Fischer's Chameleon general questions - FaunaClassifieds
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Old 11-17-2010, 11:43 PM   #1
steven1345
Talking Fischer's Chameleon general questions

Hello everyone. I'm brand new on these forums and generally new to the world of reptiles. I have recently purchased an Exo-Terra rainforest kit terarium and put a down payment on a sub-adult Fischer's Chameleon. As of right now I am getting his enclosure set up nicely (before i get him) in an attempt to reduce the stress put on the animal during the accimilation process.

Here is some general info about the enclosure. Please make any suggestions or comments about things I could change in order to give him a higher quality life.

-Basking space Temp: 80F
-Ambient Temp: 73F
-Night Temp: 69F
-The enclosure contains numerous fake plants and things to climb on
-No drip system (This is my main concern. The person whom I bought him from said the usually get their moisture from water droplettes on leaves. I know most WC chameleons are usually dehydrated, and since I can't tell if mine is WC or not so I would like to know if misting would be sufficient).
-Coconut fiber substrate ( I think that's what it's called)

Additional questions:
How often and what should he be fed?
How much should I expect him to eat?
What would you suggest as a UVB source?
Any calcium/multivitamin suggestions?

Please note: He is male and 1-1.5 years old MAX.

Thanks in Advance!

Steve
 
Old 11-18-2010, 08:38 AM   #2
polasian
Hi, Steven...welcome to FC

I've moved this from the Chameleons classifieds over to the Chameleons discussion forum. Good luck with your new hobby. You'll find this website to be very helpful with your herp endeavors (I bet I just jinxed this thread and it'll receive no feedback ).
 
Old 11-18-2010, 03:46 PM   #3
steven1345
Oh, thanks. I didn't even realize i put it in there. Sorry for the trouble.
 
Old 11-18-2010, 06:04 PM   #4
BigTattoo
Fischer's cham care

The good news is Fischer's are a fairly hardy cham. The bad news is chams in general do not do well in glass enclosures. Males especially will stress from seeing their reflection in the glass and will try but fail to dominate and drive away the reflection. They also require good ventilation to thrive. So it is recommended that chams be kept in enclosures that have screen on at least 3 sides. The remaining side can be wood or another non reflective surface. A screen top is also beneficial.

Fischer's also require lots of hiding spots so the enclosure should be heavily planted with cham safe live plants along with artificial plants and vines. Pothos vine and ficus trees are two highly recommended and most often used cham safe live plants. I prefer the pothos vine as it is more tolerant than the ficus. They also are not very expensive and can be wrapped around branches or dowel structures to create a nice habitat.

Fischer's can be found from mountainous regions down to lowland elevations. Since you are not sure if yours is WC or not it could be from either or somewhere in between. You will have to monitor him closely. If with your current temp range he spends all of his time basking near the hot spot you may need to increase your temps. If he spends all of his time down in the cooler zone you may need to lower temps. I think with the range you listed you possibly will find you may need to raise temps. Keep in mind if you don't have adequate hide spots your new cham may not stay in the best location due to lack of hides. Chams are very shy by nature and need lots of visual barriers, especially WC's.

A drip system is really the best way to go to be sure your cham gets adequate water for drinking. Trust me you are not going to want to stand there 2-3 times a day with a spray bottle misting the cage for 20-30 minutes at a time. This is how long it could take to make sure he gets adequate water. That is if he will even drink while your are misting his cage. Shy remember? Even with a drip system you will still want to mist the cage at least twice a day to keep humidity levels up.

A variety of insects is best crickets, roaches preferably a soft shelled variety like dubias, silkworms are excellent. Regular dusting with a good vitamin/mineral supplement like minerall or reptivite is important for most feedings. Once a week you should dust with a supplement containing vitamin D3 for calcium absorption. Do not use the D3 supplement daily as D3 can reach toxic levels if given too frequently.

Not to put to fine a point on it and by no means do I intend to offend you but chams are not a good lizard for beginners. Their care requirements and high maintenance put them more in the intermediate to advance category. Especially if it truly is a W/C and not a long term captive. Getting a fresh W/C to acclimate is very difficult at best and requires lots of experience. I'm sure that whoever you're purchasing your Fischer's from would be advertising it as captive bred unless it is W/C. It's a pretty safe bet if they don't say captive bred or LTC Long Term Captive it's direct from the wild.

I used to breed Jackson's chams and no longer do it because of the high maintenance.

Best of luck and hope this helps,
 
Old 02-19-2011, 05:02 AM   #5
bokbok
Im making a chem enclosure, im wondering if its better to make it out of wood and mesh or plexiglass?
 

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