Another Chameleon given as a gift

[elfkin]

Hello everyone,

I am a new owner, not by my choice but due to a crazy uncle!
He gave my 10 year old a veiled chameleon thinking she would just love the tiny little thing. Well of course she did! And now I am taking care of this tiny little princess . I dont mind tho, I am a bit of a critter person and have a couple large tanks with moon crabs, fiddler crabs, frogs and hermit crabs.

Anyways I have been on here for the last couple weeks reading like crazy but still have a couple questions. Like....

Do these little guys carry salmonella?

How old is this little gal we have? she is about 3ish 4 ish inches long.

I made a screen cage its about 2 1/2 feet tall by 1 1/2 feet wide and deep.
Been feeding friut flies and pin head crickets dusted everyday with reg calcium and only once with the calcium with d3 in the last couple weeks.
I have a uvb bulb and a 60watt spot light. I also have a hybiscus (sp) with rocks over the soil so she dont eat any of it and face vines to climb on. Just newspaper in the bottom of the cage.

Please tell me if im doing something wrong. While she was an unwanted gift she is here now and I plan on giving her a good home.
Thank you for all your help!!!

I will try to upload a couple pics but im not sure how to yet. but ill figure it out im sure

 

[Syn]

Hehe I read that as gave me a 10 year old veiled chameleon at first!

If the chameleon is healthy and properly taken care of, you should not need to worry about salmonella. If anything, always wash your hands and don't ingest fecal matter.

It's hard to take a guess at age. If anything, pictures should be posted so a guesstimate can be made.

As far as posting pictures, you can do so by using this code:

[ img ] url here [/ img ] no spaces.

 

[carol5208]

what kind of UVB bulb is it? Tube or coiled? If it is a coil, get rid of it cuz it can cause eye problems. U need a reptisun 5.0 if you have not purchased one already. Also, how big are the rocks? The reason being if they are small and the cham goes to shoot a cricket or something it could end up injesting a rock. Post some pics of your set up!

 

[elfkin]

Here is a couple pics

By elfkin01 at 2010-07-28

By elfkin01 at 2010-07-28

 

[Syn]

Your set up looks good to start off seeings as you did not exactly want the little one!

If you could fill out this form it will be much easier to help you out. It's a little long but it's worth the time and effort.

Is that a mercury vapor bulb? That might be a little hot for the baby. They do not thermoregulate as well as adults.

 

[OOOst16]

Yeah. No more then a 80 degree basking spot for a baby. Now....you make me very happy because it looks as if you've actualy done research. Continue research to improve what you have now. Humidity should be at 50% stand by. 90% after a misting. Spray at least 4 times a day.ex. I have an adult male. So my temps are in the 95 degree basking spot. So I have to spray up to 7 times a day to keep an accurate humidity.

 

[OOOst16]

You need a common household incandescent bulb for basking. 40wattsshould give you and 80 degree basking. You also need a linear UVB tube. Not a coil. Coil UVB bulbs cause eye issue in chameleons. Get either a reptiglo 5.0 or a reptisun 5.0 both are proven ok to use. make sure it's a linear tube. Not coil.

 

[laurie]

Hello new chameleon owner & welcome to the forum. I couple of things, that is a baby, I would say 6 to 8 weeks. jmo Now you need lots more plants, live one such a pothos, ficus and umbrella trees are the most ofter used plants. Is addition to the rocks, do you know to wash the leaves well with a mild dish soapy water? The baby will need sticks to make highways both vertical & crosswise. You will also need a combo temp/hydrometer (cheap probe ones at Walmart $15) The crickets you have are to small, you need more like 1/8 inch.
Feel free to ask any other questions you might have.

 

[SpinyFranky]

You need a common household incandescent bulb for basking. 40wattsshould give you and 80 degree basking. You also need a linear UVB tube. Not a coil. Coil UVB bulbs cause eye issue in chameleons. Get either a reptiglo 5.0 or a reptisun 5.0 both are proven ok to use. make sure it's a linear tube. Not coil.

Not to be a stickler, but I think its best that we learn this persons location before advising about wattages.

In California I sure can get away with a 20 watt bulb during the summer days, but I dont really think that would cut it in Alaska

and just to be clear a common household bulb is not NEEDED, but is an alternative option. I personally prefer to use Zoo-Med reptile bulbs.

Being clear with information is always best, and of course no insult intended OOST

Your screen cage looks fantastic for a most likely frantically rushed project . And I applaud that fact that you did some research after receiving this pet, many people receive but don't research.

Age wise..... its hard to tell. Younger than 6 months obviously, older than 1 I would say, however my money is on around 1 to 2 months.

Size depends on parental genetics, growth depends on temperatures and calories + nutrients fed.

You should be using the d3 a tad more than you currently are, just since the baby will grow very fast. I am sure someone with more "baby experience" can give you an easy to follow schedule for supplementing, however do not forget multi-vits.

S.F

 

[elfkin]

Wow! thanks for all the great info.
I threw that cage together out of what I had to make screen lids for my a couple of my large crab tanks . When
I have the reptisun 5.0 coil so I will change to tube. Do I need a special holder for the tube bulbs?
The spot light is a zoo med bulb. Tho I think I might get a lower watt bulb because the basking area got to be about 83

I did do a light wash of the plant leaves before I put it in the cage, now im just hoping it was enough. I will go out and get more plants today. I want the little princess to be happy. The rocks I also washed before I put on top the soil and they are all larger than her body so she wouldnt eat any by accident. They are just your reg ole rough gravel rocks tho. Is that okay?

I cant find any of the 1/8 sized crickets in my area but there is a reptile show on sunday about an hour away from me. I am assuming they would sell them right
Im good on gut loading I do that already for my large crabs.

She has been green the whole time we have had her. She has ranged from a lime green to a little darker green but never that dark. I am hoping that is a good thing. She is also wide awake during the day and seems to fall asleep quickly after I turn out the lights....thats good right?

How fast do these little guys grow and how much shuld I be feeding her?
Can you over feed a baby?

I have to say even tho I wasnt happy about having her dropped into our lives without notice, I am happy she is here now! so cute and fun to watch!

 

[PedroANDAshley]

Your going to be needing this link:
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/2007/12/keeping-female-veiled.html

Its a blog on how to care for female veileds.
They do AND will lay a clutch of eggs even IF NOT mated.
You gotta be ready for that
This blog sort of explains things on why it important to keep the temps at certain ranges and how to feed them to avoid HUGE cluchtes of eggs that will eventually shorten her life.

 

[Elizadolots]

What a cute baby! And, thank you for being a good Mom and joining in to make sure your daughter's pet is well cared for. I hate when parents think it will be a learning lesson for the kid to let the pet suffer.

My only comment on your set up is that it looks like your lights are right on the screen top. I don't recommend that because a lot of chameleons like to "walk on the ceiling" and they can easily get burned. If you can't suspend the lights, then you can put something like coffee cups on the top of the cage and then put the lights on the cups. That will be enough separation.

If that's just a trick of the camera angle and the lights are suspended above the mesh, then ignore me!

 

[OOOst16]

Ehh....the hole light on top issue is alway debated....I've used lights on top with no issue or burns for years for all my herpes....I mean if you've got a 100 degree basking area then obviously....you wouldn't wan that. But as a baby, the temps are not going to be high enough for a burn. Chameleons walk on the screen at first,but then quickly learn it's very hard and rediculas when you have all the sticks and stuff next to them. They loose interest in trying to be acrobats and just stick to the pathways given. Atleast mine has. I've seen him walk on the top once. Then he was like...screw this....to much work......now if the bulb is directly touching the mesh....which it shouldn't be. Then yeah suspend it. But most domes provide the bulb itself to
Be suspended alone inside the dome... So the bulb is never in contact with the mesh itself.

 

[pssh]

Until the baby is 3 months old (so maybe in 1.5-2 months) you should feed it as much as it will eat in a 5-10 minute period, 3 times a day. After it's 3 months, cut back to twice a day. Then around 5 months cut back to about 5-7 crickets (or equivalent of) a day. Around 6-7 months, you may want to start feeding 5-7 every other day so that she won't produce large clutches of eggs.

 

[elfkin]

Thank you all for the info. I do have the lights sitting on the top of the cage but I will prolly move them off even tho she has never walked the roof before.
Just to be on the safe side. I also got a small bottle and made a little dripper for the princess.

I went to Lowes to look for more plants but had a small list of just 4 safe plants and the 2 people working in the garden center looked at me like I was nuts and had never heard of them. They were of no help. When I kept looking around thier small selection I found 1 of the plants on my list but it was to small . So my plant hunt will continue. Once I get a couple more plants I will upload more pics.

Thank you All!

 

[SpinyFranky]

Thank you all for the info. I do have the lights sitting on the top of the cage but I will prolly move them off even tho she has never walked the roof before.
Just to be on the safe side. I also got a small bottle and made a little dripper for the princess.

I went to Lowes to look for more plants but had a small list of just 4 safe plants and the 2 people working in the garden center looked at me like I was nuts and had never heard of them. They were of no help. When I kept looking around thier small selection I found 1 of the plants on my list but it was to small . So my plant hunt will continue. Once I get a couple more plants I will upload more pics.

Thank you All!

Just a followup, if the cage temps are reading 83F, and your using a decent thermometer, then instead of replacing the light with a lower wattage one you can simply move the light back from the cage an inch or two to lower the temps. Though for a baby 83F is not that big of a difference from 80F.

Regarding UVB

you will want a reptisun 5.0 linear tube, which does require a special casing.

Here is the bulb.
http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...por-bulbs/-/zoo-med-18-repti-sun-50-uvb-bulb/

And the Hood to house the bulb.
http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/reptile-supplies/light-fixtures/-/20-fluorescent-hood-fixture/

you can also order crickets directly from that same website and they will be shipped overnight. This does mean you will be ordering in bulk, however that also mean that you will be saving a large amount of money. Say $25 for 500 shipped to your door, sure beats the $12 bucks for 90 I was paying at my local petco.

Cricket Link:
http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/feeder-crickets-worms-rodents-roaches-and-more/crickets/
S.F

 

[elfkin]

Thank you! All are so helpful!

One more question tho.
What else can a baby this size eat other than crickets and FF?

Thank you!

 

[pssh]

Small silkworms, small hornworms, maybe small dubia, possibly small mantids, small superworms, small mealworms, etc. Just make sure they are no wider than the space between her eyes.

 

[Elizadolots]

small Phoenix worms (aka Calciworms) would be a good option if they are available.

I will say that when feeing ONE chameleon it's hard to maintain the "feeder variety" concept. I think you just have to do the best you can.

If you are ordering online, it might be easier because you can order a variety and they all come under the same shipping charge. However, when you order online, you get lots of bugs and that means you are caring for lots of bugs.

I'm not offering a solution because I haven't found one. I'm just letting you know this is a problem. If you figure out a solution, please let me know!

 

[morpheon]

In what area are you Elfkin? If you are close to someone, maybe you could get a few insects from them for a low cost. Pssh pretty much named all the feeders you can get him. You could also add what Eliza said, and waxworms + butterworms. Just remember that a few feeders must not be overfeed. For example, a few superworms are great, but it shouldn't be used as primary feeder (exceptions exists but it shouldn't be your case).

You mentionned being a critter person. What kind of critter can you easily get? This way we can tell you if it's right for your little chameleon.

On feeders, always remember that the size of what you give to your chameleon should never exceed the size of your chameleon's head.

About your rocks on the ground, the main idea is sometimes chameleon can eat what is on the ground, for various reasons. Since you can not predict if it will eat any or not, you should NEVER let something that can not be digested by your chameleon, or something big enough to make it choke. So unless the rocks are pretty big, i wouldn't take any chance!

If you have any other questions, do not hesitate!