I have no idea what to do because my boyfriends mom is the only one that can buy stuff for him and I know she won’t because she just bought a $135 enclosure that she thinks is perfect and will be super mad if we tell her she made a mistake in the enclosure…we love our little guy. And she definitely won’t buy us anything for him after she spent that much money on an enclosure :/
Is it normal for him to have black/red streaks when doing that though?
A lot of the times he will be even bigger and he will gape and wriggle his body.
I do not think I am understanding... Why can't you and your boyfriend buy him stuff? It is not that this is wrong. it simply is not going to work for long term and does not come with the correct UVB source.
My boyfriend and I are teenagers.
Ok so you need to read through that husbandry program. You will need to make a list of the items you have to have. Here are some specifics you have to get. Take the list to the mother. Explain from an educated stance the needs you have to have. Offer to do yard work or housework to help pay for it. But you can not just leave this baby in this cage without the essentials. UVB is a must. He will develop MBD without it. Which will cripple him then eventually kill him.
I hate to tell you this, but just about all of us have spent many hundreds on just getting the correct basic set up for our chameleons. Unfortunately it’s also a common thing that a chameleon kit is bought and then all of the correct stuff needs to be bought on top of that. There are ways you can reduce costs, such as building your own enclosure. Doing something like that won’t necessarily come off as an insult to Mom if you approach it properly…act as though it’s something you want to do rather than the truth of being something you need to do. Start looking at your houseplants and the plants of your friends, family and others. Pothos, philodendron and Tradescantia zebrina (wandering Jew) are very easily propagated from clippings and are perfect for chameleons. Train them to grow up and they’ll grow the biggest gorgeous leaves. Use natural branches from outside (avoid pine and sappy trees). Give a good little scrub with dish soap, rinse very well and sun/air dry before use. But, the most important things that there is no substitute for is the correct uvb light and supplements. I believe the supplements that come with the kit are Zoo Med ReptiCalcium without D3 and Reptivite with D3. Use the plain calcium lightly dusted at every feeding except one every other week. That one feeding every other week you’ll use the ReptiVite with D3. This is the same regimen that I and many other use. With chameleons, you either spend the money/resources to get them set up properly or you’ll be looking at what can be very expensive vet care and the sad and avoidable loss of your sweet animal.
Thank you
The blue one that comes with the kit is actually fine to use. It is the red bulbs that can harm their eyes.
Oh, someone else on here said the blue ones were bad as well.
Nope not sure where they read that but the one that comes in the cham kit actually does not even shine a blue hue. It comes through as white. It is the red bulbs that are very dangerous. The blue bulb and the cage are the only good thing in the kit lol
I had no idea, thank you!!
Please see above where Beman corrected my info. Colored lights are not good for chameleon however the blue daylight bulb that comes in the chameleon kit or that you can buy separately at the pet store is ok because it gives off a white light, not blue.
Does the bulb look blue? Who says it is a white light? Has it been tested to see how much blue light is ontained in the "white" light?
I used it the first year with Beman... It shines white not blue.
Following this and think in the future I shall err on the side of caution and just provide the vague statement that colored lights are not ideal for sensitive reptile eyes.
