Advice Needed!

Delores917

New Member
Hey all, new cham parent here.

I recently inherited a chameleon from a friend a few days ago because I noticed that they weren't taking very good care of her, (i.e. not cleaning her enclosure, handling her poorly and causing unnecessary stress, and not giving her a good 12 hour sleep cycle.) I've never owned a chameleon before, but I knew that they weren't good owners due to their lack of care and knowledge.

In the few days I've had her, and the days before I took her in, I've been doing extensive research every day trying to learn more about how to give this beautiful animal a good life. Here are the supplies I have for her as of now, plus the routines I've been keeping:

-humidifier
-zoo med reptisun 5.0 UBV light
-zoo med heat lamp
-lear water dripper
-16x16x30 screen enclosure(I feel like this is much too small, but I'm not sure)
-various fake foliage and leaves for her to hide in, plus fake branches and vines + a little bridge and a hammock thing for her to hold onto
-lucky bamboo plant (real and disinfected)


-her enclosures average humidity is between 60-70
-avg. General temp is 70-79; basking spot 83-87 (day) and 61-70 at night
-i mist her enclosure about four times a day with distilled water; once before I turn on her lights in the morning, and then twice again once the fake leaves in her enclosure seem to be dried out, and one more time after I turn her lights off at night
-i spot clean her enclosure about every other day/whenever I notice a dirty spot, and I replace her newspaper substrate every day
-she has a full 12 hour day/night cycle, with her lights turning on at 6 am and turning off at 6 pm
-i plan on fully sanitizing and cleaning her enclosure as well as her fake plants once a week

Some other things I want to add are that I like in Nevada, so it's very dry. Because of this, I'm doing research on what real plants I can add to her enclosure to keep humidity up. Also, I don't know exactly how old she is or when the last time she may or may not have visited a vet, but I'm absolutely open to taking her in for a check up in the near future. Whatever I need to do to make her comfortable and happy, I'm willing to do.

Sorry if the formatting on all this is weird; I'm totally new to this kind of stuff. Are there any tips or bits of advice y'all can give me? Thanks so much.
 
Hi there welcome to the forum. What type of chameleon is she?

This is going to be a good place to start learning. https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/

If you fill this out by copy pasting it into your reply we can give you thorough feedback. Also pics of the chameleon and of the entire cage including lighting on top. Pics of supplements are helpful as well.

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.

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?

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

--------------

Please Note:
  1. The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.
  2. Photos can be very helpful.
 
Hello! Right, how silly of me not to include what kind of Cham she is. Her name is Delores and she is a veiled chameleon :)
Sorry for long response; I had to go to work right after I posted this.


Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - veiled cham, approx. 2 years old(?) According to previous owners, I've had her for four days
Handling - I only handle her when I feed her, plus when i cleaned out her cage, so maybe in avg three times a week
Feeding - I feed her mealworms, 4-5, every other day, and I dust them in calcium supplements, plus I have calc+D3 supplements as well
Supplements - I use rep cal calcium supplements. I use the regular cal supps whenever I've fed her so far, and I've been told to feed her with the d3 supps every other week
Watering - I use a leaf dripper, and I must for about two or three minutes at a time l. I've seen her drink some droplets a couple times
Fecal Description - her fecal matter is consistently brown with some white spots, which I assume the white is urine
History - I have next to no other information about her, sadly.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - screen, 16x16x30
Lighting - zoo med uvb lights plus zoo med heating lamps
Temperature - 87-72 top to bottom avg during the day, and about 65-70 general temp at night. I use a humidity/temp gage, plus a thermometer hanging on the inside of the enclosure, as well as a handheld thermometer
Humidity - 50-80, I use my humidifier and i mist regularly. I use a humidity gauge
Plants - yes, one live plant. Lucky bamboo plant
Placement - my enclosure is on the floor next to my bed. No air vents directly above, but I do have a ceiling fan in the middle of my ceiling. The top of the enclosure is approx. 32 inches from the floor
Location - Minden, Nevada, USA
 
Also, here are some pictures of the chameleon and her enclosure, as well as the calcium supplements I use for her. Thanks everyone for the responses ❤️
 

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Welcome to the forum!

Be careful not to overfeed her or keep her too warm or she could end up with reproductive issues. Also make sure she has a laying bin in her cage at all times.

4 or 5 feeders 2 or 3 times a week should be enough...although if she's working on another clutch already (which is likely) maybe a little bit more until she lays it. The basking should be at 80F.

Make sure you stick to the supplementing schedule...phos free calcium at all feedings lightly but one a week. On that one feeding alternate between a phos free calcium/D3 powder and a vitamin powder with no D3 and a prEformed source of vitamin A.
Be sure to feed/gutload the insects well too.

What specific UVB lights and basking lights do you use?
 
Welcome to the forum!

Be careful not to overfeed her or keep her too warm or she could end up with reproductive issues. Also make sure she has a laying bin in her cage at all times.

4 or 5 feeders 2 or 3 times a week should be enough...although if she's working on another clutch already (which is likely) maybe a little bit more until she lays it. The basking should be at 80F.

Make sure you stick to the supplementing schedule...phos free calcium at all feedings lightly but one a week. On that one feeding alternate between a phos free calcium/D3 powder and a vitamin powder with no D3 and a prEformed source of vitamin A.
Be sure to feed/gutload the insects well too.

What specific UVB lights and basking lights do you use?
Thanks so much for the advice :) I will absolutely put a laying bin in her enclosure now that you mention it; I did not know that was a thing I should do. Ill do more research on that tonight, but do you have any general tips about that? Also, i'm def not an expert or anything, but she looks either overweight or pregnant right now. I noticed a round spot on her stomach earlier and got some decent pictures of it as well on my phone.

I dont know the EXACT uvb and basking lights I have, as I was not the one to get them, but the long UVB lamp says "zoo med reptisun 5.0 UBV light" and, im fairly certain that the lamp is a zoo med mini combo deep dome lamp. Again, I wasn't the one to buy these supplies, so I dont know everything exactly, but I am more than willing to upgrade/get different supplies if needed. All constructive criticism is welcome.
 
I would start by filling out the questionnaire Beman gave u then read all modules on chameleon academy and watch Neptune the chameleon on yt. Once u fill out the questions Beman gave u some good advice will pop up
Thanks for the reply. Neptune the chameleon has so far definitely been one of my favorite channels to watch for tips and advice. I also watch a lot of Reptilian Garden too, as I find her content very helpful. My other favorite channel to watch is GoHerping, although his content isnt really chameleon stuff; just general reptile content. Regardless, he's very educational and entertaining. Do you have any other cham channels I might find useful?
 
Meal worms aren’t the best bug to feed her as they are high in fat as well as chitin which is hard to digest. She needs a variety of bugs such as Dubia roaches or discord’s, silk worms, black soldier fly larvae and flies, crickets, etc.
 
Meal worms aren’t the best bug to feed her as they are high in fat as well as chitin which is hard to digest. She needs a variety of bugs such as Dubia roaches or discord’s, silk worms, black soldier fly larvae and flies, crickets, etc.
Alright, thanks for the input. I'll pick up some dubia roaches this weekend then, thanks for your advice <3
 
Make sure to properly gutload all feeders, too (variety for both feeders and gutload is best)! And thank you for taking her!
 

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Thank you all so much for the advice and support! It really means so much. I just finished watching a video on setting up a laying bin, heres the link:

After watching this video, I absolutely know now that my enclosure is far too small for her. Do you have any good 2x2x4 enclosure recommendations? I'm willing to pay any amount if I really have to, but I'd prefer to stay within the 120-200 dollar price range. Thanks again!
 
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