Chameleon Enclosure Design Questions!

[monkeymatches]

I just got a 16 month old Panther Chameleon (my first) and I am in the process of setting up his digs. I've been reading the forums for the last two weeks but of course still have a TON of questions. I've attached a pic of his (very) preliminary enclosure. I'm waiting for delivery of his custom cage and misting system next week.*

Enclosure -*36w X 24w X 36h custom screen- I*am going to install this into an alcove in a book case, sort of in the style of a zoo or museum vitrine. The space is going to be sealed and insulated on 5 sides with an 8" clearance above the top screen. All the pants will be raised an inch and there will be a drain tray under the screen enclosure. I feel like this should keep a balance between giving him enough airflow while maintaining a microclimate. I'm also thinking of installing drapes to close it off for drafty winter nights. Anyone else set up like this or seen this done?


Planting - I currently have a few different vines which I will try to train around the final set up and some bromeliads. I am considering putting in a large Ficus Retusa or Scheffiera bonsai as the center piece. I'm not sure if this is a good idea. I don't know how bonsai would do in these light and humidity conditions. It might also be difficult to clean and of course expensive to replace. Any thoughts?


Hydration- My Panther seems very strange about misting and drinking. He seems to LOVE being misted. He kind of "dances" around when I spay him and gets much brighter. However, he seems very confused about drinking - I don't see him drinking off plants. He sometimes drinks off the ceiling dripping when I spray the screen on top. I'm guessing he was raised with a misting system and I read that panthers enjoy high humidity.

*I'm going to try to keep him at the recommended 60-80% but this is going to be a challenge in my apartment which can get very dry in the winter. I can't be home misting him all day, so I went ahead and ordered a "Herpmist" misting system. Anyone have any idea what the general water throughput of this system might be (2 nozzle, maybe 3x 2min daily) ?

I also put a warm mist humidifier in the temporary cage (I'm going to pipe it into the final enclosure) and he also seems to love this. He sometimes sleeps on a branch near the exhaust. Anyone see any problem with this?


Lighting- I have been experimenting with a variety of different things. First I got a Zilla Desert 50 UVB bulb. (Probably a bad choice -I read that these were recalled at one point but I am hoping this one is the new revised version.) I hooked up a 50w halogen desk lamp as a basking light. He seems to like this one and uses it most of the time.*

I was not getting the enclosure up to the recommended 92 - 80F range - also my apartment can be quite drafty in the winter, at times getting down to to the 50's so I also installed a 250W halogen worklight on a dimmer. I figure that I can control this thru out the year to keep the temps right. He has been keeping away from it though... Also want the plants to do well so I installed a compact florescent grow light that I already had (Vita light 20W 6000k) -*Does anyone know of any UV (UVA, UVB?) or other problems with these lights? Is this overkill? I use a laser thermometer and the temps are reading about right with all of these running.*

I would really appreciate any knowledgeable feedback on this project. I'll post photos as the project is finished.

Thanks!

[slowfoot]

You're probably going to hate me after you get done reading this

Honestly, your planned cage sounds way too small. Vertical height is very important, and panthers are very active chameleons. When I kept them, each animal had its own full-size ficus (not huge, but not a bonsai tree, either) inside a screen cage measuring about 5 ft high, by 4 ft by 3ft. The bottoms were those large under-bed rubbermaid storage containers.

I would also not recommend trying to build a chameleon enclosure into anything with solid sides - it's just not a good idea because there will be ventilation issues.

Also, consider your choice of plants: Chameleons feel the most comfortable when they have good climbing branches, plus a lot of foliage to hide in. Your temp cage has almost no cover at all. Bromeliads will not offer the sort of habitat that your chameleon will need to climb around on, plus these plants will trap water and waste and will quickly be a source of bacteria.

As far as misting and humidity, I covered 3 sides of the cages with plastic during the winter months, and misted by hand. I just prefer that because I can regulate the amount of water and make sure the animals drank. During the summer, they went outside, cages and all, and I just hosed everyone down 3 times a day. That might not be possible, depending on where you live, but the chams liked it.

ETA: I honestly don't know why there's a chameleon section on here. Beyond the small ground-dwelling Rampholeon and Brookesia, I would not consider chameleons to be good animals at all for vivariums. They just aren't suited to vivarium-style enclosures.

[monkeymatches]

Thanks! Any opinion is appreciated. I live in Manhattan - so outside is not such a good option, unless I want him to get eaten by hobos or join the Hari krishnas. So youre saying add height and cover plants (Ficus retusa, good?) and no to the airplants?

[slowfoot]

Yep, height and cover

I'm not saying the enclosure has to look ugly. On the contrary, you can set up a very nice looking screen cage in a corner or near a window that's filled with plants that do well indoors. A ficus is an excellent choice because it does well indoors. I also liked to add a lot of natural branches. Just change them when they get dirty or old.

I tried looking online for enclosures I liked, but couldn't find any that were exactly right. This site comes close: Panther Chameleon Care Sheet

Here are some more ideas for enclosures. All of the members of this website have been very successful in keeping and breeding chameleons: Adcham Member's Setups

In addition to the full-spectrum lighting, I would try to make sure my chameleon got as much natural, bright light as possible. Obviously, UV won't go through glass, but your cham will be much happier in a brighter room.