Hello there! I adopted a veiled chameleon just a few days ago and want to check in with all you marvelous people so that I make sure he has an appropriate set up, and he is healthy (or suggestions on how to get him back to healthy). He came to me in a fairly small, completely mesh enclosure but did have the basics from what I can tell. I am buying a much larger cage from a friend (I believe its 4-5 feet tall) and want to make sure I fill it up accordingly. Thank you for all your help!
Chameleon Info:
Chameleon Info:
- Your Chameleon - Tonks is a male veiled chameleon. I am unsure of his age, but the previous family had him a couple years. I have only had him a couple days.
- Handling - I am limiting handling too much until I think he is more settled, but he is surprisingly friendly and will come out and crawl on me when I leave the door open.
- Feeding - I am currently feeding only crickets daily (roughly 8ish) and a couple mealworms as a snack yesterday. I am offering small pieces of mustard greens and apple as well. Currently I am gut loading with only some orange and some of the mustard greens as well.
- Supplements - I am using the Flukers "Repta Calcium with Vit D3 and phosphorus free". I have not ordered any other type of vitamin supplements yet. I was planning on dusting them every other day.
- Watering - Right now I am watering just by misting multiple times of day. Usually I do a long mist (maybe a full minute or 2) early in the morning, and before bed. I also do a couple spot mists throughout the day. I do not see him drinking off the leaves in particular, but definitely what is running down his face.
- Fecal Description - He has only had 2 bowl movements since I have brought him home, but both have a dark brown, mostly formed part, with a white part as well. I am not sure if he has been tested for parasites but I doubt its been recently.
- History - I do not have much history on him.
- Cage Type - His current cage is fully screen, and I think the dimensions are 18x18x36. The new cage is also fully screen and will be 4-5 feet tall. I do not know the specific dimensions.
- Lighting - He came with a 50watt UVB bulb. I have a fixture for the long bulbs and was planning on getting a Reptisun bulb for it. I would love recommendations for what is best. The bulb is currently on from about 7am-8pm (a little earlier if I'm home earlier)
- Temperature - There were not temperature gauges on his original cage unfortunately so I do not have an exact range. I do plan on putting them in the bigger cage. However, my house does not have AC and I live in the south, so my ambient temperature is between 75-82 currently. I believe that the basking area is about 90 degrees.
- Humidity - I am currently winging the humidity levels and will have a hygrometer in the new setup. I am used to maintaining humidity in my PacMan frog's habitat, but since that one is enclosed and not completely screen, I'm not sure how well I'm doing. What are your humidity levels?
- Plants - I currently do not have any in there, but a friend is repotting some pothos to put in the new enclosure. I would like to use more live plants if suitable.
- Placement - Currently the cage is on my dining room table, in front of my big window. It is a fairly high traffic area as far as people walking by, but my house is a pretty calm environment, minus some dogs wrestling occasionally. I am hoping to move the larger cage into my sewing room. It has more space and will be even less of a high traffic area. I have a nice window I could put him in front of. Currently the top of the cage is at my height- so maybe 5 1/2 feet high. I want to put the larger enclosure on a table as well so that hes not too low to the ground and not on dog-level.
- Location - I live near Asheville, North Carolina. In the beautiful mountains!
