Chameleon Vivarium
Top 5 Things to Know about a Chameleon Vivarium
A chameleon vivarium is where a chameleon can be housed, if you choose to have a lizard as a pet. Chameleons live among trees in nature and so you should try and recreate this environment when constructing a vivarium. By using its natural living conditions as a guideline, you can easily provide a good habitat for your pet.
Chameleons appreciate a lot of space and experts recommend that a chameleon cage should have minimum dimensions of 3 feet X 3 feet X 4 feet. If you are able to provide a larger space, that makes it all the better.
Chameleons need a foliage heavy living environment. For one, if offers lots of privacy and helps the lizard find hidden areas and for another it enables it to have different levels to climb and explore. So by ensuring that there are plants of varied size and shape, you can help with the physical and psychological health of your pet chameleon. Choose plants that have varied diameter stalks or trunks. Make sure that none of the plants are purely decorative and toxic as there is a high probability of your pet consuming some of it while exploring. Some chameleon owners put is artificial and real plants mixed together. It is an important part of vivarium maintenance to clean these plants regularly. Wiping the leaves with a damp cloth will get rid of any dust build up. As part of creating a natural environment for chameleons, you can also put in a substrate of moss, gravel, bark coconut coir or sand. Choose something that is relatively easy to clean and it may be a good idea to replace the substrate every month as it is extremely unhygienic to have unclean substrate.
It is of critical importance that the vivarium should have plenty of ventilation. Air circulation can be ensured by using a vivarium that has screens on three sides. This will make the chameleon feel less caged in – it is important to use vinyl coated wires or poly mesh for screening because exposed metal wires can cut into the paws of the chameleon when it is climbing. Those who choose to make their vivariums from structures such as book shelves or a wardrobe should cut or drill enough opening to make the vivarium well ventilated. These opening will have to be covered with mesh or net.
There should be access to sunlight and there should be basking areas in the vivarium. If you are not able to find a location where the natural sunlight access seems adequate, consider using fluorescent lights and heat lamps to create basking areas. Ideally, the basking lamps should be outside the vivarium to reduce the danger of the chameleon getting burnt by getting too close. Interestingly, all the basking areas do not have to be at the same temperature. Creating a range of temperatures seems work well for these creatures and you will have to do research on the specific species you choose to reach an optimal range.
Last but not the least is ensuring that the vivarium has a source of water supply. Water is important for chameleons and they do not usually drink from a dish. Ideally the vivarium should have a drip system or a mister because this will cause droplets to fall from leaves and recreate the way chameleons drink water in nature. The mister or drip system will also play a part if creating a humid environment which is ideal for chameleons.
By focusing on these essentials, you can be assured of creating an exciting home for your pet and you can sit down and enjoy the antics of the lizard.