It is very important to have a natural-like environment when creating your chameleon's
home and enclosure. The proper enclosure for all chameleons (no matter what species) is an
ALL-SCREENED CAGE. This allows the right ventilation that the chameleon
needs, and it will also reduce stress factors. It will also give the chameleon
visible boundary, which creates a natural-like environment. NEVER put a
chameleon in a glass aquarium. If the chameleon sees its reflection in the glass
it will get aggressive and attempt to fight its reflection thinking that it is
another chameleon. Plus, not getting the proper ventilation will cause it to ether die or get a lung
infection because the air inside a glass aquarium will become stagnant and it would
prevent fresh air from getting into the enclosure. Chameleons should have they're
own cage, not housed together in pairs, and should be out of view from others. I make my own cages, because it allows me to build it according to how I want it to look as well as
the available space I have in my house, and it can be a fun project too. However, if you just
want to buy a cage, you can find many different models at the web sites found in the links section.
Here are a few ideal cage sizes:
Baby chameleons and smaller species of chameleons
20"L x 16"W x 24"H
Juvenile chameleons and medium sized chameleons
24"L x 18"W x 30"H
Adult chameleons and large species of chameleons
30"L x 20"W x 38"H
Chameleons need ample space to exercise, hunt, bask, and sleep. For exercise, they
will need climbing branches and a live plant. Climbing branches and all other accessories
may be purchased at most pet stores. A product called Flexi-Branch is a common fake
branch that can be bent into any desired shape. This is a great accessory used for
climbing. There are also a number of fake plants that can be put into a chameleon's cage
for hiding, climbing, and exercise. All chameleon enclosures should have a live plant
because it provides fresh air and it creates a natural-like environment. A few of the most common live plants to put in
a chameleon's cage are Hibiscus and Pathos. I suggest Hibiscus because they
are great for navigation, and they are non-toxic. They also produce very pretty pink
flowers in the spring that chameleons love. Pathos plants are good too, but I have yet
to use one for any of my chameleons. One plant that I highly recommend to be AVOIDED is
the Ficus Tree. Ficus Trees are mildly toxic and are known to make a white milky
substance that has caused eye infections in captive born chameleons. Having a plant
in your cage is crucial because not only do they use the plant for navigation and
hunting, but it provides a more natural-like environment, it produces fresh air, and
chameleons also drink water from the leaves on the plant. For the bottom of the cage, many
people use paper towels, or plastic garbage bags because it is easier to clean up feces and
water puddles. I use wood chip products such as Bark Blend or Repti-Bark because paper towels and plastic garbage bags are not
natural. Wild chameleons don't have paper towels or plastic garbage bags underneath
their tree to catch rain or feces, so why should mine? Many people have stated that their chameleons have
swallowed a wood chip on accident while trying to catch a cricket or insect. Haven't you ever swallowed a little chicken bone or ice cube on accident before? Not too big of a deal...
I must say that in this case it could cause digestion problems, but this has never happened to me,
and if a chameleon does get a piece in its mouth, it will often spit it out before swallowing.
I am a firm believer of keeping a chameleon's environment as natural as possible. To make sure
your chameleon doesn't swallow and of the wood chips, just make sure that there are no
big pieces anywhere in the cage, and this will eliminate the scare of any problems.
The chameleon will need plenty of space to provide a natural-like environment for him/her to hunt. Also provide a plant and branches with various heights to allow him to catch his prey from different angles. By allowing your chameleon to have a natural-like environment this will help keep him from being stressful during eating time.
Your chameleon will need proper lighting to allow enough light while moving about during the day and hunting. I recommend Zoo-Med's Repti-Sun 5.0 UVA/UVB strip light, that can be purchased at most pet stores. This type of light will allow the chameleon to receive vitamin D3 through their skin. You will also need the proper light for a basking site. A basking site usually consists of a heating rock, and a basking light. For a basking light I just use a 100 Watt light bulb. It is an excellent heat source, and it is very cheap. Sometimes during the cold winter nights, I use Zoo-Med's Nocturnal Infrared Heat Lamp. It is a great source of heat, it produces vitamin D3 that chameleons absorb through their skin and it produces very little visible light so it will NOT disturb your chameleons sleeping patterns. A heating rock should be placed inside, on the bottom of the cage so the chameleon may go onto the rock at any time it desires. All lights should be placed outside and on top of the cage. If any of the lights are inside the cage the chameleon might get too close to it and get burned.
Typically, chameleons should have their own cage. They should not be housed together because chameleons are very territorial, males in particular. The only time that chameleons should be together is for mating time. Even then, when they are together, you must take caution of them, and watch them carefully.
On a final note, make sure to clean your chameleon's cage as directed. For more information on the cage cleaning, go to the cleaning the cage and environment section.
NEW PLANT DIRECTIONS
When you purchase a plant, you MUST clean it to remove bacteria and pesticides. Prepare 2 buckets; 1st bucket: fill all the way to the top with warm water, with a little bit of anti-bacterial soap mixed in with it. The 2nd bucket: fill it with just luke warm water. Then remove the plant from its original pot and get rid of all the original soil from the plant. Then turn the plant up side down and let the leaves and the trunk of the plant soak in the bucket of water with soap for about 3-5 minutes. Make sure to keep the roots from going inside the bucket. Next, remove it from this bucket, and do the same thing, with the plant up side down, let the leaves and the trunk of the plant soak in the bucket of just luke warm water. (Make sure to keep the roots from going inside the bucket). Then use a different pot (one that you want to be inside your chameleons cage) and replant it with NEW soil with no added conditioners or chemicals. Then you can place the new, clean plant and pot into the cage. I like to put some of the wood chips on top of the soil in the pot so it won't create a mud problem when I mist the cage and plant. That's it, you're done!
