am i doing this right?

lcsphx

New Member
I got 2 chameleons (veiled) male and female , female was born around valentines dayt this year, I think the male is near the same age w/ in a month, I have had the male for 3 months and the female for 2 1/2 months, my male is chill, hes getting pretty fat and eats from my hand, even eats collard greens. the female is really picky and rather scronny. I feed them mostly crickets, some times meal worms , (when the female occasionally eats), and when she eats, (regardless what it is) she only will eat 1 , never have i seen her get seconds???, anyways please tell me if i need to change something, I offer them an average 4 crickets, 2 mealworms a day , dusting most the of the time with "reptolife plus", I was dusting every other feedings w/ flukers calcium, till i realized it had d3 in it, then i backed up off that, (that was for 2 days), I gut load the crickets with flukers cricket quencher calcium fortified, anfd a mixture of collared greens, reg. fresh potato slices, a dab of fish food, and a piece of smashed up dry dog food. both have seperate large cages on oppisite sides of room, on top of tables sothe cage is well above my eye level, the cages are made with wood frame and screen, i have 2 uvb bulbs that i alternate between them , they get atleast 12 hours a day w/ uvb bulb, or at least 4-5 hours of natural early morning sun, I mist them frequently 5-6 times a day w/ approx 12 oz of water each, each time i mist, unless when they are outside getting sunlight they have a constant mister and I also provide an additional mist at closer range when outside, I provide a drip bottle 2 times a day with approx 1/2 cup - 1 cup of water each time,as far as basking, i have a bulb,40 watt zoo-med daylight bulb, but i'm in phoenix and thier cages are both next to windows , so they dont really think a bulb for basking is necessary, the uvb bulb and window heat keeps there hottest spots at about 80 degrees,. just curious if i am doing okay with them, and what needs changed? thank you
 
I got 2 chameleons (veiled) male and female , female was born around valentines dayt this year, I think the male is near the same age w/ in a month, I have had the male for 3 months and the female for 2 1/2 months, my male is chill, hes getting pretty fat and eats from my hand, even eats collard greens. the female is really picky and rather scronny. I feed them mostly crickets, some times meal worms , (when the female occasionally eats), and when she eats, (regardless what it is) she only will eat 1 , never have i seen her get seconds???, anyways please tell me if i need to change something, I offer them an average 4 crickets, 2 mealworms a day , dusting most the of the time with "reptolife plus", I was dusting every other feedings w/ flukers calcium, till i realized it had d3 in it, then i backed up off that, (that was for 2 days), I gut load the crickets with flukers cricket quencher calcium fortified, anfd a mixture of collared greens, reg. fresh potato slices, a dab of fish food, and a piece of smashed up dry dog food. both have seperate large cages on oppisite sides of room, on top of tables sothe cage is well above my eye level, the cages are made with wood frame and screen, i have 2 uvb bulbs that i alternate between them , they get atleast 12 hours a day w/ uvb bulb, or at least 4-5 hours of natural early morning sun, I mist them frequently 5-6 times a day w/ approx 12 oz of water each, each time i mist, unless when they are outside getting sunlight they have a constant mister and I also provide an additional mist at closer range when outside, I provide a drip bottle 2 times a day with approx 1/2 cup - 1 cup of water each time,as far as basking, i have a bulb,40 watt zoo-med daylight bulb, but i'm in phoenix and thier cages are both next to windows , so they dont really think a bulb for basking is necessary, the uvb bulb and window heat keeps there hottest spots at about 80 degrees,. just curious if i am doing okay with them, and what needs changed? thank you

Okay first of all DO NOT continue to use crushed dog/fish food please. It does have trace amounts (and large amounts) of protein depending on the brand and protein in general is not something chameleons really need too much of. The protein is also why it is not good to feed chameleons pinky mice like some "reptile know it alls" think they can do.

Mealworms are also kind of a no no unless you are talking about superworms which are often confused with mealworms. Mealworms have many hard chitin and this can cause digestive problems for younger chams but is still not recommended for older chams even.

I recommend getting zoomed repticalcium and zoomed repticalcium d3. Order them on amazon for a total of maybe 20$ max.

As for gutload it is better to gutload crickets with a mixture of real veggies rather than commercial gutload (EXCLUDING cricket crack, bug burger). Chop up some old carrots or potato rinds, old oranges and kale and feed the crickets that. Even apples will work. Very cheap and you can use old food..

They still need a basking light.. Regardless of how close to a window they both are.

The window does not provide UVB rays or as much heat as you think it does. Measure the temperature of the sticks near the window and MAKE SURE it is 90-95 degrees basking spot otherwise get a heat lamp.

You cannot skimp out on this kind of stuff.

I am definitely not trying to bash you but I encourage you to make some changes.

Sunlight is very good for them and I am glad you are getting them real sunlight. Keep in mind that the UVB doesn't come through a window so by "letting them soak up sun" I hope you mean taking them outside.

And it is very good that they are in separate cages.

Do you mind taking pictures?

I love teaching people about the needs of chameleons. It does irritate me slightly though when reptile keepers come here thinking they know everything because they've kept beardies for a while and do not pay attention to the needs of chameleons. They are sensitive creatures and need more than a simple bearded dragon or gecko would but people think they can just throw the chams in small, horizontal cages without misting and only feed mealworms all the time and then wonder why it dies.
 
Mealworms are also kind of a no no unless you are talking about superworms which are often confused with mealworms. Mealworms have many hard chitin and this can cause digestive problems for younger chams but is still not recommended for older chams even.
Why are superworms better then mealworms? If I'm not mistaken they have very similar nutritional value?
 
the chitlin in the mealworms exoskeleton is harder than the super worm. which can cause problems with digestion and other problems.
 
techmikef

When I stated my chameleon is near a window, I was not meaning this is what is used for his uvb , ,I alternate his 200 watt and her 100 watt uvb between the both of them , and i take their cage out side as much as possible, so they can bask and absorb natural shaded sunlight a few hours a day, I was just un certain if besides the window heat and the uvb bulb additional basking light was necessary, i live in arizona and our house is usually 77 degrees, his cage ranges ,during day time temp about 84-89 degrees.
 
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