A few Questions on branches, lighting, and supplementation

[Arielw]

Hello!

I'm planning on getting my first chameleon around mid-april when there's a local reptile show in town. I'm planning on a veiled. I've been doing plenty of research for the last month or so.

It won't be my first reptile, We've had bearded dragons in the past, and I currently keep 9 snakes and 10 crested geckos, and a horde of invertebrates. So I am not new to the care of exotic critters.

I already have an 18"x18"x24" exo-terra for it's baby enclosure and a 18"x18"x36" screen enclosure for it's sub-adult - adult enclosure. I've had some say it would be big enough for an adult enclosure, I figured I'd just see how it goes, if he out grows it, so be it! I scored it for $30.

My first question is what kind of branches do ya'll usually use? I currently only have some of those brown bendy vines, and was looking for other options? I have a small pothos plant that will be going in the baby enclosure, maybe a second one if I have room, and I plan to get an umbrella plant or a ficus for it's adult enclosure for him to climb on. I just want to make sure he had plenty to climb on.

My next question is I know that the repti-sun 0.5 is the recommended bulb? correct? Does it matter if I do the compact bulb or the tube? Is there one that's better than the other? The hood that came with the exo-terra would fit a bulb and not a tube.

My last question is what kind of supplements (brand and such) do you recommend? I certainly don't want to over-supplement and there seems to be a lot of contradiction on what kinds and how much to offer.

I've done a lot of research on properly gut loading insects, and so I'm hoping to put together a gut load that would best provide my cham with the vitamins and nutrition it needs.

Oh, I have one more question. I've had difficultly finding proper temps for veiled and when I do it's always different. I've read 90F, 85F, and 80F for the hot spot, so maybe you can shed some light on where I should have my hot spot and what type of heating bulb would best accomplish that.

Thanks everyone!

 

[Elizadolots]

Hi! Welcome. Huge congratulations on finding this place first and planning out what you are going to do. I'm impressed.

I don't keep veileds, but I've read lots here and so feel fairly comfortable giving you some advice on the temps. If you have a male, you can have the basking temperature at 90 degrees as long as the temperature drops as you go down the cage. You need to give him the opportunity to be 80 degrees, 75 degrees...

You should read Sandrachameleon's blog entry on gutloading.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/75-feeder-nutrition-gutloading.html

 

[Arielw]

Thank you. My mom is a vet tech working under 3 reptile vets, and is a specialist herself, I worked there for 3 years as a kennel staff and it's heart breaking seeing reptiles come in dying because of their neglectful owners, so I know how important proper research is!

Thank you for the advice on the heat and the link about gutloading, i'll have to read that. For the heat, what bulb would you suggest to attain those temps?

 

[Elizadolots]

This board suggests just using an incandescent bulb, like you can buy at the grocery store in a proper "hooded" fixture. Try a 100 watt bulb and see what you get at the basking point. If it's too high, try a lower wattage bulb or try raising the fixture. The bulbs being inexpensive means you don't have to commit to the first thing you buy.

 

[brandon1]

Hello!
Hi Ariel and welcome to Chameleon Forums.

I'm planning on getting my first chameleon around mid-april when there's a local reptile show in town. I'm planning on a veiled. I've been doing plenty of research for the last month or so.
Good for you . Glad your not just blindly diving into this as many do.

It won't be my first reptile, We've had bearded dragons in the past, and I currently keep 9 snakes and 10 crested geckos, and a horde of invertebrates. So I am not new to the care of exotic critters.
Holy smokers that's quite the group animals. Could you list the snake species. If theres one kind of animal I like much as lizards it snakes.

I already have an 18"x18"x24" exo-terra for it's baby enclosure and a 18"x18"x36" screen enclosure for it's sub-adult - adult enclosure. I've had some say it would be big enough for an adult enclosure, I figured I'd just see how it goes, if he out grows it, so be it! I scored it for $30.
The Exo Terra is an excellent choice for a baby so you can keep the humidity up a little more. 18x18x36 definitely works for a female, but bigger is definately better, so if you get a male I would definately recommend getting at least a 24x24x48 and he will surely be appreciative when once's he's grown into quite the little monster. You could however, keep him(if you get a him)in the 18x18x36 for a while and just monitor his growth. Some can be runts and not get too big throughout there life but if he gets to be one of the big boys of around 21-24" overall length you should definately do him a favor in getting him at least a 24x24x48.

My first question is what kind of branches do ya'll usually use? I currently only have some of those brown bendy vines, and was looking for other options? I have a small pothos plant that will be going in the baby enclosure, maybe a second one if I have room, and I plan to get an umbrella plant or a ficus for it's adult enclosure for him to climb on. I just want to make sure he had plenty to climb on.
My personal favorite choices for branches/vines: Exo terra large 6' vines, and grapewood. However you can go to this website to find lots of different would that you can use that is very cheap: http://www.save-on-crafts.com/branches2.html. For plants I like to go live all the way and my favorite are: Schefflera arboricola, normal Dracena(corn plant), and pothos. I really do like hibiscus too as they are the only plant that I know of that chams can continuously eat the flowers and leaves without causing problems, but they can be just be such a pain to keep alive under artificial light, even if you use a 6500K plant light.

My next question is I know that the repti-sun 0.5 is the recommended bulb? correct? Does it matter if I do the compact bulb or the tube? Is there one that's better than the other? The hood that came with the exo-terra would fit a bulb and not a tube.
So long as it's 5.0 it's fine. I mainly hear about the 5.0 reptisun compared to the 5.0 reptioglo. But I use a reptiglo. I think the reason why everyone always talks about the reptisun is because it lasts longer but I'm not completely sure about that. For temps as a baby you want to have him a 70-80 degree ambient temp and a mid 80s basking spot. If it's a her you would rather 70-80 ambient but lower 80s basking spot. If you can accomplish these temps without the use of a house bulb or basking bulb in a dome fixture then by all means do it. But once you have the larger cage it will be inevitable to get a dome fixture to allow adequate basking temps.

My last question is what kind of supplements (brand and such) do you recommend? I certainly don't want to over-supplement and there seems to be a lot of contradiction on what kinds and how much to offer.
Hands down Repashy Calcium Plus. It replaces the use of calcium w/d3, calcium w/out d3, and the multivitamin. And you can use it every other feeding, not every feeding as it is uneccessary and using every other allows it to last longer. If you get a female you will however need some calcium w/out d3 to give her to help her through the egg laying process, but you will have to talk to other members more experienced in keeping female Veileds and how you should use the calcium w/out d3 if you do choose to get a female.

I've done a lot of research on properly gut loading insects, and so I'm hoping to put together a gut load that would best provide my cham with the vitamins and nutrition it needs.
Like someone else stated before me. Go to sandrachameleon's blogs on gutloading. They are phenomenal.

Oh, I have one more question. I've had difficultly finding proper temps for veiled and when I do it's always different. I've read 90F, 85F, and 80F for the hot spot, so maybe you can shed some light on where I should have my hot spot and what type of heating bulb would best accomplish that.
Oh sorry I stated this above with the lighting section.

You also left out a couple very important things: feeding and humidity. I don't know if you did that because you are already well informed, but with the potential that you are not I will shed some light.

FEEDING
While young, pinhead crickets are the best way to go IMO, and you can mix it up with fruit flies as well. Feed them as much as they will eat, don't try to limit them to a certain amount until they get closer to a year old(6 months for a female). Once they start getting that age you can begin to experiment the vast array of feeders out there and see which ones your cham likes. You can always start trying to feed them new things while they are still younger as well but it can get expensive with giving them many different kinds of feeders.

WATERING
Get a misting system if you cannot manual mist several times a day for several minutes. You'll want to mist approximately 3-4 times a day for 1-3 minutes appiece. You HAVE to make sure that you allow the cage to dry out between those mistings to prevent bacterial growth, so you may have to alter the amount of times you mist, and for how long. Another thing is a dripper. I recommend a ZooMed Big or Little Dripper as they both hold a lot of water, and you can adjust how fast you want them to drip. The presence of a dripper allows for you to do less mistings, and for a lesser amount of time, and ultimately makes it easier for the cage to dry out between the mistings. For babies the humidity is ok to stay a little higher than you would want for adults so long as you allow for the dry periods. If it gets into the 70-80% you will be fine so long as you have the dry periods.

Thanks everyone!

Hope all this helps and be sure to ask any more questions you have, as we are all happy to answer them. Welcome to the Chameleon Addiction