Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hi in new to this forum, but this girl has been posting pictures of her new carpet cham (hey jess) and i pretty much concluded that chams are wicked cool...

after doing a little bit a research (not a ton but a bit) it seems to me the screen cages are used mostly. so my couriosity has to do with why screen? how is heat and humidity kept in an all screen cage?

i dont mean to question what seems to be the "indusry standard" its obviously the best, otherwise they woulnt be used. i am more looking to better understand the logic behind it.

and here is why i ask... let consider the possibility of me getting a cham. i live in Alburquerque, its DRY. not only that but the inside temp hasnt been over 70 degrees in 2 months.
i see how hard it is to provide the snake i have now with heat and humidity, and thats just a screen top on a glass cage.

so here goes, considering chams are best kept in screen cages, is it BAD to keep them in a solid wood, plastic, or melimine cage. or can it be done and it would be OKAY just not as good for one reason or another?

i dont know for sure if i will ever end up actually getting a cham or not, but i was courious about that and it doesnt hurt to ask so any thoughts would be good thanks.
-----
-Stephen-

0.1 soon to be wifey (hopefully)
1.0 rotwiler/chow (Boomer-wifey's pooch)
1.0 norm corn (Jake aka grumpy old terdhead)
0.1 col redtail boa (Dixie-my baby girl)
0.1 ball python (Bella- wifey's baby girl)

hopeful for not to distant future:
--brazillian rainbow boas 1 female for sure
2 or 3? maybe a breeding pair?
-- bearded dragon for the wifey my list got to big...

more distant future hopefuls
1 or 2 of each maybe a breeding pair?
--anery boa (ooooh)
--jungle carpet python (love to have 1 or 2)
--dumeril boa (ahhhh)

slightly more wishful thinking
--hypo br rainbow boa (love em)
--anery br rainbow boa (oooh even better!!)
--motely boa (gorgeous!!)

Hello, I also live in Albuquerque and have kept Chameleons here for more than 10 years. Chams need the ventilation that a screen cage provides. Because Chameleons need so much water tanks can be bad news. They'll develop mildew and mold that can cause problems for your chams. One last thing about tanks that I never really regarded as a problem until recently is that chams may often see their reflection in the glass.

I recently got a rescue iguana. She is 4'9" long and barely weighs 3 pounds. She was toothpick thin. The person who had her thought she was a he, when she layed eggs, she didn't want her anymore. So she gave her up. She was kept at a local pet store in a huge enclosure with several other iguanas. They only fed them every 3 days. All the iguanas fought for their food. When I got her I started feeding her a fresh plate of veggies every morning. She would hunker down over the veggies and occassionally slam the glass in front of her. I figured out that she was seeing her reflection and fighting off the other iguana that showed up to eat her food. Gradually she is learning that she is the only iguana around. I leave for work at 5 in the morning and I put her food in then, she doesn't wake up at 5 to inhale her food anymore.

I can help you so don't hesitate to e-mail me at ambanja@hotmail.com. There is a lot of pitfalls that first time Chameleon owners fall into. E-mail me and I can help you avoid some of these. Good luck Mark (and Valerie).

hey thats cool your from ABQ to! and thats for the offer of help i apreatiate that. i still dont know for sure if i will ever even get a chameleon or not, i have a large and growing list, but if i do i will be looking for the help for sure thanks

now lets see if i understand this correctly.

am i right in thinking that is not the chams themselves that NEED alot of ventilation, but the ventilation is provided to lessen the risk of having harmful molds and milldews growing in the cage? if this is the case would a solid wood cage with vents and a little fan of sorts be ok? or are there still more reasons, other than potential for mold, for a solid encloser to not work well

the reason im courious about this is im planning on getting Brizilan Rainbow Boas, and i plan on building melimine cages for them. now like chams, rainbow boas need high humidity. and as far as ive seen a good way of keeping high humidity is to limit ventilation. now i know chameleons arent snakes, but i also know that they are both tropical and require if not the SAME, then Simaliar environments.

i suspect there in one key factor about chams i dont know that makes it all different. and untill i know what that is it wont fully make sence to me. an example is understanding certin rules that apply, compared to understanding certin rules but not knowing why they apply.

soo sorry for rambling on like this, or if im asking the wrogn questions. sometime couriousity gets the best of me, im also a man of logic if i dont see logic it wont make sence till i do.
-----
-Stephen-

0.1 soon to be wifey (hopefully)
1.0 rotwiler/chow (Boomer-wifey's pooch)
1.0 norm corn (Jake aka grumpy old terdhead)
0.1 col redtail boa (Dixie-my baby girl)
0.1 ball python (Bella- wifey's baby girl)

hopeful for not to distant future:
--brazillian rainbow boas 1 female for sure
2 or 3? maybe a breeding pair?
-- bearded dragon for the wifey my list got to big...

more distant future hopefuls
1 or 2 of each maybe a breeding pair?
--anery boa (ooooh)
--jungle carpet python (love to have 1 or 2)
--dumeril boa (ahhhh)

slightly more wishful thinking
--hypo br rainbow boa (love em)
--anery br rainbow boa (oooh even better!!)
--motely boa (gorgeous!!)

about the reflections causing stress, that makes sence to me so thats a good point, however im trying to get away from glass cages all together. so if i where to put a cham into a solid encloser it would most likely be one made of melimine (no reflection)
-----
-Stephen-

0.1 soon to be wifey (hopefully)
1.0 rotwiler/chow (Boomer-wifey's pooch)
1.0 norm corn (Jake aka grumpy old terdhead)
0.1 col redtail boa (Dixie-my baby girl)
0.1 ball python (Bella- wifey's baby girl)

hopeful for not to distant future:
--brazillian rainbow boas 1 female for sure
2 or 3? maybe a breeding pair?
-- bearded dragon for the wifey my list got to big...

more distant future hopefuls
1 or 2 of each maybe a breeding pair?
--anery boa (ooooh)
--jungle carpet python (love to have 1 or 2)
--dumeril boa (ahhhh)

slightly more wishful thinking
--hypo br rainbow boa (love em)
--anery br rainbow boa (oooh even better!!)
--motely boa (gorgeous!!)

Most successful chameleon keepers in this country utilize all-screen enclosures. This is considered the de-facto best solution for keeping chameleons in this country. This is what chameleon owners know will work, so this is what is recommended.
Again, like Carlton stated, some chameleon keepers in Europe do keep chameleons in solid enclosures. In these environments, you will find that you will have a bigger challenge with too much humidity. Without proper ventilation and fans, you could end up with upper respiratory infections or worse.
The proper husbandry is *somewhat* similiar, in that both snakes and chameleons are ectothermic, but the similarities end there. Chameleons care is very specialized. My opinion is that you should really stick to the 'industry standards' for now. At least until you get some solid real-world experience keeping chameleons. Once you have a firm understanding as to the why's, you can then pursue your own theories regarding their care.
Best of luck, let us know if we can be of any assistance.
BTW- I believe Carlton is the old man of the group, if not by chronological age. If I'm not mistaken, he's been in this forum longer than anyone and his opinions are very well respected.
-----
Victor Gomez
gomezvi@yahoo.com

and again im not meaning to doubt or disagree with anyone, you all know alot more about that than i do, and i appologize if i came off that way or offended anyone.

i am more just looking for more reasoning behind the whole method.
if you said chams are best kept in a cage where classical music is provided, i would want to know why then put motzart on repeat!!
-----
-Stephen-

0.1 soon to be wifey (hopefully)
1.0 rotwiler/chow (Boomer-wifey's pooch)
1.0 norm corn (Jake aka grumpy old terdhead)
0.1 col redtail boa (Dixie-my baby girl)
0.1 ball python (Bella- wifey's baby girl)

hopeful for not to distant future:
--brazillian rainbow boas 1 female for sure
2 or 3? maybe a breeding pair?
-- bearded dragon for the wifey my list got to big...

more distant future hopefuls
1 or 2 of each maybe a breeding pair?
--anery boa (ooooh)
--jungle carpet python (love to have 1 or 2)
--dumeril boa (ahhhh)

slightly more wishful thinking
--hypo br rainbow boa (love em)
--anery br rainbow boa (oooh even better!!)
--motely boa (gorgeous!!)

I've kept chams in CO, so know how tough it can be to keep up humidity in a screen cage. It can be done, believe me. In Europe many cham keepers use solid sided enclosures, but they also tend to use more complicated air exchange systems along with them like mini fans. Screen cages offer more advantages generally. You can make them bigger for a lot less $, cultivate larger live plants more easily, and you avoid the whole issue of a male cham seeing his reflection in the glass which is a stressor. Also, some chams spend hours pawing at the invisible barrier and can stress out from that too.

Here's what I did in CO:

Hang plastic sheeting on the back and sides of the cage to help hold in spray. You can move them, cover more or less of the cage as needed. The idea is to give more surface for moisture but as the plastic is fairly loose it "leaks" air and allows some exchange. The cham can still climb on the screen and the mesh interrupts the view of a rival. Just stuff the cage with live bushy plants. They help hold a lot of humidity and the cham would prefer hiding anyway. Use an automatic misting system on several cycles a day. Use an ultrasonic room humidifier cycling on a lamp timer to fog the cage in between mistings. You don't need to maintain a constant high humidity, but do need to offer cycles of high moisture and gradual drying throughout the day and night. Does this make sense?

i think understand what your saying. so its the live plants that make the difference and the plastic helps, so even though alot of the humidity gets lost through the screen, when you spray the plastic and the plants that holds the humidity high enough in that concentrated area? and you still get ventilation...
-----
-Stephen-

0.1 soon to be wifey (hopefully)
1.0 rotwiler/chow (Boomer-wifey's pooch)
1.0 norm corn (Jake aka grumpy old terdhead)
0.1 col redtail boa (Dixie-my baby girl)
0.1 ball python (Bella- wifey's baby girl)

hopeful for not to distant future:
--brazillian rainbow boas 1 female for sure
2 or 3? maybe a breeding pair?
-- bearded dragon for the wifey my list got to big...

more distant future hopefuls
1 or 2 of each maybe a breeding pair?
--anery boa (ooooh)
--jungle carpet python (love to have 1 or 2)
--dumeril boa (ahhhh)

slightly more wishful thinking
--hypo br rainbow boa (love em)
--anery br rainbow boa (oooh even better!!)
--motely boa (gorgeous!!)