cirx box and clicking yemen cham

[atsutane]

so i recently received my first chameleon and the pictures are posted on my profile so you can see my set up and tell me how i messed things up. i have a nice window sill with a bunch more plants (a few toxic ones i know) but i watch her exercise and run around the plants in a controlled free roam area. she seems very healthy and we are now starting her on a suplemental diet routine of dusted crix... and i was wondering

the crix, i have them in a 18gal plastic storage bin, sterilite, and they crawl up the sides that ive tried to rub down with vegetable oil to keep them down and screen over the top of the bin, I have some egg carton in the bottom with some apple and lettuce.

my question, how do i keep them from crawling up the side? and what else to i need to provide a heat mat? water? so the colony will be self sustained as i grow them.

and my cham that I mentioned earlier will do this clicking thing with her head and it makes her feet vibrate, its very peculiar and was wondering who had encountered it before while handling and what you think it means for your cham.




Chameleon Info:

* Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
Female Yemen, i think 4-6 months she seems young and has some color change, mostly green, neons and grey browns are generally less upset, and black polka dot lightning bolts down her side are pissed off

* Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
once or twice, on her terms when i offer to let her out on the window sill but she never is willing to go back in the cage afterward

* Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Crix, couple to 3 a day, i have 3 crix in a cup she can easily identify and knows food is in it

* Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
crix right now, maybe dubias if i have the stuff for them

* Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
she was dehydrated when i got her from the store, she had drank a lot that day when i offered it to her, i mist twice to three times manually each day, have a dripper run 4 hours in the morning and also have the habba mist go off every 3 hours for 30 seconds

* Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
black and creme, was yellow because her dehydration issue that has since then been resolved

* History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
she was in a pet store that only dusted with cal+d3 for at least a month or so, cramed with 3 other baby yemen, probably underfed. the uvb light had a plastic cover, but the owner tried to convince me it was a "special plastic" that transmitted uvb. she has proper lighting and supplementing now. no sign of MBD


Cage Info:

* Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
18x18x20. 99% screen, much like the instacage, with a dracena, pothos and Hawaiian sheffelara

* Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
reptiglo10.0 18 in flourescent above the back of the 18x18x20 cage

* Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
night times get to 68, 90 in the basking (she stays where its cooler mostly) 73 in the bottom of the cage in the day, 74-76 on top

* Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
30 on top overnight, 40-50 under the plants overnight, after misting and such 50-65 below and 30 above

* Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
dracena, pothos, scheffelara, on the window sill i have 4 orchids, another scheffelara, spider plants, 2 baby hibiscus, small ivy, variegated pothos, and a ficus elastica

* 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?
the ac unit is under the cage, not blowing on the cage, about 1.5-2 ft off the ground around a corner, but in view of the window

* Location - Where are you geographically located?
Ames iowa

 

[Jakedn]

so i recently received my first chameleon and the pictures are posted on my profile so you can see my set up and tell me how i messed things up. i have a nice window sill with a bunch more plants (a few toxic ones i know) but i watch her exercise and run around the plants in a controlled free roam area. she seems very healthy and we are now starting her on a suplemental diet routine of dusted crix... and i was wondering

the crix, i have them in a 18gal plastic storage bin, sterilite, and they crawl up the sides that ive tried to rub down with vegetable oil to keep them down and screen over the top of the bin, I have some egg carton in the bottom with some apple and lettuce.

my question, how do i keep them from crawling up the side? and what else to i need to provide a heat mat? water? so the colony will be self sustained as i grow them.

and my cham that I mentioned earlier will do this clicking thing with her head and it makes her feet vibrate, its very peculiar and was wondering who had encountered it before while handling and what you think it means for your cham.

They vibrate to communicate. Vibrations usually mean distress while you are holding them. I have only experienced the vibrations when something happens that bothers my chameleon.

The clicking sound could be a respiratory infection.

 

[Elizadolots]

On the crickets, you might add more egg carton. I tear mine into 1 egg portions and layer them, but I keep very few crickets. I never have more than 100. However, I've noticed that if there's a shortage of egg crate, they tend to try other ways to climb. If you don't want them going high, maybe tear some egg crate down to 1 egg pieces and put them around the enclosure...

I give mine that jellied cricket water you can buy at the pet store and (forgive me) I keep dog food in their "keeper" at all times. About 2 hours before I'm going to feed my chameleons I pull the crickets out and give them whatever vegetables and fruit I have on hand (I live in southern California...we always have good fresh veggies).

I would think that crickets could survive in any temperature that sustains you. So, I don't think you have to heat them. Even if you let the house get really cold at night, I don't know that it would seriously affect them. However, I could be wrong on that.

When you say your chameleon does "this clicking thing" is it a sound you can hear or are you describing a motion the chameleon makes with its head?

 

[atsutane]

no sound, just the communication part. thanks for the help, thats what i thought. though she didnt change collors and seemed not too upset. but im new so i dont know

 

[atsutane]

On the crickets, you might add more egg carton. I tear mine into 1 egg portions and layer them, but I keep very few crickets. I never have more than 100. However, I've noticed that if there's a shortage of egg crate, they tend to try other ways to climb. If you don't want them going high, maybe tear some egg crate down to 1 egg pieces and put them around the enclosure...

I give mine that jellied cricket water you can buy at the pet store and (forgive me) I keep dog food in their "keeper" at all times. About 2 hours before I'm going to feed my chameleons I pull the crickets out and give them whatever vegetables and fruit I have on hand (I live in southern California...we always have good fresh veggies).

I would think that crickets could survive in any temperature that sustains you. So, I don't think you have to heat them. Even if you let the house get really cold at night, I don't know that it would seriously affect them. However, I could be wrong on that.

When you say your chameleon does "this clicking thing" is it a sound you can hear or are you describing a motion the chameleon makes with its head?

clicking with its head, head jerks up and down quickly, one motion and her feet vibrate.

and the dog food is a VERY big no. its important that they eat veggies at least a few days before to clear the dog food from them.

and the crix multiply on their own? forgive me i never had a pet insect colony. :/

 

[Jakedn]

On the crickets, you might add more egg carton. I tear mine into 1 egg portions and layer them, but I keep very few crickets. I never have more than 100. However, I've noticed that if there's a shortage of egg crate, they tend to try other ways to climb. If you don't want them going high, maybe tear some egg crate down to 1 egg pieces and put them around the enclosure...

I give mine that jellied cricket water you can buy at the pet store and (forgive me) I keep dog food in their "keeper" at all times. About 2 hours before I'm going to feed my chameleons I pull the crickets out and give them whatever vegetables and fruit I have on hand (I live in southern California...we always have good fresh veggies).

I would think that crickets could survive in any temperature that sustains you. So, I don't think you have to heat them. Even if you let the house get really cold at night, I don't know that it would seriously affect them. However, I could be wrong on that.

When you say your chameleon does "this clicking thing" is it a sound you can hear or are you describing a motion the chameleon makes with its head?

He is right, dog food has a much too high protein content, this will cause gout in your chameleon if it is consistently in a gutload. It is best to never give dog food to insects that will be fed off.

 

[Elizadolots]

clicking with its head, head jerks up and down quickly, one motion and her feet vibrate.

and the dog food is a VERY big no. its important that they eat veggies at least a few days before to clear the dog food from them.

and the crix multiply on their own? forgive me i never had a pet insect colony.

I think you are saying that the chameleon's head vibrates up and down and that motion is transferred to the feet. I don't have an explanation for it, but my Fischer's does that when he's aiming for a cricket. Maybe mine has performance anxiety or something.

I was started off feeding the crickets dog food and that has seemed to work for me. From what I've read, the big danger is that your crickets will go in with too heavy a vitamin load. That's why I give them a few hours with something new and exciting to eat before I put them in with the chameleons.

If you have an environment that is "cricket friendly" then it's not hard to get them to breed. You need dirt in at least part of your enclosure though (at least from what I've seen). I've never had crickets reproduce in my chameleon's enclosure or my cricket enclosure. They did it regularly in my frog's enclosure though. I assume the presence of a soft soil like substrate made it seem like a good idea.

 

[Jakedn]

I think you are saying that the chameleon's head vibrates up and down and that motion is transferred to the feet. I don't have an explanation for it, but my Fischer's does that when he's aiming for a cricket. Maybe mine has performance anxiety or something.

I was started off feeding the crickets dog food and that has seemed to work for me. From what I've read, the big danger is that your crickets will go in with too heavy a vitamin load. That's why I give them a few hours with something new and exciting to eat before I put them in with the chameleons.

If you have an environment that is "cricket friendly" then it's not hard to get them to breed. You need dirt in at least part of your enclosure though (at least from what I've seen). I've never had crickets reproduce in my chameleon's enclosure or my cricket enclosure. They did it regularly in my frog's enclosure though. I assume the presence of a soft soil like substrate made it seem like a good idea.

Consistent feeding of dog food WILL give your chameleons gout. This is not something that you should disregard because nothing bad has happened yet, gout takes a while to form noticeably.

I have not heard of feeders having too much vitamins from a gut load. If this were true, it would not be a problem if you give a varied gut load.

 

[kinyonga]

Supplements...what specific brands do you use and how often for each?
What brand and type (compact, spiral, long linear) of UVB light do you use? Basking light?

Crickets, roaches, locust, superworms can be gutloaded with a wide assortment of greens (dandelions, collards, kale, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, celery leaves, zucchini, etc.)

It doesn't matter if the crickets climb as long as they can't escape...to keep the crickets from escaping you can use that wide clear tape. Its shiny and wide enough that they can't climb it.

Regarding basking temperature...I keep the temperature in the low to mid 80's for females.

 

[SSimsswiSS]

It doesn't matter if the crickets climb as long as they can't escape...to keep the crickets from escaping you can use that wide clear tape. Its shiny and wide enough that they can't climb it.

2 inch clear packaging or shipping tape, as commonly known, makes a great bug barrier.

 

[draetish]

"and my cham that I mentioned earlier will do this clicking thing with her head and it makes her feet vibrate, its very peculiar and was wondering who had encountered it before while handling and what you think it means for your cham."

The clicking thing is a sign that chams use to other chams when they are invading their territory. Like twitching their heads up and down quickly. I've seen it between my late Melleri and Panther and between my two panthers when I had them. She may be trying to tell you that she is not happy being handled and is standing up to you. IDK, just a thought.

 

[atsutane]

lol, how cute, at least she is not afraid of me, i fed her earlier and she came out with me and she decided to settle down for a nap on my finger and hugged me closely while calmly watching what was going on, i have a picture of it on my profile

 

[atsutane]

"and my cham that I mentioned earlier will do this clicking thing with her head and it makes her feet vibrate, its very peculiar and was wondering who had encountered it before while handling and what you think it means for your cham."

The clicking thing is a sign that chams use to other chams when they are invading their territory. Like twitching their heads up and down quickly. I've seen it between my late Melleri and Panther and between my two panthers when I had them. She may be trying to tell you that she is not happy being handled and is standing up to you. IDK, just a thought.

standing up to me, how cute, she hates my guts she has on obsesion for crawling up my face if i get it too close or my girlfriends hair.


she took a nap on my finger earlier, i took the opportunity to snap some pics, they are on my profile

 

[Elizadolots]

She's almost impossibly cute...

I wanted to complement you on your pictures. They are wonderful. Well composed, interesting and focused. You have a definite knack for taking pictures.

 

[atsutane]

oh wow, why dont you inflate my ego more, no just kidding!

yes unfortuinatley i uplaoded all these pictures just recently cause ive been soo busy and i missed the photo contest by just barely!


also supliments are repcal plain calcium, herptivite, calcium with d3, reptivite , nekton-rep multi vitamin

plain cal every day, D3 every 3rd day, multi vitamin 1ce a week rotate between the 3

she had d 3 a lot in the pat store so im going easy on d3 for a while, also her bulb in the pet shop was covered so no uvb >.<

 

[Elizadolots]

I worked at photo labs for decades. I consider myself a good photographer and I'm married to a professional photographer...If I say the pictures are good then dammit, they are good!!! LOL...