Feeding My Chameleon

mairinist

New Member
Hey everybody! I'm very new here, and I was searching for some tips on feeding my new chameleon!

I just got a juvenile veiled chameleon 2 days ago, and his name is Hue;)
I have read everywhere to give him a constant supply of food, so I constantly put mealworms in his food dish and theres a couple pieces of collard greens in there as well. I also gave him four small crickets yesterday, all dusted with calcium powder, but I don't think he ate all of them. Granted, I just threw them in there, and he's still pretty young. However, I was wondering if I'm supposed to feed him crickets everyday? I'll put calcium powder on there every other day but does he always need crickets? I haven't been able to find this anywhere. Thank you guys!

Also, since we got him, he hasn't moved too much and he turns an ugly greenish brown when you put food in his cage and when I turn his lights on in the morning. Is this normal behavior? Is he just adjusting or am I doing something wrong? I was able to ALMOST hand feed him a mealworm yesterday. He turned bright green and lowered his head toward it and opened his mouth, but then my brother moved in the room and he backed away.

I appreciate all of your help guys! I'm very excited to start this new journey with my cham!!
 
Please do not give him any mealworms, they are difficult to digest and have little nutritional value. The bulk of his diet should be crickets, Dubai, or silkworms. Best to vary his diet as much as you can. At this age he is growing like crazy and should have access to food 24/7. Every feeder given to him should be dusted with calcium without D3. He should also be getting calcium WITH D3 and a multivitamin twice a month.

He is still adjusting to his new environment so his hesitation towards you is normal, we usually recommend letting them settle in for two weeks before typical behavior can be expected.
 
Please do not give him any mealworms, they are difficult to digest and have little nutritional value. The bulk of his diet should be crickets, Dubai, or silkworms. Best to vary his diet as much as you can. At this age he is growing like crazy and should have access to food 24/7. Every feeder given to him should be dusted with calcium without D3. He should also be getting calcium WITH D3 and a multivitamin twice a month.

He is still adjusting to his new environment so his hesitation towards you is normal, we usually recommend letting them settle in for two weeks before typical behavior can be expected.
Oh gosh I had no idea about that, thank you so much for letting me know. The guy at the pet store told me to feed him mealworms, wonder why? Thank you again for letting me know. And a small update, when I walked in a few minutes ago, he turned black?!:confused:
 
And welcome to the forum! Would you be willing to post a pic of your viv and fill out the how to ask for help form so we can make sure your Cham gets the best start possible? Form is below!

Please fill out the “how to ask for help” form and post your answers back here. Quality pictures will help us help you.

Chameleon Info:
◦Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
◦Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
◦Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
◦Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
◦Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
◦Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
◦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?
◦Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
◦Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
◦Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
◦Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
◦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?
◦Location - Where are you geographically located?

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

--------------

Please Note:
1The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.
2Photos can be very helpful.
 
Oh gosh I had no idea about that, thank you so much for letting me know. The guy at the pet store told me to feed him mealworms, wonder why? Thank you again for letting me know. And a small update, when I walked in a few minutes ago, he turned black?!:confused:
Black is a reaction to extreme stress so the questions I posted a second ago are pretty important.

Pet store employees mean well but are usually clueless or just trying to sell you something.
 
welcome to the forum!!! also, mealworm shells are too hard especially for a juvenile chameleon to digest, much less any chameleon to digest, I agree with filling out the form but here are some things you should know about supplementation and feeding, supplement with calcium no d3 every day and supplement eith d3 and multivitamin everyother week. if he is a juvenile, like 5 months or younger I would feed when hes hungry. as for ur black problem, black is an emotional reaction to a bother in the room, cage or even in the chameleon. I would fill out the form so we can make sure your cham is starting off in the right direction! thanks for reading!!:):)
 
Here's the form you were talking about!

The Chameleon
My chameleon is a male juvenile veiled chameleon. I have only had him for about a day and a half. When he's in a good mood, he's a beautiful bright greenish yellow.
I was able to handle him a lot at the pet store-he maintained a bright green and walked around my hands and up my arm to my shoulder. He was very friendly and calm. Now that he's in his enclosure in my home, he won't allow me to hold him, as he will turn away from my hand.
I have only been feeding him mealworms without calcium dust (and I have these in there constantly), a few pieces of collard greens and I gave him four calcium dusted crickets yesterday. I have been gut-loading them with carrots. The pet store guy told me to feed him mealworms, and I trusted his opinion because he said he's owned chams for years.
I have a little dripper that drips a steady drip on his leaves constantly. I mist him and his cage 2-3 times a day, as I read veiled chams don't require a very high humidity. I have only seen him drink once.
I use the Repti-calcium by ZooMed, and I have only used it once (yesterday on the crickets). I also have Reptivite by ZooMed as well, however I have not given him those yet.
His feces are little brown pellet looking things, and the seem normal. I do not know if he's been tested for parasites outside of my care.

The Cage
The cage I am using is a screen cage by ZooMed called the Repti-breeze. It's 16x16x30in which I have read is a good size for his age.
I am using the lights it came with, which are the day light (UVA) and the UVB light. I keep these on for 12 hours a day (8am-8pm) and no light at night. I was a little skeptical about no heat lamp at night, but I read on two different veiled cham care sheets that they do well with a night temp. drop, as long as the house doesn't go below 40 degrees.
The temperature in there ranges from 70 at the middle/bottom of his cage and around 80+ in the basking spot. At night, it gets to be around low 70s high 60s in his cage.
I don't yet have a humidity gauge (I just ordered one) but for now I mist him around 2-3 times a day because they don't require high humidity levels (50-60% I believe)
No live plants yet, we're still in the process of getting his enclosure up to its full potential. I just ordered more branches and plastic leaves to add in there for more spaces to hide.
The cage right now is on top of a table in our guest bedroom. It is by a window that is always blocked by a curtain, and its top measures about 5'7" off the ground. There is a vent right above it.
I live in central California. We have cold winters and hot hot summers. Right now, the average temperature outside has been in the 60s, and drops below freezing at night. We have had a heater on constantly.

The current problem now is just his eating and behavior. I feel bad that I've been giving him mealworms! I'll start dusting everything I give him with calcium. And crickets, is it everyday? Also where would I find silkworms, Dubai, etc.? They don't carry those at the local petco. Thank you all of the help!
*NOTE* Yes I am aware the leaves pictured are not plastic leaves. Those are only in there temporarily while we wait for our other plastic leaves to come in the mail. We have plastic leaves in there already as well, they aren't pictured.
IMG_1209.jpeg
IMG_1211.jpeg
IMG_1210.jpg
 
Last edited:
he wont let you hold him just yet, he is most likely stressed from the move and new environment.
feed some variety while he is still young, bsfl bsf silkworms waxworm moths hornworms and different types of roaches(dubia, ivory and orange) are all good for him!
how long do you mist it should be at least 2 mins each time and 5 mins once a day three times a day.
he will need a 2x2x4 eventually but for now your fine
use a white heat bulb, as long as it doesn't go below 60 your fine to turn off the heat bulb, 40 might just freeze the poor guy
for juveniles it should be 80 to 72 basking temp
the vent is no good, I would move it to somewhere without a vent even if it is just to the other side of the dresser
online solves everything btw, there are a lot of site sponsers who ship out bugs!!
 
he wont let you hold him just yet, he is most likely stressed from the move and new environment.
feed some variety while he is still young, bsfl bsf silkworms waxworm moths hornworms and different types of roaches(dubia, ivory and orange) are all good for him!
how long do you mist it should be at least 2 mins each time and 5 mins once a day three times a day.
he will need a 2x2x4 eventually but for now your fine
use a white heat bulb, as long as it doesn't go below 60 your fine to turn off the heat bulb, 40 might just freeze the poor guy
for juveniles it should be 80 to 72 basking temp
the vent is no good, I would move it to somewhere without a vent even if it is just to the other side of the dresser
online solves everything btw, there are a lot of site sponsers who ship out bugs!!
Thank you! I just put four more crickets dusted with calcium powder in there, and went and sat down. He turned bright green again and moved toward his dish!
 
I have never provided food 24/7 thats how you create picky chams and fat chams. Even at a young age they can grow too fast and become overweight. For my young babies, i split their feedings into twice a day, about 14-20 feeders over all depending on the hunger and gender of the cham. So i usually feed a little less in the afternoon /evening and feed more in the mornings. Feed 1-2 hours for sure before lights go out or earlier for last meal. I always include some fattier feeders at this age minimum 3 times a week. But usually 4 times a week. Not a lot of them at once but just enough to boost healthy fat content. I think everyone else has covered all other needs on the form. So thats just my two cents.
 
Back
Top Bottom