substrate

[andy10869]

hi everyone.
i have taken your advises on substrate and removed the wood chip, but does any one have any remarks to make about what could be used to cover the viv bottom as i would like it look as natural as i can do you think dry leaves would be ok?. i now understand about small particules being injested by the cham and the problems which occur but what could i use at the min it just looks like a rain forest reading the independant dont look good at all.
many thanks in advance to the whole chammunity.

 

[carol5208]

Andy you are just better off leaving it bare. I know it might not look as good but with the leaving the bottom of the cage bare it is easy to clean and that way no or mold or bacteria will form as it can with substrate and in the long run it is much safer for your chameleon.

 

[Manik6]

nothing at all will be best. i know every new owner desires to have a natural looking setup (i know i did) but for sanitation and health reasons its best to leave the bottom bare or with napkins. i would suggest doing research on here for a type of drainage system setup. u will need it. look around the forum before starting another thread for drainage ides for there are already alot of them. if you have anymore questions use the search option before posting multiple different threads. which i assure u are already covered multiple times.

 

[TheReptisentative]

well when u think of whats natural for a chameleon subtrate becomes a waste , most of them live high in the trees so dont think of creating a habit that is a base of a tree but one that is high in the air in the top of a big tree . if that makes any sense lol

 

[andy10869]

obviously the safety element has to take priority there is no point in buying a cham only then to in effect kill it and thats not what im about. do you think it is possible to create a floor like they do on these model railways taking into mind toxicity of glue etc.

 

[laurie]

Welcome to the forum. i am sorry I have waited so long to get on and offer help. You need to talk to Miss Lily, one of our members in the UK The info you are being given is how things are set up here in the US. There are some important differences from where you are to where we are. I am sure most of the advice will apply but let's be sure. I will send a pm to Miss Lily (Tiff) and have her contact you. Together with the others who have helped we will get Lotus on the right tract.

 

[Miss Lily]

I have sealed offcuts of stone effect vinyl flooring into the bottom of my vivs. It looks really good and is easy to wipe clean. I went to a local carpet/flooring shop and asked if they had any offcuts and I got a large amount for free! I've done two vivs and still have loads left for future vivs too! (If you don't ask you don't get, lol! I really wasn't expecting a freebie, but we had been customers there several times). I also hated the look of the bare floor and as Amy is in a glass terrarium I didn't want her trying to dig through the bottom. Here's a pic - hopefully you can see what I've done. If you decide to do this make sure you use aquarium silicone as it is safe for reptiles too, but it needs 24 hours to cure and for the smell to dissipate.

 

[andy10869]

hi lilly ive sent you a personal post with my e-mail address many thanks. bare looks so horrible. i really like your idea of the tiles, now i know what sort of things to look out for it makes it much easier, i agree bare cages look awfull. i think i may be able to sort something out and maybe cut the tiles etc to create a water proof bottom if properly sealed.

 

[andy10869]

hi manik. thanks for your input i already looked at the search side of things and couldnt find what i was looking for ie there was only three references directly refering to substrate. i have no intention of cutting my viv to bits in order to create drainage!! so wont be looking for advice on that but isnt the idea of a forum for people to ask questions??? otherwise there is no point. many thanks for the helpfull advice and suggestions from everyone i now have a lot of ideas to mull over. nice one peeps

 

[Miss Lily]

I used tile effect vinyl flooring - you only need to seal around the edges then rather than individual tiles.