Reptile & Amphibian Forums

what temperature should my tank be? i have a uvb bulb but no heat source is that ok? do i need a heat lamp?

what species of chameleon are you planning on keeping?
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4x Veiled Chameleon
1x Panther
Hollie/Willow > female veileds
Carling/Houdini > Male Veileds
Louey > Panther
Tolkien > Fischer Chameleon

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Edited signature file to remove unacceptable advertising. [phw 8/7/04]

well i actually have had my chameleon for about 3 years now. i got her when she was just a little hatchling but as of right now we are getting into fall and i usually keep a 60 wattt heat bulb on for her 24/7 which keeps her warm side about 90 degrees. im curious if im doing the right thing. shes about 3 years old now and isnt that big . i want to know how big veil chameleons get. shes a hand size is that how big she will get?

well thats similar to mine i guess they only really get fat when they are ready to have eggs.. i guess shes the right size but with all reptiles the more room the better they feel and with chameleons you want it higher rather than anything else.. hope this helps in some way.
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4x Veiled Chameleon
1x Panther
Hollie/Willow > female veileds
Carling/Houdini > Male Veileds
Louey > Panther
Tolkien > Fischer Chameleon

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Edited signature file to remove unacceptable advertising. [phw 8/7/04]

whats a good temperature to keep her at? and how long these animals actually live for?

well i've heard them living upto 7 years.. i would keep the temp around 90 degrees in the basking spot..
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4x Veiled Chameleon
1x Panther
Hollie/Willow > female veileds
Carling/Houdini > Male Veileds
Louey > Panther
Tolkien > Fischer Chameleon

____

Edited signature file to remove unacceptable advertising. [phw 8/7/04]

so most chameleons live 7 years? what is the chameleon with the horn on its head called?

not all chameleons live that long i said some can live upto around 7 years.. the chameleon with the horn on its head? if you mean the onei posted thats a b.fischeri (fischers chameleon)

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4x Veiled Chameleon
1x Panther
Hollie/Willow > female veileds
Carling/Houdini > Male Veileds
Louey > Panther
Tolkien > Fischer Chameleon

____

Edited signature file to remove unacceptable advertising. [phw 8/7/04]

A light at night is not necessary...actually, most chameleons need a drop in temperature at night. How cold does it get at night where you have her?

Kristen
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1.2 c. quadricornis
1.2 c.j. merumontanus
0.0.2 neonate c.j. merumontanus
1.1 r. brevicaudatus
0.0.2 red eared sliders

yea its very important to have a night drop to around 70 degrees
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4x Veiled Chameleon
1x Panther
Hollie/Willow > female veileds
Carling/Houdini > Male Veileds
Louey > Panther
Tolkien > Fischer Chameleon

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Edited signature file to remove unacceptable advertising. [phw 8/7/04]

its about 70 at night and probably like 85 during the day without a heat lamp ..

sounds good to me.. just try to get the basking spot to 90 if poss.
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4x Veiled Chameleon
1x Panther
Hollie/Willow > female veileds
Carling/Houdini > Male Veileds
Louey > Panther
Tolkien > Fischer Chameleon

____

Edited signature file to remove unacceptable advertising. [phw 8/7/04]

You've been REALLY lucky she's lived for 3 years. Chams can see basically any visible light, so the heat lamp at night (even those dark blue or red lights) has been stressing her. Unless the room gets down below 60 you don't need any heat at night. Turn it off. Keeping a cham in a tank past the baby stage is also very tricky and discouraged. Tanks tend to stay too warm from day to night and don't provide very good air exchange unless you rig up an auxillary fan or vents. It is only a matter of time before she has respiratory problems...these can start slowly and by the time obvious symptoms show up can be very hard to treat. Tanks can be too humid or too dry and they don't provide a gradient of temp and humidity that the cham can move from when it needs to. Their reflections can really stress them out and they don't understand why they can't climb past the glass. They can spend hours pawing at it. Very frustrating for them. It is really kinder and healthier to use a screen cage instead. Size of veileds varies a lot partly because of simple heredity, general health and nutrition, stress etc.

In case you haven't seen these sites, here are some good ones to check out:

http://www.adcham.com
http://www.chameleonjournals.com
http://www.chameleonnews.com
http://www.calumma.com

they dont just paw at the glass tanks.. they do that with the mesh ones too
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4x Veiled Chameleon
1x Panther
Hollie/Willow > female veileds
Carling/Houdini > Male Veileds
Louey > Panther
Tolkien > Fischer Chameleon

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Edited signature file to remove unacceptable advertising. [phw 8/7/04]

i keep all my veileds in glass vivs and my fischer in a ventilated glass viv and my panther in pure mesh.. this suits the climate where i am where it never goes above 80 in the summer really.
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4x Veiled Chameleon
1x Panther
Hollie/Willow > female veileds
Carling/Houdini > Male Veileds
Louey > Panther
Tolkien > Fischer Chameleon

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Edited signature file to remove unacceptable advertising. [phw 8/7/04]

I know there are keepers who use glass tanks successfully, but the vast majority of us don't. It is safer to suggest screen caging to newbies as it is harder to get right and those who use tanks usually have special venting or fans to keep heat buildup down and to exchange air. Most glass tanks are much too small for arboreal chams unless they are custom or homemade. Yes, chams can paw at mesh, but the reasons are different than for glass. At least the cham can see a barrier. It may still want to get out, but there isn't as much confusion over an invisible "wall". Glass and plexi reflections can be a big stressor.