Cover or no cover?

Ares05

Chameleon Enthusiast
So ive been told to take down my blanket or leave it up on my cham cage. what should I do? He was basking and roaming a little bit with it up, and I just took it down and he's cowering behind a leaf. I got him 3 days ago, and I thought the cover would allow him to settle quicker. Any opinions?
 
So I just went through your three threads. Did you see and make note of the changes that @CamoChameleonsHuman gave you for your husbandry?

It is much easier to stick with one thread then for you to have info all over when your new.

I did not see pics anywhere of your entire enclosure. Can you please post lighting down of your cage. So we can see everything?

Are you wrapping the cage in a blanket? Details here you will also create a very hot moist environment without airflow. Lets see what your working with lol.
 
its a thin teal color sheet, not a full on blanket. sorry for three threads, the first one it won't let me post on anymore ( I think its glitch, whenever I touch the post button is takes me to the home page), so I had to make the second one because I had another question, lol. In the future I won't make as many ( I barely know how to use most of features on this site, im learning! ) I did make note and change the things he asked me to change. Anyways, here's his cage (the sheet on the side is so he can't see my other reptiles, will replace it with something else eventually. )
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And when my little guy gets a little older, hopefully ill be able to remove the fake plants, or most of them. Thats the plan, anyways. one live Hawaiian hibiscus in the corner there, you can see the bloom. a Pothos plant at the bottom (waiting for it to grow some more) and then a Pothos clipping up high in the left corner, and then another under the feeding cup. And the rest is fake. If you look closely, you can see his little curly tail sticking out from where he's hiding, next to the basking spot. :)
 
Ok... So don't worry about him not eating right now. Everything is new for him. I would not continue to take the sheet up and down. But I would leaving it wrapping the back and sides so you do not have overspray and so he does not see the other reptiles. You may want to improve upon what your using for this though. He will hide and get used to your presence.

How far off the ground is the cage sitting?

Now for decor. I do hate fake... Only because Veiled really do love to chew their plants and trust me he will try. Not only can they hurt their mouths but if they were to get a piece off your looking at a possible impaction. So I do not know what you have in place for drainage but I would look into the dragon strand drip trays and their dragon ledges. Both are available for other models of cages. The ledges will allow you to hook plants and real branches up higher. I will post a few pics of my cage so you can see. I have vertical bamboo rods for additional places to attach to. But you can see in the pic from the side the black bars are the dragon ledges. Using zip ties I have everything anchored it.

Now I did see that you are using a 10.0 uvb bulb at 10-12 inches. My concern is that at that distance I can't tell you for sure what your UVB levels will be. But they drop off significantly by 12 inches. I would recommend switching the bulb to a 5.0 and then moving basking up to 7-8 inches below the fixture. This is going to put him in the perfect basking distance for proper UVB levels. Also it will be easier to get the correct heat levels at that distance with the heat bulb.


cage front 6-21-19.jpg basking level 6-21-19.jpg cage side 6-21-19.jpg
 
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the stand the cage is 2 feet high . My cage size is 2x2x4. it looks like you have lots of golden Pothos in there. And as for the dragon ledges, I could look into it! and ive seen where they screw in a thick wooden dowel bar along the top, and hang potted plants from it. And how long should I wait before I should be concerned about him not eating? He's early/mid three months
 
And, do you think I should use some more Pothos? is there any other vine-growing plant I could use? Sadly I can't find any organic schefflera (umbrella) plants. What plants are you using?
 
the stand the cage is 2 feet high . My cage size is 2x2x4. it looks like you have lots of golden Pothos in there. And as for the dragon ledges, I could look into it! and ive seen where they screw in a thick wooden dowel bar along the top, and hang potted plants from it. And how long should I wait before I should be concerned about him not eating? He's early/mid three months
I would honestly throw like 20 feeders in the feeding cup. The movement will get him. Trust me he will get hungry and it will over ride the omg where the heck am I feeling he has going on. Give him a few days. Try not to mess with him at all unless it is misting or feeding time. Otherwise no hovering. It will be hard but try not to helicopter parent him. You gotta think everything is different. He was put in a cup and shipped as well. That is a lot of stress. It is very common for them to not eat for a few days in a new environment.

I prefer the dragon ledges because they do not mess up the cage with the weight dispersion.
 
I will try my best. Should I try and stay out of my room where he's at, or just act normal and not look at him?
 
And, do you think I should use some more Pothos? is there any other vine-growing plant I could use? Sadly I can't find any organic schefflera (umbrella) plants. What plants are you using?
So currently I have dracena, pothos, and a few orchids I tossed in for science lol Trying to see if they will even bloom in there. I love pothos for vines they are strong enough to hold the weight too of an adult. You do not need organic plants. Go to your local nursery. Buy the plants. Dwarf umbrella, dracena, and pothos are all good. each with different functions. Dracena are good for filling out a space, pothos for vines to travel and weave throughout the cage, and dwarf umbrella to fill out and hide in. Stay away from satin pothos they are more fragile. Then buy organic soil and 1 inch or larger rocks for the top of the soil so he cant eat it.

Now then go home and strip the dirt off the roots use a hose. rinse the plants thoroughly. Then repot in the organic soil and cover the top with the rocks and your good to go. You do not need to buy special organic plants. :)
 
I will try my best. Should I try and stay out of my room where he's at, or just act normal and not look at him?
Don't make eye contact lol. Your the predator to him. He is scared and your huge. so normal activities in the room but dont sit and stare. The reason why I asked about the table he was on is they prefer to be sitting high in a room. It makes them feel safer.
 
Thats what I did for my hibiscus and Pothos, I couldn't get all the dirt off the hibiscus root as they were so interwoven, but I got most of it. covered it with the soil and topped it with heavy 1-2 stones.
 
Thats what I did for my hibiscus and Pothos, I couldn't get all the dirt off the hibiscus root as they were so interwoven, but I got most of it. covered it with the soil and topped it with heavy 1-2 stones.
Keep in mind that hibiscus likes high light... IMO pothos seem to be the easiest plant to care for when it comes to being tolerant of lighting and water.
 
sometimes we accidentally make eye contact, but ill avoid it. My parents have wanted to see him so I let them look at him from a distance, but no more looking for a long while!
 
my hibiscus is currently doing great, and gives new blooms almost every day. my Pothos is growing like a weed. I plan on taking some more clippings from it to help fill out the cage. Should I get rid of the fake plants now, or wait?
 
sometimes we accidentally make eye contact, but ill avoid it. My parents have wanted to see him so I let them look at him from a distance, but no more looking for a long while!
Yep no friends over looking for a few weeks either. My boy still gets irritated if new people come over. He is fine with my family but leery of anyone new and I have had him a year.
Once he does not hide in your presence then start working on this https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/
 
And the soil I found Is but nothing but dirt, nothing in it. And I gone the finest-grain stuff, so its got no chunks, just in case he magically ate some, it would have less chance of him getting a blockage.
 
my hibiscus is currently doing great, and gives new blooms almost every day. my Pothos is growing like a weed. I plan on taking some more clippings from it to help fill out the cage. Should I get rid of the fake plants now, or wait?
I would do nothing more to the cage until he starts to settle in. Priority is to get him drinking and eating. Then when you do make changes your going to have to be very mindful of him. Take him out put him in a dark box then try to make as many changes at once. Leaving his food cup in the same area.
 
how long should I wait to be worried about him not eating? I know he's drinking, he doesn't look dehydrated to me, when I do see him.
 
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