Hi ALL!

Having just bought my new pal "Clyde," a Side Striped Chameleon, I am finding there is a lot more to Chameleon keeping than I was lead to believe. I am having trouble finding out what I need to keep Clyde happy and healthy. Can someone help? Clyde is happily eating crickets dusted with vitamins and drinking from his leaf bowl and leaves "after misting". He has a nice, if small, screen cage, some artifical plants, a sandblasted grape vine and a basking light, oh and some kind of under cage heater. He seems healthy and happy but I don't want him to suffer because I did something wrong or didn't do something I should have.

I do have a larger cage coming 18X18X36 and welcome set-up suggestions

Clyde got his name and I got my user name from my son 5yr and his favorite book: Hide Clyde.

Thanks

im not "sure" about that particular type of chameleon, but as far as I know, they "dont" go to ground, and a Under Tank Heater is not needed. adequate UVA and UVB lighting should be provided, tho....and aheat lamp, for ambient temps

hope I helped,
Danielle

Hi,

Clyde likes just about everywhere in his cage. He hangs out mostly near the bottom but it's hard to say yet where he really likes because I've only had him for a week. He seems to be a bit different from most chameleons in that he will drink from his leaf shaped bowl. He does walk on the bottom of the cage a fair amount of the time. I was told he is closely related to the Graceful Chameleon but have almost no information on it either. I also have no real idea if he is really a he.

The lighting is a big question as I have little information as to what is good for his type of chameleon. He has been living in basically the same set-up since the first of November when the pet shop got him and seems happy and healthy. Since I have no clue as to what is right UV wise for him, I am unsure if I need to get a different set-up or what.

oh, dont ask me that...i myself am UV impaired. i just know that lizards that dont eat whole prey items (as a general rule at least) do in fact need UV...what kind of UV doyou have on him now?this may help someone else who reads the post to help you more

Danielle

Your Chameleon does indeed need low-level UVB, being a diurnal creature.

Please take a look at this page: http://www.reptileuv.com/megaraylow.htm

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Dominick
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"Do you watch too much television? Did you do so as a toddler? Evidence tonight that it could be the cause of learning disorders, like attention deficit and hyperact-Ooooh, a kitty!" - Keith Olbermann

Hiya Hide Clyde, love the name, sounds like you have most of it covered, I use Under Tank Heater one on the back of the cage and one on the bottom, they will be needed for night time temperatures, I also use a night time red bulb,as with a screen cage it is hard to keep in the heat and humidity, but where ever you maybe located you might not need night time bulb, depends on your chams enclosures temp, I use UV 8.0 with basking lamp, and I also dampen towels an hang them on the cage to create humidity, it is unusual for a cham to drink from a bowl, but I have seen mine do it when I very first got him, he drank from his fountain, now I use a big dripper, what plants do you currently have? I have a ficus benjamina, and he loves to hand around in there when he isn't soaking up UV, any worries just ask, thats what we are here for
Pics would be great, we love pictures

You definitely need a UVB bulb and a basking lamp. Under Tank Heater heaters are not the best way to heat a vertical, screened enclosure. You are running the risk of your cham developing Metabolic Bone Disease if you do not get them a UVB bulb, which should be on 12 hrs a day. Set up a natural light/dark schedule like they would get in the wild.

Live plants would be better - they help with humidity, and also help monitor the conditions of the cage. Do you know the humidity in the cage?

What kind of temperature gradient do you have set up? You need a basking spot and a place where they can retreat that should be cooler.

Are you gutloading and supplementing the prey items? Mixing up types of prey can be helpful as well, as chams sometimes get "bored" with prey items.

I would recommend that you get this book: "Chameleons: Their Care and Breeding" by Linda Davidson - excellent info on all areas of chameleon husbandry - you can order it at amazon.com.

Hope all that helps.

Greg

Clyde currently has a 50w basking spot lamp from ZooMed. No where can I find a UV rate on the packaging. I have been considering putting "Daylight Bulbs in the lights around him in the room. This would be until Clyde's larger cage arrives. I have an 18X18X36 screen cage on it's way. Hopefully he will enjoy the space to roam. I want to put a drip system in his cage and am considering a water fall as well. Of course Clyde's beloved leaf bowl will also move to his new home. I want to create an easy to clean environment that he will also love. I do have some more questions on cage set-up.

1. Water falls? I have heard mixed reviews for chameleons. I clean cages every weekend so I would not think it would be a problem and our Anole loves hers. Whats your opinion?

2. Drip systems? Since Clyde lives in the bedroom as well as my wife, I need to make Clyde's set-up look good on the outside to promote domestic tranquility. With that in mind, I am looking at a drip vine made from Nature Zone that has water pumped up to the top of the cage and then drips out of the vine/leaves. The pump and tanks are hidden so you would only see a line to the top of the cage and a control valve. The catch pan and drain line could be hidden. Much more complicated but should look much better. Anyone have any experience with this type of set-up?

3. Flooring? I have read somewhere that the lizard mulchs of different varieties can cause problems. What about the lizard carpet? I could change it every week while washing out the carpet from the week before. What do you use?

4. Plants? I currently only have fake plants in Clyde's home but would like to have live one's as well. What do you use and suggest?

5. Heat? What are the heat requirements for Clyde? He currently lives between 70 and 85 degrees fahrenheit.

6. Humidity? How humid should Clyde be kept? Normally he is between 35%and 45% now. That is between misting 2 to 3 times a day.

Thanks

Hello Richard, I see you found your way here before I could respond to your email, I sent you a basic care sheet and some info. But it was hard to find. Here's the link again in case you haven't received it yet. http://www.adcham.com/html/taxonomy/...chellioti.html
By the way, Welcome to HC.

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Humidity @ 80%
Heat gradient 85 day-60 night
Drip system is a necessity
And they do enjoy occasional basking in the sun, just not too hot.

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Answers are great. But I prefer questions!

Visit me at www.jaysreptiles.com