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The rescued veiled chameleon is doing really well. I just wanted to send thanks to everyone who helped me ... lele, Victor, Carlton.... I hope I'm spelling these right! And everyone else on this board who has helped.

I received my large screened cage and furnished it with vines, live pothos plants, sterile sticks, rope, etc. I still need to add a few things, but mostly it's done. I put the chameleon in his new home on Monday and he was exploring and checking everything out.

The next day I was thinking the move to the large cage would've stressed him out and that he probably wouldn't eat much. Nonetheless, I filled up his food dish with some crickets, wax worms, and a few silkies. When I came home in the afternoon they were all gone! He ate over 12 worms! He's a great eater and I guess he needs to make up for being so skinny! He's gained about 20 grams in the last 2 weeks.

Here's a photo of him exploring his new home....

Next project is to get a misting system installed. I know there are a lot of ways to make your own, but they all seem to cost upwards of $50 or more. Is there a cheap way to make a $20 humidifier do the job?

Hugs,
Veronica

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Redflame Baby Bearded Dragon currently up for adoption! More info at BeautifulDragons.com
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Beautiful Dragons

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Signature file edited; [phw 8/31/04]

Hi Veronica! So glad to hear and see his pic! As for humidifier, I have Luna's setup with some PVC pipe from home depot that goes directly into her cage. Here are some pics (more in the gallery under "lele" and folder Luna's Setup)

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Chameleon Help & Resource Info

0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.3 Mad. Hissers (2 died ;(
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha

Thanks lele! That looks so much easier (and cheaper) than one of those misting systems with the sprinkler timers... Does it do a pretty good job keeping things humid? And how long do you leave it on everyday? Do you have it on a timer to come one for a few hours a few times a day?

Thanks,
Veronica
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Beautiful Dragons

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Signature file edited; [phw 8/31/04]

It works great. I use a Sunbeam model (link below) that I got at K-Mart for about $30. It has a 2" opening that is tapered as it goes into the tank so there is no need for gasket, etc. around the pipe - nice tight fit. As you can see, I used two straight and one bend. I think the piping cost me less than $5. HD cut it for me, but I don't think they always do - easy enough with a hack saw, though.

I work from home so I turn it off and and on at random - or when Luna insists. I am in NH so our winters are VERY dry. She has learned to sit under where the mist comes from, looks up, looks at me, looks up, looks at me - so I get the idea. Once I turn it on she just closes her eyes and hangs out there for awhile - she has me well trained

I think as far as a timer goes it would depend on where you live, temps, environment, etc. Carlton posted a good way to gauge...let me go see if I can find it.....lalala lala la la OK, I'm back, too many posts to sort thru. I believe Carlton is away from computers this week, but you might want to post or email. As for effective, it is quite. I like the fatct that it concentrates in one area so she can go into, or leave it. It does form droplets on the top of the screen that fall so a catch basin or some setup below (you probably have for dripper) is necessary, but most falls onto leaves. Unfortunately, Luna is not a leaf licker. I have never seen her lick a leaf; she will take hand watering and dripper only. In the winter it takes much more to get the humidity up and maintain it, so I cover the cage completely for about an hour with it going so it gets filled. Even then, she gets showers in the winter, too!

Some people run pipe throughout the cage(s) with small holes so it covers a larger area - sort of like a soaker hose. If you ask folks to post their pics of the humidifier/PVC setups you will see a nice variety of techniques!

Btw, if you ever need to get humidity up in a tank or want more in a cage, the small personal ones are great! I have 2 and use them inside the cage sometimes in the winter. You need to raise them up in a 4' cage b/c the mist tends to stay down low. Model #697-6 and the big one is: #699 here's the Sunbeam link scroll to bottom of page.
sunbeam humidifiers

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Chameleon Help & Resource Info

0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.3 Mad. Hissers (2 died ;(
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha

Looks like a real SWINGER now, hehehehe, GREAT JOB, as always, Nice to see him looking HAPPY in his new SPIFFY home.

Keep posting pics
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PHEve/ Eve

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