Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm going to get a baby veiled (3 months) and plan to have it as long as possible.

I'm trying to decide on all equipment and I had a few quick questions.

1) I'm going to get a 36x18x18 alluminum screen cage. Will this be ok for when my veiled is a baby? I don't want to have to upgrade to a larger cage later, so will my little guy tolerate it when he is young if I include lots of little branches?

2) I'm looking at the ZooMed UVA/UVB lighting because I heard it is best. But should I get a 10.0 or a 5.0 ReptiSun? Again, this is for a 18x18x36" cage.

3) What watt night light and basking light should I get? I'm going to get a ZooMed red nightlight and a ZooMed Basking Bulb. Shoudl I just get 100watt for each, or what woudl you guys recommend for 18x18x36" screen cage?

4) Domes. I was planning on getting 2 8.5" PORCELAIN dome reflectors from Exo-Terra, will this be ok?

Thank you all very much. I just want to make sure I get the best products.

Thanks.

That size cage will be fine for a Veiled at that age, but you might want to go a little bigger when it's full grown. I always say bigger is better for the size of a cage for adult chams.

Remember UVB is the wavelength that the sun emits that provides Vit. D3 which helps metabolize calcium. This is the wavelength that you need to have. Zoo Med's brand is fine. If you really want to go over the top, you can get compact fluorescent or metal halide lights but one of those in itself will cost you $150 or more.

Do you know what temperature you have in the room you're planning to set up the chameleon? What is the day/night temperature? Do you have a guage? If the temperature at night is not below 65 then you don't need a night heat lamp. For a day heat lamp I would go with a 60 or 75 watt but this all depends on how far the heat lamp is located above the basking spot. Get a temperature guage and go from there. Remember the basking spot should be at least 90 but make sure the heat lamp is not too close or your chameleon will get burned.

I would also invest in a misting and humidifier system. If you need info on that, let us know, or there have already been some posts on this in the forum.
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Experience and appreciate nature's creation.

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Which should I get, a 5.0 or 10.0 ZooMed ReptiSun ??

Of course I will take the temperature of the cage at daytime and nighttime, and at the basking spot.

What I'm really curious about is how you guys setup your cages if you don't want a potted tree at the bottom. I really don't want to put a pot at the bottom of the cage, and the screen isn't strong enough to tie drift wood to, etc.

I guess the only way I've thought of is buying one of those big pieces of driftwood that are flat at the bottom from a petstore and put that at the bottom of the cage. Then just setting up brances going everywhere from there.

Any suggestions on setting up the cage?

I will be misting the cage lots.

I don't know about the 5.0 or 10. Maybe someone else can give you advise on that. I have compact fluorescent (it used to be for my reef tank).

I have potted plants (ficus and shefflera), hanging plants (pothos), natural branches (different sizes and diamters), the bend a vine and they're all intertwined together with some zip ties at different levels of the cage.

If I were you I would invest in a automatic misting system. You can have it on a timer to go off 3 times a day for 2-3 minutes at a time. It's especially convenient if you're at work or at school all day. And remember misting won't contribute that much to keeping the humidity of the cage ideally around 70%. You need a humidifier set up for that.
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Experience and appreciate nature's creation.

www.zenexotics.com

don't trust muskratman and me???
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta
1.0 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.3 Mad. Hissers (2 died ;(
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula (no name yet)
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha