what should my set-up include

mistax845

mistax845

New Member
so im planning on buying a veiled chameleon, an i was going to build a screen enclosure with a waterfall and various live plants, but the guy at the pet store told me that the heat and humidity would never stay in the cage and to get something made of glass. i bought the exo-terra glass in closure, the one that looks like a glass cabinet, and its getting hot enough with the lights i have and the uv i got seems good too. the next step in putting in either a live plant and fake plants, and i need to raise the humidity. im thinking of buying a dripper, but was wondering if a small waterfall could substitute it and raise the humidity. some one help me out and tell em what else i need before i buy one of these guys.
 
Dont listen to the pet store guy. Chams can drown in a waterfall, and they usually are just full of bacteria and parasites. Dont get a glass enclosure either, chams need alot of fresh airflow to remove stagnant air or they could develop a respiratory infection. And the reflection in the glass can cause stress on the cham, so pretty much dont do any of that stuff the pet store dude told you as it will deteriorate your chams health.

--And thats day one stuff.
 
... oh i re-read your post, you need to take that glass cabinet thng back. also the necessary UV from your repitsun 5.0 (which i hope you have) cant penetrate the glass.
 
Go to my website that is in my signature here and go to the Chameleon shopping list section. That is everything you need to get started. Please NO waterfalls or Exoterra glass cages for Veileds. :)
 
Clarification - Do you guys reccomend a 5.0 vs. a 10.0? ( I looked at that shopping cart that was mentioned) if you are going through screen wouldn't the 10.0 be a better option? Just curious :)
 
Oh My... Sorry to hear that you fell victim to the Pet Store Cham Scam... The thing to remember about pet stores ...

1) A lot of the time you are dealing with someone who likes to consider themselves a "Husbandry Expert" because they recieved some kind of brief training on how to clean out the cages when they got hired. They rarely have the proper advice to give, and if you ask something they don't know the answer to... Rarely will you hear "I don;t know, let me ask someone who does." In an effort to keep up their "Husbandry Expert" Ego they will just feed you a line of misinformation, instead of finding out good info for you. Always do your own research ... consult people such as breeders and experienced keepers when it comes to husbandry advice and not someone who has somehthing to gain from a lie... Breeders are great sources of info... as they want to sell to you but at the same time, with this community being so tight nit, they have a rep to protect, so they can't get away with, or really benefit at all from spewing out faulty info.


2) Secondly, Most pet stores only care about the sale. The health of the animal and the husbandry it recieves do not matter if they are able to make a dollar on the sale. Most pet stores I have been to that sell Chams don't even keep their Chams in the proper conditions, let alone sell the items necessary to properly keep a cham. But they still sell them... So when someone comes in and they want to buy a cham... But the store only carries Glass tanks... Guess what kind of tank they are going to tell you your cham needs to be in?

3) You would be suprised how many products on the market are being sold, that really shouldn't be used at all... Heat Rocks, CalciSand, Compact Flourecent Bulbs, waterfalls... all this stuff is widely sold at all the pet stores, and at the same time widely known to be bad for the animals in the serious herping community. The only reason these things are still on the market is becasue the pet stores are able sell them to the "first time owner" who really doesn't know any better. The customer trusts that the Pet Store will provide the proper info, And the pet store takes advantage of that trust to make a sale.

Return your cage... or keep it, and buy a screen one for your Veiled, then you can wait until you get a little more experiece and use the glass one to house Brevs! We can help you find a nice reputable dealer who can set you up with a quality animal, and then we can make sure you recieve the proper advice on caring for it.

Hope this was a help...
This is stuff we have all been through, and a lot of us learn this stuff the hard way... You are doing the right thing coming here to ask questions... Good luck, and be sure to post pics once you get your new Baby.

~Joe

PS: Sorry to use your thread as my Pet Store Bashing Board, but I thought this would be a good place to post my thoughts on the subject.
 
Last edited:
Sassy said:
Clarification - Do you guys reccomend a 5.0 vs. a 10.0? ( I looked at that shopping cart that was mentioned) if you are going through screen wouldn't the 10.0 be a better option? Just curious :)
Click to expand...

Really depends on what kind of screen you are going through...

Reptariums have a really heavy cloth that takes more light penetration... in which case 10.0 is the better choice... But a regular alum screen, a 5.0 is plenty depending on the size of the cage and the distance from the light.
 
dont get me started on pet stores, went to a private owned one yesterday and they had a 1mo veiled in glass aquarium with too hot basking light, a water dish for water, no uvb, the worst substrate ever, and to top it all off the poor little guy had his eyes shut, i yelled at the guy taking care of him and all he could tell me is that his boss wont let him give him the stuff the chamy needs, just wants to make the sale.

poor guy wont last another week.:mad:
 
damn it. lol. that thing was expencive, i hope they take it back. i knew he was full of it! thank you julirs for ur list of items ill need. i have a 5.0 uv light but its more bulb like, is that ok?
 
ok so once i buy all these things how do i keep the humidity in the cage up? should i get drippers? and lastly do i go with live plants? if so what kind.
 
good start, you will need a bigger enclosure, but i would ask them to swap the moss for something usefull like another vine.
 
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