Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I posted that i have my 60 gallon tank ready, but i was wondering... Since half say dont use it annd the other half says it will be fine. What if i use bird cages or hamstter cage?

It is best to use a screen cage (like window screen). Glass is very bad. It harbors bacteria. Chams need the low of fesh air...............The screen cage also keeps the feeder insects unlike a birdcage... just my thoughts.....this forum has an excellent setup reference........

No offense but you are very confused on the husbandry of chams! Did you even look at the link i gave you? A bird cage is meant for a bird, a hamster cage is meant for a hamster...NOT A CHAMELEON!!!!! A glass tank will not do at ALL! DO YOUR RESEARCH PLEASE!
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eric

well im just going to use my tank til they get a little older, i am already getting a reptarium yeah yeah. I know that, and i have seen people use biird cages as cham. cages, and a rabbit cage not only for rabbits but also for ferrets, might sound weird to you but people are doing itt.

There are many different ways to set up cages, and while there are some definite do's and dont's. Most anything can be made into a suitable cage.

The concern for the bird or rabbit cages would be the metal bars are hard on the chameleons feet/skin should they rub against it. It can also cause different problems such as mouthrot and such if they rub their faces against the bars. PLUS with alot of water, depending on what kind of metal, they may rust with the high amount of misting. If you could line the inside with window screening or such, it would be a bit better, and also keep your feeders in as well.

Im sorry I havent read the previous posts, so i dont know your situation, but a glass tank is ok, for a little bit while they are still babiesto about... 4 months? Someone correct me if im wrong. But they really shouldnt stay in there longer than that.

Good luck!

Erin
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1:1 Veileds (Gene and Alis)
1:0 Sambava Panther (Knoxville)
1:1 Albino Clawed Frogs (Phedre and Jos)
?? Fire belly toad (Harold)
Various cats and dogs

Personally I wouldnt go over 2.5 months in a tank. After that, the risk of respritory problems and seeing their own reflection constantly is too great. Also I find that the younglings love to wander a lot. moving pretty much constantly. if they wander to a glass corner it can be very stressful and confusing for themselves to get their head stuck there watching while two other chameleons (reflections) come a chargin.

Its not hard at all to build chameleon cage. And its not expensive either.
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CANADIAN CHAMELEONS

You can house a chameleon in a box but is it going to thrive, likely not. A tank is ok for a baby but will quickly out grow it's usefulness.
If your going to ask advice now and in the future you should try and listen to what others tell you. Learn from it. If you want to house your chameleon in a hamster cage by all means go ahead. Poeple house their reptiles in all sorts of things. Heck, why buy a or build a cage when I have a hamster cage in the garage or the bird died I can use that and save money.
Those are generally the people asking others to diagnose a problem with their herp over the internet.
Chameleons are not as tolerant of mistakes as alot of other reptiles so starting off on the right foot is a good idea.

My suggestion - since they are about 2.5 months they will be fine in the 60 gal (30 each) for about a month - are you using an opaque divider? At thsi young age it may not be an issue if they see each other but better to be safe. Just keep in mind what I said earlier about the temps getting too high (espceially if you live in a warm climate) since glass holds it in. I assume you will have a screen top. Once you get your reptariums you can move them into there as their premanent homes (forgot what size ytou said, but assume these are large enough for thier permanent setup.)

Posting pics of the final (glass) setup would be great as someone here may see something to be adjusted.

Have you also gotten your feeder/gutload/supplement supply and regimen all set up? I recommend a temp gun (around $25 and worth it!) to measure your temps espceially in the temporary tank.

Look forward to pics, keep asking questions and check out any links that have been suggested to you. Btw, what gender are they?

lele
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Chameleon Help & Resource Info

0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna. She's now hanging from her big jungle gym in the sky
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.1 Mad. Hissers and she is on the loose!
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha
?.? Pinktoe Tarantula - no name yet

Well i keep saying im keeping them in a tank til my reptariums come in, but then people say reptariums are bad, and i here i was just wondering if hamster cages were ok and bird cages, because people said they were, i never really even planed to get one. But i dont really care, either way im keeping my chams in the tank til my reptariums come in.

Also for not just me but to everyone on this site, can kingsnake at least change there care sheet, its all wrong about how they say a 10gallon is good to house baby chams til there 3 months, you might be mis leading people.

I understand your confusion, but I commend you on being persistant to "get it right." Will H. disagreed with me on keeping them for another month and I do have to admit, the reflection issue could be a concern. As for the rest they will be fine in there until your reptariums come in (you said they are coming by the weekend, I think). just mnoitor your temps carefully while they are in there.

Since you have a few days, why don't you go to the setup questions in the link below and copy them into a post and answer. The better start they have the healthier they will be. Posting pics are always helpful, too.

Btw, the birdcage/hamster cage would not be good for all the reasons mentioned plus you will have a heck of a time keeping the cickets in! And remember, crickets and other feeders should not be any longer than the width of your chams head.
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Chameleon Help & Resource Info

0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna. She's now hanging from her big jungle gym in the sky
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.1 Mad. Hissers and she is on the loose!
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha
?.? Pinktoe Tarantula - no name yet

Yes they are coming in this weekend, but they are big, a 38 and a 65. And i know about the reflectton and all that, im getting my chams. on thursday. so they would be in there for 2 days, and go into the reptarium.

To be frank, why did you enlist the advice of those on this forum? Its obvious that you take offense easily, and disrespect has no place in any world.

I took my share of "hard knock" advice...Some of it made me feel a little small, but I never retaliated with angry comebacks. I took it heart and processed information before writing back.

I have learned valuable things from this forum, and I think most of the people here are well meaning, and are only trying to help you....Why? Because you asked. If you don't like their responses, well you know what they say...."don't listen"!

Constructive criticism is alive and well in all walks of life, especially if you ask for it.

(Sorry everyone--this just struck a nerve)
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2.1 Black Labs Tucker, Raider and Lacey
1.0 Lepoard Gecko Kumar
3.0 Horses Smoothie, Rocky and Bogey
1.1 Ferrets Tank and Ellie (The fun fuzzies)
0.1 Veiled Chameleon Pudge RIP
0.1 Snowflake Cornsnake Lucky
1.0 Sunburst veiled-No name yet

Aalright done listtening and done writing on thiss forum, thanks for the help everyone, ill just come by and read for now on, instead of posting.

I think that is a loss to all...we all have great things to say. I was not trying to be harsh...just honest about everyday life. Hope we do here back, and most of all, I hope you enjoy your new chams...they are truely great!
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2.1 Black Labs Tucker, Raider and Lacey
1.0 Lepoard Gecko Kumar
3.0 Horses Smoothie, Rocky and Bogey
1.1 Ferrets Tank and Ellie (The fun fuzzies)
0.1 Veiled Chameleon Pudge RIP
0.1 Snowflake Cornsnake Lucky
1.0 Sunburst veiled-No name yet

Listen to our friggin advice boxie...quit being such a sellfish @$$! just listen to our advice! YOu have good intentions, but bad expressions! Get your facts right and quit argiung!

On the matter of repteriums being good or bad, is opnion based. Personaly i use them for sick animals. They are portable, collabsalbe, and washable. Other than that they are a pina inthe butt! The zipper can get jammed, crix can chew there way out, and heat bulbs can somtimes melt the mesh! You can avoid all of those conciquences though!

1. Slowly and carefuly zip up the cage

2. Bowl feed your cham. This means that you have a small bowl at the bottom of the cage. YOu place the crix in and they cant escape and eat your plants and chew through the mesh.

3. Dont let the bulbs come in direct contact with the mesh. Simply raise the bulb an inch off of the top.

Repteriums also allow the keeper poor visibility into the cage. This is both good and bad. If you want to have a nice display animal hsi colors will be supressed by the thick mesh. At the smae time, it makers it harder for your chameleon to see you. This is great for easily stressed species such as Fishers and Peacock chameleons.

Really i think you need to just listen to our advice. We have kept chameleons, you have not. It is as simple as that! We know how to care for them, you dont! Quit trying to cut corners on these beautiful animals!
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eric

Listen to our friggin advice boxie...quit being such a sellfish @$$! just listen to our advice! YOu have good intentions, but bad expressions! Get your facts right and quit argiung!

This new keeper was making an effort to learn and ask questions. boxie may have been a bit sarcastic or it came across that way due to the method - black text on a screen - and has now been "sent packing" by some of these remarks and if anyone may suffer it might just be the chameleon. Sometimes on these forums, we need to let certain comments rolls off our backs (some of yours included) if it is in the best interest of the animal. There are many young keepers (you being one) here and not all of them/you get his/her/your points across well, may be a bit sarcastic or simply frustrated when they don't get an immediate reply. This forum slows down to a glacial pace on weekends and the stupor (oops - meant super) bowl slowed it down even more - and this was when he was anxious for replies. He was also getting mixed messages and trying to sort things out - maybe not in the most articulate way, but hey, you could use a spellchecker - just making a point.

Again, not to offend you, but you seem to come off rather coarse here and are also relatively new yourself. From looking at your past posts (the many forums you frequent) you have made a lot of contradictory claims - you have kept tons of herps, but then wonder how to convince mom? Adopting an iguana, wanting a monitor, a uro, jackson's, rudis, snakes, C.trioceros sternfeld and the list goes on... your panther died from parasites at 9 months? So I just don't think that you (or anyone) really have a right to judge here.

lele
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Chameleon Help & Resource Info

0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna. She's now hanging from her big jungle gym in the sky
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.1 Mad. Hissers and she is on the loose!
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha
?.? Pinktoe Tarantula - no name yet

Thanks lele! The terms "frigging" and "selfish" are bound to offend almost anyone, especially a new keeper trying to do everything right the first time.

Keeping chams means getting creative with the few choices of caging we all know don't meet cham needs very well. Frankly, if I was the keeper of a baby cham in a tank and trying to decide what type of cage to move a rapidly growing cham into a bird cage set up properly might be just fine for a few months until it got closer to its adult size (and I got my final adult cage built for it). I often use bird cages to house chams temporarily or for outdoor basking cages if the bar width is small enough.

If the rabbit cage had coated wire mesh (many do these days) it might be a great cage...safer for feet, larger than many commercial herp cages and easily modified to hold bigger live plants. What's wrong with getting creative with a cage? Not asking and using a tank for too long is much worse! I think some of us need to calm down a bit.