chameleon

[dec11]

anyone here had experience of keeping these little guys? ive had numerous snakes in the past and am interested in getting a chameleon now, thing is im researching the net to see stories of how notoriously difficult they are to maintain, exact temperatures etc. any 1st hand info would be appreciated, cheers.

[stevey_6t9]

[cobra305]

I worked at an exotic animal hospital back in the day and we had one. We just let him move around the clinic at his will which was very little. We fed him crickets and had to give him water througha syringe. Pretty boring pet though but not high maintanance from my experience.

[Mr.Rose]

Like cobra said they are boring as hell, but if like me you love animals, espesh reptiles, and own every one under the sun, then they are a must have, but they are EXTREMELY difficult to maintain, especially as little hatchlings, i DO NOT recommend you get a hatchling, you will more than likely kill it without a accurate thermostat, humidity monitor and the likes. Also charms only drink MOVING water DROPS. So you need to get a drip system set up.

As adults they are easier to maintain, depends on the species, but they do need a UV lamp, pref with 33%+ UVA and 5-10% UVB. Also as adults they do need a large cage.

Anything you want to know specifically?

Also they have their own personalities and you will learn how they are feeling over time, as their skin color changes, each one is dif so i cant give you specifics, but black means he is not happy.

[Mr.Rose]

Stevey man, no one wants to see a picture of you! Think of the children man, you will scare them half to death rearing you ugly head out!!

[dec11]

Like cobra said they are boring as hell, but if like me you love animals, espesh reptiles, and own every one under the sun, then they are a must have, but they are EXTREMELY difficult to maintain, especially as little hatchlings, i DO NOT recommend you get a hatchling, you will more than likely kill it without a accurate thermostat, humidity monitor and the likes. Also charms only drink MOVING water DROPS. So you need to get a drip system set up.

As adults they are easier to maintain, depends on the species, but they do need a UV lamp, pref with 33%+ UVA and 5-10% UVB. Also as adults they do need a large cage.

Anything you want to know specifically?

Also they have their own personalities and you will learn how they are feeling over time, as their skin color changes, each one is dif so i cant give you specifics, but black means he is not happy.

just the general gist of how difficult they are to keep, as i say, ive kept loadsa snakes in my time so am familiar with reptiles in general and viv set up. i think i'll go for an adult then, cheers 4 the info mate

[Mr.Rose]

Yeh snakes are easy, I've bred my far share of corn snakes, i used to sell them, and had more than enough pythons and the like, i tried to get a red belly black snake but my license class isnt level III yet, sad. You from Australia?

Adults are easy, hatchlings are a bitch for day 1 to about 30 days of age, after that it gets simpler. Just keep a nice heat gradient, a strong UV lamp, daily mistings, some real plants to keep humidity high, a dripping system for drinking water, and most importantly a QUITE non high traffic environment, as they hate a noisy area's, it scares them. Also keep heaps of foliage and branches everywhere, they love to climb and hide around. I find that mine used to love a big log or leaf on the wall as it would spend msot of its time near it camouflaged the same colour as it, it made it feel safe.

[taiboxa]

screw chameleons .. heres what ya need.. BICHIRS!!!

[Mr.Rose]

That is a horrible tank setup for those fish, that is cruel, they need a bigger tank. Trust me, i work as a manager of a pet shop for 5 years. Animals and fish are my life.

[taiboxa]

That is a horrible tank setup for those fish, that is cruel, they need a bigger tank. Trust me, i work as a manager of a pet shop for 5 years. Animals and fish are my life.

lol its a 150gal.. trust me.. i have years and years of studies in aquatic life.. and i would never spend 75-150$$ for each Fish in there to have an inadequate habitat. they have more than enough room

[dec11]

woa, mean looking fish!! i also would like a fully loaded aquarium of colourful fish, but a decent set up in ireland runs you almost 2000 euro!!

[stevey_6t9]

i keep fish too, that really doesnt look like a 150gal.

i have 10 african cichlids in a 75gal and even thats crammed.

wen was the last time u cleaned ya tank lol

[dec11]

Yeh snakes are easy, I've bred my far share of corn snakes, i used to sell them, and had more than enough pythons and the like, i tried to get a red belly black snake but my license class isnt level III yet, sad. You from Australia?

Adults are easy, hatchlings are a bitch for day 1 to about 30 days of age, after that it gets simpler. Just keep a nice heat gradient, a strong UV lamp, daily mistings, some real plants to keep humidity high, a dripping system for drinking water, and most importantly a QUITE non high traffic environment, as they hate a noisy area's, it scares them. Also keep heaps of foliage and branches everywhere, they love to climb and hide around. I find that mine used to love a big log or leaf on the wall as it would spend msot of its time near it camouflaged the same colour as it, it made it feel safe.

no im from rep ireland mate. we dont need a licence here, venomous snakes are all the rage here at the mo, which i think is utterly crazy, any idiot can go in and buy cobras, mangroves and vipers etc!!! hell, you dont even need a licence to keep big cats! ive had boas, pythons, corns, milks.

i'll have to overcome my creepy crawly fears now if i want a chameleon, hate the thought of crickets lol

[alexISthrowed]

screw chameleons .. heres what ya need.. BICHIRS!!!

What kind of fish are those at the bottom? I always wanted a clown knife fish. I had an oscar and a pacu and they were pretty cool fish. To the op I dont have any chameleon experience but I did have a bearded dragon for 8 years. It was a really cool lizard with alot of personality.

[Mr.Rose]

Sorry tai, but i would never put a clown knife in a tank like that, he dosnt even have a cave to hide in, please put a terracotta pot or something in, also that tanks a bit small for a big knife fish.

Get more plants, and the film algae will subside, maybe a golden Chinese sucker fish to eat it,

[taiboxa]

Sorry tai, but i would never put a clown knife in a tank like that, he dosnt even have a cave to hide in, please put a terracotta pot or something in, also that tanks a bit small for a big knife fish.

Get more plants, and the film algae will subside, maybe a golden Chinese sucker fish to eat it,

real plants dont work.. they get torn up from them feeding and just clog the filters.. so i resorted to tons of fake plants, its too costly and too much work to keep real plants in their w/ predatory fish.. i have probably spent well over 3+grand on plants/plant supplementation, special plant foods and special plant substrates over the past 5-6years, the clownknife has happy home in the back now behind all the plastic bamboo vinery

[Mr.Rose]

Yeh thats true, thats why you need to have a well established plant tank ebfore you add predators. When a planted tank is well established the roots are so deep and strong that they cannot be torn out. I specialize in planted tanks, espesh CO2 fed planted aquariums. I've grown and propagated every plant and coral i can get my hand on.

I'm sure he can live in that tank, but if i ever had a nice sized knife like that i would have a 5-6 foot tank, more than likley a 6ft tank with plently of plants and logs. But i just love the look of a planted tank more then the fish, .

[Mr.Rose]

Also with the filters, i hate canisters, i run a sump setup with an overflow on all my tanks, that keeps unsightly looking equipment out of the main tank. I do the galsswork myself so its cheap/.

[taiboxa]

Yeh thats true, thats why you need to have a well established plant tank ebfore you add predators. When a planted tank is well established the roots are so deep and strong that they cannot be torn out. I specialize in planted tanks, espesh CO2 fed planted aquariums. I've grown and propagated every plant and coral i can get my hand on.

I'm sure he can live in that tank, but if i ever had a nice sized knife like that i would have a 5-6 foot tank, more than likley a 6ft tank with plently of plants and logs. But i just love the look of a planted tank more then the fish, .

no wrong.. they actually SCOOP UP and MOVE the rocks w/ their mouths and make nests and dwellings.. i have had them uproot plants that had 14-16inch root systems..
i have also created shelters for the knife at one time w/ lots of driftwood and timber but as he got bigger he just seemed to prefer open area as hiding place or any kind of shelter.. and since he exhibited no signs of stress i figured thats what he wanted.. and the tank is 56''x30'' as i like deeper tanks

[taiboxa]

Also with the filters, i hate canisters, i run a sump setup with an overflow on all my tanks, that keeps unsightly looking equipment out of the main tank. I do the galsswork myself so its cheap/.

sumps are great imo for multi tank setups but for a single, i'd never bother with it, but doing the glass work your self would be handy

[Mr.Rose]

Yeh my ghost knifes always move my 'furniture' around but they can never uproot my plants. I think you need to slow down on the tren with your knife, . I've never even had giant yabbies uproot plants, or even giant catfish. But like i said, my plants are geared up on CO2, , its like test for plants. As long as teh fish is happy and nice and fat, . Ever threw in a few guppies and goldfish feeders for him to chase around?

All my single tanks have sumps, even my baby nano reef tank to be is 1 foot cube and has a 8" cube sump and a 8" cube refugium underneath its cabinet.

[taiboxa]

Yeh my ghost knifes always move my 'furniture' around but they can never uproot my plants. I think you need to slow down on the tren with your knife, . I've never even had giant yabbies uproot plants, or even giant catfish. But like i said, my plants are geared up on CO2, , its like test for plants. As long as teh fish is happy and nice and fat, . Ever threw in a few guppies and goldfish feeders for him to chase around?

All my single tanks have sumps, even my baby nano reef tank to be is 1 foot cube and has a 8" cube sump and a 8" cube refugium underneath its cabinet.

yeah i go through about 2.5lbs of minnows/goldfish a week on these eating whorebags.. they can eat.. 200 med siz goldfish in just 2-3days if i let them.. and its hard to explain but they can and will uproot the plants by relocating the substrate.. i will wake up in the morning and maybe.. 8-12lbs of substrate .. all moved from one side of the tank to the other like enough to fill a freakin 5gal bucket.. and its SUCH a bich to move back since it really stirs up the water even more.. all the mineral enriched fluorite and black amazon type of substrate always cause water discoloration when disturbed.. so gay.


reef tanks are diff.. i'd opt out for specialized filtration w/ a refug for them but for an amazonian style habitat .. it just never meshed well for me

[Mr.Rose]

Ahh i see now, my substrate is at least 3 times deeper than yours, and it is primary sand, thats why my plants cant get uprooted. Like i said my tanks are all planted setups so the deep substrate is for them, the fish are just accessories. The combination of dense sand and deep substrate is why mine always stay rooted.

I stay clear of fluorite for that reason, when its disturbed all hell breaks loose. You can buy those chemicals from a fish shop that bind to the particles in the water and sink them to the bottom clearing up the water.

Yeh, imagine working at a aquarium? Imagine the amount of food we go through? We would bulk order fresh sardines and shrimp from fisheries to feed our marines and predators.

[taiboxa]

Ahh i see now, my substrate is at least 3 times deeper than yours, and it is primary sand, thats why my plants cant get uprooted. Like i said my tanks are all planted setups so the deep substrate is for them, the fish are just accessories. The combination of dense sand and deep substrate is why mine always stay rooted.

I stay clear of fluorite for that reason, when its disturbed all hell breaks loose. You can buy those chemicals from a fish shop that bind to the particles in the water and sink them to the bottom clearing up the water.

Yeh, imagine working at a aquarium? Imagine the amount of food we go through? We would bulk order fresh sardines and shrimp from fisheries to feed our marines and predators.

yeah i used to have 2x 20gal tank set ups for feeders alone.. one w/ golds and another w/ guppies and ghost shrimp.. worked ok but more trouble than its worth for me.

thing is my substrate is really deep.. a buddy of mine said if its too deep.. especially in a predatory tank w/ lots of FISH bits get dropped to bottom.. it can cause the wrong type of bacteria to bloom because i have almost 6'' of substrate? or close to it..

used to have 2-3 inch but then i kept buying more and more and more of finer and finer grade in hopes of having the plants attain a deeper root system.. but it seemed like the more substrate i put in.. the more and more they bichers and knife would move it.. like they scoop it up in their mouth.. almost a 2tbl's worth of substrate .. swim to other side of tank..and barf it up.. and THEY ALL DO THIS!! all night long.. u get like 8-14 fishies.. shoveling 2tbls a load all night long.. ****ers are their own lil excavation team.. i'd wake up and all my plants would be FLOATING or suckd up into the filters or torn apart.. so i was like fine you lil shyts n' i took all the plants out and they stopped.. dont know why they had that mentality.. it was like they were going to spawn.. but the water temperature wasnt indicative of their spawning season.. it was too cold (i keep them cold so they dont eat so much)

[stevey_6t9]

Yeh my ghost knifes always move my 'furniture' around but they can never uproot my plants. I think you need to slow down on the tren with your knife, . I've never even had giant yabbies uproot plants, or even giant catfish. But like i said, my plants are geared up on CO2, , its like test for plants. As long as teh fish is happy and nice and fat, . Ever threw in a few guppies and goldfish feeders for him to chase around?

All my single tanks have sumps, even my baby nano reef tank to be is 1 foot cube and has a 8" cube sump and a 8" cube refugium underneath its cabinet.

fuk having a salt water, way to hard to keep. coral is just to expensive if u dont know what ur doing.

show us a few pics of ur tanks rosie, il post a few of mine up later

[dec11]

[taiboxa]

pft not even! pets are pets!

[stevey_6t9]

agreed. pet fish are worthy of a hijack.

[dec11]

pft not even! pets are pets!

then start a pets thread you cheeky f*ck!!!

[taiboxa]

then start a pets thread you cheeky f*ck!!!

i have years ago.. NO ONE BOTHERED! it was epic fail.. so its just easier to "Join" other peoples pet threads >:[