Advice on first chameleon setup?

Hello all,

Mods, feel free to move this if it is in the wrong sub forum.

I am getting my supplies list together for my first setup and wanted your advice. I am planning on setting up an XL reptibreeze enclosure for a veiled chameleon. I will list my setup ideas and the items I'm intending to buy below and would appreciate any advice you can give.

Lighting: I'm looking at a fixture that has 2 T5 bulbs. I am planning on switching one out for a reptisun 5.0 uv bulb and keeping the other as a 6500k bulb. I may also add an LED spotlight for plant growth.

Heating: Depending on how things go with the LED spot, (I may not need another heat source), I will use an 8" dome fixture with a 75 watt heat lamp bulb.

Gauges / controls: I will be using a digital indoor / outdoor thermometer / hygrometer with probe to measure basking area, ambient (at bottom of cage) and humidity. I will use a rheostat on the heat lamp and check the basking area with a temp gun to adjust it as needed.

Water: Planning on a drip system for drinking with a large water dish at the bottom of cage to collect the runoff. I want to get the zoomed "big dripper" but know that I may have to do some modifications to make it work correctly. I was planning on getting some airline hose and some control valves. I will be hand-misting daily also. If you have any input on where the dripper should drip that would be great. (does it need to hit a leaf or branch, or just fall straight down?

Plants / accessories: I will start off using fake vine and foliage along with some oak branches for climbing but will plan on purchasing a ficus or other large plant and potting in organic soil.. Ideally, I'd like to do maybe 2-3 potted plants in the enclosure.

Feeding: I have a large dubia colony that I already use to feed my tree frogs. I am hoping that will be a good main food source, along with supplemented worms and grubs. I use bowls to feed dubia out of for my frogs and will probably try to rig some sort of hanging bowl setup... with the plan to use a magnetized feeder once I can order one. I'd appreciate your thoughts, as I do not want to feed / use crickets and want to make sure there is a good way to feed dubia without them getting lost in the enclosure. I love the design of those feeders, but am not sure if dubia would climb on them.

I would love your advice on how to attach items (vines, branches, etc.) to the sides of the enclosure. I do have zip ties on hand, but don't want to use methods that will greatly damage it (if possible). I would also appreciate your advice on bins or substrate containers that would fit this enclosure.

Please let me know if I missed anything or if you have any additional advice... This will be my first chameleon, so I am very open to suggestions.

Thank you for your time and help!

Congrats on getting your first Cham. It sounds like you are on the right track. As far as plants and accessories, the branches are a great idea. Definitely don't skimp on the leaves and make sure there are some pretty dense spots of foliage, as they like to have a "safe" spot (they'll usually end up sleeping there). A lot of people have good luck with ficus and they are definitely well suited, but I've always found them to be a little tough to keep healthy (I also am a notorious plant killer, so it's probably just me). Pothos are a great option. They are inexpensive, Cham safe, require no upkeep and they get very leafy and grow vines quickly, which are great for wrapping around branches and other vines. The leaves are nice and broad and hold water droplets really well. It's a good idea to cover the exposed soil with mesh or flat smooth rocks as a safeguard against your Cham ingesting and of the soil.
To attach branches and vines, floral wire works great and won't do too much damage to the screen. I drilled holes at the ends of my branches and attached them that way. For lightweight stuff, like fake vines, thumbtacks actually work really well.
For your drip system, you want the water to drip onto a leaf. Some chameleons love to catch the water mid drop, but most seem to like to have a spot to drink from. When hand misting, make sure to really soak everything to keep the humidity up in the screen cage. If down the line, you opt for a mist system, I highly recommend the MistKing. Although a slightly more expensive option, it's an excellent, reliable product and having everything on a timer makes it really convenient if you aren't home.
Dubia are an AWESOME food source. They are meaty, have very little chitin and are easy to keep. I find that a lot of the magnetic feeder bowls are too shallow. Although dubia don't climb, if one situates itself on top of the other, they start to be able to escape. You may be able to find a deeper bowl you can put in place of the bowl that the magnetic shelf comes with or there are some good options for making feeding bowls from deli cups and floral wire or magnets (less aesthetically pleasing, but gets the job done). When it comes to feeders for chams, it is really good to mix it up. Dubia are the perfect staple but chameleons can go on hunger strikes until they are offered something a little different that peaks their interest. Mine likes silkworms and I have a green banana roach colony that he goes NUTS for. I do give him the occasional super worm, hornworm and as much as I hate them, crickets.
For the bottom of the enclosure, I know you can buy those pull out trays. I actually use paper towel at the bottom of my enclosure. It's very easy to keep clean. Chams don't benefit from substrate and (although unlikely) can accidentally ingest it. Are you getting a female? Will you be needing to make a laying bin?
I'm sure I left out a million things. Let me know if I didn't answer anything or if posting some pictures of my enclosure would be helpful. The chameleon forum website is an excellent resource, there are tons of very experienced keepers that can offer advice.



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Thank you!
I did post on the chameleon forum (not here, but the chameleon forum website) and have not gotten much of a response so far.

I have not gotten a cham yet...was considering a veiled because my local store had them on sale and have had them a long time (thus a lot larger than a baby)... But when I went to look today, they were down to one and I *think* it was a female. I'd prefer to not start with a female due to the laying issues but I am considering it because starting with a less expensive (and hardy) animal might be good practice before I invest in a more expensive cham... and I wouldn't mind providing a laying bin.

That said, I am waiting and may end up buying from a breeder online...I am considering either a veiled or panther and I would appreciate breeder recs. if you know of any that sell healthy entry-level CBB.

If everything goes well, I'd eventually like to invest in a dragon strand enclosure and do a full planted bioactive setup.. But I figure starting with a simpler setup will work for now while i'm learning.

With the misting: I think I will try a drip system and hand mist for now, but will def. consider a mist king if I have a hard time keeping humidity up.

I would greatly appreciate pics of your setup or any other tips you may have. :)

Thanks for your time and help!