First set of questions!

[Carlmora]

Hey everyone! I am on lunch break right now and had thought of some more questions while I was at work (I work with exotic birds like Macaws ect.) so here they are:

-Do I need to set up the cricket farm and have them gut loaded before I get my lil guy? And am I correct in assuming I am basicly going to be breeding crickets? Im fine with it, I just want to make sure I won't be buying them from some place everytime. Especialy when Chameleons eat 6-8 crickets a day!

-When I get my baby Veiled or Panther Chameleon, what am I going to be feeding it? I read that the food has to be within the diameter of they're heads and crickets can get pretty big. Is there any special formula like there is for baby birds?

-Do those misting systems work well? Mist King or whatever? Im familiar with pump systems, if they're at all similar, from having exotic fish when I was a kid.

-And I dont have any birds or natural preditors of chameleons in my house, unless you want to call a beagal one. But I do have a sugar glider and was wondering if that would stress the chameleon to be in the same room. I can easily move the glider to another room (and more then willing, that running wheel is LOUD)

Thats about all I can think of right now, although im sure there will be more. Thanks again for any info and help!

 

[CNorton]

I would have a cricket enclosure to keep all your crickets before you purchase your little chameleon. Here is what a lot of us use to keep the crickets. You will need to gutload them before they are fed to your cham, some people just keep the gutload in the cricket keeper. I personally will cut up fruits, veggies, dry mix of oatmeal, bee pollen, bran, brewer's yeast, fish flakes, etc. and offer that as food in the enclosure. I will then separate the crickets I'm going to feed to the cham and put them in a small tupperware with cricket crack. Then feed off as needed.

You will need to feed insects that are of the appropriate size. Many use this rule of thumb: don't feed your cham something that couldn't fit between the eyes.

Size chart that might come in handy when ordering your crickets.


As far as misters, Mist King is great. If you have the schedule/time, misting by hand is a cheap alternative. For those of us that have work and busier lives...the automated mister makes life easier.

 

[lisa h]

You don't need a cricket farm lol. You can order crickets in large numbers (250, 500, 1000+). Keep them in a large rubbermade container (or whatever), then gutload what you intend to feed in the next day or two. I have a seperate, smaller container for that. You'll find a system that works for you. You can breed crickets if you want, but they are gross and smelly and dirty. You're better off ordering.
I don't have a veiled or panther, so I can't answer to exactly what you'll be feeding, but variety is the key. If you feed crickets you can buy them in different sizes: pinheads, 2 week olds (1/4") ... and up to 4 weeks at which point they're big and gross. There is no formula like baby birds (I have parrots as well). Also, nothing easy like kibble or pellets.
So far I mist by hand, so someone else can speak to that question.
I have a house full of predator and prey animals, so everything here is a predator to something else. The key is to not let the animals bother one another. So, a cham might get used to having a dog walk by it's enclosure, but another might get stressed. I think the worst cham enemy is cats, and I had an unfortunate incident happen with mine. The cham should be able to have peace and quiet. I know nothing about sugar gliders (other than that they're adorable!), but there is someone on this list with an (adorable!) sugar glider, so she may be able to help you.
Good questions!

 

[CNorton]

Also, I would try to put your cham in "the least visually disturbed area of your home." What I mean by this is a place where your dog or cat or birds won't be in sight of the chameleon. Birds are primary predators of chameleons and I don't think a stray dog would pass up the opportunity for a colorful snack either. Chams do MUCH better when they are given an area where people, pets, etc. aren't regularly walking by or peering in at them. I have mine in a loft behind a door I can close and keep all traffic out.

I hope all this helps!
-Chad

 

[lisa h]

Hey, cnorton, where did you get that handy cricket chart? Can you send me the link? This would help me a lot when I go in to order crix. Thanks.

 

[sandrachameleon]

Crickets arent the only option for feeding your chameleon. There's a pretty good list of options here: https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/74-feeders.html
Obviously, prey should be of an appropriate size. So for a young chameleon, you will be using small crickets, small silkworms, roach nymphs, etc and the size of the prey use will grow with the chameleon.
As previously indicated, a good rule of thumb is that the prey should be no wider than the space between the chameleons eyes, and no longer than a 1/3 of the chameleons body (not including its tail). If in doubt, go a bit smaller, especially with crunchy foods (like crickets, as opposed to soft bodied things like silkworms).
Many people choose to breed roaches instead of crickets, as roaches smell less, dont make noise like crickets, and are easy to take care of.
Note that adults eat less than growing young ones. 6-8 crickets every day would, in my opinion, be too much for an adult.

 

[dodolah]

-Do I need to set up the cricket farm and have them gut loaded before I get my lil guy? And am I correct in assuming I am basicly going to be breeding crickets?

No. You do not need to breed your own cricket. You can buy bulk purchase if you want. If you are open to idea of breeding Blaptica Dubi, you might want to do those instead. They are better than cricket (larger meat to shell ratio) and most importantly, they are much cleaner.
PS: a baby veiled can gorge as many as 12 - 20 crickets a day.


-When I get my baby Veiled or Panther Chameleon, what am I going to be feeding it? I read that the food has to be within the diameter of they're heads and crickets can get pretty big. Is there any special formula like there is for baby birds?

When you have their setup ready for them. Not has to be. but, the biggest you can feed them has to be within that size to avoid impacting him. Except soft bodied feeder like horn worms and silk worms.
no special formula. They need fresh insects every feeding. I use lots of variety insects for my chameleon. I always avoid mealworm and wax worm.

-Do those misting systems work well? Mist King or whatever? Im familiar with pump systems, if they're at all similar, from having exotic fish when I was a kid.

Yes they work wonderfully.

-And I dont have any birds or natural preditors of chameleons in my house, unless you want to call a beagal one. But I do have a sugar glider and was wondering if that would stress the chameleon to be in the same room. I can easily move the glider to another room (and more then willing, that running wheel is LOUD)

Yes, your chameleon most likely will b stressed from seeing sugar glider running around. They view anything moving that is larger than them as predator.

 

[xanthoman]

i agree that dubia is a better and more logical choice than crickets , but when it comes , getting used to things , that might be an unrealistic expectation as far as chams are concerned. im not saying that your cham wont be able to tolerate the presence of a dog, but if it wont, i wouldnt expect it to get used to it , a more realistic expectation , would be for your dog to get used to other areas of the house, if there is some thing that bothers a cham (like the proximty of a dog or cat) and the problem is not addressed , it will probably continue to stress it, until it affects its health, as far as special formulas ,the subject of gutloading feeders and cham nutrition is vast and extensive compared to most other animals , in order to get a better grasp of the concept, i would recomend the following links, http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/ Bug nutrition http://www.chameleonnews.com/?page=article&id=92
Bug nutrition https://www.chameleonforums.com/fir...st-set-questions-28805/nutri...22/#post171073
Gutloading http://chameleonnews.com/?page=article&id=101
Gutloading http://www.screameleons.com/site/3602/default.aspx
Gutloading https://www.chameleonforums.com/fir...st-set-questions-28805/gutlo...w-owner-15262/
Gutloading https://www.chameleonforums.com/gutloading-recipes-1803/
Gutload https://www.chameleonforums.com/fir...st-set-questions-28805/cerea...e-grain-20880/
Gutload http://www.adcham.com/html/husbandry/gutload.html
Gutloading https://www.chameleonforums.com/fir...st-set-questions-28805/blogs...ing-links.html
general http://webhome.idirect.com/~chameleo...ter4-sub1.html
general http://www.chameleonsonline.com/feeding.php
Nutrition values produce search http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/
Nutrition values (scrolldown) of feeders, fruit, veggieshttp://www.beautifuldragons.503xtrem...Nutrition.html
Nutrition values http://chamownersweb.net/insects/nutritional_values.htm
Nutrients in 5 common gutload items:https://www.chameleonforums.com/fir...st-set-questions-28805/nutri...nflower-27005/
Supplements https://www.chameleonforums.com/fir...st-set-questions-28805/blogs...pplements.html
About Feeders:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/fir...st-set-questions-28805/blogs...4-feeders.html
any credit given should go to sandra chameleon for previously posting these excellent links

 

[Miss Lily]

I also have a suggie, and I too was concerned before I got my first cham. I thought that maybe the suggie would disturb Lily at night. I was told that once a cham is asleep it takes a lot to wake them up. I keep my cham and suggie in the same room.

Amy is dead to the world when she's asleep - in fact tonight she was asleep early (miserable dull weather!) and I opened her cage and took out her plant to remove the drainage pot underneath and she stayed asleep the whole time! I even used the flash on my camera the other night too and it didn't bother her one bit!

 

[Carlmora]

Haha, I can relate to you there Lily in what you said about Sugar Gliders sleeping habits Crazy lil dudes! My guys name is Sammie, he is 2 years old and I have had him since he was a baby. His brother, Solid Snake, died sadly about a year ago due to a bone desiese. Still Sammie is really cute and crawls all over me when I practive guitar in my room its awesome. I feel like I have someone to play too haha. And Dodolah thank you for the great advise. Cnorton I also put that cricket holder on my shoping list for this next payday. Im so exitied, and thats just for getting the books and basic set up.

-Anybody recomend any good books?

-Im so worried about getting this guy and killing it that im almost considering getting a bearded dragon but I like the complexity, habits, history, and colors of Chameleons and always have wanted to own one since I was a kid. But see, what would happen is I would get the Dragon and then care for it through its entire lifespan for experiance alone and I don't think I could do that because I dont have the same passion for Dragons as I do for Chameleons (if that makes sence). Im pretty confident in myself but like I said, people make it seem so hard to raise these guys. I see alot of youtube videos of 16 year old kids having a baby Chameleon and a month later dies, I don't want to turn out like that (well one thing im 21).

Anyway thank you guys so much, it really brings a smile to my face to know theres such a great community here.