 1/4"-1/2" feeders would work. Maybe I can mix in meal worms and wax worms from petco?

I attached pics of my top level approximately 5 minutes after a 2-3 minute mist session. Humidity is at 50% as we speak.

s-l500.jpg
IMG_20181023_175656.jpg
IMG_20181023_175707.jpg
 
RyanBRZ said:
Regarding foliage, I am hoping the dwarf umbrella plant that is coming in tomorrow will help, the attached pic is how it looks in the listing, I am hoping it is nearly as bushy as it is in the pic. It comes in a 10" pot which is a good sign. I think the Pothos plants will fill in over time, I am trying to avoid hanging a third Pothos plant. Perhaps once one gets big enough to move to the floor level I will hang a third one. Need to run to home depot tonight to get more organic soil and pond rocks to cover up the soil in all of my plants.

@Brodybreaux25, I think I am going to do what you did and place a vine directly under the droplets on the screen so he can get up to it to drink. And great idea regarding creating my own rain nozzle, it is such a simple concept that it makes no sense to spend $20 on a pre-made one. Not sure I am going to implement one, but if I do I am going to make it.

I am about to place an order for dubia roaches at https://dubiaroaches.com, does anyone have experience with them? Hopefully they will arrive by Friday along with my cham, if not I can always run to petco. I am trying to avoid crickets though since the small ones can be annoying to manage. FLChams says the cham I bought is approx. 5 inches and 1/4"-1/2" feeders would work. Maybe I can mix in meal worms and wax worms from petco?

I attached pics of my top level approximately 5 minutes after a 2-3 minute mist session. Humidity is at 50% as we speak.

View attachment 216259 View attachment 216260 View attachment 216261
Click to expand...
Dubiaroaches is awesome! Rainbowmealworms has custom variety packs you can make with similar pricing to dubiaroaches, too. How old will your cham be?
 
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