HOW BIG TERRARIUM SHOULD I BUY FOR MY CHAMELEON?
The first consideration when choosing a terrarium is what species are you buying for? For helmeted chameleons you need a larger home, while for pantherchameleons a slightly smaller home will do. The reason for this is their final size. Of course, this doesn't mean you can't buy a larger size for both species, but it should be taken into account when deciding on the minimum size. The bigger the better!
In this article we're focusing specifically on the pantherchameleons, so if you're thinking of buying a helmeted chameleon, you should bear in mind that they need a larger terrarium.
Are you adding a male or female chameleon to your family? Let's be clear from the start that a male chameleon will need more space. Let's see this in numbers!
The minimum recommended size for a male chameleon is 60 cm wide X 50 cm deep X 90 cm high. If you have more space at home, you should increase the width first of all.
For female chameleons, the minimum recommended size is 40 cm wide X 40 cm deep X 80 cm high. If more space is available at home, increase the width first and then the depth.
Good to know
Choose the width of the terrarium to match the size of the UVB lamp, otherwise it will either be too short or too long.
For the length of our recommended Arcadia UVB lamps, we prefer a terrarium width of 60-90-120 cm.
We've already gone over the terrarium size, but what else should you look out for?
- There should be a ventilation strip at the front of the terrarium. The wider the better!
- At the top of the terrarium, make the vent as large as possible. It is best to have a large vent (up to the entire top of the terrarium) so that the UVB lamp can be comfortably placed next to the heat lamp, but still leave room for adequate air circulation.
Terrarium with or without background?
Backgrounds are of little importance to the chameleon, they actually take away from its space. However, to the human eye, it still looks more natural, it is more aesthetically pleasing to see some sort of background behind your animal. Available in different colours and shapes, there is something for everyone.
One type of background also has so-called planting pockets, where you can place plants, so you can provide plants for your chameleon throughout the terrarium.
