Newbie here! question??

chicki57 · 01-07-04, 02:24 AM

Hi everyone! I'm new here and have a question. I'm considering getting a chamleon of some sort. I've got "the books"! and have read quite a bit about them, but can't seem to find much on their "cleanliness habits"?? I need to know if they smell or their cage smells or their fecal?? how often do you clean it out? just the bottom? do all the plants need to be cleaned everyday or every month? I see most of the cages don't have pull out trays?
One book said that you should never clean the cage or move the decor around cuz it would stress them out?? I can't imagine that!
thank you so much!!
Lynn

Trace · 01-07-04, 09:36 AM

Hey Lynn!

Welcome to ssnakess! I moved your thread into the chameleon forum as it will get a little more traffic in here and a few more opinions from the cham posse.

Smell? NEVER! Yes, if you go over and take a sniff of a fresh poop, (not that I do this

) it does have a bit of an odor, all poops do, but it's not something that permeates the house if you know what I mean.

Personally I clean all my chameleon cages every single day as I can not tolerate looking at poop or dead bugs etc at the bottom of my cages. I wouldn't want to live in a small area with my wastes and leftovers so I don't expect my animals to do any different but I'm probably a little too anal retentive about cleanliness than most chameleon owners. Their poops aren't big so it is very easy to pick up with a small piece of toilet paper or whatever and they only go once a day if that. They also wipe their bums across the stick when they are done.

I agree and disagree with that book you've got. The chameleon may get stressy when you go in to pick up a poop, but you are only in there for a few minutes so they can deal with it. Changing cage furniture and placement of the cage sometimes does cause major issues with chameleons especially if you've got an extra sensitive one. They do get used to things being a certain way, but I'm a firm believer that it really depends on their personality to start.

Have fun! If you have any other questions on chameleons, don't be shy.

Trace

choriona · 01-07-04, 11:08 AM

Welcome

Fresh poop - yesss stinky. For about 1 minute.

Cleaning cages - when it starts to annoy me. (once a month) But I keep moss in the bottom, so I do a big cleaning where I take everything apart and wash surfaces and replace with new moss. I'll wipe the fake plant leaves if they are messy, otherwise those and the live plants go back in the same as they came out. I try to keep the general arrangement similiar as it was (like plant location, food dish spot and water areas) but the stick highways are fun to rearrange a bit each time. And I may move the basking area to compensate for the new distances created by the highways.

As for cleanliness - does anyone else notice that their cham tends to poop in the same general area each time? OR do I just have very considerate chameleons?

Collide · 01-07-04, 11:30 AM

Yea I have planed enclosures and once a month is about right for cleaning for me at least lol. but if you let it **** it will go hard and super easy to clean. Stink lol Id say my boyfreind is more stinky then all my chans combined lol.

drewlowe · 01-07-04, 01:06 PM

I haven't noticed an odor with Neos poop, But then again i don't put it to my nose. I clean the enclosure 1-2 times aweek sometimes more, all depending on how much he poos.

choriona- For a few weeks neo was pooping in the same general area. Then he had to go to the complete other side for a while. I guess he likes one spot for awhile then he changes his mind and choses another.

Trace · 01-07-04, 01:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by choriona
As for cleanliness - does anyone else notice that their cham tends to poop in the same general area each time? OR do I just have very considerate chameleons?

Pretty much. Mine go on the opposite side of the cage from where they sit most of the time. My Calypso is so considerate in fact, he saves it up until he gets his "out time" and does it on my windowsill. Isn't that nice.

Quote:

Originally posted by Collide
Stink lol Id say my boyfreind is more stinky then all my chans combined

LMAO! He didn't smell THAT bad when I met him... or was that a different guy?

Cheers!

Trace

meow_mix450 · 01-07-04, 04:17 PM

HA HA HA wow my panther does the same, but my baby veild poo goes everywhere its sooo funny, but the veild iis starting to poo in one spot at well, weird eh?, i wonder if they do this in the wild???Welcome to the site, bet youll love it here

But back to the topic, stinkness never, like trace said, if you sniff it lol, uhh the clean my chams cage each month, but everyday i pick up there poo and mist them. But the each month is everything gets changed and washed, then i put everything back to the way it was.

If you plan on getting a cham get a veild male for beginners, you dont want a female or they will start laying eggs. Place the cage where there is not a lot of traffic, cats and dogs, should not be able to see the cham, or the pet will try and attack iit lol

If you got questions dont be afraid to ask, will answer the dumbest questions lol:P

Meow

chicki57 · 01-08-04, 08:31 AM

thanks!!
I think I'll have to pass though as according to what I've read they pretty much need crickets to live. I thought that they could get by on mealworms and such. I just think they are soooo adorable, and I have the time and the room to set up something really good for them....but I'll have to look into the veggie eating lizards, which there really are not that many of, right? GI don't interest me.

Wuntu Menny · 01-08-04, 10:20 AM

Hey Chicki! Cool, I can say that without a slap in the face...

If insectivores aren't to your liking, blue tongued skinks are a good option. They're omnivorous with an emphasis on veggies and fruit. If you want one that can climb a tree without looking like a complete fool, try looking into prehensile tailed skinks also called Solomon Islands skinks, monkey tailed skinks, and a couple of others.

WM

meow_mix450 · 01-08-04, 11:59 AM

GI??? hmmmm beardie??? that might be agood choice, uhhcrested gecko, pretty much live on baby food with the proper care. hmmm not sure, good luck

Meow

vipervenom · 01-08-04, 03:40 PM

I advise you to go on the internet to good forums or read only books told to you are good by a good cham keeper because even still many many books are either out of date or just boldly lie. And ask as many questions as you can here.

meow_mix450 · 01-10-04, 12:33 AM

hmm there not really lies, thats why books are updated, so they fix some of wut they said, a lot of books are wut the person did to take care of the animal or the general care, so there not really lies, but your right read books that are new and ask questions, But some old books sometimes got one of the best ideas

. dont be offend of wut i said, did mean to lol

Meow

vipervenom · 01-13-04, 03:27 PM

I agree with you 100% Meow and I didn't mean it to sound that way. I found I learned things from books, and either approved or improved from asking people questions on forums. And you're completly right, most books are based on what worked for the auther. Many aspects of cham keeping are totally based on trying something. There is still lots out there unknown about the captive care, and especially wild chameleons. Read and ask questions to get the most informatio and also you wanna try maybe 3 sources to see if they all say basically the same idea. If you try too many sources, however, it will become very confusing. Go to very popular forums or places where other people reccomened. So far, this is an awesome forum! Good luck and ask anything even if you feel it may be a stupid question.

chicki57 · 01-13-04, 05:47 PM

thanks guys, actually the only veggie eating lizard that I really like is the uromastyx and only a few species (the ones that are hard to get of course!) I just love the veiled and the jackson cham's...how they move and their rotating eyes. But I HATE crickets!!(well thats not intirely true..its my hubby that does) that's why I was asking about worms. Are earthworms and maggets alright? Should be able to find them at a fishing store year round. (or I could just get female crickets!! and then maybe he'd never find out!!LOL)

choriona · 01-14-04, 11:34 AM

I am not sure what the earthworms eat before they get to the bait shop, so I would feed them myself for at least a week. Just simple compost stuff. I have fed my chams an earthworm or two as a treat in the summer, and noticed that they are tough prey to get the sticky tounge around, and then they are weird for swallowing.

I just think of both earthworms and maggots as being very dirty things and wouldn't want to feed my cham that as a staple diet. I don't think there is very much calcium in them??? Also, maggots have a very fast morphing time unlike mealworms. You may have flies in your house just because your cham dropped a few maggots while eating.

As for noise-less crickets, if you get them less than 4 weeks old (i always ask for the 3 wk) then they don't chirp yet.

I also want a uromastyx...so i think you have a very tough decision. They are cute in an ugly kinda way. And big. They remind me of a turtle's head.

Just remember, if you do decide to get a cham, they are contagious and you'll soon make plans for anothre one. Once you / your husaband gets over the cricket issue, they will be no stopping it.