Lets just take a minute and ask these questions !
When is screen bad? When is screen good? Also what TYPES of SCREEN .
We all are using some kind of caging materials. And blanket statements that something is BAD or GOOD usually makes for problems.. If you have babies (chameleons) and are raising them to keep for your very own and want to keep them in a screen cage ..
As babies the small mesh window screen is just fine ! Until about mid size! Then it is completely to the animals advantage to use larger mesh screen . Small mesh screen will allow you to toss in pinhead crickets and your animal will do just fine eating free roaming crickets. Also allowing the poop to fall to the bottom and dry before it is consumed as water (This happens .. I will admit not that often ...But sure as we are sitting here it happens) Breeding larger amounts of chameleons this process works to your advantage ..
However if you were to just have one or two babies feeding from a deli cup has it's advantages. You can count cricket intake better . Then you can use the larger mesh size wire!
When we (all of us) talk about toe problems we should first of all report as to the animals origin .. Captive born animals do not have this problem as much as the wild caught animals do ..Wild caught JACKSONS are notorious for toe problems. Adult male larger chameleons also can be candidates for toe problems.
If your cage is large enough to house a large enough plant, your captive born animal will spend very little time on the enclosure material ! If you have a large wild caught chameleon it is no doubt going to be spending time on the caging material . Also it will be roaming the entire cage ..
If you have been to your local Pet chain store and made a purchase from a very nice pet store employee that was told by his/her employer "The chameleons in this tank are all captive born " You probably have a wild caught animal ..
The absolute worst toe problems I have seen have been on wild caught animals kept in wood cages with 1/4 galvanized wire. It was not the wood that was the culprit, but is was in fact the wire was galvanized and the issue that the cage was to small .Do the toe nails regenerate ? Any lost toenails I have seen do not !
Is it best to treat the animal for infection caused by wounded toes .. You bet it is ! Toe problems can be fatal if left untreated .
What do you use for treatment ? Topical antibiotic ointments !
Or better yet ! A trip to a VET ! That's correct! Remember we discussed the fact that unattended toe problems can kill your chameleon .. So can improper treatment of a problem we (all of us ) are not familiar with or haven't any training in dealing with ..How do I avoid toe problems ? Proper size cage! Proper size mesh ! Proper sized plant inside the cage ! Proper type of plant ! (non toxic plant ) Avoid wild caught animals if possible . Keeping a keen eye out for this problem.
Do all chameleons get toe problems ? No ! It's a small percentage that do .
The screen to the left is the small screen (window screen )
The screen to the rite is the large mesh (chameleon friendly)
Why do you offer the small screen if it creates problems ? The small mesh screen is an excellent material for small to half grown chameleons, Frogs , Anoles , Geckos . In other words .. It has is place in reptile enclosures.
Do you offer other types of materials for cages ? YES we sure do . As some of us well know "Suntex" can be a very affective material in keeping chameleons and geckos as well as frogs .. We have been producing cages made of Suntex for some time now . Suntex is a soft almost cloth like material . It's biggest down fall is the ability to see through it ..Below is a sample of the optical clarity of this material ..
Usually cages made using SUNTEX are made using SUNTEX on three sides of the cage. The back and the sides . The top and front are made using the wire allowing you to view your animals ..
Click here to return to Chameleon FAQ
