baby cham

veiledcham<3

New Member
my boyfriend just bought a baby female veiled cham from petco. he bought it as a gift for me however i know that these animals need careful care. i’ve researched and i think i know what i need to. he purchased the complete zoo med cham setup and we bought her more vines and leaves to play on however i’ve seen that most of the equipment such as the lights and vitamins aren’t the correct supplies for chams so can someone tell me an exact brand of lights that will work? i’ve seen many options but i’m not exactly sure. also, i need a good misting machine and light timer, if anyone could give me some suggestions that would be great. i’ve noticed today that’s she’s napping, she’s also been in defense mode a lot today. i don’t know what the cause is. she’s eating and drinking normal and her temp stays at 80. i know she’s not too hot and not too cold so i’m not quite sure what to do. she completely shedded yesterday but she finished yesterday morning and didn’t seem tired the rest of the day. today is the first time she’s done this.
 
Hi welcome and congrats. 😀 it would be helpful to fill out a husbandry form what lights/supplements do you have . For your cham you will want either a zoo med repti sun t5ho or an arcadia t5ho 6% personally I think the arcadia is better . These are both long fluorescent fixtures. Also there is lots of info on chameleon academy and Neptune the chameleon channel you tube. Can you post some photos of your complete enclosure.
 
these helped me when i got my cham!
 

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Your Chameleon - veiled, female, i think she’s about 2 months old. i’ve had her for about a week.
Handling - not often. only when she willingly climbs out of her cage on to me.
Feeding - live crickets. no specific amount, i feed her first thing in the morning when she wakes up and before 7:00pm every evening. currently just carrots, what are some good veggies i should be feeding them?
Supplements - i’m using zoo meds reptile calcium without d3 for everyday dusting, i have zoo meds vitamins but i heard they weren’t good so i haven’t used it. i understand she’ll need a d3 dusting at least once a month so that will be purchased this week.
Watering - i spray her enclosure every morning and periodically through the day when it’s been dry for a little bit. i missed for about one minute. yes i see her drinking.
Fecal Description - brown and a little wet. she has not been tested for parasites.
History - no history
Cage Type - i bought the zoomed reptibreeze cham kit. idk the exact dimensions. all sides are screen.
Lighting - currently using zoo med tropical uvb & heat lighting. lights turn on at 10:30am and off at 10:30pm.
Temperature- basking spot is usually at 80- 85, ground is usually 75. lowest overnight temp is 60. a little device that came in the cham kit.
Humidity - i dont have a way to check humidity levels rn, suggestions would be great.
Plants - i’m using fake plants but they are in the silk form not plastic. i want to transition into real plants soon, what are some good plants?
Placement - it’s on top of my dresser, not near any air vents. it’s in a low traffic area.
Location - missouri, it’s pretty cold outside right now but stays warm in my room.
Current Problem - why my cham is napping during the day.
 

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Ok firstly as I mentioned the lights in the kit aren't really suitable you will want either an zoo med t5ho 5%or arcadia 6%. Long fluorescent. Allow her to eat as much as she wants at this age. Feeder page and gut-loading page added by Caroline. Ditch the carpet at the bottom as its only a breeding ground for bacteria. I use arcadia supplements. Feeding in the morning good that allows her time to digest properly. You will want to add lots of branches for climbing keeping them around 9 inches away from the basking area and uvb. And get live plants as fake plants can cause impaction risks golden pothos and wandering jew are good plants
 
They just wanted you to post the help form I think.
Ohh well if you still want it lol

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
 
Hi and welcome! Since it seems no one else has gone thru this, I guess I will. Putting my feedback in red.
Your Chameleon - veiled, female, i think she’s about 2 months old. i’ve had her for about a week.
Handling - not often. only when she willingly climbs out of her cage on to me.
Feeding - live crickets. no specific amount, i feed her first thing in the morning when she wakes up and before 7:00pm every evening. currently just carrots, what are some good veggies i should be feeding them? At 2 months old feeding twice a day is good. You want to give her as much as she can eat in about a 15 minute period. Make sure the feeders are no bigger than the space between her eyes. In about another month you’ll change to feeding just once daily in the morning, about 12-15 feeders. Around 5-6 months old you’ll want to decrease it again to 6-8 feeders daily. You’ve already been provided sheets on feeders and what to feed the bugs.
Supplements - i’m using zoo meds reptile calcium without d3 for everyday dusting, i have zoo meds vitamins but i heard they weren’t good so i haven’t used it. i understand she’ll need a d3 dusting at least once a month so that will be purchased this week. If you haven’t yet purchased a multivitamin or D3, I’d suggest getting Reptivite with D3, which is a combo of both and is to be used one feeding every other week. Calcium without D3 at every feeding is correct.
Watering - i spray her enclosure every morning and periodically through the day when it’s been dry for a little bit. i missed for about one minute. yes i see her drinking. Usually you want to mist for at least 2 minutes, 3 times daily. You want the enclosure to dry out in between. Mist King is the best system and very much worth the extra cost.
Fecal Description - brown and a little wet. she has not been tested for parasites.
History - no history
Cage Type - i bought the zoomed reptibreeze cham kit. idk the exact dimensions. all sides are screen. This will need to be upgraded as she grows. Minimum size for adult cham is 2x2x4’ or equivalent.
Lighting - currently using zoo med tropical uvb & heat lighting. lights turn on at 10:30am and off at 10:30pm. You’ll need a T5 ho fixture with either a 5.0 or 6% uvb bulb. Plan on getting this ASAP. It needs to span the width of the enclosure. Might as well get the 24” one and just have it hang over a bit now.
Temperature- basking spot is usually at 80- 85, ground is usually 75. lowest overnight temp is 60. a little device that came in the cham kit. Basking is a bit high. You want no hotter than 80 during the day.
Humidity - i dont have a way to check humidity levels rn, suggestions would be great. I use these but they stay on the outside of my enclosures. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07R3YC1BC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Plants - i’m using fake plants but they are in the silk form not plastic. i want to transition into real plants soon, what are some good plants? Real plants are best. Safe list here. https://chameleonacademy.com/plants/
Placement - it’s on top of my dresser, not near any air vents. it’s in a low traffic area.
Location - missouri, it’s pretty cold outside right now but stays warm in my room.
Current Problem - why my cham is napping during the day.
It’s never a good sign when a chameleon has it’s eyes closed during the day. It usually means something is very wrong. Young chams are quite fragile and need correct husbandry in order to survive and thrive. Also, while many of us have gotten lucky with chams from Petco, they are known for selling sick animals. I can’t promise that correcting your husbandry will be enough for your cham, but I do know that not correcting it won’t be a good outcome at all. Since this is already long, I will post separately how to make the cham kit work for now.
 
The chameleon kit is possibly one of the worst things that has happened to captive chameleons and it contains little that is actually correct for chams. However, with a little modification you can make it work for now.
The biggest problem is incorrect uvb. The compact bulb is only able to provide adequate uvb levels in a very short and narrow area. You need to use the twisty vine to set it up so that the back of your cham is 2-3” away from the uvb bulb. Then you want to bend it down as it nears the basking bulb to an area that will be at the right temp of 80. See the pics below.
To learn so much more about everything you could ever want to know and then some, do check out https://chameleonacademy.com/veiled-chameleon-care/ As already mentioned, Neptune the Chameleon on YouTube is another great learning source. And of course, ask as many questions here as you need.
Just one more thing...although you have a few months to learn all about it, you sweet little girl will lay eggs whether or not she’s even seen a male. Due to this, we give our ladies special and slightly different care. When you are ready to learn all about that, just ask. :)
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