Post by ChamZilla on Mar 1, 2005 21:43:05 GMT -5
Ok lets just hope this all makes sense. Feel free to add anything if anyone wishes!
Since you don'g have your chameleon yet there are dangers that you need to put into perspective before deciding to have a free roamer.
Cats and dogs and other free roaming animals love to make chameleon's there play things or even eat them for lunch. I have heard many a story when people chameleon's "accidently" got out of there enclosures and got eaten or were found manipulated on the floor.
Also you have to be aware of where your walking and who you might be walking on. Even though they are tree dwellers Chameleons do venture onto the ground as they can't very well walk on the walls.
Chameleon's can also get stuck, trapt or lost somewhere cold, too hot or where they can't get out. And if not found immediatly they could die. So with this in mind you need to inspect your whole house. High and Low to make sure a cham can't get caught (under a bookshelf) fall down a heating grate or cold air return, climb into a hole in the wall or floor. These area's need to be fixed ASAP!
If all these precautions have been carried out VERY carefully then you are ready for building your habitat. If not maybe a cage is better for your lifestyle.
To get started you'll need: large ficus, hibiscus or citrus tree(use only NON poisionous plants as some chams eat the leaves) If you can't get these get a fake ficus tree from walmart. They work just as good. Your basking light and light bulb. A UVA light fixture and proper UVA bulb (reptisun 8.0). Warm mist humidifier. And a water mister. Also you will need either a plastic pond liner or a deep baby pool.
So you have the room where you want your chameleon set up to be. Make sure all wires are out of reach and that the walls are drywalled and things like that. Everything that is poisionous to us is poisionous to our Chameleons (insulation, mold, mildew) Make sure you have adequit temperatures in the house to ensure that your chameleon is warm even if it isn't under its basking light. My room is always at 75 in the winter.
Put plants in a bunch inside the baby pool or pond. Make sure the sides are high enough so hopefully your chameleon won't get out. But make sure he can climb up the pot to get back into his tree if he ventures down to the bottom.
Hook up the lights, the flaurescent hangs from the ceiling making sure it hangs at the most 13in from the basking spot. Aim the heat lamp (hooked up where ever you wish) towards the designated basking spot and check the temperature to make sure that it isn't over the required amount! It is a good idea to put metal screening over the bulb to ensure that your cham can't burn himself like mine did.
Hook up the mister to mist at least 3-5 minutes 3x per day (as you have an aboreal chameleon also) Also hook up the warm air humidifier and aim it towards the tree. You can also hook is up on a sturdy stand to the humidity goes into the tree. About 3 feet away from the tree its self. *DO NOT USE A HOT AIR HUMIDIFIER AS THE CHAMELEON CAN GET BURNED, SO CAN YOU OR ANYONE ELSE* If the room is not a hard floor, then you will want to raise everything up off the floor at least 1/2 an inch to ensure proper air circulation so mold or mildew doesn't grow. Also if there is a closet in the room or you use it for storage, leave the closet door open also so the air circulates and use air tight containers to prevent ruining the contents of the container.
After all this has been taken care of you are set for trial runs of the mister, humidity, basking temperature and anything else.
It is very important that the basking spot maintain a proper temperature and is close to the UVA light. Make sure the UVA light is big enough to span across the whole tree though. Also ensure that your pool or collecting baisin is collecting the water and its not ending up on the floor.
For feeding you can hook up a plastic container 6in tall by 3 in wide and 3in in length and securly fasten it to the tree. This way the Cham will always see his food and it won't be out running all over your house.
Also of you have a room designated for your set up and you don't want to keep the door shut, you can section off that room with a 3 foot piece of cardboard or plexi glass. If you use plexiglass or cardboard make sure that you secure it to the wall, just incase it is knocked over onto an innocent chameleon.
Good luck and I hope this works out for you. If you need a diagram I will draw you one up. But I'm sure I explained it pretty good. Oh and Marie's photo is also one you can use but you also need the lights! and that photo doesn't have any.
Let me know if this worked for you or helped you out
Since you don'g have your chameleon yet there are dangers that you need to put into perspective before deciding to have a free roamer.
Cats and dogs and other free roaming animals love to make chameleon's there play things or even eat them for lunch. I have heard many a story when people chameleon's "accidently" got out of there enclosures and got eaten or were found manipulated on the floor.
Also you have to be aware of where your walking and who you might be walking on. Even though they are tree dwellers Chameleons do venture onto the ground as they can't very well walk on the walls.
Chameleon's can also get stuck, trapt or lost somewhere cold, too hot or where they can't get out. And if not found immediatly they could die. So with this in mind you need to inspect your whole house. High and Low to make sure a cham can't get caught (under a bookshelf) fall down a heating grate or cold air return, climb into a hole in the wall or floor. These area's need to be fixed ASAP!
If all these precautions have been carried out VERY carefully then you are ready for building your habitat. If not maybe a cage is better for your lifestyle.
To get started you'll need: large ficus, hibiscus or citrus tree(use only NON poisionous plants as some chams eat the leaves) If you can't get these get a fake ficus tree from walmart. They work just as good. Your basking light and light bulb. A UVA light fixture and proper UVA bulb (reptisun 8.0). Warm mist humidifier. And a water mister. Also you will need either a plastic pond liner or a deep baby pool.
So you have the room where you want your chameleon set up to be. Make sure all wires are out of reach and that the walls are drywalled and things like that. Everything that is poisionous to us is poisionous to our Chameleons (insulation, mold, mildew) Make sure you have adequit temperatures in the house to ensure that your chameleon is warm even if it isn't under its basking light. My room is always at 75 in the winter.
Put plants in a bunch inside the baby pool or pond. Make sure the sides are high enough so hopefully your chameleon won't get out. But make sure he can climb up the pot to get back into his tree if he ventures down to the bottom.
Hook up the lights, the flaurescent hangs from the ceiling making sure it hangs at the most 13in from the basking spot. Aim the heat lamp (hooked up where ever you wish) towards the designated basking spot and check the temperature to make sure that it isn't over the required amount! It is a good idea to put metal screening over the bulb to ensure that your cham can't burn himself like mine did.
Hook up the mister to mist at least 3-5 minutes 3x per day (as you have an aboreal chameleon also) Also hook up the warm air humidifier and aim it towards the tree. You can also hook is up on a sturdy stand to the humidity goes into the tree. About 3 feet away from the tree its self. *DO NOT USE A HOT AIR HUMIDIFIER AS THE CHAMELEON CAN GET BURNED, SO CAN YOU OR ANYONE ELSE* If the room is not a hard floor, then you will want to raise everything up off the floor at least 1/2 an inch to ensure proper air circulation so mold or mildew doesn't grow. Also if there is a closet in the room or you use it for storage, leave the closet door open also so the air circulates and use air tight containers to prevent ruining the contents of the container.
After all this has been taken care of you are set for trial runs of the mister, humidity, basking temperature and anything else.
It is very important that the basking spot maintain a proper temperature and is close to the UVA light. Make sure the UVA light is big enough to span across the whole tree though. Also ensure that your pool or collecting baisin is collecting the water and its not ending up on the floor.
For feeding you can hook up a plastic container 6in tall by 3 in wide and 3in in length and securly fasten it to the tree. This way the Cham will always see his food and it won't be out running all over your house.
Also of you have a room designated for your set up and you don't want to keep the door shut, you can section off that room with a 3 foot piece of cardboard or plexi glass. If you use plexiglass or cardboard make sure that you secure it to the wall, just incase it is knocked over onto an innocent chameleon.
Good luck and I hope this works out for you. If you need a diagram I will draw you one up. But I'm sure I explained it pretty good. Oh and Marie's photo is also one you can use but you also need the lights! and that photo doesn't have any.
Let me know if this worked for you or helped you out
