Female Veiled Cham...weirdo or?!

[Panther_Chameleon]

Thank you so much! I’ll look into that bulb.

as for the substrate...it makes my head spin because he/she says it terrible and breeders I know preach by it so idk lol. I’m lost. I think I want to stick with substrate especially for the added humidity. I made her an 8 “ deep mix of fine coconut fiber substrate mixed with organic soil for stability. I keep it wet but not saturated and till it every so often. Kiwi digs well in it and I can form holes in it that won’t collapse. I’m hoping I can use this as a ‘lay bin’ but I will definitely adjust if I have to.

Thanks again for the help and advice. I really appreciate it.

I know so many things about chameleons are controversial. Like I said I’m no expert so I would just look into the threads about females and lay bins. As for the bulb, I have never seen them in store. I got mine from amazon but I’m sure you can find it in other online stores as well

 

[AmandaS]

I see you filled out the help form, but no one has reviewed it. Perhaps @MissSkittles has the time? I am super busy right now, but if it hasnt been done I can go over your husbandry this evening to help you get a better understanding. There is so much knowledge and information on this site that can really help too!

 

[MissSkittles]

I see you filled out the help form, but no one has reviewed it. Perhaps @MissSkittles has the time? I am super busy right now, but if it hasnt been done I can go over your husbandry this evening to help you get a better understanding. There is so much knowledge and information on this site that can really help too!

Sure.

 

[MissSkittles]

I’ll put feedback in red.
Kiwi the veiled chameleon
Sex—Female
Age—6/7months
Time in my care—5 months

I handle her everyday. She is very friendly and climbs out to me. I then pet her if she will let me and she roams around the house for a bit before I put her back. We occasionally go outside too. This is unusual for a veiled, especially a female. Not to burst your bubble, but she is most likely climbing out to you as she is unhappy in her enclosure. It is awesome that she trusts you though and that you take her outside.

I feed her a variety of crickets, roaches, horned worms, meal worms, and calcium worms. She also eats safe plants and fruit. On average 15 mealworms/25 crickets or some mix of others from the above. I am currently trying to get away from mealworms just as an FYI. She eats daily in the am about an hour after her lights go on. I’ll attach the feeder and gutloading infographics for you. Mealworms are not good sources of nutrition and can be harder to digest because of their chitin level. As I believe was already addressed, you are over-feeding which can have adverse effects on her egg production and laying. Laying takes a lot out of them and my vet said shortens their lives. I am still working on getting the ‘formula’ down right, but I feed my girls every other day - 3 times a week the equivalent of 3-4 medium sized feeders. I also have basking temps of around 80-85*. They do like blueberries and I give them 1-2 a couple of times a month. Gut loading is very important as it passes extra nutrients on to your cham.

Her home gets auto fogged for 30 minutes on a medium low setting every 3 hours. The difference between misting and fogging has already been covered. You should be misting/spraying about 3 times a day for about 2 minutes each time. You want the enclosure to dry out in between.

her fecal. Intent is normal brown and firm. Her rates are very white and she seems well hydrated. Perfect. Is always a good idea to have a fecal done to check for parasites. One never knows.

HOME CONDITIONS

24x18x24 glassZooMed Vented tank This is really too small for an adult veiled. They are arboreal and like height...to look down upon their world makes them feel safe. The minimum enclosure size is 24x24x48” (or equivalent). Glass, screen or a combination depends on your preferences and climate.

lighting is 80W powersun UV with an appropriate ceramic dome. She has about 14 hours of light each day. This has also been covered already. You need a T5 ho fixture with a 5% uvb bulb. You’ll want it to span the width of the enclosure. The bulb needs to be changed every 6 months as they lose effectiveness. If you get the Repti sun, they usually come with the bulb. When time to change it, get Arcadia 6% instead as those are good for a year.

I have a hygrometer thermometer combo that averages the following:

Daytime
basking spot—85 degrees
Peripherals—74-80
40-100% humidity Daytime humidity should remain between 30-50%. At night when it is cool, humidity can go up as high as 100%. Heat+high humidity can= respiratory infection.

Nighttime
ambient—68-74 Perfect! Temp drops at night are preferred and veileds can get as low as the 50’s.
40-60%

I have several live and fake plants. I have an Indian jasmine and hibiscus. Can’t remember the other’s name but I bought it because it was Cham safe. Not sure if the jasmine is cham safe, but the hibiscus is. Even though the leaves are thick on the fake plants, I personally don’t risk it. I took all their fake plants and attached them to the outside of my enclosures to give them a little more privacy, which they like to have. I use mainly Pothos, but also schefflera, dracaena, wandering Jew, corn plant and just added some philodendron until some chewed up Pothos has time to recover. Hibiscus has high light needs, so you will be needing a good plant light. A plant light is always a good idea to help your plants thrive.
I told you about substrate in another reply.
Looking at your pics, she needs not only a lay bin as a permanent part of her enclosure, (which was already addressed) but many more branches and vines to travel. Think of it her little roads
Great sources of information are chameleonacademy.com and Neptune the chameleon on YouTube.
I hope this all helps and welcome! ☺

Size difference between 24x24x48” and 16x16x30” enclosures.

One of my girl’s enclosures. *lay bin currently out as we’re making some changes

 

[sdecero]

Okay that makes sense. Thank you so much!

I am adding springtails and isopods today to help with this

 

[sdecero]

I’ll put feedback in red.
Kiwi the veiled chameleon
Sex—Female
Age—6/7months
Time in my care—5 months

I handle her everyday. She is very friendly and climbs out to me. I then pet her if she will let me and she roams around the house for a bit before I put her back. We occasionally go outside too. This is unusual for a veiled, especially a female. Not to burst your bubble, but she is most likely climbing out to you as she is unhappy in her enclosure. It is awesome that she trusts you though and that you take her outside.

I feed her a variety of crickets, roaches, horned worms, meal worms, and calcium worms. She also eats safe plants and fruit. On average 15 mealworms/25 crickets or some mix of others from the above. I am currently trying to get away from mealworms just as an FYI. She eats daily in the am about an hour after her lights go on. I’ll attach the feeder and gutloading infographics for you. Mealworms are not good sources of nutrition and can be harder to digest because of their chitin level. As I believe was already addressed, you are over-feeding which can have adverse effects on her egg production and laying. Laying takes a lot out of them and my vet said shortens their lives. I am still working on getting the ‘formula’ down right, but I feed my girls every other day - 3 times a week the equivalent of 3-4 medium sized feeders. I also have basking temps of around 80-85*. They do like blueberries and I give them 1-2 a couple of times a month. Gut loading is very important as it passes extra nutrients on to your cham.

Her home gets auto fogged for 30 minutes on a medium low setting every 3 hours. The difference between misting and fogging has already been covered. You should be misting/spraying about 3 times a day for about 2 minutes each time. You want the enclosure to dry out in between.

her fecal. Intent is normal brown and firm. Her rates are very white and she seems well hydrated. Perfect. Is always a good idea to have a fecal done to check for parasites. One never knows.

HOME CONDITIONS

24x18x24 glassZooMed Vented tank This is really too small for an adult veiled. They are arboreal and like height...to look down upon their world makes them feel safe. The minimum enclosure size is 24x24x48” (or equivalent). Glass, screen or a combination depends on your preferences and climate.

lighting is 80W powersun UV with an appropriate ceramic dome. She has about 14 hours of light each day. This has also been covered already. You need a T5 ho fixture with a 5% uvb bulb. You’ll want it to span the width of the enclosure. The bulb needs to be changed every 6 months as they lose effectiveness. If you get the Repti sun, they usually come with the bulb. When time to change it, get Arcadia 6% instead as those are good for a year.

I have a hygrometer thermometer combo that averages the following:

Daytime
basking spot—85 degrees
Peripherals—74-80
40-100% humidity Daytime humidity should remain between 30-50%. At night when it is cool, humidity can go up as high as 100%. Heat+high humidity can= respiratory infection.

Nighttime
ambient—68-74 Perfect! Temp drops at night are preferred and veileds can get as low as the 50’s.
40-60%

I have several live and fake plants. I have an Indian jasmine and hibiscus. Can’t remember the other’s name but I bought it because it was Cham safe. Not sure if the jasmine is cham safe, but the hibiscus is. Even though the leaves are thick on the fake plants, I personally don’t risk it. I took all their fake plants and attached them to the outside of my enclosures to give them a little more privacy, which they like to have. I use mainly Pothos, but also schefflera, dracaena, wandering Jew, corn plant and just added some philodendron until some chewed up Pothos has time to recover. Hibiscus has high light needs, so you will be needing a good plant light. A plant light is always a good idea to help your plants thrive.
I told you about substrate in another reply.
Looking at your pics, she needs not only a lay bin as a permanent part of her enclosure, (which was already addressed) but many more branches and vines to travel. Think of it her little roads
Great sources of information are chameleonacademy.com and Neptune the chameleon on YouTube.
I hope this all helps and welcome! ☺
View attachment 268709View attachment 268710Size difference between 24x24x48” and 16x16x30” enclosures.
View attachment 268711
One of my girl’s enclosures. *lay bin currently out as we’re making some changes
View attachment 268712

Wow! Thank you so much for reviewing my husbandry!

I can totally see how she may be unhappy so. Thank you for saying it...I don't take it personally. I just want to provide my girl with the best environment.

I started cutting back her diet and will do so gradually as to not shock her. Really! Only 3-4 medium-sized insects?!?! I also started gut loading last night with her food for today with apples and carrots. The mealworms are gone now and I won't be buying them anymore.

I cut back on the fogging to every 8 hours during the daytime and every 4 hours at night. I'll keep a close eye on the hygrometer to make sure her day time is close to 50%.

I'm looking into building her an enclosure that is 24"x24"x48" so thank you for helping me with the enclosure!

About the light, what makes the T5 better than the UVA/UVB heat lamp combo I have?

Just as an FYI west Indian Jasmine belongs to the Ixora genus and has been used by others on this forum and is cham safe (from FL Chams safe plant list)...plus it smells fantastic. I love your idea of using fake plants on the outside!

Thank you again for the resources, advice, and thorough review of my husbandry. I have some things to change and appreciate everything!

 

[MissSkittles]

I’m not as knowledgeable about lighting as many others, but my understanding of mercury vapor uvb bulbs is that the uvb levels can be touchy and you would really need a solar meter to check for ideal levels.

 

[sdecero]

I’m not as knowledgeable about lighting as many others, but my understanding of mercury vapor uvb bulbs is that the uvb levels can be touchy and you would really need a solar meter to check for ideal levels.

Okay I’ll do some perusing around. Thank you so much!!

 

[sdecero]

Hi everyone. Thanks for the advice. My Cham stopped digging and is much happier with the changes you all recommend. Thanks again! I’m so glad such a forum exists!!

 

[kinyonga]

You said..."My Cham stopped digging"...so she didn't lay any eggs?

 

[sdecero]

You said..."My Cham stopped digging"...so she didn't lay any eggs?

No she didn’t. She looks less puffy already on her diet and I still can’t feel any eggs. I took her to the local captive breeders and they said they highly doubt that she is carrying/developing eggs. I think it could’ve been over feeding and being a little unhappy? Either way she still looks good and is her very active self.