Few More Questions

mandyyy

New Member
Me and my boyfriend recently found a baby veiled chameleon is less than ideal circumstances(see previous thread) and we're trying to right all the wrongs, but now I have a few more questions.

1. In my last thread I mentioned the type of bulb I was given by the employee and members informed me that it was a regular basking bulb and not the UV bulb that he desperately needed! I went out today and purchased a Repti Glo 5.0 UVB 13W bulb. Is this correct? Also, should I leave the light on for a longer period of time for the next day or two since hes had absolutely no UVB in about 2 weeks? Or should I continue to use the day/night schedule I was using before?

2. I have YET to see my little guy drink a single drop. We have a Flukers Dripping System dripping down on one of the vines. I've also tried dripping tiny drops of water on his nose, but still nothing. Am I doing something wrong?

3. In our cage we have two big clumps of vines (one under the heat, and one on the cooler side of the cage) and several fake leaves on the bottom. I mist 4-5 times a day, on both sides, for roughly 10 seconds or 10-15 sprays. Am I reading correct when people say to mist for FIVE whole minutes? Misting non-stop for 5 minutes seems like an awful lot of water. I don't want to flood the poor little guy out of his tank.

4. We still seem to be having issues with him eating. I only SEE him eat 3-4 crickets a day, sometimes not even that much. Occasionally when I reach into the tank he'll open his mouth(I'm guessing in an attempt to bite me:() and I'll hold a cricket to him and he'll take it and eat it. Other times he'll bite it and then spit it out. What can I do to encourage his appetite? I read that the UVB helps with appetite and digestion, so should I wait to see a difference now that he actually has one? If so, how long?

5. My last question is in reference to our crickets. We fed small crickets and have about 2-3 dozen extra stored in a small Critter Keeper cage. Somehow they are managing to jump up to the top of the lid and are squeezing out the tiny holes. We have crickets ALL over our apt!:mad: So no we have the cricket cage inside the chameleons cage in the corner. The question is, can this stress him out in any way? Now if I notice a significant number of crickets in his cage, I do capture them and put them back in the Critter Keeper but they keep getting out! He doesn't seem to mind, but then again if he did he really couldn't tell me. I was told at a pet store to put duct tape over the vents in the lid to keep them from getting out, but then that kind of defeats the purpose of having vents and will suffocate them. Is the cage okay inside of his cage for right now until hes on larger crickets that can't escape or does anyone have a better suggestion?


That's about all I can think of right now, but if anything else comes up I'll be sure to ask. Thanks in advance, and thanks again to everyone who helped me get on the right track from my previous post!:D
 
I am sorry to hear you are still having problems.

1. Since he has not had a UVB light in two weeks have you been taking him outside for natural UVB? Outside is way better than any bulb. I highly recommend the Reptisun 5.0 tube style UVB. That's what most keepers use. I am not familiar with the one that you bought. I wound not leave any lightson longer than 12 hours a day.

2. It's possible he's drinking when you are not looking. Tell us what his poop looks like. Is the white part really white or orange.

3. When you mist it takes a long time for them to start drinking and then one they start to drink they are slow so it takes them a while to drink. That's why you should mist for a long time.

4. Do not keep the crickets in the cage with your chameleon. They can eat on him at night when he sleeps. A young chameleon should be eating 10 to 15 feeders a day.
 
2. It's possible he's drinking when you are not looking. Tell us what his poop looks like. Is the white part really white or orange.

Some of his poops are white, but I've also seen a few with a light yellow tint to them:(
 
1. In my last thread I mentioned the type of bulb I was given by the employee and members informed me that it was a regular basking bulb and not the UV bulb that he desperately needed! I went out today and purchased a Repti Glo 5.0 UVB 13W bulb. Is this correct? Also, should I leave the light on for a longer period of time for the next day or two since hes had absolutely no UVB in about 2 weeks? Or should I continue to use the day/night schedule I was using before? I think that bulb will be fine, I used that one for my cham. I wouldn't leave it on longer, but have you at least been taking him outside?? Definitely keep your day/night schedule.

2. I have YET to see my little guy drink a single drop. We have a Flukers Dripping System dripping down on one of the vines. I've also tried dripping tiny drops of water on his nose, but still nothing. Am I doing something wrong? How is his urate?? If it is white with a little yellow thats not too bad, just up misting a little. If it is orange, then he is definitely dehydrated. Just because he doesnt drink in front of you, doesnt mean he isnt drinking. I dont think your doing anything wrong, this was thrust upon you, and from what I've seen on the forum your doing the best you can :)

3. In our cage we have two big clumps of vines (one under the heat, and one on the cooler side of the cage) and several fake leaves on the bottom. I mist 4-5 times a day, on both sides, for roughly 10 seconds or 10-15 sprays. Am I reading correct when people say to mist for FIVE whole minutes? Misting non-stop for 5 minutes seems like an awful lot of water. I don't want to flood the poor little guy out of his tank.
For now, since he's tiny, leaving the leaves adn branches like that is okay, but when he starts to grow, you'll need to secure them. do you have any live plants? those will help with humidity. Good on how many times a day you mist him, but yes 3-5 minutes. Also, keeping him in a tank is not good. It needs to be all screen. Because, tanks have very bad ventilation, are breeding grounds for bacteria and respiratory infections, in case you didn't know.

4. We still seem to be having issues with him eating. I only SEE him eat 3-4 crickets a day, sometimes not even that much. Occasionally when I reach into the tank he'll open his mouth(I'm guessing in an attempt to bite me) and I'll hold a cricket to him and he'll take it and eat it. Other times he'll bite it and then spit it out. What can I do to encourage his appetite? I read that the UVB helps with appetite and digestion, so should I wait to see a difference now that he actually has one? If so, how long?
I think it may help now that you have a UVB, how many crickets do you put in his cage? He's still a little baby, so he might not like eating in front of you.

5. My last question is in reference to our crickets. We fed small crickets and have about 2-3 dozen extra stored in a small Critter Keeper cage. Somehow they are managing to jump up to the top of the lid and are squeezing out the tiny holes. We have crickets ALL over our apt! So no we have the cricket cage inside the chameleons cage in the corner. The question is, can this stress him out in any way? Now if I notice a significant number of crickets in his cage, I do capture them and put them back in the Critter Keeper but they keep getting out! He doesn't seem to mind, but then again if he did he really couldn't tell me. I was told at a pet store to put duct tape over the vents in the lid to keep them from getting out, but then that kind of defeats the purpose of having vents and will suffocate them. Is the cage okay inside of his cage for right now until hes on larger crickets that can't escape or does anyone have a better suggestion?

I would get mesh and hot glue it to the inside of the lid blocking the vents enough to keep them from getting out, since its mesh its breathable, so they shouldnt suffocate :)

Hope this helps :D Good luck :D


That's about all I can think of right now, but if anything else comes up I'll be sure to ask. Thanks in advance, and thanks again to everyone who helped me get on the right track from my previous post!
 
For now, since he's tiny, leaving the leaves adn branches like that is okay, but when he starts to grow, you'll need to secure them. do you have any live plants? those will help with humidity. Good on how many times a day you mist him, but yes 3-5 minutes. Also, keeping him in a tank is not good. It needs to be all screen. Because, tanks have very bad ventilation, are breeding grounds for bacteria and respiratory infections, in case you didn't know.

Yes, his cage is completely screen. I'm just in the habit of calling it a tank.:eek:
 
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