Info for new keepers with young veiled or panther chameleons

When I had baby veileds this was the info that I provided to the new owners. Hopefully it will help you with your new veiled or panther. I have some additional information at the bottom for the female chameleon which should be handled differently.

You will need a starter cage to begin with. I'd get a cage no bigger than 30 high at the max to start with. Too big he will not be able to find his food. Even a little smaller would be good. lllreptiles has about the best cages for the money and get something small enough that it will fit in your car so you can use it for travel......vet visits and so forth when he moves up to a big boy cage (48 inches high) or a free range tree. http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/...ss-and-screen/

You need a Reptisun 5.0 tube light. You can see a pic of it here: It's the best UV bulb.
http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/...n-50-uvb-bulb/

You probably will not need a basking light right at first if he's young.....under 4 months old. He'll be so young he'll only need to bask at about 80 to 82 until 4 or 5 months old. Luie (my adult male veiled) bask at 88 or 89 for an adult panther 85. You can use a household bulb and you'll have to keep testing the temps. (25 to 40 watt or so)

Your lights need to be across the top of the cage and you need allot of vines and branches 8 inches or so down from the top.....under the lights. Veileds love to bask and you don't want him rubbing his veiled on the screen or he'll wear the top off.

You can buy the Little Dripper or you can make a homemade dripper. Take a plastic cup or bowl and poke a couple of very small holes in the bottom. As adults you can use a plastic milk jug. Fill it with warm water and make sure it drips very slowly over a vine with leaves so your little guy can drink from the leaves. Also mist for a pretty long time. It takes awhile for them to start drinking. I would mist 3 or 4 times a day for 3 minutes or so at first. Just make sure the cage dries out real good between each misting. As adults I mist twice a day for about 5 minutes and mine drink water from a dropper. You will need drainage for your cage. Maybe some holes in the bottom with a bucket or pan sitting under it to catch the water.

Branches from outside are ok from most trees. Clean them well and some member bake them in the oven. Cut the branch the size you need and thumb tacks can be use on each end to hold the branches up. You can also get vines and branches here: http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/...arium-accents/

You will need a couple of live plants....Ficus, hibiscus and pothos work great and are cham safe.

You really need the 5.0 UVB bulb like the one in the link above. It has to be the tube style. A must to keep you guy from having MBD. If it's fairly warm in your house at 2 to 3 months old you will not need a basking bulb, when older or if your house is cold you might need one. Measuring the heat is very important. I have a temp. gun. Very important to know their temps. They can fry in a very short time in the heat. At night he needs to be dark, no light, and cool so he can rest. He should be 10 degrees cooler at night than in the daytime but not below 65........70 as a baby.

The feeders have to be "lightly" dusted with 3 kinds of supplements. Plain calcium (no d3) at just about every feeding...... if you skip one or two days a month that's ok. Calcium with d3 twice a month and a multi. vit. once a month. In this link I use the 1st, 3rd and 5th one. http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/...cage-cleaners/

You need to gut load the feeders with collard greens they are excellent. You can also use kale, carrots, butternut squash apple and orange. You can also buy a premixed gut load. My vet makes one that I use and one of the Forums members sales it. http://www.chameleonforums.com/dry-gutload-sale-37717/

The Raising Kitty link on keeping veileds is excellent. I still refer to it from time to time. http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleo...max-results=11

A female will probably never need a basking light. I use a double fixture with one UVB bulb and one regular fluorescent bulb and that works perfect. As a baby her basking temps should be at 80. Being female 80 or 81 her entire life unless you breed then you could up it a bit...83 or 84......you'll still want a small clutch. If your house is really cold you might need a 15 or 25 watt basking bulb for a female.

This blog is VERY IMPORTANT for keeping a female: http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleo...le-veiled.html