Veiled Problem

Hi my name is Aris,im owner of a 5mo female veiled cham.bought him few days ago,but i worry to much 4 him.he eats 3 crickets max per day,and as i red is insuficient,i thought to try hand feed him but doesnt seem a great solution to me,as any time he see's me get angry or something like it...also maybe is early to tell but he dont seems neither to much "friendly",any idea to help me socialize with my cham?also he often tries to get out of hes cage and i thought maybe the enclosure sux and he hates it.cage is H48cm W47cm and D47cm(sry i dunno counting with inch. XD).i know its small but the prob. is that i live in greece and its very hard to find pet stores kinda specialized on repts.i have an uvb-bulb and a heat-bulb,some fake vine leafs and a medium sized branch.any advice for helping me?
Thanks & Regards

Congrats on your new chameleon and welcome to the Chameleon Forums. If you would please fill out the form below it will help us to help you with your new chameleon.

Here is some recommended information to include when asking for help in the health clinic forum. By providing this information, you will receive more accurate and beneficial responses. It might not be necessary to answer all these questions, but the more you provide the better. Please remember that even the most knowledgeable person can only guess at what your problem may be. Only an experienced reptile veterinarian who can directly examine your animal can give a true diagnosis of your chameleon's health.


Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
Location - Where are you geographically located?

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
Current Problem - The current problem that you are concerned about.

Pictures are helpful

cage

Thats my cage...is there something that can i change into better? or i got 2 buy a new cage?

You need to lose the substrate. Just paper towels or nothing on the bottom. More vines, more foliage. they need to be able to hide. Misting at LEAST once to twice a day. ReptiSun5.0. tube type bulb. Basking spot, regular household bulb is ok for heat. Keep him warm (not hot) and humidity up. Good luck..You are on your way.

You need to provide a suitable place in the cage ASAP for the chameleon to dig to show you when it needs to lay eggs. Its possible that it is old enough now to produce eggs and may be why its not eating much. Veileds can lay eggs (infertile of course) even without being mated and they can die eggbound if they don't have a place to lay them.

Do you know about supplements and gutloading?

Np

Sry for not answering immidietly ,its just that im workin to much those days.anyway substrate is gone,more vines and foliage added and my cham eats freely now...i gutloading crickets only,tried to gutload silkies also but its very difficult.what do u mean about supplements?

Veild GR said:

Sry for not answering immidietly ,its just that im workin to much those days.anyway substrate is gone,more vines and foliage added and my cham eats freely now...i gutloading crickets only,tried to gutload silkies also but its very difficult.what do u mean about supplements?

Click to expand...

Chameleons need to be supplemented with calcium and vitamins. By the sounds of it you need to do quite a lot of reading to get yourself up to speed on caring for chameleons. You need to buy some calcium and dust the crickets lightly everytime you feed your chameleon. Vitamin supplements is suggested once or twice a month. Personally I use nutrabol which is calcium and vitamins all in one, I dust with this every feeding, which is usually every two days and this has kept my chameleon healthy throughout the year that i've had him. You need to get on this straight away because lack of calcium can cause serious problems in chameleons (Metabolic bone disease).

Here is a good place for information about chameleon care. Good luck

Aw,ye heard bout vitamins,but as they r many types i dunno wich one would be better...also i live in greece wich means that such things as reptiles vitamines dont exist.do u know any website wich sells good vitamins and ship them till greece?let me know plz...

Veiled care Quick reference

Introduction: True chameleons have become increasingly common in the pet trade. Veiled chameleons were once a rare species to have in a reptile collection and were considered hard to keep. Advances in reptile husbandry and the increase in demand for exotic reptiles have now made veiled chameleons one of the most common captive-bred chameleon offered for sale.

Veiled chameleons are native to humid mountain sides and valleys in Yemen and southern Saudi Arabia. Males can grow to 20 inches (51 cm) in length, while females mature to a smaller size of 12 to 14 inches (31 to 36 cm). Adult males have a large casque on the top of their head that can reach 3 inches (8 cm) in height. Their color is variable, but usually consists of a green or turquoise body with yellow, orange, blue, tan, brown, or black blotches and stripes. Like all true chameleons, veiled chameleons change color depending on their mood and surrounding environment. An angry or scared veiled chameleon can turn a dark brown or black color with yellow and green blotches, while one that is relaxed will stay a solid light green with occasional blue, tan, or yellow spots and stripes. Male veiled chameleons generally live between five and eight years in captivity, while females have a shorter lifespan of two or three years.

Veiled chameleons are sensitive animals, and are not a pet that tolerates handling well. Although there are a small number of veiled chameleons that don't seem to mind human interaction, most hiss and gape their mouths when a human hand is near. Most veiled chameleons will even bite when provoked. Handling a chameleon is stressful for the lizard and should only be done when they need to be moved out of their cage for cleaning, or if they need to be taken somewhere such as the vet. In general, chameleons are best left as display animals rather than pets to interact with.

Avoid purchasing a chameleon that is under two months in age. These small juveniles are very cute but require extra attention. They also need small food, such as fruit flies and hatchling crickets, which many people aren't able to provide. A responsible reptile dealer, breeder, or pet store will never sell hatchling chameleons.

Cage: Chameleons need spacious enclosures. The more room you provide the better. A large adult male veiled chameleon should be housed in a cage that measures 36 inches long by 36 inches wide by 48 inches tall (92 cm by 92 cm by 122 cm) with more room being even better. Females and young males can be kept in smaller enclosures.

If keeping more than one chameleon, it is important to house both animals in separate enclosures. Chameleons are territorial and stress easily when kept with other mature chameleons, often leading to the death of the weaker one. They do not enjoy the company of others, and view them as a threat to their territory rather than a friend. When keeping two or more chameleons, it is also important that they are not allowed to see each other. Draping a towel or tarp over the sides of cages that face each other can work well. Breeders that produce veiled chameleons house their animals separate except for a few hours when the female is introduced to the males cage. After they are done mating, the female is removed and placed back in a separate cage.

Choose a cage that allows good air flow . At least two sides and the top of the cage should be screen to allow proper ventilation. Large screen cages are best, although a combination cage where two sides are glass or wood and two sides are screen can work equally well. I built a cage out of aluminum window screens and wood for my female veiled chameleon. Pictures can be viewed at Step By Step Chameleon Cage. Occasionally, chameleons may get their nails caught in the fine aluminum screening pictured in the previous link, so a better option is large quarter or half inch steel fencing or screen. Young chameleons can be kept in aquariums without problems, although small screen enclosures can be used as a better alternative. A standard 20 gallon glass aquarium that measures 24 inches long by 12 inches wide by 16 inches high (61 cm by 30 cm by 41 cm) will be able to house a juvenile veiled chameleon until it has a body length of roughly 4 inches (10 cm).

It is best to use a simple substrate, such as paper towels, newspaper, or reptile cage carpeting. If the bottom of the cage is solid and easy to clean, a substrate might not even be necessary. Do not use gravel, fir bark, dried moss, or sand because these substrates can be swallowed and cause health problems.

Furnish the cage with different sized perches, branches, and vines. Perches and vines should placed vertically as well as horizontally and at different sloping angles. Wooden dowels can be positioned horizontally below basking sites, and small plastic vines can be wrapped around them. Live and fake plants can be used in the cage to provide cover and places for the chameleon to drink water from. When using live plants, ensure they are safe for reptiles. Pothos work very well and can be hung from the top of the cage or placed on the bottom in pots. It is recommended to thoroughly wash off all live plants and then grow them outside of the cage for a few weeks to remove any potentially harmful chemicals such as leaf shiners or pesticides
Lighting: Lighting plays an important role in the health of veiled chameleons. At least one fluorescent light bulb that provides high levels of UVB radiation should run the length of cage. Zoo-med's Repti-sun 5.0 and Exo-terra's Repti-glo 8.0 are two common brands of UVB producing light bulbs. Mercury vapor and compact fluorescent light bulbs that produce UVB radiation also work well. Glass filters out nearly all UVB radiation, so place the bulb over a screen section of the cage. UVB producing bulbs need to be changed every five to eight months because the amount of ultraviolet radiation they produce slowly dies off over time. To compliment the UVB-producing bulb, I recommend using an additional fluorescent tube that has a high CRI rating.

An incandescent light bulb or two of the appropriate wattage should also be placed on the top or sides of the cage to provide basking sites. Having different wattage light bulbs to provide multiple basking sites with different temperatures works well. Infra-red light bulbs can be used to heat the cage at night, although usually this isn’t required.

Temperature and Humidity: Like all reptiles, veiled chameleons are ectotherms and rely on their environment to regulate their body temperature. The ambient temperature in the cage should stay between 75°F and 85°F (24°C and 30 °C) during the day, with a slight drop in temperature at night. A basking site or two should also be provided where the temperature reaches 90°F to 105°F (32°C to 41°C). Incandescent light bulbs or ceramic heat emitters should be used to heat the cage rather than heat pads or heat rocks which chameleons won’t use.

During warmer parts of the year, veiled chameleons can be kept outside in many climates. A healthy adult veiled chameleon can withstand temperatures as low 45°F (7°C) during the night as long as it warms up again during the day. In situations where the temperature drops this low it's a good idea to heat the cage with an infra-red reptile light bulb at night to keep an area in the cage that doesn't fall below 60°F (15.5°C).

Spray the cage with luke warm water once or twice a day to bring about temporary increases in humidity. Veiled chameleons do not require constant high humidity levels like some tropical lizards.

Water: Chameleons rarely drink from a water bowl. They are similar to many species of geckos in that they prefer to lap drops of water off of leaves and branches. During daily cage mistings, large drops of water can be sprayed into the air above the chameleon so that they fall onto its head. Most veiled chameleons will eagerly drink water that drips down their face. This should be done at least once a day, preferably two or three times a day. Juveniles can dehydrate quickly and should be provided with many opportunities to drink throughout the day.

In addition to spraying the cage, a drip system can be setup. This can be as simple as a bucket with a tiny hole in the bottom that is positioned over the top of the cage. Leave a cup for the water to collect in or place the bucket over a potted plant so that the dripping water doesn’t flood the cage. Some veiled chameleons also learn to drink from moving water features such as waterfalls or bubbling bowls.

Food: Most veiled chameleons are not picky eaters and accept a wide variety of food items. Crickets should make up the majority of their diet. Adults can be fed five to ten crickets once a day or every other day, while juveniles should be fed smaller amounts twice a day. Super worms, wax worms, earth worms, silkworms moths, house flies, horn worms, cockroaches, and small flying beetles can all be offered to veiled chameleons in place of crickets once a week or so. Veiled chameleons also feed on some plant material. Romaine lettuce, mustard greens, collard greens, and safe flowering plants can all be hung from places in the cage for the chameleon to eat. Mine preferred to just munch on the pothos that were growing at the bottom of the cage and generally ignored other greens that were offered.

Vitamin and mineral supplements are an important part of the diet. There are many different brands of reptile food supplements available and all have different qualities. It’s important that the calcium supplement contains vitamin D3 and either has a 2:1 calcium to phosphorus ratio, or is phosphorus free. Feeders that are being fed to juvenile chameleons should be dusted with a calcium supplement once every or every other day. Vitamin supplements should be used weekly for juveniles. Adult chameleons can have their feeders coated in both supplements once or twice a week.

Im very gratefull bout your help courtney,ur post solved me many questions
But do u know any site to get supplements?

Veild GR said:

Im very gratefull bout your help courtney,ur post solved me many questions
But do u know any site to get supplements?

Click to expand...

www.lllreptile.com ahs the supplements you need

Calcium with d3

Calcium WITHOUT d3

Multivitamin

Tnx,i have one more question bout supplements.i know that i must gutload crickets,waxworms etc with vitamins twice per month.but shall i gutload all the vitamins together? or for example:june, i gutload calcium with d3,july, calcium without d3 and august multivitamins?how does it work?

I dust the insects before they are fed to the chameleon with a phos.-free calcium powder at most feedings to make up for the often poor ratio of calcium to phos. found in most feeder insects.

I dust the insects before feeding them to the chameleon twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder to ensure that the chameleon gets enough D3 without overdoing it. D3 from supplements can build up in the system and cause problems, so don't overdo it. If your chameleon gets natural sunlight then it might not need any D3 from supplements.

The UVB from the light or from direct sunlight should not pass through glass or plastic.

I also dust the insects before feeding them to the chameleons with herptivite twice a month. It has a beta carotene (a prOformed) source of vitamin A and it won't build up in the system. However there is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert it, so some people give a little bit of prEformed vitamin A once in a while. Excess prEformed vitamin A may interfere with the D3 and push the chameleon towards MBD...so don't overdo it.

I gutload crickets, roaches, superworms, etc. with a wide assortment of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, celery leaves, zucchini, etc.).

Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are all important players in bone health and other systems in the chameleon and need to be in balance. You need to look at what you are feeding the chameleon, what you are feeding the insects and what you are supplementing with when trying to balance them.

Here are some good sites for you to look at...
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
http://web.archive.org/web/20060502...rnals.com/vet/index.php?show=5.Vitamin.A.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20060421.../index.php?show=6.Vitamin.D3.and.Calcium.html
http://chameleonnews.com/?page=article&id=102
http://adcham.com/
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/2007/12/keeping-female-veiled.html

Veild GR said:

Thats my cage...is there something that can i change into better? or i got 2 buy a new cage?

Click to expand...

get rid of the substrate, more greenery and hiding areas . you should also have an area or system that introduces water to keep the area moist and glass is bad. screen cages allow the air flow, dont smoke around them, keep them in non frequent traffic. handle when ness. hand feeding is ok to a point but introduce fun live game for her small crickets or wriggling meal worms, wax worms or butter worms as a treat.
hope this helped