Baby cham questions

Hi Iam new and this is my first chameleon . Please be nice . She is a female veiled Cham . I got her on wed. She is only 5 weeks old ( I know so young I had not found your page yet until after getting her) . Shes doing great I’ve read on here a lot and have made lots of changes (got rid of water fall , added better lights etc )and I feel like Iam off to a good start . Iam literally obsessed with her . She’s just so damn cute ! She’s eating pooping and peeing I mist her chage literally every other hour or so . And I feel like we are off to a great start . But my question is what is normal baby behavior? I am literally on her all day reading your posts because she now become my obsession !! She walks around and hunts her food . But when I peak on her or just come admire her she’s just chilling on her branch ? She’s a happy color and her basking temp is 75-80 . I just see videos and there babies are all over the place . Is it because she is still getting used to us ? Would someone want to message me , so I can just pick your brain ? I honestly love her (is that weird ) and I will do what ever it takes to help her have a happy life !
 
Glad you're having such a good experience with your little girl so far! And it's great that you've been reading on here and making changes to improve her life as you continue to learn more about raising chameleons. Nothing about what you've written strikes me as terrible concerning. Some chameleons are more active than others and they take a while to acclimate to a new environment. Often, when you look at them, they will stop moving to try and avoid detection.

To really help you out and give more specific pointers, please fill out the following form with as much detail as possible and we will be able to give a comprehensive review of your husbandry :)

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?
 
welcome to the forums I also would like you to fill out the form that way we can make sure your care is in tip top shape!

as for your current questions these are all normal settling behaviors it will take a week or two for her to settle to her new home, she doesn't know who you are but if you spend excess amts of time around she will slowly start to get used to you

also she is your chameleon and your responsibility now so no, it is not weird at all to love her already, it shows that you care about her and that she has a good home
 
  • Your Chameleon - Veiled Cham, female, I was told 5-6 weeks and Ive had her for about a week.The species, sex, and age of your chameleon.
  • Handling - I try once a day but if she doesn’t want too I don’t bother her
  • Feeding - Iam feeding her crickets (gut loaded )3 times a day I usually give her four and watch her eat a few then leave her alone . I’ve offered her worms but she has no interest
  • Supplements - Calcium and muti vitamin
  • Watering - I worrie about her a lot so I most her cage through out the day
  • Fecal Description - Brown/black poop and white pee maybe yellowish
  • History- none except I got her from lllreptile
 
  • Your Chameleon - Veiled Cham, female, I was told 5-6 weeks and Ive had her for about a week.The species, sex, and age of your chameleon.
  • Handling - I try once a day but if she doesn’t want too I don’t bother her
  • Feeding - Iam feeding her crickets (gut loaded )3 times a day I usually give her four and watch her eat a few then leave her alone . I’ve offered her worms but she has no interest
  • Supplements - Calcium and muti vitamin
  • Watering - I worrie about her a lot so I most her cage through out the day
  • Fecal Description - Brown/black poop and white pee maybe yellowish
  • History- none except I got her from lllreptile
For the future, never buy from LLL Reptile or buy a cham younger than 3 months! Don’t handle her unless she wants it (climbs onto you). What do you gutload with? Feed her as much as she’ll eat multiple times a day. What are your exact supplements and how often do you use them? How long is each misting session? Could you fill out the rest of the form, please, and post a pic of your cham and her cage, as well?
 
age Info:
  • Cage Type - Repti breeze cage 16x 16x 18z ( again if I would of read here I would of gotten a bigger one first )
  • Lighting - A basking light 60 watt and a uvb light 5.0 on for 12 hours a day then off
  • Temperature - basking temp 75-80 I have a digital thermometer
  • Humidity - 50-60
  • Plants - no live plants yet only fake
  • Placement - in my room less traffic and gives her more alone time
  • Location - Seattle wa
 
For the future, never buy from LLL Reptile or buy a cham younger than 3 months! Don’t handle her unless she wants it (climbs onto you). What do you gutload with? Feed her as much as she’ll eat multiple times a day. What are your exact supplements and how often do you use them? How long is each misting session? Could you fill out the rest of the form, please, and post a pic of your cham and her cage, as well?
Yes how do I post pics sorry Iam so new to this
 
don't handle unless they voluntarily come to you

what so you gut load with, feed as much as you can just not at night, it will give her time to digest, offer her different worms just not mealworms or wax worms its important to vary the diet while young,

calcium without d3 should b fed every feeding, calcium with d3 should be fed every other week as well as the multivitamin

misting should be 2 mins everytime with a 5 min session somewhere in there

if the yellow increases I would try getting a dripper, running water is very appealing to chams

she will eventually need a 2x2x4 cage and a lay bin at around 6 months, make sure you do plenty of research and are supplementing correctly so she lays eggs well but that wont be for a while.

also chameleons like routine, try to have a timed mist schedule and feeding time
 
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age Info:
  • Cage Type - Repti breeze cage 16x 16x 18z ( again if I would of read here I would of gotten a bigger one first )
  • Lighting - A basking light 60 watt and a uvb light 5.0 on for 12 hours a day then off
  • Temperature - basking temp 75-80 I have a digital thermometer
  • Humidity - 50-60
  • Plants - no live plants yet only fake
  • Placement - in my room less traffic and gives her more alone time
  • Location - Seattle wa
She’ll eventually need a minimum sized cage of 18” by 18” by 36” tall, but preferably 2’ by 2’ by 4’ tall or bigger, with a suitable lay bin. I’d get a taller cage if I were you. I’m not the most well-versed in uvb for babies, so someone else can answer that for you, especially with how short your cage is, but for chams 3 months or older, she’ll need either a t5HO or T8 linear uvb fixture and bulb (either Zoo Med 5.0 or Arcadia 6% for a 36” tall cage or a Zoo Med 10.0 for a 4’ tall cage or bigger). Not sure on temps, but I think 85*F, again someone more knowledgeable with babies will be able to answer that. Humidity is good. I would definitely get a live plant, like a pothos, since veileds eats plants and pothos are a vining plant, as well.
 
Add in a bigger variety of feeders, like micro superworms, recently hatched silk and hornworms, extra small butterworms, fruit flies if your cham is small enough, black soldier fly larvae, baby roaches (red runner, dubia, orange headed, and ivory headed cannot climb or fly), and blue bottle fly spikes. Do you know how to properly dust your feeders? There are many ways to supplement:
1) phosphorous free calcium without D3 (Zoo Med ReptiCalcium without D3) every feeding, phosphorous free calcium with D3 (Zoo Med ReptiCalcium with D3) every two weeks, and a multivitamin without D3 (like Zoo Med Reptivite without D3) every two weeks
2) phosphorous free calcium without D3 (Zoo Med ReptiCalcium without D3) every feeding and a multivitamin with D3 (Zoo Med Reptivite with D3) every two weeks
3) an all in one supplement every feeding (like Sticky Tongue Farms Minerall- gutload feeders the night before with Sticky Tongue Farms Vitall if using Minerall; use the indoor formula since she’s kept indoors. Or Repashy Calcium Plus LoD, though I prefer Minerall)
4) Arcadia supplements using the Arcadia insectivore supplement schedule off of their website
 
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