Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Sorry to be a post whore but i am trying to finish up the habitat so i can go pick up my CHAM.

I wanna see what you are using for bedding? plant setup/branches?
Cage size in regards to cham? waterfalls? position on misting nozzles?

is your cage tall or wide? which is best? are you using a back drop?
-----
Getting ready for my new Chameleon.

I'll take some more recent ones, because I have since added 3 Umbrella plants and some Photos to each side. Each side is 130 Gallons, raised 42" of the ground.

Its more filled in than it looks in these photos because of the new plants, but this give a good idea of what its like. And Ignore the one vine that looks like a big hoop. The divider in the center slides back and forth for breeding.

Although I have screwed that up by keeping a WC Mellers on one side and a CB Maroantsetra Panther on the other sice. Somehow I don't think it would work out between the two of them.

-----
1.1 Bearded Dragons
1.2 Maroantsetra Panther Chameleons
2.0 Long Tailed Grass Lizard
500 Escaped Crickets

http://www.people.cornell.edu/pages/tjr32/Images/c1.JPG
http://www.people.cornell.edu/pages/tjr32/Images/c2.JPG
http://www.people.cornell.edu/pages/tjr32/Images/c3.JPG
http://www.people.cornell.edu/pages/tjr32/Images/c4.JPG
http://www.people.cornell.edu/pages/tjr32/Images/c5.JPG
http://www.people.cornell.edu/pages/tjr32/Images/c6.JPG
http://www.people.cornell.edu/pages/tjr32/Images/c7.JPG
http://www.people.cornell.edu/pages/tjr32/Images/c8.JPG
http://www.people.cornell.edu/pages/tjr32/Images/c9.JPG

-roo

Aside from having to cup feed any invertibrate feeders, that seems like a very practical and tidy cage. Nicely thought out.
-----
1.1 Bearded Dragons
1.2 Maroantsetra Panther Chameleons
2.0 Long Tailed Grass Lizard
500 Escaped Crickets

I dont cup feed all the feeders - I free range silks, smaller horns, walking sticks, and mantids just to name a few.

-roo

Sounds like a gourmet selection to me. Have you tried snails?
-----
1.1 Bearded Dragons
1.2 Maroantsetra Panther Chameleons
2.0 Long Tailed Grass Lizard
500 Escaped Crickets

Hey,

First of all, I wouldn't use any bedding. Some people find it best to use paper towels at the bottom of the cage, but I don't. Just make sure you have a pvc or some sort of plastic bottom, and just clean it everyday (with chlorhexadine). I also would not use any sort of waterfall. Not only is it the first place a chameleon will deficate, but many chams won't drink out of them anyway; it isn't worht the risk of him getting sick. Keep the cage simple. No substrate or any of the crap that they sell at petco, for the most part. The main thing about keeping chams healthy is cleanliness; I learned the hard way. I originally kept a very large cage, lots of plants, many different substrates, commercial and custom waterfalls, many many different kinds of vines/branches, and many different variations of cage types. The best way is to keep the bottom empty. So, try to get a hanging pothos plant when possible, or try to elevate the pot of the plant off the bottom of the cage if possible. This way you will have easy access to the bottom of the cage for cleaning. For branches, we find that a plastic coated electrical wire of the appropriate diameter works well. Just be sure to keep the cage clean, whatever you do; don't keep things in the cage that are going to harbor parasites and bacteria.

However, the setup I just described to you is not going to look as good. A cage with a substrate, waterfall, ect. will look ALOT better, but it isn't nearly as healthy. I will post some pics of cage setups later tonight. Talk to ya then....

Ank-Inc.
Adam.

Make sure you clean any plant you get that has had any pesticides or anything sprayed on it, and change the soil if it has chemicals in it. Also...I've found trees/bush type of plants (ficus, hibiscus etc) work best because they are secure, provide a lot of hiding room (as opposed to vines) and more thermal gradients. Also, try and have the tallest point of the plant or branches around 8 to 10 inches at least, from the top of the cage (my preference, others might do different distances), otherwise the cham often keeps trying to get higher/to the top and cannot, due to the screen which in turn causes stress. Good luck

Well I’ve heard that some chams do like snails and I do feed WC insects – just not snails among other things. Being ground dwellers, snails are notorious for picking up parasites b/c of this; so no snails for my chams.

-roo

Yes I take that and pesticide into thought. I actually collect my snails from the sides of buildings. Sometimes as high as the second story.

I have had my snails for about 5 months now. They are alive and healthy kept inside. I hope they breed... however snails breed...?

But yeah, I haven't see anything wrong with them. Keeping them healthy on good food to work out any possible things they may have collected. Though snails have an incredibly high resistance to bacteria.
-----
1.1 Bearded Dragons
1.2 Maroantsetra Panther Chameleons
2.0 Long Tailed Grass Lizard
0.0.1 Giant Mellers Chameleon
500 Escaped Crickets

No bedding. It will mold and harbor bacteria and parasites. Chams don't really use the floor of their cage. You want a bottom surface that is easy to clean up, waterproof, or at least drainable. There isn't really anything on the market that is designed for cham cages but here are some ideas. Some keepers set their screen cages on top of plastic storage bins to catch the spray water. You can make a sealed plastic panel box to set the cage in and remove the excess water with a syphon or drain it into a bucket. Reptarium makes a flexible plastic "Soft tray" for their cages to catch water, but again you'll need to remove the excess with a turkey baster or syphon. I have also used hydroponics flood tables and shallow rectangular concrete forms too. Waterfalls may look nice to the keeper, but they are a constant cleaning chore, don't raise cage humidity much at all, and can be a big source of bacteria if the cham drinks from it (an occasional cham does, but don't count on it). As for branches, you can use natural barked branches from your yard to give a wide variety of surfaces and diameters. Scrub them well in hot water and a 1:10 bleach to water solution and dry well before use. Rough surfaces will help keep claws honed and foot muscles in good shape. Really smooth barked branches like manzanita sold in petshops may be slippery for the cham. Lots of bushy houseplants too, for cover, leaf surfaces to lick water off of, and to hold moisture for humidity.

Sorry I don't have a digital camera so I can't show my cages, but there are some nice pics on these websites to give you ideas.

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

Also check out the melleri forum on Yahoo Groups. There is a link to pics, and there are some really nice large setups there.

here are two ofthe cages i have built.I think building cages is one of the fun parts about cham keeping.Plus you can customize it to you personal husbandry meathods
good luck with your first cham

Pictures from my house setup don't get out much LOL, but here's a picture from a show I did a few months back in Anaheim, CA.

-----
Tyler Stewart
Las Vegas NV
www.BLUEBEASTREPTILE.com

While hubby has built close to 300 cages for chameleons, this unit is typical of the style. In this picture, we were just starting to put the lighting in place, but you get the idea. The lower level is larger (for males), and each unit has a tub inside to catch water. The upper units are what he calls "twins", because there are 2 compartments in one enclosure.

www.reptayls.com

Heres the small enclosure that i will be using first. 16x16x22. I am sitll deciding on a watering system and what type of chameleon i want.

I am also attaching a picture of the larger enclousure that i will transfer the Cham. into once he gets bigger, its dimensions are 18x18x36 which i will probbably stand it up how it is pictures and put some tall plants and vines in their.

-----
Getting ready for my new Chameleon.

Oops here ya go
here are the others:
http://putfile.com/pic.php?pic=10/30019134951.jpg&s=x11
http://putfile.com/pic.php?pic=10/30019104216.jpg&s=x11

just copy paste into your browser bar
Link

-----
Getting ready for my new Chameleon.