Chameleon tank size- 175?
- Thread starter Gourami Swami
- Start date
My old chameleon use to drink water from the end of a spray bottle. He would get all excited when he would see me with it.
You're looking at 2 chameleons that get big but have very different environmental needs.
Veiled---desert conditions
Panther---Rainforest conditions
Height is more important than width with either type. Go with a cage that has at least 4 feet of height. 30" square is fine otherwise.
The cages I have are homemade and built out of 2x2's and nylon screening with a door built into the front.
I used dried branches for infrastructure and silk plants I picked up at a craft store that came in 6 foot ltenghts. I strung them throughout the enclosure to provide cover for the animal.
Use a basking lamp and have a branch underneath that will provide the animal an opportunity to be anywhere from 8" to 15" away from the lamp. They will look for high heat first thing in the day and may travel back and forth otherwise. They will seek out heat in order to digest a meal.
Never ever have loose feed animals like crickets in the chameleon's enclosure. They will hide and at nighttime will crawl all over the enclosure, including on the animal. This can be very stressful for the chameleon and the crickets can actually try to feed on the moist parts of the chameleon, namely its eyelids and it's anus.
For crickets, I used a deep plastic yogurt container that I pinched between two branches. For worms, depending on the size of the chameleon, I might use a more shallow dish. The chameleons seemed to prefer the container suspended about halfway up in the enclosure. For a young chameleon, dust everything you feed with calcium powder. For adult animals, dust with calcium twice per week or so.
Drinking water can be provided via drip bottle or by simply misting the leaves once or twice a day. Soem chameleons hate drip bottles and they can be messy if you're not around to monitor the flow. Misting heavily on one or two leaves will provide enough.
I would use a full mesh enclosure with a veiled and only mist the enclosure once a day for drinking water.
I would use a partially meshed unit with a panther and either mist twice/three times a day or use a fogger with the water protected by screen/mesh to avoid the animal crapping in the water.
Be prepared to pick their feces out of the cage every other day. They can really stink up a room.
I would only keep single specimens from both of these species. Only Jackson Chameleons should be housed in a community set up.
Even if your plan is to eventually breed them, they should not even see each other. The female will get so stressed out if she can't avoid the male's gaze.
Hope that helps.
Veiled---desert conditions
Panther---Rainforest conditions
Height is more important than width with either type. Go with a cage that has at least 4 feet of height. 30" square is fine otherwise.
The cages I have are homemade and built out of 2x2's and nylon screening with a door built into the front.
I used dried branches for infrastructure and silk plants I picked up at a craft store that came in 6 foot ltenghts. I strung them throughout the enclosure to provide cover for the animal.
Use a basking lamp and have a branch underneath that will provide the animal an opportunity to be anywhere from 8" to 15" away from the lamp. They will look for high heat first thing in the day and may travel back and forth otherwise. They will seek out heat in order to digest a meal.
Never ever have loose feed animals like crickets in the chameleon's enclosure. They will hide and at nighttime will crawl all over the enclosure, including on the animal. This can be very stressful for the chameleon and the crickets can actually try to feed on the moist parts of the chameleon, namely its eyelids and it's anus.
For crickets, I used a deep plastic yogurt container that I pinched between two branches. For worms, depending on the size of the chameleon, I might use a more shallow dish. The chameleons seemed to prefer the container suspended about halfway up in the enclosure. For a young chameleon, dust everything you feed with calcium powder. For adult animals, dust with calcium twice per week or so.
Drinking water can be provided via drip bottle or by simply misting the leaves once or twice a day. Soem chameleons hate drip bottles and they can be messy if you're not around to monitor the flow. Misting heavily on one or two leaves will provide enough.
I would use a full mesh enclosure with a veiled and only mist the enclosure once a day for drinking water.
I would use a partially meshed unit with a panther and either mist twice/three times a day or use a fogger with the water protected by screen/mesh to avoid the animal crapping in the water.
Be prepared to pick their feces out of the cage every other day. They can really stink up a room.
I would only keep single specimens from both of these species. Only Jackson Chameleons should be housed in a community set up.
Even if your plan is to eventually breed them, they should not even see each other. The female will get so stressed out if she can't avoid the male's gaze.
Hope that helps.
Thanks, that last post was very informative 
Ok, so I have now made a temporary cage
its far from professional looking but it should be functional for now. I wanted to have a smaller cage for the baby cham so I could keep an eye on him so I made this one 30 long 26 tall 18 wide. Its got mesh on 3 sides and a plexiglass floor and door. I just finished it today, so within the next couple days ill get a video of it up.
Ok, so I have now made a temporary cage
its far from professional looking but it should be functional for now. I wanted to have a smaller cage for the baby cham so I could keep an eye on him so I made this one 30 long 26 tall 18 wide. Its got mesh on 3 sides and a plexiglass floor and door. I just finished it today, so within the next couple days ill get a video of it up.
You're welcome.
Just one word of caution about home made enclosures. Make absolutely sure there are no nail or staple points on the inside of the cage where the animal could stick himself. These animals do not do well with wounds or infections and not many vets show an interest in treating them.
Just one word of caution about home made enclosures. Make absolutely sure there are no nail or staple points on the inside of the cage where the animal could stick himself. These animals do not do well with wounds or infections and not many vets show an interest in treating them.
I will do that.
I am going to go for a full vivarium setup eventually so i think i will get a Panther, since it fits in with the rainforest theme. I wont make it too densely planted so I can still remove any waste, but i have read that having live plants can be beneficial to a chameleon as they tend to keep the air in his enclosure clean and prevent respiratory infections. Does anyone have a site that lists good climbing plants for chams? I am going to use some bromeliads and ferns as decorative air plants, and I was thinking maybe a baby ficus for climbing? or perhaps just a lot of nice branchy wood and vines. any good cham vivarium sites?
thanks again.
I am going to go for a full vivarium setup eventually so i think i will get a Panther, since it fits in with the rainforest theme. I wont make it too densely planted so I can still remove any waste, but i have read that having live plants can be beneficial to a chameleon as they tend to keep the air in his enclosure clean and prevent respiratory infections. Does anyone have a site that lists good climbing plants for chams? I am going to use some bromeliads and ferns as decorative air plants, and I was thinking maybe a baby ficus for climbing? or perhaps just a lot of nice branchy wood and vines. any good cham vivarium sites?
thanks again.
That is some really good infoChaitika;2027357; said:You're looking at 2 chameleons that get big but have very different environmental needs.
Veiled---desert conditions
Panther---Rainforest conditions
Height is more important than width with either type. Go with a cage that has at least 4 feet of height. 30" square is fine otherwise.
The cages I have are homemade and built out of 2x2's and nylon screening with a door built into the front.
I used dried branches for infrastructure and silk plants I picked up at a craft store that came in 6 foot ltenghts. I strung them throughout the enclosure to provide cover for the animal.
Use a basking lamp and have a branch underneath that will provide the animal an opportunity to be anywhere from 8" to 15" away from the lamp. They will look for high heat first thing in the day and may travel back and forth otherwise. They will seek out heat in order to digest a meal.
Never ever have loose feed animals like crickets in the chameleon's enclosure. They will hide and at nighttime will crawl all over the enclosure, including on the animal. This can be very stressful for the chameleon and the crickets can actually try to feed on the moist parts of the chameleon, namely its eyelids and it's anus.
For crickets, I used a deep plastic yogurt container that I pinched between two branches. For worms, depending on the size of the chameleon, I might use a more shallow dish. The chameleons seemed to prefer the container suspended about halfway up in the enclosure. For a young chameleon, dust everything you feed with calcium powder. For adult animals, dust with calcium twice per week or so.
Drinking water can be provided via drip bottle or by simply misting the leaves once or twice a day. Soem chameleons hate drip bottles and they can be messy if you're not around to monitor the flow. Misting heavily on one or two leaves will provide enough.
I would use a full mesh enclosure with a veiled and only mist the enclosure once a day for drinking water.
I would use a partially meshed unit with a panther and either mist twice/three times a day or use a fogger with the water protected by screen/mesh to avoid the animal crapping in the water.
Be prepared to pick their feces out of the cage every other day. They can really stink up a room.
I would only keep single specimens from both of these species. Only Jackson Chameleons should be housed in a community set up.
Even if your plan is to eventually breed them, they should not even see each other. The female will get so stressed out if she can't avoid the male's gaze.
Hope that helps.
Just one thing. Cham poop naturaly stinks like most poops
But it isnt suposse to stink to the point of afecting a room. If one of your chams has that condicion, make shure it is nothing serious like a parasitic or bacterial infection
Yes, for one animal, it shouldn't stink up an entire room. My reference was to 4 full grown animals in a room, lol.
As to plants, I tried bromeliades. My rainbows pooped right into the plant "cups" and made a mess of things. You'll just need to pay attention to that.
I tried ficus with my veiled and they did well for a period of time, but not long term. They're not the sturdiest plant and I think the extreme heat ranges served them poorly. Or it might have been the type I used.
If I knew of a good vivarium website, I'd pass it on, but I've yet to run across even one that had good reliable info.
As to plants, I tried bromeliades. My rainbows pooped right into the plant "cups" and made a mess of things. You'll just need to pay attention to that.
I tried ficus with my veiled and they did well for a period of time, but not long term. They're not the sturdiest plant and I think the extreme heat ranges served them poorly. Or it might have been the type I used.
If I knew of a good vivarium website, I'd pass it on, but I've yet to run across even one that had good reliable info.
