Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have started to look into dwarf chameleons as a potential future investment. I have a read a couple of care sheets, but i still have questions.

1/ why are so many Dwarf chameleons WC?
2/ What kind of substrate is good for a planted terrarium?
3/ Do dwarfs eat their plants the same way other chameleons do? if so, what plants are safe?
4/ i know they can live in small groups, but can members of different species live together?

Thanks everyone
Jeff

1/ why are so many Dwarf chameleons WC?

There is no money to be made on them so no one breeds them - so for the most part, WC is all that's available. However I do breed and sell them.

2/ What kind of substrate is good for a planted terrarium?

I like to get the substrate from vivariumconcepts.com - I also mix in sand. That ground coco fiber can work but it has its own issues and doesnt look very natural.

3/ Do dwarfs eat their plants the same way other chameleons do? if so, what plants are safe?

I have never seen them intentially eat any plant matter. So some poisons plant are ok like croton - stay away from anything that could cause skin and eye irritation.

4/ i know they can live in small groups, but can members of different species live together?

Its never a good idea to mix species and only one male per enclosure unless its a larger, heavily planted tank - ie - I keep 2 males in a 50g with 4 females.

-roo

Thanks roo

Do you have a website? What species would you suggest for a first time dwarf cham owner?

How many would you suggest for a 20L tank? I was thinking 1.2

For lighting, I was thinking a double bulb hood with 5.0 bulbs. DO i need a heat lamp also?

Thanks for the help

I just read your article again, and i go the anwser to my basking bulb question.

Do you have a website? What species would you suggest for a first time dwarf cham owner?

I have no website and I suggest getting R. brevs as a first time leaf cham. You will have the least amount of problems with them.

How many would you suggest for a 20L tank? I was thinking 1.2

A 1.2 is fine however I would try and get a 29g or 20H. 20L dont offer much height and most pygmies like the height. I use to have a 20L but got rid of it.

For lighting, I was thinking a double bulb hood with 5.0 bulbs. DO i need a heat lamp also?

You dont need to use 2 bulbs in that fixture and I would try and get a used 5.0 or a new 2.0 bulb. Two 5.0 bulbs is way to much light UVA/B for pygmies. They probably will create too much heat too.

-roo

You said that a 20L doesnt offer much hieght. I read in one care sheet that i dont need a whole lot of height. For height, i have what i call a 55 tall tank. Its a custom build 36Lx 30Hx 12W. I was thinking i could probobly get 2.4 in there without a problem. For that tank i figure that a 20 inch double bulb hood would creat light that would go all the way to the bottom of the tank without providing much heat (a single hood like that provides plenty of air flow around it)

here is a picture of the tank from a year ago. It is much more grown in now. It has an openeing front. I bought the glass and glued the whole thing together. The background is expanding foam covered with coconut fober attached to silicone.

That tank has potential but I would rather see a current pic before commenting on it.

-roo

Not saying you cant use the 20L - but from my observations, brevs, for the most part, tend to stay higher up - especially at night when they sleep. It probably makes them feel more secure when sleeping to be away from the ground. Like I said the 20L will work but I think they would be slighly happier in something taller. The 55 would be ideal for a 2.4 group.

A fixture with a single flourecent bulb is going to be fine and it will light up the tank no problem. Keep in mind that brevs tend to hang around the forest floor where there are only patches of light - so one light is all they need. Too much light without having any areas in the tank to get away from it may stress them.

I was a bit confused with the air flow part of your thread. I would think that depending on the design, the double hood would reduce air flow - and that should be avoided. Half of the top screen should be free from obstruction and I also have an oscilating fan in the reptile room to create better airflow.

-roo

Hey,
I will have pictures for you tomorrow. At this point, the tank does have some current residents (that are getting old) and once they have passed :O( i will be ready to make any repairs i need to make to the tank. So if i need to add any plants to any places i can than.

What i meant by air flow is that a single 20 inch hood has plenty of room on either side of it on the tank i have. That way there is still air flow around the hood rather than the hood tkaing up the entire top of the cage. I will take pcitures of that tomorrow also to show you what i am talking about.

Thanks again

The first three pictures are of the tank istelf. The beutiful think about it is that i can very easily add or subtract plants as i need them. If it needs more i can add more.

This picture shows you what i meant about air flow around the hood.

let me know what you think.

Thanks,
Jeff

JefF,

It's a solid tank but you need to put some taller plants in there such as a ficus or mini palm for better cover. You also need to add sticks of varying widths for the chams to climb on.

I will post some pics this weekend of my setups as an example.

-roo