Care questions

[LittleVeiledExplorer]

Hello everyone. I have some questions and concerns regarding my chameleon and his care. I have had him for a while now, and luckily nothing serious has came up. However, I still have some minor worries and some questions that I would like to have answered.



Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Veiled, Male, approximately 10 months old, and he has been in my care for about half a year
• Handling - Not often. Maybe 1-3 times a week, if not I don't handle him at all. He HATES me but loves to come out of his cage to explore
• Feeding - Crickets as a staple, with hornworms, super worms, and BSFL given in moderation when I can get my hands on them. I also have a colony of dubia roaches. But he doesn't like to eat them so I don't feed them as much. He gets about 8-15 medium large crickets a day. Sometimes he eats them all and other times he will only eat about half. He eats during the morning and mid afternoon. My feeders are gut loaded with organic fruit and veg, as well as orange cricket cubes and homemade dry gut load.
• Supplements - Reptical calcium without D3 every day, and calcium with D3 and multivitamins about 2 times per month.
• Watering - I have a monsoon mister that runs about 4 times per day and through the night for about a minute. I also hand mist him with warm water when possible because this seems to make him want to drink the most. I have a dripper too. But never uses it and is convinced its actually just a vine he can have fun hanging on.
• Fecal Description - Urates are white with a tiny spot of yellow at the top, and droppings are dark brown with normal consistency. I don't think he's every been tested for parasites.
• History - I don't think so

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Screen glass combination, 18x18x38.
• Lighting - T5 Reptisun LED UVB terrarium hood. I believe its the 14 inch. I also use a 100wat ceramic heater and a 100 watt Zoo med Reptispot basking bulb. About 6:45am to 6:00pm. Ceramic stays on all of the time. And yes, it gets quite cold in my location.
• Temperature - 85-90 in basking spot and about 65-70 at bottom of the cage. I use a digital hydrometer/thermometer. At night it gets to about 60 in his cage at the lowest.
• Humidity - 80% at the highest, usually after misting the entire cage down extensively with war water. Usually stays around 60% though. The monsoon maintains most of it, and the two glass panels and decor help.
• Plants - Yes, I have an Scheffela arboricola, dracaena fragrant, and a philodendron cordatum. I also have plenty of fake plants on the sides of the cage.
• Placement - My room, very low traffic. No vents are open near his cage. Maybe 3 feet off the ground.
• Location - Colorado

Current Problem - No major problem, but here is a list of questions:
-As far as UVB goes, should I upgrade to a .10? I have a .05 right now and it is sorta towards the back of the cage. He still spends a lot of time near it, but recently I have been questioning weather or not it would be better to switch. Also, in February it will be about 6 months old. Should I change out then or will it last a full year?
-I am not sure if it is just me, but does he look small for his age?? He eats well, and only has been on one big hunger strike his entire life. Could it be possible that the pet store got his age wrong??
-Any advice on his cage?? It is a bioactive set up, and he has access to the entire cage. Will he outgrow it??If yes, do you think that there is any way I can upgrade it??
-He hates me. I have accepted it, and I love him for the grumpy old man he is. However, he still begs to come out. Is there anyway he can get some time out of his cage without me stressing him too much?
-And if you see anything else that I haven't caught, please tell me! Feedback is suuuupperrrr appreciated. Thanks!!

 

[Syreptyon]

Your cage isn't particularly tall, so I think a 5.0 is probably fine for UVB, unless it's super densely planted at the top (which it doesn't seem to be). You should be good to use the same bulb for a year from everything I've ever heard.

Hard to tell his size without a weight or a better point of reference, but he looks pretty normal sized to me and with a nice sized casque, too. It's very likely that the pet store could have gotten his age wrong, but also some chameleons just grow much more slowly than others.

As for his overall setup, I think it looks nice but I would definitely add more foliage towards the top so he can have some additional cover and perches--it's just a titch sparse imo. Typically, it's recommended that the minimum size cage for an adult veiled is 24x24x48", so I would personally be in favor of upgrading (as inconvenient as that can unfortunately be!)

 

[Syreptyon]

Oh, also! Did you say that you run your mister at night? You should most definitely not be doing that as it will do nothing for your chameleon besides disrupt his sleep. If you're worried about humidity, just use a humidifier at night

 

[LittleVeiledExplorer]

Your cage isn't particularly tall, so I think a 5.0 is probably fine for UVB, unless it's super densely planted at the top (which it doesn't seem to be). You should be good to use the same bulb for a year from everything I've ever heard.

Hard to tell his size without a weight or a better point of reference, but he looks pretty normal sized to me and with a nice sized casque, too. It's very likely that the pet store could have gotten his age wrong, but also some chameleons just grow much more slowly than others.

As for his overall setup, I think it looks nice but I would definitely add more foliage towards the top so he can have some additional cover and perches--it's just a titch sparse imo. Typically, it's recommended that the minimum size cage for an adult veiled is 24x24x48", so I would personally be in favor of upgrading (as inconvenient as that can unfortunately be!)

Thanks! That is good to know. I was getting paranoid that his growth was stunted and I was gonna have some MBD issues on my hands... Do you have any recommendations for a new cage? The one I have currently is a custom made cage manufactured in California. I need something a bit more practical for my bioactive elements then a full screen cage... not to mention the glass is a huge help when it comes to maintaining temps and humidity. Also, when would be the best time for an upgrade?

 

[LittleVeiledExplorer]

Oh, also! Did you say that you run your mister at night? You should most definitely not be doing that as it will do nothing for your chameleon besides disrupt his sleep. If you're worried about humidity, just use a humidifier at night

Ok, I will do that!

 

[Syreptyon]

Your supplement schedule sounds very good and I don't see any obvious signs of MBD - I wouldn't be too worried! As for a new cage, I'm not totally sure. I use all screen, myself, though I understand that doesn't sound like it will meet your needs. I think Dragon Strand may be a good bet. I think they have some customization options that may be useful to you, although they are definitely pricey (albeit gorgeous)

 

[LittleVeiledExplorer]

Your supplement schedule sounds very good and I don't see any obvious signs of MBD - I wouldn't be too worried! As for a new cage, I'm not totally sure. I use all screen, myself, though I understand that doesn't sound like it will meet your needs. I think Dragon Strand may be a good bet. I think they have some customization options that may be useful to you, although they are definitely pricey (albeit gorgeous)

I'll have too take a closer look at that! I think I visited their website once, but I wasn't exactly looking for a cage at the time. I think I'd be a bit hesitant to order an enclosure online. I always get worried about it breaking when being shipped. Not to mention I'll most likely pay a fortune to have it brought to where I live. But I am still open to options! I want the best for my little guy.