First Time Chameleon Owner, Got a few Questions

Just picked up a baby veiled chameleon at a local pet store last night. Not sure how old the critter is, but it's about 4 and a half inches from head to the end of it's tail. I say "it" because i'm also unaware of which sex the creature is. I've looked for spurs on the hind legs/feet, I don't see anything really sticking out so this leads me to believe it's a female but I could be wrong. Perhaps someone here could tell me which sex this critter is from the photos I will supply.
I've seen this guy lap up water droplets, mainly those sticking to the glass as they last longer than the droplets on the artificial plants. Do you think if I could somehow suspend a small contraption of some sort holding water in the "tree-tops" my chameleon would drink from it? I have a water dish at the bottom of the tank, but I know it's highly unlikey the guy will ever be on the ground to drink from this.
I've been trying to get theis chameleon to eat baby crickets. I haven't witnessed him eat any yet. He has a few hopping around at the moment in case he does get hungry. I think it's semi-interested in them because when they come close, he laps them a couple times, then turns and climbs the other direction. I coated one in repto-cal, but still got the same result. Do you think this guy would prefer meal worms over crickets?

Here's my Chameleon, does he look like a healthy specimen?







I leave his main light on all day, and shut it off around 10:00 PM. I was told at the pet store to leave this "night light" type thing on all night, but I read in a thread here that leaving lights on for your chameleon overnight is a bad idea. Is this too strung of a light, or is it okay to use all night?
Here's the bulb's box:

Also, the employee working in the reptiles section told me chameleons are too fragile to hold, even when they grow older. Then on the way out, the cashier says, "Oh! Veiled chameleons are great, the more you hold them the friendlier they are! Hold this one a lot!". Which employee was correct?

Thanks for your time, and I appreciate any answers for these questions.

i just wanna first say WELCOME if your new!

and also wat a nice lookin lil veiled u got there!
well i cn't help on you the night light thing cuz i really dont use one, but on handling the veilds, i dont really hold mine ofted. all im saying is don't hold him/her too much often especially if he is new, leave him/her alone in his cage/terrarium for 1-2 weeks with no handling. it is just bcuz of how easily the chameleon can get stressed.. i do it maybe once to three times a week, but then sometimes i won't. but ima let the older members answer this

on the crickets vs. mealworms= use crickets always, but sometiems maybe u can treat them with wax worms or silkworms(best for me)

and also i wanna say, that your veiled should not be kept in a glass aquarium (i think its in a glass tank cuz "I've seen this guy lap up water droplets, mainly those sticking to the glass as they last longer than the droplets on the artificial plants."
he/she should be in an open terrarium at anywhere that has fresh air flowing (open), like u know , (i dont know whats the word )

i wanna share my lil guy with ya

im pretty sure its a female. it would be great if we had a better veiw of the back feet.
you can buy drippers (google: zoo-med big drippers)
i use the same bulb a night. works great.
dont handle your cham. only for deep cleanig of cage, or the occasional photo shoot.
get the dish out. useless in a cham cage. breeding ground of bacteria, and drowns crix.
she looks pretty healthy.

To start, it looks like you have a female.

As for getting it to drink standing water, there is little chance of that, they only seem to recognize droplets and moving water. You can try putting a small hole in the bottom of a container (plastic deli cups work great) and filling that with distilled water to create a dripper or buy one thats pre-made to provide water. remove the water dish, it only provides a hazard for her.

to get her to eat, you can try to get her used to cup feeding. Place the crickets in a deli cup and place a branch or vine overhead so she can see them from the top and pick them off as she pleases. At her age she should be feeding on pinhead or 1/4" crickets, 3-5 at a time. When mine was that size I had her on an all you can eat diet, but would only put 3-4 crickets in at a time. If she finished those, I would add 2 more until she wasn't interested and remove any live ones left.

I don't recommend mealworms. Their shell contains too much chitin and is difficult for chameleons to digest. If you can find some really small ones and find the ones that have just finished molting, these may be okay.

Additionally, once she's older you can try to introduce some plant matter into her diet. I feed kale to mine, I just leave a few leaves in a container of water. She can climb on them and eat as much or little as she wants.

Overall your chameleon looks fairly healthy though.

Now onto your lights.
You should have a 5.0 fluorescent tube style light, the compact style have a bad reputation for causing eye problems. Make sure no glass or plastic is in between the bulb and your chameleon, as these filter out the UVA and UVB.

For a heat bulb, I'd recommend a 40W Dayglo bulb or a similar power incandescent bulb. It should be enogh to heat the tank you have her in. At her age, the ideal basking temperature is between 77 and 80 degrees F. Ambient temprature should be between 70-75 and should drop to 65ish at night. No nightlight or heatsource is required unless the tank drops below these temps significantly. Using that nightlight on a chameleon this young is just cruel, you'd end up cooking her while she sleeps. Try taking it back for a refund or exchange. It depends on the store, but it has been my experience that many will sell you stuff you don't need to move product. (some will go as low as mislabeling species, hoping that you know nothing at all)

For a light schedule, 12 hours on and 12 hours off is a good start. Adjust the photoperiod depending on the season. (currently I've got 10 on then 14 off for winter) You can try phasing lights in to simulate a dawn and dusk. I have a table lamp that comes on first, not shining directly into the tank but enough to light up the room and wake her up. 15 minutes later the heat bulb comes on followed by the brighter UV bulb after another 15. I just reverse the the order when the lights go off.

As for them getting friendly, veileds are often the most aggressive chameleon species available. Handling them can be difficult. Avoid it as much as you can when the are young. They tend to calm down once you have removed them from their enclosure, but prolonged handling is never a good idea. I've taken mine out almost everyday for 5-10 minutes at a time and she still never hesitates to bite me.

I've been answering with the assumption that you have her in a 10-20 gallon glass tank (camera flash in third picture) so some of this might be different if you have her in a screen cage.

I think I've got everything answered check this link if you need anymore info
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/

Good luck (And if anyone thinks I got something wrong, feel free to post, I'm here to learn too, only 3 1/2 months doing this)

Good luck and welcome!

Hello,

Check out Brad Ramsey's site for info. It will answer a lot of your questions. Many people agree with his husbandry and direct new cham keepers to the site for some informative reading.

I would first off remove the water dish. Chams will not drink from them and they are a breeding ground for bacteria.

"It" looks like a female to me (males have spurs on the rear feet)

This is a picture of my veiled Jake. You can see his little bumps on the rear of his hind feet. He is a few months older than your cham in this photo, but the bumps are noticeable at birth on males.





Im gonna stop now cause someone has already posted LOL!

Edit: I wouldn't call them the most aggressive.

Also check out the UV Guide website for UVB tips and infor

Metalocalypse59,

I second all the above. I have had my Veiled Chameleon female for a couple months now and have had to make several drastic changes as you will. Only thing I can add is to remove all fecal matter as you notice it. Baby chams are notorious about eating anything that gets caught on their tongues. Anything loose in the cage can and will be eaten eventually. Crickets and roaches in particular will hang out near droppings. Reingesting such fecal material can cause infection and parasitism in your chameleon.

Mine started off looking just like yours, about 4 inches long. Two months later she is about 8 inches long with tail due to the changes I made in her habitat (some of which I learned on this forum), without which she would have died by now in all likelihood.

Thankf for all the help folks. I didn't notice any crickets hopping around the cage today, so I take it my Chameloen is finally starting to eat. I've removed the water dish. I'll try returning it as I have no use for it. My leopard gecko has one of his own, and I don't plan on purchasing another pet in the near future.
I'll try and remember to post a pic of my chameleons hind legs this week just to be sure what sex this character is.
Once again, thanks for all the help, I appreciate you all taking the time to answer my questions.