Saving Money

[maroonbanana]

I know the phrase 'cutting corners' has a bit of a negative connotation to it, and anyone would want their setup to look nice and have their cham happy, but after endless hours of research I've come to the conclusion that there is no way to make chameleons 'cheap' by any means. I have, however, come up with a few ways to save money with the setup and feeding:

-homemade dripper system (just by poking a hole in a washed out milk container)
-homemade cages (if you can) are easier if you're looking for more than one chameleon, for the most part
-breeding the feeders yourself

Also, checking on amazon for lights and such has given me great deals like twin packs of heating lights or a combo pack with a uv bulb and a heat bulb.

does anyone have any other tips on how to save money? I'm a college student with not-very-much money, but I'm trying to pull everything together for a lower price, so literally anything, even if it only saves a dollar or two, really helps in the long run.

 

[cricketkilla]

Making your own cage decor, vines, tree limbs, perches, etc..

IMO free ranging is the cheapest way to house chameleons if you use supplies from nature and sterilize them.

 

[Darwin760]

Home depot for light fixtures. My biggest mistake so far.

 

[maroonbanana]

Making your own cage decor, vines, tree limbs, perches, etc..

IMO free ranging is the cheapest way to house chameleons if you use supplies from nature and sterilize them.

I would LOVE to free range a chameleon but the people I live with would not be so happy about that, so cage it is

 

[maroonbanana]

Home depot for light fixtures. My biggest mistake so far.

This is a REALLY good idea, I'm going to go try this later today. Thanks!

 

[Cainschams]

Lots of ways to save!!

Building your own cages.
Breeding feeders.
Using WC feeders (in a safe manner).
Getting light fixtures and heat lamps from Lowes or HD. Companies slap a lizard on their product and jack the price up when you can find the same thing for cheaper else where.
UVB tubes from LLLreptile. Cheapest place to find them.
If you have multiple chams buy the 4 ft UVB tubes. 4ft tubes cost just as much as the 12 inch ones.
Using decor from outside (sticks, branches etc).
Using regular household bulbs for basking bulbs. Again, slap a lizard on the package and you get slapped with an over priced bulb.

 

[Theunorthodox]

A little late on the reply, but I'm also just starting with chameleons and I'm interested in saving in the long-run as well. Anyone have any tips on energy-saving? I've heard energy-saving fluorescent bulbs are no good for basking because they are not hot enough. Has anyone found anything similar that's worked?

 

[Meow Kitty]

i freerange both my chams and my panther never leaves his tree its awsome

 

[nadine]

Lots of ways to save!!

Getting light fixtures and heat lamps from Lowes or HD. Companies slap a lizard on
.................

Using regular household bulbs for basking bulbs. Again, slap a lizard on the package and you get slapped with an over priced bulb.
................

i need to pick up this one again what light fixtures do you usual use from lowes? link?

also, what wattage for household bulbs?

thanks
nadine

 

[sulfurboy1o3]

Just look and test a couple you like. Be aware that flood lights are pretty strong in that they focus light and heat much better then say an incandescent bulb. So a 60 or 75 watt flood or halogen would do the job of a 100 or 150 watt zoo med bulb or any repti bulbs and they cost half the price. when pruchasing floods from stores, get flat surfaced faced bulbs, meaning no hexagonal shape in the middle. Those direct heat and light even more and can cause burns faster of your cham gets too close.

There is a difference in incandescent and floods and halogen and even the bulb with the coil inside. All are around the same price. For a broad range of heat( to cover lets say a big cage) you'd like the incandescent for help. For a focused spot to have the rest of the cage cooler, get a 45 or 50 watt flood. Halogens imo are most like the current spot bulbs sold by zoomed. Though halogens are stronger and a more durable bulb, the heat and the way its dispersed is the same. so if you like the performance of the zoomed bulb but dont like paying 12$plus, go with that.
NEW energy saver bulbs with the coil inside suck as far as heat but they are good at lighting up a dark cage.
For more comparison, my female has a 75 watt zoomed and my male jacksoni has a 35 watt flood. flood does the same job imo.

 

[sandrachameleon]

make you own gutloads - buy in bulk