Beginner..Help?

[richardthecham]

I'm going to be asking for a baby veiled chameleon for Christmas. I've done a lot of research on them, but I trust you guys the most. I want your opinions on genders, habitats, care, feeding, stuff like that. I want your best pieces of advice because I want all of the information I can get. Thanks

 

[DavidBuchan]

Hello, welcome to the forum There's so much to say about the amazing little green things but here's the best basic caresheet I've seen - https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/chameleonsinmyhouse/395-veiled-chameleon-care-sheet.html
Don't forget to read part 2 and happy chamming!

 

[maxttu]

Hello and welcome! I'd def try to get a male and keep him in a screened enclosure. Depending on his age, you could start off with a smaller cage, but will ultimately need to get a 24"x24"x48" or larger !!

 

[Bradx197]

I would definitely recommend getting a male. Males are more colorful and you don't have to worry about an egg laying bin. Welcome to the forums!

 

[Darwin760]

I can't stress drainage for your new chameleons enclosure.

 

[Elizadolots]

Hi!

Kudos to you for finding this place and asking questions before you buy! That makes you so much better than I am....(**sigh**)

I agree with the recommendation to buy a male. That simplifies your life no end. I also agree that drainage for the enclosure is a HUGE issue and your life will be so much nicer if you get that worked out ahead of time.

Here's one way to do it (you can probably imagine a way that's better for your situation): Get a cheap table (Ikea?) that your cage fits on. Cut a hole in the top of the table. Put a bucket under the hole. Put the cage on the table and drill holes over the hole in the table. Put something to weigh the bottom down to the holes (like a rock).

So, when you spray/mist/drip into the cage, it goes to the holes and drains into the bucket.

It's not perfect (you never do mist exactly in the cage) but it's SOOOOO much better than having no drainage. Pretty much all of the dripper water will go into the bucket.

 

[cricketkilla]

I can't stress drainage for your new chameleons enclosure.

I second! I highly recommend getting a mistking or aquazamp misting system to make it easier to mist 4-5 times a day. I mist for a total of 30 minutes a day with three nozzles per enclosure and run a dripper for the majority of the day! all that water is going to go somewhere, PM if you need any help with a drainage system. Good luck and definitely go for a male first. Have you thought about a panther? They tend to be a little more friendly and tolerant to handling.

 

[cricketkilla]

Ohhh ohhhh one more thing, get some plastic white table top covers from Walmart, they're like a dollar a piece. These are great to put around the outside of your cage to keep water from going everywhere. Another gold nugget of advice for ya, call around to some breakfast restaurants near you and have them save their egg trays for you, you'll be glad you did this when you have 1000's of crickets all the time and have to change them out every week!

 

[richardthecham]

Yay males are better, I wanted a male anyway because I want to name him Richard (hence the username).
Draining system, hmm. I don't think my mom would allow me to ruin a table, so I came up with an idea of just propping the cage up and running a drainage pipe/tube off of the side of the table into a bucket..it sounds simpler in my head haha. Thank you guys so much for that information though, draining is the only thing I haven't read about.
Do you suggest purchasing a mister and dripper? Because I've read that you can mist them manually with a spray bottle, and you can use ice cubes or a cup of water with a hole in the bottom as a make-shift dripper.

 

[Darwin760]

I would order a automister. I thought I was going to go the hand mist route too. I quickly got tired of that, plus if you plan on having any type of social life you need one. Good luck