Critique Me Please

[Carpathian]

Hello everyone, I've been lurking for a while and absorbing the wealth of knowledge that is found here. I kindly ask that you evaluate my husbandry skills and find any potential flaws in my cham keeping ability.


Chameleon Info: SLY

• Your Chameleon - Veiled, Male, approx 4 months, 1 month
• Handling - Cleanings and outside/shower time - at least 3x a week
• Feeding - Roaches, Hornworms, Crickets, BB Flies, Blk Soldier Larve, Superworms. As much as he can eat (Approx 15+ mixed daily. Staple is roach, everything else is fed as treats making up less than 20% of diet. Fed everyday 1-2 hours after lights on. Cricket Crack,Bug Burger,Bug Buffet, Fresh Collard, Papaya, Butternut, Red Peppers
• Supplements - Zoo Med Cal w/o D3 Daily, Reptivite and Cal w/ D3 twice monthly(only given once, next is due in just days)
• Watering - Mistking 4x daily @ 2.5 min(3rd misting is 8 min) Showers once a week for 30 minutes. Dripper onto leaf in enclosure. Not seen drinking yet
• Fecal Description - Firm brown/dark brown. Urates looking creamy and white. Never tested for parasites
• History - Pet store purchased. Urates were slightly orange for the first week.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type -Screen 2x2x4
• Lighting - Zoo Med Led UVB combo(T5HO/LED for Plants). 75 watt basking. 12 on/12 off
• Temperature - Floor 75 Mid 80 Basking 85 Lowest overnight temp is 70? Digital therms set at varying levels and a temp probe tied to a stick for comparisons
• Humidity - humidity levels stay around 60 (+/- 5). Spike at 70-75 when misting. Live plants and misting sessions to keep humidity levels. Adjustable analog hygrometer to measure humidity
• Plants - Yes, Coleus, Draceana, Pothos, Schefflera, Ficus, Croton. Maranta
• Placement -In the fish tank room. It is not near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? Top of cage is one foot from the ceiling.
• Location - TN

Current Problem - My husbandry, please be harsh and tell me what you see wrong or ways to better the life of Sly. Thank you for your time and consideration

 

[Katacara]

I don't think there is any reason to be harsh you have obviously done your homework, and that's what we like to see!! The first question I like to ask people who have gotten a cham from the pet store is, are you sure of the sex?? I thought I could see spurs in one of your pictures but I'm not sure. It's much better for both cham and owner to know for sure now before your little "guy" develops "girl problems" . I would say that right now the upper part of your cage looks a bit thin, but I think as your plants grow and fill out it will be great!! Good job!! I think you will both be very happy!!

 

[nightanole]

A few things.

1)Your mist time is very low, that is good for keeping humidity up, but 2.5min might not be enough time to get a good drink, depending on the cham. Some wont drink off of leaves and will only drink during the shower, and on the opposite end of things, They hid till the shower is over and then run out and drink off the leaves.
2) You taped the plant pots or covering them with spanguim moss... Just throw some rocks on them that are too big for the cham to get in its mouth. Your tape is not going to prevent feeders from making nests.
3) GG on keeping all the plants alive. It looks very well planted, here is hoping the T5 and leds is enough to keep everything growing. I cant keep anything other than Draceana and Pothos alive long term. I do have 3 hibiscus trees that i rotate out, if i leave them in longer than a year i kill them.

 

[kinyonga]

Looks good except that you need a bit more cover at the top as was suggested. Also...Coleus may be toxic to the chameleon...I know it's not good for cats.

 

[Decadancin]

I agree on increased misting time and be careful what plants you are using as veileds are definitely more likely to nibble. I'm not totally sure about coleus either. I'm not sure if showers are a necessity if your misting is sufficient, (I'm assuming you mean in the shower with the water hitting off the wall) but if it isn't stressing out your boy then no issue there.

 

[bluesox68]

I'm curious if the feeders will drop through the egg crate and die in the drainage? I agree with everyone else. Make those adjustments and you should have a happy veiled.

 

[jamest0o0]

Wow nice to see a veiled keeper that went into it prepared. Good advice here, i'd also switch the 8 minute misting to 10-15 and make it the first misting of the morning(when they usually drink). Id also add plants towards the top so you get the dappling effect where light shines between the leaves.

 

[Carpathian]

@Katacara,
Definitely spurs, we won't have to rename him! Definitely thin up top, making a DIY dragon ledge soon so I can have a hanging pothos cascade down the back of the cage and have a few plants to bulk up the top

@nightanole,
1. Check, will fix soon
2. Those plants on the bottom are actually not going to be there and aren't now, I was testing the strength of my egg crate floor and couldn't find anything close by that was heavier. Everything except the coleus has plastic canvas and broken slate covering the top layer of soil.
3. I have 6500k grow lights in my ceiling fixture and that light stays on till the timer on my enclosure lights go off. There are also a few plants that do get rotated to get real sun so that most likely helps.

@kinyonga,
Check on that, I have been watching very closely as that was a concern as I got conflicting stories. I have offered him fresh greens to keep him from eating plants.


@bluesox68,
I currently am testing screen over the top of the egg crate. Going to see how messy it can get and how easy it is to clean. We'll see but if a feeder did fall through or managed to crawl out the bottom somehow it would find itself drowning quickly I believe

@jamest0o0,
Definitely adding plants to the top and will increase misting times.


Thank you everyone for the criticism, I greatly appreciate you taking the time to help me.

 

[Katacara]

Any time!! Happy to help! And I'm glad he doesn't need a new name lol