Completely New to Chams

[Yoshi_the_Veiled]

Hi everyone! Yesterday afternoon I rescued a veiled chameleon from his neglectful owners. It was a snap decision for me , and the poor guy only came with a crudely built screen cage, a single bare branch to climb on, and a bunch of dead crickets. I spent the rest of that day and all of today loading my mind with information on how to care for him. This website has been very helpful so far, and today I was able to get to a pet store to buy him a UVB bulb and a basking bulb. I added a couple more branches and two pothos plants. As soon as possible,I am going to build him an appropriate enclosure. I wanted to know if anyone here has built one from a curio cabinet, or something similar to that? Or would it be better to build one from scratch? I would love to see pictures of everyone's enclosures to get an idea of what I could do.

He doesn't seem to mind being handled, although I only held him to fix up his cage and take pics.

 

[Yoshi_the_Veiled]

Also, I got him some live crickets and calcium and multivitamin supplements.

 

[lycan_megura0523]

He looks really dehydrated I am glad he is now with someone who will care for him do you a a mister?

 

[Frigga]

Aw I'm so glad he has you now I just took in a rescue a couple weeks ago, it's so worth watching them transform on the road to a healthy life and recovery.
I don't have any advice on building a cage, but I know there's a whole thread on here for enclosures with lots of great pictures, if you're looking for ideas. Since he is currently in a screen cage try adding some plastic (I use clear shower curtain liners) on 3 sides to help keep in the humidity. The live plants will definitely help as well, and also will give him something to drink off of, he does look very dehydrated. I know some folks on here have some tricks on getting them hydrated, I don't have any experience with it, but I've read about people putting them on a plant in the shower, point the water at the wall so it bounces off and isn't hitting directly, some more experienced cham keepers can chim in on that as I've never actually done it, or just search the forums for it.

Good luck with him! he's lucky to have someone who cares now.

 

[Arpretty]

Go you!!!!

Plenty of experienced members will have great advice to help you along.

Some advice for now: I would recommend making sure he has a suitable enclosure for the time being while you’re building the permanent one. Could you post a pic of your current setup?
Setting up an enclosure is a constant, building block process. Let your creativity flow!

He looks very dehydrated. For now, at least pick up a hand mister from a local pet store and do mistings a couple of times a day (3 times daily?). When I first got mine, he was super dehydrated too. I set up a dripper system immediately and he literally clung to it and sat under it each day for the first week. He couldn’t get enough. It will take some time for his urates to look normal.

Get your feeders - I started with crickets and super worms. Make sure your cricket bin is set up with at least cardboard and a bowl used for food/water. I use a sea sponge and “cricket pillows” for a water source. Food- feed a variety of veggies and any other quality gutloading mix.

Dust your feeders each feeding with calcium without D3. Can be hard to find - I ordered mine online. Dust with calcium with D3 and a multivitamin twice a month (please correct me if I’m wrong).

Make sure your light schedule is consistent.

Oh— people have varying opinions on this: I wrapped 2 sides of my enclosure with a shower curtain to prevent water messes on my walls and to help with humidity.

I’ll post a pic of what I have so far. It’s a work in progress - but its what I’ve done in a span of 2 months. *dripper and lighting are on top of the cage. I get some questions about the grey bowl on the bottom a lot. It is positioned to catch the water from the dripper, I dump it and wipe it out daily. Ideally, some type of drainage system should replace this.

 

[Yoshi_the_Veiled]

He looks really dehydrated I am glad he is now with someone who will care for him do you a a mister?

I have been hand misting him. I've seen him drink quite a bit since yesterday. I will probably buy him a mister once I build him a new cage.

 

[Yoshi_the_Veiled]

Aw I'm so glad he has you now I just took in a rescue a couple weeks ago, it's so worth watching them transform on the road to a healthy life and recovery.
I don't have any advice on building a cage, but I know there's a whole thread on here for enclosures with lots of great pictures, if you're looking for ideas. Since he is currently in a screen cage try adding some plastic (I use clear shower curtain liners) on 3 sides to help keep in the humidity. The live plants will definitely help as well, and also will give him something to drink off of, he does look very dehydrated. I know some folks on here have some tricks on getting them hydrated, I don't have any experience with it, but I've read about people putting them on a plant in the shower, point the water at the wall so it bounces off and isn't hitting directly, some more experienced cham keepers can chim in on that as I've never actually done it, or just search the forums for it.

Good luck with him! he's lucky to have someone who cares now.

Thank you for the advice! I will definitely add the plastic to the sides when get his new cage together.

 

[Yoshi_the_Veiled]

Go you!!!!

Plenty of experienced members will have great advice to help you along.

Some advice for now: I would recommend making sure he has a suitable enclosure for the time being while you’re building the permanent one. Could you post a pic of your current setup?
Setting up an enclosure is a constant, building block process. Let your creativity flow!

He looks very dehydrated. For now, at least pick up a hand mister from a local pet store and do mistings a couple of times a day (3 times daily?). When I first got mine, he was super dehydrated too. I set up a dripper system immediately and he literally clung to it and sat under it each day for the first week. He couldn’t get enough. It will take some time for his urates to look normal.

Get your feeders - I started with crickets and super worms. Make sure your cricket bin is set up with at least cardboard and a bowl used for food/water. I use a sea sponge and “cricket pillows” for a water source. Food- feed a variety of veggies and any other quality gutloading mix.

Dust your feeders each feeding with calcium without D3. Can be hard to find - I ordered mine online. Dust with calcium with D3 and a multivitamin twice a month (please correct me if I’m wrong).

Make sure your light schedule is consistent.

Oh— people have varying opinions on this: I wrapped 2 sides of my enclosure with a shower curtain to prevent water messes on my walls and to help with humidity.

I’ll post a pic of what I have so far. It’s a work in progress - but its what I’ve done in a span of 2 months. *dripper and lighting are on top of the cage. I get some questions about the grey bowl on the bottom a lot. It is positioned to catch the water from the dripper, I dump it and wipe it out daily. Ideally, some type of drainage system should replace this.[/QUOTE
Thank you for your help. I have been feeding him as many crickets as he will eat, just to get his weight back up. He was so hungry he ate some of the leaves of the pothos plant I put in his cage. He has been drinking plenty every time I mist the cage. Your set up looks great! The one he came with is about 31 inches tall and 24 wide I believe. The one I build is going to be taller and a bit wider. I will give him more branches and plants too.

 

[Yoshi_the_Veiled]

Thank you for the advice, Arpretty. I have been feeding him as many crickets as he will eat, since I'm not sure how long it has been since he ate last. He was so hungry, he was eating on the
pothos plant I put in the cage. He has been drinking quite a bit every time I mist.
Your set up looks great! The cage he came with is about 31 inches tall and 24 wide I believe. It was practically thrown together. I am definitely going to build him a bigger, more secure cage and add more branches and plants.

 

[Arpretty]

Thank you for the advice, Arpretty. I have been feeding him as many crickets as he will eat, since I'm not sure how long it has been since he ate last. He was so hungry, he was eating on the
pothos plant I put in the cage. He has been drinking quite a bit every time I mist.
Your set up looks great! The cage he came with is about 31 inches tall and 24 wide I believe. It was practically thrown together. I am definitely going to build him a bigger, more secure cage and add more branches and plants.
View attachment 211446

Yeah I was first feeding my Cham about 10 crickets and 3 superworms a day until he settled in. He’s now down to 5 crickets and usually 1-2 superworms. Keep on feeding him like you are.

While you’re working on your new cage, just make sure this current one has some more foliage - even fake is fine, for him to hide in he’ll appreciate being able to hide from the world if he wants to. Shew... wish I could sometimes lol.

 

[Yoshi_the_Veiled]

Yeah I was first feeding my Cham about 10 crickets and 3 superworms a day until he settled in. He’s now down to 5 crickets and usually 1-2 superworms. Keep on feeding him like you are.

While you’re working on your new cage, just make sure this current one has some more foliage - even fake is fine, for him to hide in he’ll appreciate being able to hide from the world if he wants to. Shew... wish I could sometimes lol.

I would like to find a ficus or an umbrella plant. Unfortunately since it is later in the summer, the stores in my area don't have much to choose from. Would you suggest plastic plants over silk?

 

[Arpretty]

I would like to find a ficus or an umbrella plant. Unfortunately since it is later in the summer, the stores in my area don't have much to choose from. Would you suggest plastic plants over silk?

I think plastic is the way to go. A lot of people advise against silk- I believe they’re more susceptible to mold and easier for Chams to tear and eat, which is no bueno. Since he’s a veiled and is recovering from hunger and dehydration... I would say plastic is your friend for now.