In recent years chameleons stopped being a rarity in house terrariums. They are rather easily tamed, well adapt to life in bondage. However, providing comfortable conditions of dwelling of your exotic pet, will demand some efforts.
Instruction
1. Do not take rare species of anolis as their contents demands creation of conditions which are sometimes difficult to be provided. Better than others leopard, ordinary and Yemen chameleons are suitable for contents in a terrarium.
2. For the maintenance of a chameleon it is necessary to get a vertical aquarium which sizes have to be not less than 50х50х120 for a male and 40х50х80 for a female. It is undesirable to use for this purpose wooden boxes as the tree absorbs smells and water that can lead to emergence of a mold, and it is inadmissible. If all of you lodged the pet in a wooden cage, then when cleaning do not wash it at all. Process an internal surface an emery paper and wipe with slightly damp fabric, then disinfect and you dry in the sun not less than one hour. You carry out cleaning at least once a month.
3. Take care of ventilation. Good ventilation is provided by the grid replacing one of walls of a cage or an aquarium. However such option is dangerous to a chameleon as, he can get on a grid. At the same time there is a danger that having hooked on an animal for a grid cell by a claw, will break an extremity or will even die, without having managed to be released independently. For ensuring ventilation the top cover and one of sidewalls of an aquarium have to have openings.
4. Illumination of a terrarium has to be very good. It is the best of all to get fluorescent lamps (simple lamps are an additional source of heat).
5. Cover an aquarium bottom with pebble or gravel (about 2.5 cm), then charcoal for absorption of a smell (0.6 cm), and from above a layer of the sandy soil (2.5 cm). Place plants in plastic pots. For watering take out them from an aquarium. Put pots back only after water flows down. Provide to the pet the vacation spot (the piece of the twisted bark will approach, for example) and branches for a lasagna, at the different levels.
6. You watch temperature, it has to be not less than 28 degrees in the afternoon, and 22 – at night. Temperature and humidity have to be various at the different levels. The animal itself will find the most comfortable for itself the place. For maintenance of necessary humidity (70 – 90%) equip a terrarium with the small fountainlet.
7. It is possible to feed chameleons from a feeding trough (a plastic or glass jar with low edges), or from tweezers. The main forage – insects. Chameleons are eaten willingly crickets, zoofobus, large exotic cockroaches, flour flies and worms. The forage can be bought in pet-shop, and some species of insects (for example, crickets) it is possible to catch or part. Adult insects with great pleasure eat pieces of fruit (bananas, grapes, a citrus).
8. In the nature the chameleons carry out the most part of life on trees and drink, pinching water droplets from leaves of plants. In bondage it is possible to give to drink to them from the pipette or the syringe. With the same purpose of a plant daily spray with water. The small fountainlet or the pomp providing the falling water stream will also help to give to drink your pets.
9. Chameleons – territorial animals. Therefore it is better to support only one individual in a terrarium. If you want to support two or more animals together, then take care of an aquarium of the bigger area that it was possible to differentiate the territory by means of dense "thickets".