Reptile Forum, Reptile Classifieds - CaptiveBred

[Natalia]

Hello, i have just changed my chameleons Viv from a Exo Terra to a Large Flexarium >



The reason i had him in a glass Viv of that size was because he was tiny when i purchased him. ( Hello thread for pics ). There was plenty of room for him then and could catch crickets easier.

Now he is in this large Flexarium he doesn't seem to be moving around all that much and is sleeping a bit more... its the 100 gallon Flex.

Its 4ft tall - 30 inches wide and 16.5 inches deep. He has plenty of plants - real and fake to use and branches and vines to get around. When i put him in i placed him under his heat light and when i woke up the next morning he was on the floor. I was scared he had fallen, but he is OK. He has moved around the bottom of the tank but not ventured upwards towards the heat light etc. I was going to get a second heat light at the other end of the Viv so there are two for him to use at either corner. I have a UV light going straight across the top also. He has a dripping system over one of the plants but i haven't seen him eat or drink either. He has only been in 3 days but i am wondering whether or not he is OK or not? They need time to adapt right? Also i am using a 60w bulb should i up it to 100w or get two at 60 or 100 w?

Thank you for your time

[Natalia]

Also, could anyone help me with this. Every time i have ever gone near him he puffs up and doesn't want anything to do with me, hisses and lunges at me if i get too close. I would love him to come out of his Viv more to explore etc, is there anything i can do to try and get him to calm down slightly with me? I fed him wax worms by hand in his old Viv ( i am leaving him alone to get used to his new Viv for now ) and he would take them from me no problem after a few goes.

[Rickeezee]

Felxariums are good for Yemen chams as they allow a higher level of ventilation which the Yemens need, as opposed the terrariums whihc are mainly all .

Yemen's have a reputation as being somewhat unfriendly and mine hiss and puff up if I go near them, may be a case of just accepting thats how he is. Although there will allways be exceptions as a rule Yemens are quite an aggressive species.

They also dont like change and he may react adversely for a few weeks just because he is in a new viv. He should settle when used to the new viv. As long as the basking temps are around the 95f- 98f mark approx; temp taken at basking area ten inches away from heat source and that he has a good strong UV light with reflector (I use 10% zoo meds for my Yemen's) and ambient temps down to 75f in the rest of the viv in a gradient away from basking area, then he should be fine and . Best of luck with him.
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[Natalia]

Thank you for replying

He seems to be moving around alot more now and i managed to get him to take 3 wax worms from my hand yesterday.

I have had problems sorting out the heat sources for my cham, after reading some books, the net and countless pet shops ( most of which told me different things ) i am still unsure what type of "set up" is truly correct for him as a first time owner.

He was fine in his old Viv with what i gave him. But now he is in the Flex i need to change things around. And will be sorting that out starting today. Is there any equipment type in particular that works best over others?

Thanks

[Rickeezee]

Glad he is settling down a bit.

There are a few variations in terms of equipment, what I use is: for basking: an externally mounted zoo med clamp lamp with tight beam spot lamp bulb, wattage depends upon size of viv, controlled by a Habistat dimmer thermostat. Double checked by a digital temp gauge that measures at two places, basking area and ambient. Basking lamp mounted on top quarter of viv thus allowing for a heat gradient.

10 %UV zoo med tube with reflector mounted internally in viv. Lots of plants fake and real plus branches, water dripper and mist x2 per day.

THis is how I have my yemens vivs set up, there are other ways this is just my way.
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www.rickslivefood.co.uk