What did I do wrong?

[ILikeTurtles]

Hello all!

I'm a soon-to-be first time Cham owner. I am getting a veiled. I have been reading for about a week and a half and I want to thank you all so much for all the great info on the site.

I have my enclosure tentatively ready to go, but I'm sure I did some stuff wrong. Here is my setup and the products I have used. Please let me know if any of this is blatantly a bad idea for my new cold blooded friend. Thanks!

 

[brownie64]

Everything looks in order, however the next time you buy a UVB bulb you might want to consider a linier one they distribute the UVB much better. If that isn't a real plant you might want to consider as well a real pothos, or other reptile safe plant they really help with controlling your humidity requirements. The monsoon is said to be junk. I like Mist King the best, and the starter set doesn't cost that much more. I feel strongly enough about this to suggest if at all possible take the monsoon back, and purchase the Mist king. Do you have all the supplements ready? Good luck, and welcome to the thrill, and stress of chameleon keeping.

That top branch looks a little close to the light. You want to make sure your new little friend don't burn him/her self.

 

[bobcochran]

If you're going to free feed your chameleon (not use a cup feeder) you're going to lose a lot of feeders in all the rocks at the bottom of the cage.
Also, I would get a thermometer to check the temps at various locations within the cage, you'll want temps between 75F. And 85F. During the day, and 60-70 at night. Depending on the temperature in your house or the room you'll be keeping him/her, the 100W. Bulbs are probably to strong. You can use regular incandescent bulbs of varying wattage to get the temps you need.
Oops, just saw your temp/humidity gauge inside the cage, move it around the cage to check temps in different areas, so he can move around to different sites to cool off or warm up as he feels necessary.

Oh yeah, welcome to the cham forums and way to do your homework!!

 

[nightanole]

Those rocks are going to be sooooooo gnarly when it comes cleaning time....

 

[jajeanpierre]

Welcome!

Did you already buy the Monsoon? You might want to rethink that because I believe it will break if it runs dry.--and it will happen. I believe a small MistKing system can handle running dry and is not that expensive.

Your rocks are going to cause you grief.

 

[Theveiled]

I have the monsoon and I like it but i never let it dry out (it gets 2 inches from the bottom) and if you get it use distilled water so minerals do not build up in the tubes

 

[ILikeTurtles]

Thank you all for the replies!

Everything was purchased on Amazon, where the MistKing was not available

I read that the Monsoon wasn't quite as good, but, ya know, prime and all... (edit: and I paid $75 for the monsoon. The starter MistKing is $150 with shipping. Is it really twice as good?)

The rocks are mostly temporary to get my lady on board by showing her a 'pretty' enclosure lol. They will definitely not be replaced after my first cleaning.

I know my temp is too high at the top. I'm sitting at 95F up there. I was thinking of lifting the light to solve instead of replacing. The bulbs came in a two pack..

 

[ILikeTurtles]

Also I have a logistical question:

I have the lights on a 12 hour cycle. The mister can be set to cycle at a set number of hours, but with no sleep timer for over night. Would it be better to let misting occur at night or set the mister on the same timer as the lights? If I do it that way, the first mist will occur at exactly the same time the lights come on in the morning. Will either or both of these options stress my little guy out?

 

[Virgil1972]

I have a monsoon and have never had a problem with it. As for the running dry the monsoon has a over heat safety that will shut it down if it is running dry. It is bad to run any pump dry even if it is advertised to run dry it is still bad for the pump.

 

[ILikeTurtles]

I have a monsoon and have never had a problem with it. As for the running dry the monsoon has a over heat safety that will shut it down if it is running dry. It is bad to run any pump dry even if it is advertised to run dry it is still bad for the pump.

What are your settings? I read some chams need the mist to run for 4+ minutes before they start drinking. The max interval is 2 minutes. Do you cycle over night or turn it off/run on a timer?

 

[Virgil1972]

I have mine run for 20 seconds every hour and I turn it off at night. It keeps my screen cage humidity in the 70 to 90 percent rage in Wisconsin in the winter. And my cham always has white urate and is healthy. I have mine spray onto my live plants and the water collects on the leaves.

 

[OldChamKeeper]

This here is the only good use for a Monsoon I found after having two fall apart both in under 6 months.
Your set up needs some work. That CFL you purchased is known to cause some issues with Chams. a 5.0 would be better but I still don't use the CFL's

 

[ILikeTurtles]

This here is the only good use for a Monsoon I found after having two fall apart both in under 6 months.
Your set up needs some work. That CFL you purchased is known to cause some issues with Chams. a 5.0 would be better but I still don't use the CFL's View attachment 154994

For a beginner, not trying to blow $1000 in the first month, is it really that bad to use the 10.0? I'll switch to the linear uvb soonish and move to the 5.0 though. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Alex21]

For a beginner, not trying to blow $1000 in the first month, is it really that bad to use the 10.0? I'll switch to the linear uvb soonish and move to the 5.0 though. Thanks for the advice.

No, it'll be fine just replace it after 6months. I started the same way.

 

[Nicholasdeaan]

You want the cage dry at night. All the misting should be done during daylight hours.