First Chameleon

G

giambi4343

New Member
just picked up my first veiled chameleon yesterday. she is 4 months old and is already eating from my hand. i have her in a 24x24x24 inch screen terrarium right now. i am going to be upgrading the size very soon. i have a 100 watt heat lamp over the cage right now. i am planning on misting about 2-3 times per day. i the company a purchased it from said that they should not be in an extremely humid enviroment and has lost many specimines from them being too humid. i know that they do not drink from stagnant water. will the misting 2-3 times per day be ok water wise or not enough? if not enough, what can i do to give her more thoughout the day? also, i have read that they do need UVB in their environment. i was planning on purchasing a 5.0 UVB 26 watts made by Exo-Terra. is this okay for her? any other additional information would be great since i am a newbie lol.
thank you
andrew
 
Your Chameleon - Veiled

Handling -so far not at all because i want him to settle into his new environment but i plan on handling about 15 minutes per day

Feeding - crickets. 8-10 every other day

Supplements - calcium supplement. the blue and pink containers. one for D3, the other without phospates.( i dont have the name with me right now) lol

Watering - i try to mist at least 2 times per day. not yet seen drinking

Fecal Description - no fecal seen yet after only one day

History - just recieved her yesterday

Cage Info: 24x24x24 inch screen. using forrest bark for substrate

Lighting - using a 100 watt daylight bulb and plan on getting 5.0 UVB 26 watt Exo-Terra

Temperature - about 90 basking, 80 overall. use digital thermometer

Humidity - not yet measured

Plants - fake/plastic plants, driftwood, forest bark substrate

Placement - in the "reptile room". no fans, not next to any other reptiles, located on second floor so not much commotion going on. the screen cage is 5 feet from the floor

Location - south jersey
 
Welcome to the Chameleon Forums. Most members here in the US use a screen cage for a veiled. No substrate is needed. She could eat it and become impacted.

You need a Reptisun 5.0 tube light. You can get one here: http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...por-bulbs/-/zoo-med-18-repti-sun-50-uvb-bulb/

You MIGHT not need a basking light with a female. If you do a household bulb (25 or 40 watt should do) 100 watt is way to hot.

Your lights need to be across the top of the cage and you need allot of vines and branches 8 inches or so down from the top.

You can make a homemade dripper. Take a plastic cup or bowl and poke a couple of very small holes in the bottom. Fill it with very warm water and make sure it drips very slow over a vine with leaves so your little guy can drink form the leaves. Also mist for a pretty long time. It takes awhile for them to start drinking. I would mist 3 or 4 times a day for 5 minutes or so. You will need drainage for your cage. Maybe some holes in the bottom with a bucket sitting under it to catch the water.

Branches from outside are ok from most trees. Clean them well and some member bake them in the oven. Cut the branch the size you need and thumb tacks can be use on each end to hold the branches up.

You need the 5.0 UVB bulb like the one in the link. It needs to be the tube style. A must to keep your cham from having MBD. If it's fairly warm in your house a 4 months old female will not need a basking bulb. How will you measuring the heat and humidity? This will be very important. At 4 months she should be 80 in the basking spot. At night she needs to be dark, no light, and cool so she can rest. She should be at least 10 degrees cooler at night than in the daytime but not below 65.

The feeders have to be "lightly" dusted with 3 kinds of supplements. Plain calcium (no d3) at just about every feeding. Calcium with d3 twice a month and a multi. vit. once a month. In this link I use the 1st, 3rd and 5th one.
http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/reptile-supplies/vitamins-medicines-and-cage-cleaners/

You need to gut load the crickets with collard greens, kale, carrots, butternut squash, apple and orange. You can also buy a premixed gut load. One of the members here sales it. https://www.chameleonforums.com/dry-gutload-sale-37717/

Looking forward to seeing pictures of your cham!

This link will be very helpful: http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/
and this one for your female: http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/2007/12/keeping-female-veiled.html
 
Do I need the UVB tube? I don't have a fixture for a tube light. Will the repti sun screw In bulb work? Also, can I use a 50 watt reptile bulb for heat? For water, I was planning on placing ice cubes ontop of the screen and letting it drip onto the leaves. Would this be ok?
 
The screw in type have been reported to have problems and can cause blindness depending on what type you are using. The standard according to most keepers on here is the long tube. You can get a fixture at walmart, home depot, or lowes for less than $20. An 18" tube will be plenty for your enclosure. Do a search on UVB lighting to see more information on this topic. There have been a lot of threads dealing with this.

One important note, if you buy a flourescent fixture, throw away the plastic lens/cover that comes with the light so the bulb is not covered. UVB cannot penetrate plastic or glass. Good luck and welcome to the forums!
 
Yes these are all things that should be addresses. I would order the reptisn offline itll be way cheaper and since you hae to pay shipping you can get the supplements too. I would go to walmart and get a cheap maybe $6 fixture and put the bulb in that.
 
Your Chameleon - Veiled

Handling -so far not at all because i want him to settle into his new environment but i plan on handling about 15 minutes per day
This sounds like a lot of handling. Chameleons are more of a "look, don't touch" kind of pet. They get stressed very easily. I would handle him a lot less than this.

Feeding - crickets. 8-10 every other day

Supplements - calcium supplement. the blue and pink containers. one for D3, the other without phospates.( i dont have the name with me right now) lol
You're on the right track, you'll need a d3 supplement (every 2 weeks), without d3 supplement (6 times a week), and a multivitamin supplement(every 2 weeks)
Watering - i try to mist at least 2 times per day. not yet seen drinking
You will need some sort of drip system, misting is good for drinking too, and humidity, but sometimes it's not enough. You can just get a paper cup with a pinhole in the bottom of it and let it drip into a plant, or just lay an ice cube on the top of the cage.


Fecal Description - no fecal seen yet after only one day

History - just recieved her yesterday

Cage Info: 24x24x24 inch screen. using forrest bark for substrate
no substrate is needed, it could cause impaction if you free range your crickets.

Lighting - using a 100 watt daylight bulb and plan on getting 5.0 UVB 26 watt Exo-Terra
40-50 watt daylight bulb for heat, reptisub 5.0 linear tube for UVB, very important!

Temperature - about 90 basking, 80 overall. use digital thermometer
I say the rest of the cage should go down a little bit, maybe to mid 70s

Humidity - not yet measured

Plants - fake/plastic plants, driftwood, forest bark substrate
get some real plants! hold humidty better.

Placement - in the "reptile room". no fans, not next to any other reptiles, located on second floor so not much commotion going on. the screen cage is 5 feet from the floor


hope this helps :)
 
bimac6 said:
Your Chameleon - Veiled

Handling -so far not at all because i want him to settle into his new environment but i plan on handling about 15 minutes per day
This sounds like a lot of handling. Chameleons are more of a "look, don't touch" kind of pet. They get stressed very easily. I would handle him a lot less than this.

Feeding - crickets. 8-10 every other day

Supplements - calcium supplement. the blue and pink containers. one for D3, the other without phospates.( i dont have the name with me right now) lol
You're on the right track, you'll need a d3 supplement (every 2 weeks), without d3 supplement (6 times a week), and a multivitamin supplement(every 2 weeks)
Watering - i try to mist at least 2 times per day. not yet seen drinking
You will need some sort of drip system, misting is good for drinking too, and humidity, but sometimes it's not enough. You can just get a paper cup with a pinhole in the bottom of it and let it drip into a plant, or just lay an ice cube on the top of the cage.


Fecal Description - no fecal seen yet after only one day

History - just recieved her yesterday

Cage Info: 24x24x24 inch screen. using forrest bark for substrate
no substrate is needed, it could cause impaction if you free range your crickets.

Lighting - using a 100 watt daylight bulb and plan on getting 5.0 UVB 26 watt Exo-Terra
40-50 watt daylight bulb for heat, reptisub 5.0 linear tube for UVB, very important!

Temperature - about 90 basking, 80 overall. use digital thermometer
I say the rest of the cage should go down a little bit, maybe to mid 70s

Humidity - not yet measured

Plants - fake/plastic plants, driftwood, forest bark substrate
get some real plants! hold humidty better.

Placement - in the "reptile room". no fans, not next to any other reptiles, located on second floor so not much commotion going on. the screen cage is 5 feet from the floor


hope this helps :)
Click to expand...

This all sounds good except the supp sechedule... Follow this

MON thru FRI- Dust with calcium w/o D3
SAT- no dusting
SUN- Alternate between Calcium w/D3 and a multivitamin.

if your gonna feed every other day
MON, WED. FRI - Calcium no D3
SUN- same alternate calcium w/ D3 and multivitamin.

Post some pics!! =]
 
Sorry I didn't put a list of safe plants.

Safe Plant List

I was in school, I couldn't provide links.
But Usually you'll be good with a ficus or a schleffera abricola. Check out the list, there's a bunch! :)
 
You will need a basking light between 40-60 watt. Your basking spot should be between 83-88 degrees. It will fluctuate during the day mine does. Make sure it doesnt get over 90.
 
is this plant safe for my little veiled? its called a Brussel's Money Tree Bonsai. here is a link to it. i have a beautiful one growing in my room and would love to put it with my chameleon.
http://www.amazon.com/Brussels-Bonsai-DT1024MT-Money-Tree/dp/B0000DGFAC

i also got a waterfall today at my store. will this be ok for the little girl to get her supply of water? i also got a 5.0 UVB strip bulb today and a 50 watt basking light. these should be fine too..... right?
 
Last edited:
they are fine BUT you're waterfall is a bad idea... the bacteria tends to build up and could be very bad for you're cham... use clean and fresh water
 
yes i am using spring water and i also use Aquatise to ensure there is literally no trace of any chemicals in the water. what is the best way to keep these waterfalls very clean? can i still keep this in there?
 
giambi4343 said:
yes i am using spring water and i also use Aquatise to ensure there is literally no trace of any chemicals in the water. what is the best way to keep these waterfalls very clean? can i still keep this in there?
Click to expand...

I would not reccomend it... I know you prob think it would look cool and you can keep the water clean but its not going to work, bacteria will form...

think if a cricket drowns and gets stuck where u cant see it, or the cham urinates or poops in the water...

I am sorry but, its just not a good idea :(
 
I've heard of chameleons using the waterfall as there ONLY place to go to the bathroom. I would take it out right away.
 
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