Reptile Forum, Reptile Classifieds - CaptiveBred

TAT2 · Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2006 5:51 am Post subject: Yemen advice

Hi all just registered after spending the last couple of days reading through all the previous posts a multitude of times Exclamation

I'm looking at keeping my first chameleon in the near future and have spent the last few weeks trawling the net for anything and everything I can find appertaining to the care of these beautiful creatures. Found lots of good sites and lots of info although, on occasion, wildly varying opinions on care. Reading through previous threads on the forum the general consensus seems to lean towards the Yemen chams as best suited to a beginner.

What is the best size to buy a young cham at?

What is the best size viv for said size of animal?

Looking around the net the exo terra flexariums seem a good bet and I was thinking of the large 30 x 30 x 72 when the cham reaches adult size but not sure about intermediate sizes any suggestions?

I don't intend to buy the cham 'til the new year as I want a couple of more months to read up and get the husbandry sorted before I 'jump in at the deep end'

Any advice suggestions greatly appreciated

Thanks

TAT2 Very Happy

Rickeezee · Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2006 12:21 pm Post subject: Re: Yemen advice

TAT2 · Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2006 12:43 pm Post subject:

Thanks Rick Wink

How do you keep your room sufficiently cool for the odd few weeks where we get decent weather?

Realistically I only have one option for the siting of the enclosure which is my computer room. We have three kids 6,10 and 11 and although they spend most of their lives in their rooms in front of the damn PlayStation weekends can get a bit chaotic so the living room is definitely a no no.

My small computer room is well insulated and well sound proofed which should be perfect 45 weeks of the year but the temp can hit around 90 on hot summers nights - not good. Would a small air con unit pointing away from the viv be acceptable or could this cause problems?

I know that stool samples should be checked out by a vet periodically for parasites etc what kind of time frame would you recommend every six months?

I'm trying to be pessimistic at the moment and work out the what ifs - I have no intention of trying to acquire a cham until I am 110% sure I can provide the optimal conditions that they need!!!

Rickeezee · Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2006 1:12 pm Post subject:

Budsteam · Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2006 5:39 pm Post subject:

We did the same cooling in the summer - left doors/window open (but with 2 big dogs we don't have a security issue!) also bought one of those tower style oscillating fans.
By the description of the room I would definitely go for a mesh style viv - just watch the zips on the flexariums especially if your cham, like ours, likes to go walkabouts!

Good luck and go for it - chams are the cutest!
PS get a male if it's your first one.

Jan O · Key Member Joined: 23 Jan 2006 Posts: 360

Hiya TAT2,Can I just say how nice it is to hear from a potential Cham keeper who does the research BEFORE he gets the animal. I can't tell you how much reading, web site hunting and talking to Cham owners I did before I got my first Yemens. I must admit once I had been bitten by the cham bug it sort of spiralled from there. The one mistake I made was not taking the plunge earlier and this was simply because I always felt Chams were out of my league as I had heard they were delicate and tricky to keep. Obviously if you do your homework, get your set ups as optimal as possible, do the correcting feeding, spraying etc then you know you are putting in 100% and I cant see you having any problems. Just one word of warning Chams are addictive!!!
love Jan
PS Ricks always here to answer questions and give advice- if I need help he's the one I go to!

TAT2 · Posted: Sat Nov 18, 2006 2:17 am Post subject:

Thanks guys Wink

With regards to heating my proposed set up is as follows, let me know your thoughts, For general ambient temp I'm planning to use a white bulb and red for night both on Habitat dimming stats. As for the basking area I'm presuming I can hit the right temp with the basking light by altering the height of the basking bulb in relation to the basking spot without using a separate stat on the basking light. The ambient temp being controlled by stat will be stable so once the basking light is set there shouldn't be any 'outside influences' that will affect its temp. Will monitor with digi thermometer obviously.

Heat bulbs UV tubes etc all set with digital plug in timers for day/night switching. I am also thinking of staggering the switching of the lights in short intervals to more closely mimic sunset and sunrise - beneficial or not?

All lamps will be mounted outside the flexarium so there's no chance of the cham coming into contact with anything that will burn it.