Few Q's on cages.

[herco]

One of my friends is donating a chameleon that sounds like its a veiled. (Haven;t seen it yet). I'm planning on building an cage for it. Any ideas on dimensions. Wantit to be big enough to take it to adulthood. Thanx.

[Biosmith]

Hi herco,

David "chameleons" here on the site will be able to give you the best advice. PM him and I'm sure he will help with pleasure.

Regards

Francois

[Chameleons]

Herco
Cages for chameleons is a big subject and not one best covered here. As a rule of thumb the cage for a youngster is not the same as one for an adult but it depends on how young; the smaller chams amy not find the food in a very big cage. I have written an overall generic guide to cages etc for my web site but haven't been able to find the time to post it yet (sorry) . There is a care sheet on the site already.

5 main things to bear in mind:
- size
- UV
- heat
- water
- position

Is it housing a male or female? Do you want the cage to be pretty or functional? Avoid too much (or any in my opinion) glass. Allow lots of ventilation. UV loses its value by distance - at 30cm it has lost a great deal. We only use 5.0. If you can't put it outside then you may need a basking light. I never use one so you would need to speak to a petshop.

Veiled (adults) need between 20 and 30c during the day and a drop of at least 5c at night; they will be comfortable at 15c or even less at night. So if it is indoors, think whether a night IR heat lamp is needed; probably not. Let the temperature fluctuate. They are remarklable tolerant of temperature and most people keep them too warm - where in the world is it a constant 32c 365 days a year? Singapore but Veiled come from Yemen, where there are winters as well as summers.

Water must be sprayed daily. Very few chams will drink from a bowl: if you can't spray, then don't buy! There are automated ways to do this. I use a fully timed irrigation system out doors but a 5 litre pump spray bottle indoors. There are many options - e.g. Habba Misters.Often the water needs to run off the leaves for a few minutes before it will drink. But...If you do this - where will the water go? Your carpet? Will it make the bottom of the cage damp and mouldy?

I don't like in cage waterfalls - nice warm, aerated water with chameleon droppings floating in it - yummy! The bacteria will love it....

Many chams get freaked out by dogs or large birds so place the cage where it does not get pestered or stressed by a lot of human or pet traffic. Also avoid leaving it where it will be blasted by sunlight through glass (no UV but high temps) - unless it is a net cage.

Very very generic and somewhat personal views. You are welcome to PM me for a longer discussion.

Anyone got other views/ideas?

David
http://www.sa-chameleons.com

[Donatello]

the dimensions should be 3x the size of the chameleon or bigger