Vivarium(s)

[aluno]

Hi guys, mainly a fish man myself but the missus wants chameleons (i think thats how you spell it) for christmas and i have a rather large fish tank laying around, would it be possible to use this as a vivarium, its an aquaone 850,
also can anyone give me any tips or advice about buying them, maintaining and feeding for these animals as ill have to buy it all for xmas time,

thanks guys, all input appreciated

 

[kimberlina]

I have two snakes and i use old fish tanks for both of them. u just have to make sure the lid is secure, and you have appropriate lights and heating sources. i've never kept chameleons so i dont know much about their requirements. but i know that they can get really really big so make sure you have a massive tank for more than one. and they need to climb with branches and stuff.

on the whole i think that the fish tank idea is a good one and will work. just check the requirements first.

hope this helps!

 

[cheesy feet]

Hi guys, mainly a fish man myself but the missus wants chameleons (i think thats how you spell it) for christmas and i have a rather large fish tank laying around, would it be possible to use this as a vivarium, its an aquaone 850,
also can anyone give me any tips or advice about buying them, maintaining and feeding for these animals as ill have to buy it all for xmas time,

thanks guys, all input appreciated

Chameleons are more for the specialist and require looking after through out the day.They vary alot from species to species.
Has your wife had any experience with other reptiles? Has she been researching them?
If she hasn't I would STRONGLY reccomend you do not get one for christmas.
Looking up the aqua one 850 is very small and I don't know what chameleon it would be sufficient for, however from research they require plenty of air circulation, so a glass tank is definetely not ideal.
Enclosure info
A read through all those pages and research from books plus other websites is what is needed.Also familiarise yourself with common symtoms for diseases as I lost my first chinese water dragon , a less demanding lizard, to not doing this.
:forgot to add height in the enclosure is much, much, more important than length with most species.

 

[eschaton]

Most Chameleons are too big and messy for standard vivariums. Actually, a bird-cage like thing with a fake tree works a lot better for their needs.

If you want one in a vivarium though, you ought to get one of the pygmy species from the Genus Rhampholeon, Rieppeleon, or Brookesia. Rhampholeon and Rieppeleon are cheaper and easier to find, but a bit larger (3 to 4 inches). Some Brookesia species are under an inch long!

A lot of these species live in the mountains, and thus do better with slightly cooler temperatures (mid 70s). Whatever you consider, make sure to get captive-bred, not wild-caught and research the heck out of it.

 

[fall-apart-dave]

Tanks are NOT suitable for chameleons, they need to climb upwards and need quite a bit of space. making your own enclosure from vivarium net works well, and it means you can put a large house plant in there for them too. My LFS has quite a few different species in at the moment (they also have a very large monitor lizard stomping about the place!), and the enclosures are all very tall, the largest being about 7 feet tall. They are not an easy animal to keep, and are not a good starter reptile. There are much easier ones out there to keep, cheaper to buy, and much less specialist.

PS

Where abouts are you?

 

[fish_master]

i would sugest a exo terra flexarium would be very suitibal for one

 

[The_Dude]

Get anoles, a lot of pet stores label them as "American Chameleons" but they're really more closely related to iguanas. They only have two colors, green and brown and change between the two, but are easier to care for than true Chams.

 

[eschaton]

Tanks are NOT suitable for chameleons, they need to climb upwards and need quite a bit of space. making your own enclosure from vivarium net works well, and it means you can put a large house plant in there for them too. My LFS has quite a few different species in at the moment (they also have a very large monitor lizard stomping about the place!), and the enclosures are all very tall, the largest being about 7 feet tall. They are not an easy animal to keep, and are not a good starter reptile. There are much easier ones out there to keep, cheaper to buy, and much less specialist.

I'm sorry, but as I said above you, while this is true for the larger species like Jacksons or Panther Chameleons, it isn't true for all of them. Some Chameleons are small and not arboreal.

Rieppeleon brevicaudatus care sheet

In a tank of his size, he ought to be able to fit four of these.

Introduction to Brookesia

He could fit anywhere from four to twelve Brookesia in the same tank depending upon the size.

Now, these are not all cheap chameleons, at least in the U.S., though some of the species can be acquired for around $10 to $15.

Of course, it depends on what you like. Personally, I like small reptiles a lot better than honking big chameleons you can feed mice to when fully grown, but that's just me.

 

[fall-apart-dave]

I was under the impression that ventilation and air movement was important? I could be wrong though!

But yes you have about re: size, I stand corrected!

 

[aluno]

Wow guys thanks for all the help,

what would you guys recommend as a starter reptile, the last thing i want is for a new year tradgedy,

i was looking at some gekos, how much would i be looking to pay for them as i have no idea and dont want to get stung.

thanks for the help

P.S swansea UK im from

 

[eschaton]

Supposedly the best thing to get started with is Leopard geckos. However, if I were in your position, I would pick up some Crested or Gargoyle geckos. They have the following benefits as captive animals

1. Can handle room temperature just fine, though a basking light is helpful. Just make sure the temperature doesn't get about 27 during the day, and below 10 at night.
2. Do not need UV light for health.
3. Don't mind handling.
4. Captive bred - and easy to breed in captivity.
5. The number one thing by far - you don't need to feed them live insects. There is a packaged Gecko food (Repashy) which has all their nutritional requirements. The reason they're okay with eating dead food is fruit makes up a substantial portion of their diet in the wild. Of course, if you want to feed live food as a treat, that's good for them too, but there is no nutritional need.

Probably the one negative is that they are very prone to dropping their tails, and the tails do not grow back. Doesn't seem to hurt them one bit though.

 

[adam98150]

Hi guys, mainly a fish man myself but the missus wants chameleons (i think thats how you spell it) for christmas and i have a rather large fish tank laying around, would it be possible to use this as a vivarium, its an aquaone 850,
also can anyone give me any tips or advice about buying them, maintaining and feeding for these animals as ill have to buy it all for xmas time,

thanks guys, all input appreciated

Please, research which reptile you are wanting to keep for a few weeks before you buy. As some require constant care.
'A Chameleon is not just for Christmas'

Good luck.

 

[aluno]

Please, research which reptile you are wanting to keep for a few weeks before you buy. As some require constant care.
'A Chameleon is not just for Christmas'

Good luck.

i 100% agree thats why im talking to you guys,

Supposedly the best thing to get started with is Leopard geckos. However, if I were in your position, I would pick up some Crested or Gargoyle geckos. They have the following benefits as captive animals

1. Can handle room temperature just fine, though a basking light is helpful. Just make sure the temperature doesn't get about 27 during the day, and below 10 at night.
2. Do not need UV light for health.
3. Don't mind handling.
4. Captive bred - and easy to breed in captivity.
5. The number one thing by far - you don't need to feed them live insects. There is a packaged Gecko food (Repashy) which has all their nutritional requirements. The reason they're okay with eating dead food is fruit makes up a substantial portion of their diet in the wild. Of course, if you want to feed live food as a treat, that's good for them too, but there is no nutritional need.

Probably the one negative is that they are very prone to dropping their tails, and the tails do not grow back. Doesn't seem to hurt them one bit though.

that sounds great, any ideas on price? sounds ideal for what i want, shell love them,

yet agin you guys pull through!

 

[eschaton]

Cresteds seem to run from 50 pounds to 120 pounds in the UK from what I see online. Keep in mind that there are now a lot of captive-bred color varieties, and you pay more the more rare your color is (though buying the fancy colors is probably useless unless you want to breed them). And they seem to live for at least ten years (no one is sure because they've only been kept in captivity since 1994)

 

[aluno]

hey guys, struggling to find a crested or gargoyle geko, i can find leapord gekos though is that a good alternative, guy in the shop said they need a light and heat mat but apart from that theyre cool.

any ideas?

thanks