Eye irritation

hi! My name is Karlee and my boyfriend and I bought our first ever male veiled chameleon about a week ago. We of course bought what we thought was great- a zoo med starter kit/cage. He started shedding a couple days ago but was struggling to get it off of his eyes. He was rubbing his left one on the branch we put in there and it was fine until we noticed his left eye was staying closed a little bit at a time (he would still open it and keep it open but every so often would close it for about a minute) and now after about 2 days he keeps it closed. I’ve noticed that there also might be a discoloration under his left eye. Im nervous because we aren’t sure what to do about it. Everything he does is the exact same though which is confusing! He acts normal and walks around his cage like it doesn’t bother him and doesn’t miss his prey ?What should we do?

  • Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Male, veiled chameleon, he is we believe 6 months, we have had him for 1 week.
  • Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? At first we were handling him about once or twice 2 days after getting him. We didn’t overload him on the first day but after reading a lot of different websites and these forums we gave him more space and aren’t really handling him unless he shows he is interested in exploring outside of his cage. He hasn’t given any signs that he dislikes being handled or out of his cage but now especially with the eye issue we are trying to not handle him.
  • Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? We have waxworms, superworms, dead crickets (they come in a can called Flukers) strawberries, bananas, grapes, romain lettuce, and collards. I try to give the waxworms and superworms a lot of the vegetation to try and gut-load but i would like any advice because it seems as though he loves the waxworms but wont really eat anything if its dead..? We were feeding him everyday and then we read that 6 month olds should be every other day so we just implemented that. We trued giving him the fruit and greens but he didn’t really seem interested as well as with the flukers crickets. Today im going back to get him crickets that are alive but i wasnt sure if i should get the smaller ones since he is still pretty small imo. We also feed him about 5 worms a day. Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? So we have the zoo med repticalcium without d3 that we dust them in. We didn’t know that they needed more vitamins so I’m also picking up some of those as well but im really not sure what to get? We also put the zoo med reptisafe water droplets in all of his water suppliers.
  • Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? We have a misting bottle that we use and we do it about 2-3 times a day- one in the morning and one once we get home but he also doesn’t seem to like it very much when we mist his cage and it gets in him so we dont really mist him directly. I’m not really sure how long we mist him for.. i would say about 20-30 seconds but we are scared to get too high of a humidity percentage. Ive seen him drink about twice but that was closer to when we first got him. We also do have a shallow watering bowl but after doing research we know that he doesn’t see it as drinking water but does sometimes walk through the water. I also plan on buying a dripper for him just because i do believe he’s dehydrated:/
  • Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? His poops seem normal i think? They are brown and soft yet firm, like it holds together but when we clean it out of his cage it seems to be like softer bouncier texture ? And we got him from petsmart so im not sure if they tested him but we haven’t gotten him tested.
  • History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? Glass cage with the mesh top. I know that we got too small of a cage for him but we thought it was okay since he was smaller. I would say its a least 1’6” tall maybe and about 1’ wide and 1’ deep. We are trying to figure out which new one to get though? We are in Austin, Texas so we aren’t sure if glass or mesh is better for him?
  • Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? We use the zoo med 60 watt day and night bulbs but after reading we are stopping using the red night bulb! We didn’t know they needed complete darkness because everywhere we were looking said they needed 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of the red night bulb. When we wake up which is around 6:30 am we typically change from the red bulb to daylight bulb and now we will be implementing lights out at around 7-8 but we weren’t sure if we should use the red bulb for like an hour or two before bed so that way he would know its bed time and gets him ready for it? Or if we are leaving his day light on too much?
  • Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? The cage floor typically ranges between 75-82F and the top is normally around 83-88F. Again with keeping the red light on the temperature has stayed in those numbers so we don’t know how low it drops at night with no light. We have a sticky thermometer in the bottom of his cage and we have another thermometer/ hygrometer in one closer to his basking spots.
  • Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? The humidity ranges from 38%-85%. We have a fogger that we kept on almost all day because we read that it wasn’t good to have a low percentage but we now know thats not the case and we turn it off after misting sessions and only turn it on when the humidity seems to be getting a little low but it has never dropped below 38%.
  • Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? We have branches that we found outside- some with leaves on them but we weren’t sure if we should take the leaves off? Its from a bush near our apartment building. He doesn’t eat the leaves or is actually rarely near them unless hes moving around. We do know however that we are lacking in husbandry which is why im going out today to buy some plants as well!
  • 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? We had him out in the living room on a side table about 4 feet off the ground. Again we do know its not nearly big/high enough which is why we are looking for a new one! But since his eye issue we moved him into our bedroom where there is more privacy but there isn’t a lot of air flow which im still unsure about as well? Like we don’t know if he supposed to have quite a bit of air flow- we do have a vent in our bedroom but its not constantly going.
  • Location - Where are you geographically located? Austin, Texas
Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about. His left eye has been closed for officially one day now but he’s still acting normal as though it doesn’t bother him. We believe it happened when he was struggling to get the shed off around his eyes. I also forgot until just now that he was opening his eye- not fully by any means but he opened it quite a bit last night and this morning- does this mean its getting better?

Thank you so much for reading and we will gladly take any advice!!
 

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hi! My name is Karlee and my boyfriend and I bought our first ever male veiled chameleon about a week ago. We of course bought what we thought was great- a zoo med starter kit/cage. He started shedding a couple days ago but was struggling to get it off of his eyes. He was rubbing his left one on the branch we put in there and it was fine until we noticed his left eye was staying closed a little bit at a time (he would still open it and keep it open but every so often would close it for about a minute) and now after about 2 days he keeps it closed. I’ve noticed that there also might be a discoloration under his left eye. Im nervous because we aren’t sure what to do about it. Everything he does is the exact same though which is confusing! He acts normal and walks around his cage like it doesn’t bother him and doesn’t miss his prey ?What should we do?

  • Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Male, veiled chameleon, he is we believe 6 months, we have had him for 1 week.
  • Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? At first we were handling him about once or twice 2 days after getting him. We didn’t overload him on the first day but after reading a lot of different websites and these forums we gave him more space and aren’t really handling him unless he shows he is interested in exploring outside of his cage. He hasn’t given any signs that he dislikes being handled or out of his cage but now especially with the eye issue we are trying to not handle him.
  • Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? We have waxworms, superworms, dead crickets (they come in a can called Flukers) strawberries, bananas, grapes, romain lettuce, and collards. I try to give the waxworms and superworms a lot of the vegetation to try and gut-load but i would like any advice because it seems as though he loves the waxworms but wont really eat anything if its dead..? We were feeding him everyday and then we read that 6 month olds should be every other day so we just implemented that. We trued giving him the fruit and greens but he didn’t really seem interested as well as with the flukers crickets. Today im going back to get him crickets that are alive but i wasnt sure if i should get the smaller ones since he is still pretty small imo. We also feed him about 5 worms a day. Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? So we have the zoo med repticalcium without d3 that we dust them in. We didn’t know that they needed more vitamins so I’m also picking up some of those as well but im really not sure what to get? We also put the zoo med reptisafe water droplets in all of his water suppliers.
  • Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? We have a misting bottle that we use and we do it about 2-3 times a day- one in the morning and one once we get home but he also doesn’t seem to like it very much when we mist his cage and it gets in him so we dont really mist him directly. I’m not really sure how long we mist him for.. i would say about 20-30 seconds but we are scared to get too high of a humidity percentage. Ive seen him drink about twice but that was closer to when we first got him. We also do have a shallow watering bowl but after doing research we know that he doesn’t see it as drinking water but does sometimes walk through the water. I also plan on buying a dripper for him just because i do believe he’s dehydrated:/
  • Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? His poops seem normal i think? They are brown and soft yet firm, like it holds together but when we clean it out of his cage it seems to be like softer bouncier texture ? And we got him from petsmart so im not sure if they tested him but we haven’t gotten him tested.
  • History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? Glass cage with the mesh top. I know that we got too small of a cage for him but we thought it was okay since he was smaller. I would say its a least 1’6” tall maybe and about 1’ wide and 1’ deep. We are trying to figure out which new one to get though? We are in Austin, Texas so we aren’t sure if glass or mesh is better for him?
  • Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? We use the zoo med 60 watt day and night bulbs but after reading we are stopping using the red night bulb! We didn’t know they needed complete darkness because everywhere we were looking said they needed 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of the red night bulb. When we wake up which is around 6:30 am we typically change from the red bulb to daylight bulb and now we will be implementing lights out at around 7-8 but we weren’t sure if we should use the red bulb for like an hour or two before bed so that way he would know its bed time and gets him ready for it? Or if we are leaving his day light on too much?
  • Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? The cage floor typically ranges between 75-82F and the top is normally around 83-88F. Again with keeping the red light on the temperature has stayed in those numbers so we don’t know how low it drops at night with no light. We have a sticky thermometer in the bottom of his cage and we have another thermometer/ hygrometer in one closer to his basking spots.
  • Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? The humidity ranges from 38%-85%. We have a fogger that we kept on almost all day because we read that it wasn’t good to have a low percentage but we now know thats not the case and we turn it off after misting sessions and only turn it on when the humidity seems to be getting a little low but it has never dropped below 38%.
  • Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? We have branches that we found outside- some with leaves on them but we weren’t sure if we should take the leaves off? Its from a bush near our apartment building. He doesn’t eat the leaves or is actually rarely near them unless hes moving around. We do know however that we are lacking in husbandry which is why im going out today to buy some plants as well!
  • 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? We had him out in the living room on a side table about 4 feet off the ground. Again we do know its not nearly big/high enough which is why we are looking for a new one! But since his eye issue we moved him into our bedroom where there is more privacy but there isn’t a lot of air flow which im still unsure about as well? Like we don’t know if he supposed to have quite a bit of air flow- we do have a vent in our bedroom but its not constantly going.
  • Location - Where are you geographically located? Austin, Texas
Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about. His left eye has been closed for officially one day now but he’s still acting normal as though it doesn’t bother him. We believe it happened when he was struggling to get the shed off around his eyes. I also forgot until just now that he was opening his eye- not fully by any means but he opened it quite a bit last night and this morning- does this mean its getting better?

Thank you so much for reading and we will gladly take any advice!!
He seems to be doing a lot better than yesterday, he’s definitely opening his eye but its just a smaller opening than if he were to actually open it
 
Welcome to the forum! It's awesome that you're looking at doing everything you can for your new little one. Thanks for filling out the form! @MissSkittles is usually the main expert here for husbandry reviews so I'll leave the bulk of that to her. You'll get some EXCELLENT advice here. Take note that often people are given really incorrect information on chameleon husbandry. The advice you'll get here may be large in volume, but it's not a judgement of your actions - it's an effort to help those adorable little tree dragons. :)

There are various things that could be causing the eye issue, from lighting to supplements to debris in the eye, or something else entirely.

As far as immediate things I can see, you're at least generally aware of what you'll want to change. So I'll list a few things you can correct, which should be done sooner than later.

https://chameleonacademy.com/veiled-chameleon-care/ <-- this is a GREAT place to go to really get good up-to-date info on the best husbandry practices.

Gender: Can you post a picture of the backs of your cham's feet? With veilds, you can tell if it's a male if they have little spurs on the backs of their feet. If you have a male, great! If you have a female, there are other husbandry things to be aware of. :)

Food: Chams are insectivores and should ONLY be fed insects. The fruits/veggies should be left to gutload your feeders. Those feeders should be alive - chams hunt by movement and so won't really eat dead things. Wax worms and superworms in general aren't great staples either. I'd avoid them entirely and instead look at crickets, dubia roaches, black soldier fly larvae, silkworms, and hornworms for extra hydration. Be careful with hornworms though - they're VERY good at sticking to what they're standing on and are able to bite. I'd crush their heads and hand-feed the hornworms. Then again, some folks are less paranoid about them than I am.

Misting: You want to mist for 2-3 mins with every misting session you do. Once you get a proper cage setup, I'd suggest investing in a mistking. I don't know what I'd do without one! In the meantime, a spray bottle that does a fine mist is fine. You don't want to directly spray your cham but you want to make sure you mist the entire enclosure, enough that the leaves can gather droplets - that's how chams know to drink. It's also something that'll help your cham clean their eyes out. Another good option is setting up a dripper - a simple plastic cup with a pinhole in the bottom, filled with ice, sat atop the screentop cage is perfect for additional hydration options. I'd also removed any standing water in the cage - they won't drink from it and it can contribute to too-high humidity.

Heat: Good on you for turning off the heat bulb! Red light especially is rough on chams' eyes and they need a good temperature drop at night for their systems to reset. As for the day time, you want to lower those temperatures. Max for babies should be around 80, and max 85. You want your ambient temps to be between 72-78 in the day and in the 60s at night.

Lighting: I'm not an expert on lighting but almost certainly you need to upgrade - the cham kits have insufficient/useless UVB bulbs. What you want is a 24" Arcadia Pro T5 light. It's a tube light that can provide the proper UVB for your little guy - and that's absolutely CRUCIAL.

Cage: a 2'x2x'4' is the minimum size space you need - I'd get one ASAP, and not bother with a cage size in between. The Reptibreeze XL is an option. DIY Cages sells one at the right size, and so does Dragon Strand. You also want to use live cham-safe plants, because veilds are known to nibble at them and the last thing you want is a nibble of a fake plant causing a deadly impaction. The screen cages are cheaper, and if you feel you aren't getting the right humidity levels with it, you can always put a shower curtain or window shrink-wraps around the cage to keep some of that moisture in.


Soooo there's a bit of a novel for you, and I recognize I haven't really hit your question about the eye - there are a lot of things that could cause the issues, and leaning into proper husbandry is a great start to start eliminating what the causes could be.
 
Welcome to the forum! It's awesome that you're looking at doing everything you can for your new little one. Thanks for filling out the form! @MissSkittles is usually the main expert here for husbandry reviews so I'll leave the bulk of that to her. You'll get some EXCELLENT advice here. Take note that often people are given really incorrect information on chameleon husbandry. The advice you'll get here may be large in volume, but it's not a judgement of your actions - it's an effort to help those adorable little tree dragons. :)

There are various things that could be causing the eye issue, from lighting to supplements to debris in the eye, or something else entirely.

As far as immediate things I can see, you're at least generally aware of what you'll want to change. So I'll list a few things you can correct, which should be done sooner than later.

https://chameleonacademy.com/veiled-chameleon-care/ <-- this is a GREAT place to go to really get good up-to-date info on the best husbandry practices.

Gender: Can you post a picture of the backs of your cham's feet? With veilds, you can tell if it's a male if they have little spurs on the backs of their feet. If you have a male, great! If you have a female, there are other husbandry things to be aware of. :)

Food: Chams are insectivores and should ONLY be fed insects. The fruits/veggies should be left to gutload your feeders. Those feeders should be alive - chams hunt by movement and so won't really eat dead things. Wax worms and superworms in general aren't great staples either. I'd avoid them entirely and instead look at crickets, dubia roaches, black soldier fly larvae, silkworms, and hornworms for extra hydration. Be careful with hornworms though - they're VERY good at sticking to what they're standing on and are able to bite. I'd crush their heads and hand-feed the hornworms. Then again, some folks are less paranoid about them than I am.

Misting: You want to mist for 2-3 mins with every misting session you do. Once you get a proper cage setup, I'd suggest investing in a mistking. I don't know what I'd do without one! In the meantime, a spray bottle that does a fine mist is fine. You don't want to directly spray your cham but you want to make sure you mist the entire enclosure, enough that the leaves can gather droplets - that's how chams know to drink. It's also something that'll help your cham clean their eyes out. Another good option is setting up a dripper - a simple plastic cup with a pinhole in the bottom, filled with ice, sat atop the screentop cage is perfect for additional hydration options. I'd also removed any standing water in the cage - they won't drink from it and it can contribute to too-high humidity.

Heat: Good on you for turning off the heat bulb! Red light especially is rough on chams' eyes and they need a good temperature drop at night for their systems to reset. As for the day time, you want to lower those temperatures. Max for babies should be around 80, and max 85. You want your ambient temps to be between 72-78 in the day and in the 60s at night.

Lighting: I'm not an expert on lighting but almost certainly you need to upgrade - the cham kits have insufficient/useless UVB bulbs. What you want is a 24" Arcadia Pro T5 light. It's a tube light that can provide the proper UVB for your little guy - and that's absolutely CRUCIAL.

Cage: a 2'x2x'4' is the minimum size space you need - I'd get one ASAP, and not bother with a cage size in between. The Reptibreeze XL is an option. DIY Cages sells one at the right size, and so does Dragon Strand. You also want to use live cham-safe plants, because veilds are known to nibble at them and the last thing you want is a nibble of a fake plant causing a deadly impaction. The screen cages are cheaper, and if you feel you aren't getting the right humidity levels with it, you can always put a shower curtain or window shrink-wraps around the cage to keep some of that moisture in.


Soooo there's a bit of a novel for you, and I recognize I haven't really hit your question about the eye - there are a lot of things that could cause the issues, and leaning into proper husbandry is a great start to start eliminating what the causes could be.
Thank you so much! I do realize that we didn’t get the right equipment which was of course frustrating to find out but we will definitely be upgrading everything! I just came out of a store here in austin called Zookeeper Exotic and they were also super helpful in teaching me a lot more about chameleons! I’m bringing him back to see if they can look at his eye and tell us if its something we should be super worried about. Thank you so much for responding! I really appreciate all the information you’ve provided!!
 
Welcome to the forum! It's awesome that you're looking at doing everything you can for your new little one. Thanks for filling out the form! @MissSkittles is usually the main expert here for husbandry reviews so I'll leave the bulk of that to her. You'll get some EXCELLENT advice here. Take note that often people are given really incorrect information on chameleon husbandry. The advice you'll get here may be large in volume, but it's not a judgement of your actions - it's an effort to help those adorable little tree dragons. :)

There are various things that could be causing the eye issue, from lighting to supplements to debris in the eye, or something else entirely.

As far as immediate things I can see, you're at least generally aware of what you'll want to change. So I'll list a few things you can correct, which should be done sooner than later.

https://chameleonacademy.com/veiled-chameleon-care/ <-- this is a GREAT place to go to really get good up-to-date info on the best husbandry practices.

Gender: Can you post a picture of the backs of your cham's feet? With veilds, you can tell if it's a male if they have little spurs on the backs of their feet. If you have a male, great! If you have a female, there are other husbandry things to be aware of. :)

Food: Chams are insectivores and should ONLY be fed insects. The fruits/veggies should be left to gutload your feeders. Those feeders should be alive - chams hunt by movement and so won't really eat dead things. Wax worms and superworms in general aren't great staples either. I'd avoid them entirely and instead look at crickets, dubia roaches, black soldier fly larvae, silkworms, and hornworms for extra hydration. Be careful with hornworms though - they're VERY good at sticking to what they're standing on and are able to bite. I'd crush their heads and hand-feed the hornworms. Then again, some folks are less paranoid about them than I am.

Misting: You want to mist for 2-3 mins with every misting session you do. Once you get a proper cage setup, I'd suggest investing in a mistking. I don't know what I'd do without one! In the meantime, a spray bottle that does a fine mist is fine. You don't want to directly spray your cham but you want to make sure you mist the entire enclosure, enough that the leaves can gather droplets - that's how chams know to drink. It's also something that'll help your cham clean their eyes out. Another good option is setting up a dripper - a simple plastic cup with a pinhole in the bottom, filled with ice, sat atop the screentop cage is perfect for additional hydration options. I'd also removed any standing water in the cage - they won't drink from it and it can contribute to too-high humidity.

Heat: Good on you for turning off the heat bulb! Red light especially is rough on chams' eyes and they need a good temperature drop at night for their systems to reset. As for the day time, you want to lower those temperatures. Max for babies should be around 80, and max 85. You want your ambient temps to be between 72-78 in the day and in the 60s at night.

Lighting: I'm not an expert on lighting but almost certainly you need to upgrade - the cham kits have insufficient/useless UVB bulbs. What you want is a 24" Arcadia Pro T5 light. It's a tube light that can provide the proper UVB for your little guy - and that's absolutely CRUCIAL.

Cage: a 2'x2x'4' is the minimum size space you need - I'd get one ASAP, and not bother with a cage size in between. The Reptibreeze XL is an option. DIY Cages sells one at the right size, and so does Dragon Strand. You also want to use live cham-safe plants, because veilds are known to nibble at them and the last thing you want is a nibble of a fake plant causing a deadly impaction. The screen cages are cheaper, and if you feel you aren't getting the right humidity levels with it, you can always put a shower curtain or window shrink-wraps around the cage to keep some of that moisture in.


Soooo there's a bit of a novel for you, and I recognize I haven't really hit your question about the eye - there are a lot of things that could cause the issues, and leaning into proper husbandry is a great start to start eliminating what the causes could be.
So we were told that he was a he but we found out today that he is a she! We aren’t quite sure what to name her now lol but we upgraded her cage to a mesh one- i can send pictures, and the plants are fake and i do plan on buying real plants but i cant really afford anything more as of right now!
 

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So we were told that he was a he but we found out today that he is a she! We aren’t quite sure what to name her now lol but we upgraded her cage to a mesh one- i can send pictures, and the plants are fake and i do plan on buying real plants but i cant really afford anything more as of right now!
I thought she looked like a she! There's a lot to consider for female chameleons. I think @Beman and @MissSkittles and @Sonny13 all have experience with females (correct me if I'm wrong!).

So three things I'd suggest right off the bat - do what you can to get plants. Pothos is a great cham-friendly plant and generally inexpensive. It's also called Devil's Ivy, I believe... It grows fast, and it's surprisingly hard to kill.

Second: I'd get rid of the substrate. A bare floor for a cham change is entirely acceptable and often preferred. The little wood bits could prove an impaction risk and it makes it hard to clean the cage. It'd be hard to find poops too, and I like to monitor my guy's poops for health reasons.

Third: You're going to need a lay bin! I'd get this right away and leave it in the cage so your cham isn't ever confused by it. Females lay eggs much like chickens do, whether or not they've mated. @Gingero has a wonderful video about the whole process.



Another good place to look at for egg laying considerations is here: https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/laying-bin-set-up-educational-video.77225/

and this graphic here:
 

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Hi and welcome! :) @CalamityCrow gave you some great advice. I’ll just add on a little…but I talk a lot so you’ve been warned. 😂
Attaching feeder and gutload graphics for you. Feeders need to be alive and as healthy as possible. I don’t specifically gutload. I do keep my bugs well fed a variety of fresh produce so that they are always healthy and nutritious. Roaches, crickets, bsfl, etc are all great and it’s best to provide a variety. Some vendors sell variety packs. Check the forum sponsors like Dubia.com and Rainbow Mealworms. I think Josh’s Frogs also sells variety packs and I know Linda’s gone buggy does.
For supplements, there are as many regimens as there are supplement brands. The one that I prefer is to lightly dust every feeding with a phosphorus free calcium without D3. Then one feeding every other week you’ll dust with either Repashy Calcium Plus LoD OR Reptivite with D3. *make sure the ReptiVite specifies it is with D3.
For misting, you need to mist for at least 2 minutes twice a day - right before lights go on and off. This gives your chameleon time to ‘clean’ the eyes and enough time to trigger drinking response. Many chams are secret drinkers, so mist and walk away. Look at the urates to determine hydration status. Those should be mostly white/cream colored with less than 50% yellow or orange. For mid day, you can add a dripper as calamity crow advised or mist for a minute.
You need to get the correct uvb light - a linear T5 with either a ReptiSun 5.0 or Arcadia 6% uvb bulb. This simulates the effects of natural sunlight in producing vitamin D3, which is essential for converting calcium into a usable form. The supplement that we give is basically just as insurance that our chams are getting enough. Since we don’t know the exact dose needed and the supplement form can be toxic if given too much, we need to have that correct uvb source. Regardless of whether you buy ReptiSun or Arcadia, the fixture runs around $60-70 and usually includes a bulb (make sure you get the right strength though). I prefer Arcadia as the bulbs are good for at least a year, while ReptiSun lasts only about 6 months. If you aren’t able to just yet get the right uvb, is it warm enough where you are to take your cham outside for some unfiltered sunlight for about 15 minutes a few times a week? If so, put it on a plant and stay with it. They are very fast when they want to be and could disappear in an instant. Plus, predatory birds. Just FYI, uvb doesn’t pass thru most substances like glass, plastic etc. Once you get the correct uvb, you’ll want a distance of 8-9” between basking branch and light.
Ideal daytime humidity is between 30-50%, so you’re doing great at 38%. At night IF you are able to consistently achieve a temp drop below at least 68-70F, you can run a cool mist humidifier for a few hours during the night and boost humidity way up. That simulates natural hydration gotten in the wild thru fog. Btw, whether you fog at night or not, you do want a good temp drop if possible. Veileds can handle temps in the 60’s with no problem. Daytime temps for young chams and girls should be no higher than 80. Adult males can have basking temps up to 85. Old info will say to bake the poor chams in the 90’s, but we’ve since learned better.
Veileds will nibble on their plants. Some totally devour them while others take occasional tastes, but they all do it so the plants need to be real, safe and clean. Pothos (and philodendron) are the easiest and probably the most used plants by cham keepers. They are super easy to grow, need no additional plant lights, grow fast, the vines provide extra ‘roads’ for chams and the big leaves are perfect for drinking from and hiding under. Before using any plant in your cham’s enclosure, will need to gently wash the leaves with something like Dawn dish soap and rinse very very well. Repotting with an organic soil is also best. The main thing is to get rid of the chemical pesticides and fertilizers that were used. Here’s more info on plants. https://chameleonacademy.com/plants/
It’s quite important to know if you have a girl or boy. If you need help figuring it out, post a pic of the back of the back feet and we can help. Our girls will lay (infertile) eggs even if they never see a boy. It takes a great deal out of them and shortens their lives, so with diet and temps we make attempts to reduce their egg production. For most it works well.
Do ask as many questions as you have. I’m very glad that you found your way here. :)
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Hi and welcome! :) @CalamityCrow gave you some great advice. I’ll just add on a little…but I talk a lot so you’ve been warned. 😂
Attaching feeder and gutload graphics for you. Feeders need to be alive and as healthy as possible. I don’t specifically gutload. I do keep my bugs well fed a variety of fresh produce so that they are always healthy and nutritious. Roaches, crickets, bsfl, etc are all great and it’s best to provide a variety. Some vendors sell variety packs. Check the forum sponsors like Dubia.com and Rainbow Mealworms. I think Josh’s Frogs also sells variety packs and I know Linda’s gone buggy does.
For supplements, there are as many regimens as there are supplement brands. The one that I prefer is to lightly dust every feeding with a phosphorus free calcium without D3. Then one feeding every other week you’ll dust with either Repashy Calcium Plus LoD OR Reptivite with D3. *make sure the ReptiVite specifies it is with D3.
For misting, you need to mist for at least 2 minutes twice a day - right before lights go on and off. This gives your chameleon time to ‘clean’ the eyes and enough time to trigger drinking response. Many chams are secret drinkers, so mist and walk away. Look at the urates to determine hydration status. Those should be mostly white/cream colored with less than 50% yellow or orange. For mid day, you can add a dripper as calamity crow advised or mist for a minute.
You need to get the correct uvb light - a linear T5 with either a ReptiSun 5.0 or Arcadia 6% uvb bulb. This simulates the effects of natural sunlight in producing vitamin D3, which is essential for converting calcium into a usable form. The supplement that we give is basically just as insurance that our chams are getting enough. Since we don’t know the exact dose needed and the supplement form can be toxic if given too much, we need to have that correct uvb source. Regardless of whether you buy ReptiSun or Arcadia, the fixture runs around $60-70 and usually includes a bulb (make sure you get the right strength though). I prefer Arcadia as the bulbs are good for at least a year, while ReptiSun lasts only about 6 months. If you aren’t able to just yet get the right uvb, is it warm enough where you are to take your cham outside for some unfiltered sunlight for about 15 minutes a few times a week? If so, put it on a plant and stay with it. They are very fast when they want to be and could disappear in an instant. Plus, predatory birds. Just FYI, uvb doesn’t pass thru most substances like glass, plastic etc. Once you get the correct uvb, you’ll want a distance of 8-9” between basking branch and light.
Ideal daytime humidity is between 30-50%, so you’re doing great at 38%. At night IF you are able to consistently achieve a temp drop below at least 68-70F, you can run a cool mist humidifier for a few hours during the night and boost humidity way up. That simulates natural hydration gotten in the wild thru fog. Btw, whether you fog at night or not, you do want a good temp drop if possible. Veileds can handle temps in the 60’s with no problem. Daytime temps for young chams and girls should be no higher than 80. Adult males can have basking temps up to 85. Old info will say to bake the poor chams in the 90’s, but we’ve since learned better.
Veileds will nibble on their plants. Some totally devour them while others take occasional tastes, but they all do it so the plants need to be real, safe and clean. Pothos (and philodendron) are the easiest and probably the most used plants by cham keepers. They are super easy to grow, need no additional plant lights, grow fast, the vines provide extra ‘roads’ for chams and the big leaves are perfect for drinking from and hiding under. Before using any plant in your cham’s enclosure, will need to gently wash the leaves with something like Dawn dish soap and rinse very very well. Repotting with an organic soil is also best. The main thing is to get rid of the chemical pesticides and fertilizers that were used. Here’s more info on plants. https://chameleonacademy.com/plants/
It’s quite important to know if you have a girl or boy. If you need help figuring it out, post a pic of the back of the back feet and we can help. Our girls will lay (infertile) eggs even if they never see a boy. It takes a great deal out of them and shortens their lives, so with diet and temps we make attempts to reduce their egg production. For most it works well.
Do ask as many questions as you have. I’m very glad that you found your way here. :)
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Thank you so much!! Its great learning all of this new information and im glad we are making the better changes early rather than learning them way down the line! I didn’t know that females had a shorter life expectancy than males:( I believe we made it through the first night in the new cage perfectly! We typically keep out apartment at 75 because we get cold if it goes any lower😂 i was told that thats good and should kind of help us keep a good temp? And part of me is still a little confused on what i should be putting at the bottom or her floor? I bought the entire cage setup from Zookeeper Exotic here in Austin and do I wasn’t sure if the bark was better than substrate because its less dusty ? But we do also have the reptile carpet for the floor but I wasn’t sure if that alone was good? We also have moss and the coconut husk substrate:)
 
Thank you so much!! Its great learning all of this new information and im glad we are making the better changes early rather than learning them way down the line! I didn’t know that females had a shorter life expectancy than males:( I believe we made it through the first night in the new cage perfectly! We typically keep out apartment at 75 because we get cold if it goes any lower😂 i was told that thats good and should kind of help us keep a good temp? And part of me is still a little confused on what i should be putting at the bottom or her floor? I bought the entire cage setup from Zookeeper Exotic here in Austin and do I wasn’t sure if the bark was better than substrate because its less dusty ? But we do also have the reptile carpet for the floor but I wasn’t sure if that alone was good? We also have moss and the coconut husk substrate:)
You’ll want to keep the floor of the enclosure bare. Some substrates such as the Repti carpet become bacterial breeding grounds. Other substrates such as bark and moss can pose a risk for bowel obstruction if accidentally ingested. The bare floor is easiest to keep clean and there’s no risk of accidentally eating anything inedible. The other option is bioactive, which is a bit more advanced. It’s creating a natural forest floor, complete with various types of substrates mixed together, drainage layer, plants and a clean up crew of springtails and isopods. Learn the basic husbandry standards and get those all in place first. Then if you want a naturalistic planted floor, you may want to try bioactive.
 
Her eye has gotten worse but i still dont have the funds to take her to the vet!! Im so worried and don’t want to lose her but i dont know what to do for her😭 she’s still acting like it doesn’t bother her but its swollen now and she hasn’t been opening it like she was before. The swelling just started today and wasn’t bad this morning but its worse now. I’m not sure what to do??
 
Have you been able to make any of the needed changes yet? Getting the correct uvb and supplements is essential and possibly is the reason for the eye problem. However, there’s lots of other reasons for keeping the eye closed and a vet is really needed to make that diagnosis and prescribe treatment. For now, really all you can do is try giving a nice long misting of at least 3 minutes or more in the morning to give baby a chance to possibly clean and hydrate that eye. Don’t spray her directly though.
 
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