Chameleon help?

Hi I just bought a reptile setup and am wondering what i'll need so far I only know Alot of plants, some kind of misting system or will a water dripper work too? What substrate is best? Any help is appreciated I also will be repainting and designing the outside of the enclosure, is that safe? I also found a large uv light what temp should the enclosure be?

Hi there....wow, so you're going to get a chameleon ? Will it be a veiled ? I highly recommend them, and get a male if you do, very beautiful and you don't need to worry about a nesting box. Without a nest box females become egg bound. You can even tell a male when it's tiny, they have a tiny heel spur [ like a nub ] on their back feet. Be sure to look for that ! Whatever you do, don't buy a Senegal cham., those are wild caught and don't do well. So anyway,that looks like a nice enclosure, I see screen at the top, is the door screened as well ? if not, you will need to either drill a lot of holes in it, or replace the door with a screened one, or even replace a wall with screen. It's best for them to have pretty good airflow. No loose substrate for a cham., they will get stuff on their tongue while hunting and that would be trouble. Newspaper works fine, you can put several layers down in sections that can be taken out as needed every day as it gets wet and soiled. If you paint it be sure to use non toxic, and let it dry 100 % completely, very important. For water a dripper is fine, just place a flat plastic lid of some sort on the bottom of the cage to catch most of the water that drips, but nothing even more than an inch deep , if you have a baby it could drown in it.[ that's just a precaution and not likely to happen ] You can also use a spray bottle once a day to spray the entire chameleon, that helps them shed and cleans their eyes.

Yes i'm getting a baby veiled from petsmart as a 17th birthday present, working hard for it on my own. The door is already screened and thankyou I will make sure the paint is not toxic That helps alot, so repti grass would also be fine to use? I have a waterbottle I use for my pets , Just wasn't sure how often they need sprayed since i'll be leaving for work at 3pm most days.2 times good? Is it okay to use all fake plants?What Temperature do you try to keep yours at? 90-95 all day good? Do they need lighting at night, if so the same temperature? How many times a day do you feed yours and how much? Thankyou all help is appreciated!

haha sorry for all the questions just want everything to be perfect.

That's O.K., and by the way if you ever need lots of info from one place, look at a big breeders website, such as FLchams, they have tons of info on different species of chams that they breed. So Kate, if you're getting a tiny baby, be sure they look alert, with eyes swiveling, moving around, etc. If they are sleeping + look very sluggish, they are probably not healthy. If you can't find a healthy one at the pet store, then wait for a reptile show. You can start him off in a smaller set up using a plastic tote, the kind that are about 2 feet high by about 30 long. It's PERFECT for baby cham, and it won't cost you any extra money except for the tote itself which you can get at a Dollar store or Walmart for about $5-$7 bucks. For heating, use a clamp dome with a regular incandescent bulb, about 50 -75 watt, and then for UVB you'll want a Reptisun 5.0 or 10.0 TUBE [ not coil or compact ] with a fixture which you can get from Walmart for about $8-$10 bucks. A 5.0 works fine [ yes, it really does ] but when you put him in the large tank the 10.0 would be best if it's going to sit on top of the screen. If you mount it INSIDE the enclosure, you can go with a 5.0, but only the tube, not the coil. So you'll need some plastic plants for him to climb on, plenty of them, and maybe some reptile vine. Set that all down in the tote so that it's about a foot high altogether....high enough to climb on, since they love to climb, and not high enough that he can get out. No need for a lid, it would be too humid with one on. Then just set the lamps on top....clamp your lamp so he has a basking area of 95 at the most, and cooler areas all the way to 70 -80 are fine. That will be best for him until he's grown to at least 7-8 inches [ they grow FAST ] That way it will be easy for him to catch his dusted bugs. Just throw 10 -12 in and watch him hunt. Oh, you can put paper towels on the bottom if you want, but it's not necessary, the poo is so tiny you can just dab it up. You'll need to spray a baby about twice a day, watch that he starts drinking, sometimes it takes a moment or two before they realize that they want a drink. The night temps. can safely drop to 65. Now once you set him up in the big cage, you CAN use fake, but live plants are even better. I have used both. Some good ones are schefflera, hibiscus, pothos and ficus trees. Just rinse them well a few times in your shower, or better yet, outside with a hose to get any possible pesticides off. A couple of larger criss- crossing branches for climbing , and you're good to go !

we're actually going to a reptile next month and possibly for my birthday too! I will make sure but even if it's unhealthy can't I rescue and make it better? Yes and any tips to keep the other side cooler? I will be keeping the UVB ontop of the screen. I can defenitely get him a smaller enclosure to start out. Will it stress him if the enclosure is too big at first? I will defenitely be buying the clamp dome & incandescent bulb & fixture for my UVB light. All this info helps ALOT

Kate, I wouldn't get a sick one, it may just die on you. And it really would be best to keep him in a small tank for at least a month or two, that is if he's very tiny when you buy him. To keep a cool side, just attach the lamp on one side...he will move closer /further away as he feels the need. By the way, Home Dept, Lowe's or Walmart all sell aluminum clamp lamps [ aluminum is better because it reflects more heat ] for less than pet store black ones.

I just feel really bad when I see them in the store pressing at the glass even if they are sick. Thankyou i'll look into it

Hi I am still trying to figure out exactly what plants i'm buying. I saw some of these vines and things on Petsmarts site, how many of these would you get? what would you suggest? http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2753958&lmdn=Pet+Type&f=PAD%2FpsNotAvailInUS%2FNo

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752569&lmdn=Pet+Type&f=PAD%2FpsNotAvailInUS%2FNo

I also found these http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=16577866&f=PAD%2FpsNotAvailInUS%2FNo , I found a clamp dome I can buy there are quite a few of those. I would order everything online but we have a bunch of petstores near us. I'm using this also as a note for myself to look at. I have to pick up another reptisun tube anyway for my other pet , probably gonna go with a 10.0. ~Get Fixture from Walmart~ Okay sorry haha just trying to remember everything correctly.

Kate, everything looks good except the bonsai, he'll outgrow it in no time so I'd save my money. One way you could really save is by checking garage sales and thrift stores. They usually have fake plants for really cheap.

I will be keeping the lighting ontop of the setup , how far should he be from it?
Right now I am having some fustrating problems getting the setup cause the person I want to buy it off of has been too busy to answer their phone or email.