yemen chameleon info and help needed

[rango87]

hi

im going to setup a home for a male baby yemen chameleon.he will be about 3-4 inches.ive been doing lots of research and i thought i would tell you what i think i need and ask you a few questions along the way.im not an unexperienced reptile keeper but have never kept a chameleon before.i am a newbie and im just asking for a little help if poss.

heres what ive researched and please,please correct me if im wrong and as clearly as poss please.i dont want to make any mistakes

a mesh enclosure. ( whats the smallest i could start with?

calcium - dust every other day lightly
calcium + d3 dust 2-3 times a month

multivitamins - dust twice a month

basking light - 100 watt
basking temp - 26c-30c measured by what? thermometer or hygrometer? where should i place it?

air temp - 26c - 30c measured by what? thermometer or hygrometer?
where should i place it?

uvb light 26 watt 5.0

thermostat dimmable habistat for both lights or just 1? (what shall these both be set at? also which are best?

lights to be on 12hrs a day

kitchen roll or newspaper for substrate

does the basking light also go off at night? or get turned down?if so what to?

feed silk worms once per week as treat

feed meal worms daily & leave some in a dish

i will not be feeding crickets as they just smell awful.i will be feeding locusts instead.

cricket keeper box for the locusts

gutload 24hrs before feeding

mist twice a day for humidity & water for drinking

decor - vines,plants etc

homemade dripper

any help would be great the things im struggling on the most are the lighting and how to measure it.
if ive missed anything please let me know.im not getting the chameleon for 8 weeks so got lots of time to get it right before he arrives.
thanks in advance

 

[jannb]

Welcome to the forums. You might find my blog for new keepers helpful.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html
I would recommend feeding crickets at first and introduce locusts slowly along with crickets for awhile.

 

[rango87]

ive decided to buy the reptibreeze medium 40x40x76cm
what are the best uv and basking lamps for this??

 

[jannb]

ive decided to buy the reptibreeze medium 40x40x76cm
what are the best uv and basking lamps for this??

All this info and more can be found in the blog linked above.

 

[DavidBuchan]

Hello and welcome to the forum You have a great start and plenty of time.......for your specific questions you will probably want a basking bulb to be a regular incandescent bulb (lower than 100W). You will need to decide for yourself how to set up the lights to get the temps you require. A digital thermometer set up at the surface of the highest branch is best to check this.
Try to have the basking bulb a little raised from the top of the cage - little chams do sometimes like to walk upside down on the ceiling so make sure the mesh doesn't get hot enough to burn tiny feet.....

I don't use dimmers myself but if you do then for both lights would probably be best. I agree with all the info. in Jannbs blog, but here is another great caresheet specifically for Veileds - https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/chameleonsinmyhouse/395-veiled-chameleon-care-sheet.html

It is best to provide as big a variety of insects as possible - here is some very useful info. on alternatives - https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/74-feeders.html
Any other questions just ask

 

[KaydeesChams]

I would definatly NOT use a 100 watt basking bulb that would be to hot for a chameleon i would stick with 50watt or 75watt at most depending on how close the light will be placed to his basking area, but a lot of times babies like to climb on the top of the screen so be sure the screen is not to hot so he doesnt get burnt. And for uvb a 5.0 uvb bulb prefferably the tube type and not the coil type.

lol looks like me amd david were thinking the same thing @ the same time

 

[rango87]

thanks for all your replies.ive now decided to get a panther chameleon.i think this would be best suited to me.
since i posted on here ive done a lot of research

here is my planned setup from what i have learned.please correct me if im wrong.

reptibreeze 40x40x76cm
arcadia t5 slimline luminaire 24w with canopy and reflector
60 watt basking lamp with lamp clamp dome
a double probe digital thermometer for basking temp & ambient temp
digital hygrometer for humidity
habistat dimming thermostat for basking lamp
live umbrella plant
small & large jungle bendable vines
lots of hanging fake vine plants
a few fake orchid plants to give it some pretty colour
water dripper

obviously the calcium/vitamins and food etc etc


as i live in the uk the humidity isnt as high here so i will be modifying the reptibreeze and some plastic sheets to the 2 sides and the back.i have seen and been recommended by people in the uk to do this as many of them have had problems with keeping up the humidity and since adding the plastic sheets its really improved.i have no other idea on how to improve this unless anyone else does?
lucky for me tho.when i purchase the chameleon it will be a lot warmer here than it is now.

 

[rango87]

scrap that.i going to make my own viv.im going to buy a display unit.take off the top and take out the glass in the doors and mesh them both.i will put 4 very large air vents in each side of the wood and 4 vents in the back.im going to get a 4 foot high by 2 foot wide by 2 foot deep.as he will be small when i get him i will shrink the size of the inside by putting in a shelf.then as he grows i will bring the shelf down further and so on.the when hes an adult he will have the run of the whole thing.the unit has draws or a cupboard so i will a vent in the bottom of the inside if the unit and put a tray in the draw to catch the misting water and dripper water.

 

[DavidBuchan]

You might like to have a look here for some inspiration - https://www.chameleonforums.com/official-enclosure-picture-thread-2-post-your-pics-94781/