curious o’ curious

[pascal2023]

Been reading a tonne of different blogs and posts from people on here. Feel really lucky I’ve found such a lovely bunch of chameleon lovers like me who are super helpful! Appreciate all of you for always pointing me in the right direction. I had a few random thoughts over the last few days from food to decor, so if anyone can advise or comment anything I’d love to read:

isopods/ woodlice , I’ve seen a lot of these on live food websites since I wanted a bit of diversity in my veiled’s diet, what would be the benefits from these or are they for something else? I Apologise if that sounds stupid haha
what are your main diets for your chameleons? And what routines do you have with supplements?

is it just me or does anyone keep a log/ journal of how they look after their chameleon ? (Changes, food, supplements ect?) if so could I see a few pages ? I’ve been putting it together for my parents as I’ll be away for a week at the end of the year and my veiled will be in the care of my parents for that time haha

decor ! Favourite part! LOL, putting final touches together for my lovely girl, really happy with the home Mande enclosure so far, loads of live plants, I’m going to leave a lay bin in there, and I’ve brought a few plastic safe plants and vines for her cage too but have you guys physically made or brought any handmade decor? If so what ?

… to say Thankyou to the people who always comment, you know who you are I was wondering if you guys could send my photos of your chameleons so I can sketch them ? As a Thankyou, it’s so a group sketch

 

[Tkrd69]

Really glad you found your way here. To share our experiences is a great way to learn

 

[Spookies]

I don't use isopods/woodlice as part of my chams main diet, but since I have a bioactive enclosure I have seen my chams snacks on one or two from time to time.
The main diet for my chams are dubia roaches mostly and sometimes I give them crickets, superworms or BSFL (if I can get my hands on them).
Supplement wise I dust the feeder with calcium without d3 every feeding. Every other Monday I dust with calcium with d3 and swap to multivitamin on the Monday that I don't dust with d3. Sometime I throw in a very small amount of bee pollen in there too.
I dont keep a care log journal, but when I'm out on vacation for longer than 3 days I leave my friend an instruction of what to do. Since all my lights have been swap to a timer system it a lot easier now since all they have to really do is feed the chameleons. But before I leave I usually go over the instruction with them one more time and then let them do the routine as I supervise them (it's easier to learn hands on than reading instructions imo)

Routine kinda goes like this:
All lights are on 10am-10pm
Feed 3-4 roaches every other day lightly dust with calcium with d3
Every other Monday dust with calcium with d3 or multivitamin instead (switch between the two)
At least once a week give them a big shower to clean their eyes
After lights are off gutload the feeders
Once a week water the plants if needed


and I don't have custom decorations, just fake vines and live plants

 

[pascal2023]

I don't use isopods/woodlice as part of my chams main diet, but since I have a bioactive enclosure I have seen my chams snacks on one or two from time to time.
The main diet for my chams are dubia roaches mostly and sometimes I give them crickets, superworms or BSFL (if I can get my hands on them).
Supplement wise I dust the feeder with calcium without d3 every feeding. Every other Monday I dust with calcium with d3 and swap to multivitamin on the Monday that I don't dust with d3. Sometime I throw in a very small amount of bee pollen in there too.
I dont keep a care log journal, but when I'm out on vacation for longer than 3 days I leave my friend an instruction of what to do. Since all my lights have been swap to a timer system it a lot easier now since all they have to really do is feed the chameleons. But before I leave I usually go over the instruction with them one more time and then let them do the routine as I supervise them (it's easier to learn hands on than reading instructions imo)

Routine kinda goes like this:
All lights are on 10am-10pm
Feed 3-4 roaches every other day lightly dust with calcium with d3
Every other Monday dust with calcium with d3 or multivitamin instead (switch between the two)
At least once a week give them a big shower to clean their eyes
After lights are off gutload the feeders
Once a week water the plants if needed


and I don't have custom decorations, just fake vines and live plants

Amazing Thankyou for that, have screenshot it to see if I’m missing anjtjibg myself ! Also about the shower, I thought we weren’t allowed to shower/ bathe them , have you got any tips on that? Which goes to my next question … since she’s shed last week I think there is still shedded skin stuck in her nostril as it’s white and the other nostril is well… normal colour, how could I get rid of that? Cotton bud maybe?

 

[pascal2023]

I don't use isopods/woodlice as part of my chams main diet, but since I have a bioactive enclosure I have seen my chams snacks on one or two from time to time.
The main diet for my chams are dubia roaches mostly and sometimes I give them crickets, superworms or BSFL (if I can get my hands on them).
Supplement wise I dust the feeder with calcium without d3 every feeding. Every other Monday I dust with calcium with d3 and swap to multivitamin on the Monday that I don't dust with d3. Sometime I throw in a very small amount of bee pollen in there too.
I dont keep a care log journal, but when I'm out on vacation for longer than 3 days I leave my friend an instruction of what to do. Since all my lights have been swap to a timer system it a lot easier now since all they have to really do is feed the chameleons. But before I leave I usually go over the instruction with them one more time and then let them do the routine as I supervise them (it's easier to learn hands on than reading instructions imo)

Routine kinda goes like this:
All lights are on 10am-10pm
Feed 3-4 roaches every other day lightly dust with calcium with d3
Every other Monday dust with calcium with d3 or multivitamin instead (switch between the two)
At least once a week give them a big shower to clean their eyes
After lights are off gutload the feeders
Once a week water the plants if needed


and I don't have custom decorations, just fake vines and live plants

Also going to guess you didn’t mean actual showering, like misting you mean? Sorry to sound stupid lol

 

[Spookies]

Amazing Thankyou for that, have screenshot it to see if I’m missing anjtjibg myself ! Also about the shower, I thought we weren’t allowed to shower/ bathe them , have you got any tips on that? Which goes to my next question … since she’s shed last week I think there is still shedded skin stuck in her nostril as it’s white and the other nostril is well… normal colour, how could I get rid of that? Cotton bud maybe?

Oh sorry in shower I mean just give them a long misting than normal. Shedding wise I would mist the chameleon and give it time for it to dry out, and they usually just get rid of it on their own. The white stuff near her nostril can be calcium deposit from too much calcium. (I over dust my feeder when I first started keeping chameleons, but gonna need a pic to see if its stuck shed or calcium) If its that I just wipe it out with q-tip soak in warm water.

 

[MissSkittles]

Been reading a tonne of different blogs and posts from people on here. Feel really lucky I’ve found such a lovely bunch of chameleon lovers like me who are super helpful! Appreciate all of you for always pointing me in the right direction. I had a few random thoughts over the last few days from food to decor, so if anyone can advise or comment anything I’d love to read:

isopods/ woodlice , I’ve seen a lot of these on live food websites since I wanted a bit of diversity in my veiled’s diet, what would be the benefits from these or are they for something else? I Apologise if that sounds stupid haha
what are your main diets for your chameleons? And what routines do you have with supplements?

is it just me or does anyone keep a log/ journal of how they look after their chameleon ? (Changes, food, supplements ect?) if so could I see a few pages ? I’ve been putting it together for my parents as I’ll be away for a week at the end of the year and my veiled will be in the care of my parents for that time haha

decor ! Favourite part! LOL, putting final touches together for my lovely girl, really happy with the home Mande enclosure so far, loads of live plants, I’m going to leave a lay bin in there, and I’ve brought a few plastic safe plants and vines for her cage too but have you guys physically made or brought any handmade decor? If so what ?

… to say Thankyou to the people who always comment, you know who you are I was wondering if you guys could send my photos of your chameleons so I can sketch them ? As a Thankyou, it’s so a group sketch

I too have bioactive enclosures and often find my chameleons hanging out near the bottom looking like they’re hunting the isopods. It’s fine to give them a few here and there, but I don’t think I’d make them a staple feeder. I’ve no idea about their nutrition, but for some unknown reason I have it stuck in my head that too many can contribute to gout (this is maybe wrong - no idea).
I keep a folder of all the info about my reptiles. Each has a record of weights and their history and life events. I also have a summary of the various aspects of their care so if for any reason someone else has to care for them, they’ll be informed.
I haven’t crafted anything to go inside the enclosures as I like to keep them as natural as possible. Wait…actually I kind of did - I made faux backgrounds of eggcrate light diffuser panels covered with expanding foam etc. A project I keep procrastinating is mini portraits with their name to hang on their enclosures.
Do be cautious of artificial plants. It only takes one unfortunate nibble to cause a bowel obstruction.
Do you have any new/current pics of your enclosure?

 

[crosscutts]

Been reading a tonne of different blogs and posts from people on here. Feel really lucky I’ve found such a lovely bunch of chameleon lovers like me who are super helpful! Appreciate all of you for always pointing me in the right direction. I had a few random thoughts over the last few days from food to decor, so if anyone can advise or comment anything I’d love to read:

isopods/ woodlice , I’ve seen a lot of these on live food websites since I wanted a bit of diversity in my veiled’s diet, what would be the benefits from these or are they for something else? I Apologise if that sounds stupid haha
what are your main diets for your chameleons? And what routines do you have with supplements?

is it just me or does anyone keep a log/ journal of how they look after their chameleon ? (Changes, food, supplements ect?) if so could I see a few pages ? I’ve been putting it together for my parents as I’ll be away for a week at the end of the year and my veiled will be in the care of my parents for that time haha

decor ! Favourite part! LOL, putting final touches together for my lovely girl, really happy with the home Mande enclosure so far, loads of live plants, I’m going to leave a lay bin in there, and I’ve brought a few plastic safe plants and vines for her cage too but have you guys physically made or brought any handmade decor? If so what ?

… to say Thankyou to the people who always comment, you know who you are I was wondering if you guys could send my photos of your chameleons so I can sketch them ? As a Thankyou, it’s so a group sketch

Isopods springtails A lot of times end up becoming lunch anyway . in a bio active environment . yes I keep an entire log supplements poops weights and I generally do it weekly. At one point I have my habitat looking like a beautiful rainforest The problem I found with that is first of all your feeders end up getting lost and lose their supplementation in their gut load Another problem with that is you can never find your cam but most importantly you can’t find the poops which is literally a way of keeping track of your chameleon health . The only other issue is drying out the cage
. If you don’t completely dry it out you’ll have the potential for bacteria and different kinds of mold to grow and I’m sure you can see why that’s not good .. as bad as I want my habitats to be completely packed with a variety of plants including orchids i’ve had to learn how to pull back a little for the chameleon safety .. unfortunately in my opinion you can’t have both

 

[MzLaurie11]

I am going to attach a photo of the directions i left for my son when i went to florida for two weeks. My cham was 6 months at the time so he was eating a lot. Also i put lables on the actual supplements that he was to use and when.

I made a basking platform for my cham that he loves. I used the stems of roses and cut off all torns then used dental floss and tied them to a cross piece Underneath and eachother about an inch in from the end. Kinda of like a raft. I did it this way so he could hold on easy without getting pinched. its very sturdy and He makes his body wide and leans against the screen about an inch away and lounges so more of his body area gets the heat. i also glued the worm bowls to flat heavy rocks so it doesnt go flying from his tongue.