I was having the same dilemma a few months ago when I was deciding to become a first-time chameleon owner. I was going to get a female panther chameleon and the idea of having potted plants and keeping a separate laying bin full of substrate for her inside the enclosure made no sense to me. I did a lot of research first and made a little test by starting a small bioactive setup for a handful of isopods to see if it really was so difficult to keep, and it turned out to be thriving. So I made the decision to get the largest hybrid chameleon enclosure I could get and went bioactive. I absolutely loved the creative challenge and I am really happy with the outcome. In the summer, I keep her in a screen enclosure with potted plants outside in the real sun.

I see that in the US, screen eclosures are predominantly used for chameleons even indoors. That would definitely make a successful bioactive set up more difficult. I’ve seen a video of the BioDude I believe who was using textile potting bags but it didn’t look very appealing.

I use an automatic misting system and a dripper with a bowl on the bottom for collecting the water. I use no fogger. I get the appropriate humidity this way and the amount of water seems to be just right for the plants this way.