The best Baby Setups

Ciddian · 03-11-04, 11:16 AM

Hello again,

I have seen plenty amazing adult cham setups but i need one right now for a baby veiled.

I currently have mine in a 5.5 tank with cocnut fiber, plants and vines. She is always a bright green but she does a lot of digging wich has led to dirt getting stuck in one of her eyes and is now infected.....(as i posted a few posts down

I also took some good advice and have moved her to a less busy room.

Should i buy one of those screen cages?? She will not get to lost will she? She is only about 3 inches long.

Does anyone have pictures of how they keep their babies??

Thanks for your time!

tHeGiNo · 03-11-04, 02:10 PM

There was an interesting post on the subject of "big or small" cages for chameleons, you should take a look for that.

Personally, I feel both work perfectly, so long as they are adjusted accordingly. If you do not mind switching cages as it grows, then I would go with a small cage. However what I have found is, once someone purchases or builds one cage, they are not interesting in building / purchasing one as the chameleons grows out of it, which will not take long in most cases. I would suggest do what works best with you. Whatever the case, though, a screened enclosure is required to permit proper ventilation.

Whatever the case, ensure that the cage is filled with branches and foliage, with branches small enough for them to grip firmly. If you decide to go with an enclosure of a suitable size for an adult veiled, just add extra foliage - ie. plants and branches. You may also want to put substrate on the bottom to lighten a fall, which is possible.

When you say that she is digging a lot, to me that means she is on the ground a lot. This may suggest improper husbandry, are you sure it is not too hot in there? In such a tiny cage, it is hard to set up a basking spot without overheating the whole enclosure.

Quote:

I have seen plenty amazing adult cham setups but i need one right now for a baby veiled.

Again, and in my opinion, the only difference between an adult setup and a neonate set up is the added foliage. Stick with the substrate you are using, it is great stuff.

K1LOS · 03-11-04, 03:22 PM

I'd ditch that 5.5 gallon and go right to a good sized cage. I have my little guy (3-4") in a 4' x 3' x 2' cage and have so since the last expo. He has never once come close to falling, he knows where his dripper is, and he knows where his food is. So basically, he is just fine, and has a lot of space to himself.

If you won't do that, i'd at least remove the substrate, and find out why he is on the ground. Put paper towels down on the ground instead of that coconut fiber. Get a good digital thermometer, and check multiple points in the cages temps. There needs to be a good variance in temps. Is he eating? maybe he is trying to go find food or water. Seperate the cat from the cham, no good can come from that situation. Keep us posted

Geoff

huhet · 03-11-04, 03:48 PM

5.5??? holy crap man. my baby didn't even want to be in a well planted 30 gallon.

i'd do what geoff recommended. you don't have to build a cage quite that big, but you may want one some day.

meow_mix450 · 03-11-04, 04:24 PM

i dont have time to read the other post right now, srry. But make or buy a screen cage, so there is more ventalation, or fungis will start growing. No subsrate is best, i would use tiles instead.

Meow

i have a cham04 · 03-11-04, 10:03 PM

I just got my baby cham and the set up i have for him is sand substrate a plastic torarium plant to hide in and under. i am working on getting him a chinese evergreen i have bird perch like sticks i made myself. i put themaround the cage some high so hean bask better some leading to it so his food will go to him and some going from his plants to the higher one....its up to you how you set the tank up i have mine in a 10 gallon and soon to a 29 low and so on and so on...im sure you know the lizzzard grows with the size of its home...if you want ill send you pics when i get some i just got my cham yesterday so im still experimenting but my bio teacher said not to change its habitat alot they will get more stressed.and dont listen to the ones giving yuo trouble,its your cham so experiment...just do the best you can...its no harder than taking care of an iguana.

Ciddian · 03-11-04, 11:20 PM

Ohhh trust me, she won't be in the 5.5 for long. I have no problem with expanding cage sizes.

Thank you for all your imput! I will definatly keep your tips in mind has i design larger Cham cages. (It's nice to have a father in law who is a carpenter

OOhh! And as far as the infected eye....it has cleared up wonderfully

Thanks again!!

(Once i get a digital i'll take some piccys)

Collide · 03-12-04, 04:23 PM

"i have a cham04" im sorry to pick u out here i just have to say there are alot of things you are doing that could be major health risks to your cham.

sand substrate is not good at all

Tanks are a big no no . and tempature gradent is imposible to obtain and there is no air flow, and mosture gets traped which leads to stagnet water mold ect... ie recipe for a respatory infection. Also a 29 gallon tank is way way way too small for a adult cham which WILL outgrow that inclosure within a year for sure. also u would be needing a tall inclosure to alow your cham to climb.

Chameleons Will out grow there small enclosures the size of there envoroment will not determin its size.

And a cham in my opion is one of the hardest lizzards to care for. not that i know much about many lizzard other then chams but they are not recomended for the unexperienced thats for sure.

I think that u should read some of the older posts in here and check out some chameleon info sites, I think u have been given some bad advice when it comes to your cham. i will garentee that your little guy will be dead in 6 months if keept in those conditions

do u have a UV light?
what kind of suplements are u giving your cham?
what are the temps in the hot spot and the cooler spot?

I dont mean to come down on u Im just very concerned about your cham.

Here are some sites u should read up on about chameleon care and I hope that u understand that i only want to help your little guy he its a little life u got there not a experiment.

www.chameleonjournals.com
www.adcham.com
www.chamownersweb.com

Ciddian · 03-12-04, 08:24 PM

First off... I do not consider my cham to be an experiment. I cannot help but be offended.

Secondly...i was not the one who puchased this for me. My boyfriend just showed up with the little girl as we where leaving the reptile show. I do not concider myself a begginer at all and i am not an impusle buyer.

She is not on sand substrate, she is on coconut fibers which i am told is fine. Yes, she is in a tank but that is temporay like i had said. If I had known we where bringing home a cham that day i would have had a set up ready and going a week before.

I have Uv lighting on the tank and her basking spot isn't as warm as i would like but as soon as i get a correct tall tank that will be fixed. The warmest spot i would say is 89-90 degrees. The coolest is 83-80.

I suppliment her diet by gut loading my pinheads with fish food, lettus, spinich and carrots plus i also dust them.

Yes....I am "new" to chamelions that is true but i have spent many hours trying to sort out the good tips from the bad. I thank you for your links and i will definatly use them.

I just wanted to clear myself and prove to you that i am not a mindless consumer of living things. I cherish and care deeply for all of my pets (And i have plenty! LOL)

Thank you...

Collide · 03-12-04, 08:52 PM

you cant help but be offended because that was not ment for you i was responding to cham o4 guy sorry if u thought that was about u .

Ciddian · 03-12-04, 11:24 PM

I am terribly sorry.......I mis-read

Thank you for the links however ^_^

K1LOS · 03-12-04, 11:29 PM

I have a cham04:

First off, i agree with collide completely that chams are not for beginners. Not to say a beginner can't be succesful, but i'd suggest it is a rarity. The constant attention required just to maintain the humidity would rule it out for beginners in my mind.

secondly, sand is definately a no no for chams.

third, a 29 low tank, must be THE WORST enclosure for a cham. Only thing that could make it worse would be if it were even smaller. I seriously hope you will at least have it on its end.

your biology teacher must be insane if he is suggesting you experiment with the time tested, proven, husbandry methods for these chams. The information is readily available to you, just ask. Lots of chameleons died working out the kinks of their husbandry, and you think you'll be able to work it all out on your first (and only) cham? Good luck to you and your animal.

i have a cham04 · 03-13-04, 01:26 AM

1 im not a beginner 2 he is only being in this tank for a short period i am building him a screened enclosure and the sand substrate is fine because that is what the book reccommended and his basking is about 75-80 degrees and his lower temp is like 60-70 degress anyways the cage i am building is going to be like 5x3x7 for now til i build bigger but he is well misted and vitamins on all his meal he is fine he enjoys the attention i give him

i have a cham04 · 03-13-04, 01:29 AM

oh and the only reason he is in a 10 gal. is because he was a last minute gift.....so sorry if your worried he will be fine and thecage im building will be on wheelsso he can be wheeled outside when it is nice out and im buying him a new hibiscus tree or maybe a chinese evergreen

meow_mix450 · 03-13-04, 03:29 AM

sand can cause impaction, and that is wut kills ALOT of reptiles! so please take it off. Have you owned another chameleon??? If not then im gonna say your a beginner, i use to be a beginner and i sorta still am, instead of reading jsut one book check out the sites collide gave you, good luck

Meow