Brand New Owner with a Few Questions/Concerns

[cwarfield]

Hello all,

My name is Chris, this is my first post. I just got a baby veiled chameleon, Sully, a few days ago.

Here's Sully:

My first question is about the enclosure I have built for him. Is it too cluttered?

My second concern is about feeding him. If I just release some small crickets into his enclosure will he be able to find them and eat? I'm scared that he's just not going after them and that worries me. I attempted to fix this potential problem by putting a little dish on the floor of the enclosure with some small mealworms etc. (Picture posted below). Will he see them all the way down at the bottom and eat them?

I'd greatly appreciate any advice some of you more experienced owners could give me. Thank you so much in advance!

 

[Wowbango]

While they do appreciate a lot of foliage...it does appear that it is a bit too much. Especially once he grows, he won't be able to maneuver through the plants, he'll likely just crawl on the surface. Concentrate more on branches and vines, especially horizontal so that he can move around as he sees fit. Ditch the water bowl, Chameleons don't drink out of water bowls, it's just going to sit and get gross with poop and insects. Your UVB light is a CFL (Compact fluorescent) which are no good. They do not provide enough UVB coverage/penetration. Switch to a Linear UVB lamp and get a T5 HO one if possible. IF you're able to, switch to live plants. They help provide and maintain humidity while also making your enclosure look more beautiful!

Also, do NOT feed your chameleon mealworms! They're not good for their digestion. Switch to something else like superworms (as treats) silk worms, horn worms and roaches. Your chameleon will NOT crawl to the bottom to eat them. You can cup feed chameleons if you would like to try and train them to eat out of it, but you'll want to fix it somewhere up to near vines/etc where he can get to them.

 

[Syreptyon]

Hey, I have to run in like 2 minutes so I don't have time to address all your questions and make more comments but here are a couple quick pointers:

(1) Chameleons are good hunters and can generally find their prey with ease. However, when they are young (like yours), it may be better to cup feed him so you can keep track of exactly how much he's eating. You should attach a tall cup of some sort near the basking spot (high up) where he will spend a lot of time and easily notice them

(2) Never feed your chameleon mealworms. They are almost completely lacking in nutritional value and are very difficult to digest, which can lead to impaction and even death. Stick to other options like crickets, roaches, black soldier fly larvae, hornworms, silkworms, etc

(3) This last one is more or a comment/question. What is the other larger bowl doing down there? I just want to be sure there isn't water in it. On the off chance you don't know this, chameleons do not and should never drink standing water.

 

[Syreptyon]

I disagree that there is too much foliage. Lots of places for him to hide, which is good. I would, however, change out the fake plants for live ones personally.

 

[cwarfield]

Hey, I have to run in like 2 minutes so I don't have time to address all your questions and make more comments but here are a couple quick pointers:

(1) Chameleons are good hunters and can generally find their prey with ease. However, when they are young (like yours), it may be better to cup feed him so you can keep track of exactly how much he's eating. You should attach a tall cup of some sort near the basking spot (high up) where he will spend a lot of time and easily notice them

(2) Never feed your chameleon mealworms. They are almost completely lacking in nutritional value and are very difficult to digest, which can lead to impaction and even death. Stick to other options like crickets, roaches, black soldier fly larvae, hornworms, silkworms, etc

(3) This last one is more or a comment/question. What is the other larger bowl doing down there? I just want to be sure there isn't water in it. On the off chance you don't know this, chameleons do not and should never drink standing water.

Thanks for the quick response, lots of good info. The large bowl is the catch the water from the water dripper I have mounted on top of the cage. I empty it every morning. It is only temporary until I can afford and automatic misting system. To supplement I am misting several times a day.

 

[Wowbango]

I disagree that there is too much foliage. Lots of places for him to hide, which is good. I would, however, change out the fake plants for live ones personally.

IN my saying this, I'm taking into consideration that these are plastic plants and very "packed" in. within a month, he wont' even fit between the plants to hide. If he can spread the plants out more evenly so they're not "piled" up along the sides, it would be better and provide room and coverage for hiding spots.

 

[cwarfield]

Okay yea that makes total sense. I know that they grow quite fast and in a few months he'll be too by to maneuver through the foliage. I"ll definitely remove the two side ones and add maybe some bamboo sticks horizontally across the cage.

 

[Wowbango]

Okay yea that makes total sense. I know that they grow quite fast and in a few months he'll be too by to maneuver through the foliage. I"ll definitely remove the two side ones and add maybe some bamboo sticks horizontally across the cage.

That's a good Start, It's also nice if you have like a potted Umbrella Tree (Schefflera) at the bottom and it'll provide a lot of branches for him to hold on to, while again, helping with humidity. Here's an example of one of my setups to give you an idea. Still plenty of hiding spots, with a lot of things for him to move around on and hide behind. That being said, this isn't a PERFECT setup, there's still plenty of different things you can do. The Schefflera plant still has plenty of growing to do and once it does, will fill the bottom half of the cage nicely.

 

[King4Zerg]

Hello all,

My name is Chris, this is my first post. I just got a baby veiled chameleon, Sully, a few days ago.

Here's Sully:

View attachment 212059

My first question is about the enclosure I have built for him. Is it too cluttered?

View attachment 212062

My second concern is about feeding him. If I just release some small crickets into his enclosure will he be able to find them and eat? I'm scared that he's just not going after them and that worries me. I attempted to fix this potential problem by putting a little dish on the floor of the enclosure with some small mealworms etc. (Picture posted below). Will he see them all the way down at the bottom and eat them?

View attachment 212060

I'd greatly appreciate any advice some of you more experienced owners could give me. Thank you so much in advance!

Your enclosure is GREAT!!! Something I did see was you have a water bowl, you do not need this all you really need is to spray the enclosure twice a day getting every leaf wet.

 

[Char333p]

Agree with everyone's comments. The plants you have are fine for now but like someone said when he's older id cut back. Make sure you have a fine mist bottle and spray his enclosure 2-3 times a day and get everything really wet, like it just rained. cause they drink water off leaves. They wont notice a water bowl. Overall I think you did good with your setup but id invest in a linear bulb UVB those coiled ones that come with the enclosure do not give enough range or depth of light your cham needs to survive. Specially with such a big enclosure.

Bendy vines are also a good thing to get. Your chameleon will want to reach many different levels and spots, the more the better

One of many important things is hydration. so look up in search about how the urates should look. ( that's the preferably white thing at the top of the poop

Just keep asking questions and recommendations. If your not sure just post and someone will definitely answer relatively quick. or just search for topics your unsure about, or just to see how others do it.

Good luck!!!!

 

[Brodybreaux25]

I agree with everything char333 said except for one tiny little detail....

One trait all successful Cham keepers have is the ability to do their own research and apply what they learned. We are always here for you if you get stuck but ideally you should be doing your own research and attempt to solve any issues you have before you post a new thread.

Once you have done your research and think you have the answer then, yes, by all means ask the forum your question to confirm that you came to the correct conclusion. That is our mission here, to distribute the knowledge and experiences we have had individually to make the Cham keeping community as a whole more effective.

I’m defanitly not trying to discourage you from asking any question you may have, only encouraging you to walk on your own two feet. I think this is a good example of that old saying that we’ve all heard:
Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. But teach him to fish and he will eat for a lifetime...

 

[cwarfield]

I agree with everything char333 said except for one tiny little detail....

One trait all successful Cham keepers have is the ability to do their own research and apply what they learned. We are always here for you if you get stuck but ideally you should be doing your own research and attempt to solve any issues you have before you post a new thread.

Once you have done your research and think you have the answer then, yes, by all means ask the forum your question to confirm that you came to the correct conclusion. That is our mission here, to distribute the knowledge and experiences we have had individually to make the Cham keeping community as a whole more effective.

I’m defanitly not trying to discourage you from asking any question you may have, only encouraging you to walk on your own two feet. I think this is a good example of that old saying that we’ve all heard:
Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. But teach him to fish and he will eat for a lifetime...

Well said, I’ll take your advice to heart. I just ordered myself a big chameleon care book from amazon, so I’m on my way to walking on my own two feet. Thanks for your input!

 

[NickTide]

I don't think the cham will find it too cluttered but you might. I prefer live plants. Plants are key. Pothos will raise the humidity like 10% or more. leaving crickets free will cause them to hide and escape. Cup feeding is the way to go.

 

[Brodybreaux25]

Well said, I’ll take your advice to heart. I just ordered myself a big chameleon care book from amazon, so I’m on my way to walking on my own two feet. Thanks for your input!

I was told the very same thing on my first post and it has served me well. What book did you order and who is the author? I bought one a few weeks ago too but it was more for anatomy. I’m not saying it won’t be helpful but this forum is the best resource available for chameleon husbandry. If you try to google any Cham husbandry question almost all the results will lead you right back to this forum, it is the place to be for questions!

 

[JoshD49]

I was concerned about too much cover as well but plan to give him a lot of cover while he is young and reduce once he's older. Also taking out most or all of my fake plants and swapping them with pothos. Right now I just have the umbrella plant that he sleeps in every night.

Also make sure you KNOW it's a boy or not so you can plan for room for a lay box later if needed.

The books are a good idea but the search bar here and car sheets from the resources tab taught me more then the books with live experiences of other posters. One thing I did a lot of was reading the failure posts where they lost the Cham ( I know it's morbid and heartbreaking) to see what went wrong so I don't make the same mistake.