First time chameleon owner

[BissySitch]

So, I just bought the ZooMed Reptibreeze chameleon kit and I am going to be buying a Veiled Chameleon soon. I know that the kit will not come with all of the stuff that I will be needing for the chameleon. What will those things be? I also would like to have a live plant in the terrarium to hold humidity, so which live plants would be good, if any? And yes, I will be upgrading the terrarium to a bigger one once the chameleon outgrows this one. Also, how often should i feed it crickets/meal worms and how many? Also, is flchams.com a good place to order chameleons from? Thanks in advance!

 

[Matt Vanilla Gorilla]

I would first of all see what @jannb have available! She is a member here that breeds veiled chameleons. She is a incredible person and an amazing breeder!

 

[jamest0o0]

Honestly, I'd return the kit. They are are garbage. You'll want a different uvb fixture(linear). Might as well start with his adult cage to save money(unless you don't want to, up to you). Ficus alii is my favorite plant/tree, but there are tons of options. Pothos and schefflera are popular as well. Mealworms are a crap feeder, look into different roaches, silks, horns, bsfl, supers, etc for feeding.

Ask all the questions you need! The people that ask the most starting out tend to have the most success.

 

[BissySitch]

Honestly, I'd return the kit. They are are garbage. You'll want a different uvb fixture(linear). Might as well start with his adult cage to save money(unless you don't want to, up to you). Ficus alii is my favorite plant/tree, but there are tons of options. Pothos and schefflera are popular as well. Mealworms are a crap feeder, look into different roaches, silks, horns, bsfl, supers, etc for feeding.

Ask all the questions you need! The people that ask the most starting out tend to have the most success.

I'm going to keep the kit because i got it for a good price. If I get any of the feeders that you said how often should I feed and how many at a time?I will definitely be getting a linear uvb fixture because I've been hearing everywhere that they are way better

 

[Withthebrees]

Im not an expert by any means, i own one cham who is about a year old and this is my first go but according to my vet hes a healthy one ^_^ this is what i know. As a baby twice a day with small feeders no longer than the distance between his eyes. As much as he'll eat when hes young, but I never liked putting more than 5 if theyre free-roaming his cage(at least for things like crickets which can do some damage to a baby cham) so i fed more often. oor you can cup train him which will be easier for roach feeding. I do both, so he gets the mental stimulation of hunting but he also doesnt have a bunch running around his cage to bite and still has some available. Around 5 months you'll cut back his feedings a bit to around 8-10 large insects a day depending on size(this point in time is crucial for bone development and an overfed cham can gain body mass faster than his bones can develop and cause issues, depending on supplementation). Feedings should generally happen earlier in the day. They need to bask in uvb and heat for 2-3 hours in order to properly digest their food(and keep in mind if your free feeding he needs extra time to hunt and eat the food before digestion even starts). My last feeding when mine was a babe was 4-5pm as his lights went out at 9pm. He majority of his daily diet should include insects that have chitin(roaches, crickets, superworms) vs soft-bodied feeders like silkworms, wax, butter, or hornworms. Of staple insects, roaches and locusts are more nutritious than crickets and superworms. Of treats and extras silkworms, hornworms, blue bottle fly spikes(these are smaller and more reasonable for a baby but you can get the baby horns and silks too). I also really love black soldier fly larvae(otherwise known as calci-worms, repti-worms, or phoenix worms) they are the only insect with the ideal calcium to phosphorus ratio and are fairly small so the babies can be fed to young chams with no problem. The flies are also great fun for chams once they pupate and are easier to handle and maintain than moths. Aand dont forget your gut-loading and dusting regimens ^_^ if you have any questions about that feel free to ask! Hope that helped a bit

 

[Tucklander]

Good luck, I got my vieled male from FLchams, everything went as planned after nearly 3 weeks...he arrived FL to NC w/ no issues (I’m new too he’s doing well) if your going for one of the high colored ones understand that comes later (the coloring gets better as they grow)...(I already asked) also @jannb does seem to know her stuff very very well and has given me some nice, very useful advice. And she sells/ships Chams too. Get a T5 highoutput tube uvb light and lamp (I got the 12” light and fixture b/c it fit well on top of my enclosure) which is the same kit as yours, get a “little dripper”(or automatic misting kit) a golden pothos , or hibiscus plant are easy to find at Lowe’s/Home Depot...this is what I’ve done three weeks in (all on the advice of forum members )..Big Al’s pets online sells the 12” t5 ho & fixture...I’m not endorsing the company’s that’s just where I found my stuff. This Cham kit is fine, just need to upgrade the lights and get either an auto mister or a dripper. Make sure to put a bunch of horizontal perches with sticks. Good luck. I’m showing my inside setup because I was told it was good. Good luck

 

[Tucklander]

Here it is : Golden pothos and interior inclosure, I ordered the tube lighting and it hasn’t arrived yet. You’ll get great advice at these forums I’ve learned ALOT!

 

[Withthebrees]

You can also make an automatic dripper really easily btw! Large container(i cleaned a juice bottle really well with chlorhexidine), aquarium tubing, and the tubing kit(both of which you can get for under $10 at most pet stores). There are how tos all over youtube and google. I would just recommend getting a small bulk head fitting or o-ring protector so the plastic on the container doesnt wear holes in the tubing where its insterted. Once i added that, mine has worked perfectly for months and i never had to spend $30 or more for basically the same thing ^_^

 

[BissySitch]

Im not an expert by any means, i own one cham who is about a year old and this is my first go but according to my vet hes a healthy one ^_^ this is what i know. As a baby twice a day with small feeders no longer than the distance between his eyes. As much as he'll eat when hes young, but I never liked putting more than 5 if theyre free-roaming his cage(at least for things like crickets which can do some damage to a baby cham) so i fed more often. oor you can cup train him which will be easier for roach feeding. I do both, so he gets the mental stimulation of hunting but he also doesnt have a bunch running around his cage to bite and still has some available. Around 5 months you'll cut back his feedings a bit to around 8-10 large insects a day depending on size(this point in time is crucial for bone development and an overfed cham can gain body mass faster than his bones can develop and cause issues, depending on supplementation). Feedings should generally happen earlier in the day. They need to bask in uvb and heat for 2-3 hours in order to properly digest their food(and keep in mind if your free feeding he needs extra time to hunt and eat the food before digestion even starts). My last feeding when mine was a babe was 4-5pm as his lights went out at 9pm. He majority of his daily diet should include insects that have chitin(roaches, crickets, superworms) vs soft-bodied feeders like silkworms, wax, butter, or hornworms. Of staple insects, roaches and locusts are more nutritious than crickets and superworms. Of treats and extras silkworms, hornworms, blue bottle fly spikes(these are smaller and more reasonable for a baby but you can get the baby horns and silks too). I also really love black soldier fly larvae(otherwise known as calci-worms, repti-worms, or phoenix worms) they are the only insect with the ideal calcium to phosphorus ratio and are fairly small so the babies can be fed to young chams with no problem. The flies are also great fun for chams once they pupate and are easier to handle and maintain than moths. Aand dont forget your gut-loading and dusting regimens ^_^ if you have any questions about that feel free to ask! Hope that helped a bit

Yes, this has provided a lot of insight for me, thank you!

 

[Tucklander]

You can also make an automatic dripper really easily btw! Large container(i cleaned a juice bottle really well with chlorhexidine), aquarium tubing, and the tubing kit(both of which you can get for under $10 at most pet stores). There are how tos all over youtube and google. I would just recommend getting a small bulk head fitting or o-ring protector so the plastic on the container doesnt wear holes in the tubing where its insterted. Once i added that, mine has worked perfectly for months and i never had to spend $30 or more for basically the same thing ^_^

I made mine from a peanut container

 

[BissySitch]

Good luck, I got my vieled male from FLchams, everything went as planned after nearly 3 weeks...he arrived FL to NC w/ no issues (I’m new too he’s doing well) if your going for one of the high colored ones understand that comes later (the coloring gets better as they grow)...(I already asked) also @jannb does seem to know her stuff very very well and has given me some nice, very useful advice. And she sells/ships Chams too. Get a T5 highoutput tube uvb light and lamp (I got the 12” light and fixture b/c it fit well on top of my enclosure) which is the same kit as yours, get a “little dripper”(or automatic misting kit) a golden pothos , or hibiscus plant are easy to find at Lowe’s/Home Depot...this is what I’ve done three weeks in (all on the advice of forum members )..Big Al’s pets online sells the 12” t5 ho & fixture...I’m not endorsing the company’s that’s just where I found my stuff. This Cham kit is fine, just need to upgrade the lights and get either an auto mister or a dripper. Make sure to put a bunch of horizontal perches with sticks. Good luck. I’m showing my inside setup because I was told it was good. Good luck

Yea, I went to the pet store today and bought another one of the jungle vines from exo terra to provide more perches for it. I also bought a hibiscus plant and a 6' long thin piece of bamboo from Lowe's today. Can you please link me the light/fixture that you are using? Thank you for the help so far!

 

[Tucklander]

Here’s best I can do : get the 5.0 Forum members said 10.0 is too high (is what I recall)

 

[Tucklander]

And no problem helping...I’m new too, just sharing what I learned recently myself

 

[BissySitch]

And no problem helping...I’m new too, just sharing what I learned recently myself

That's cool, what kind of cham do you have?

 

[Tucklander]

Harry is a vieled however he is from Florida Chams and his dad is quite colorful: he’s a male:
Harry’s Dad first pic, Harry who is 3 -4 mos old now second pic: they get more colors when they get older

 

[Tucklander]

Yours hasn’t come yet or did you order him/her?

 

[BissySitch]

You can also make an automatic dripper really easily btw! Large container(i cleaned a juice bottle really well with chlorhexidine), aquarium tubing, and the tubing kit(both of which you can get for under $10 at most pet stores). There are how tos all over youtube and google. I would just recommend getting a small bulk head fitting or o-ring protector so the plastic on the container doesnt wear holes in the tubing where its insterted. Once i added that, mine has worked perfectly for months and i never had to spend $30 or more for basically the same thing ^_^

Yea, my dad and I just made a dripper out of an old ketchup bottle just now.

 

[BissySitch]

Yours hasn’t come yet or did you order him/her?

I didn't order him yet, I am waiting on the kit to come before i get him.

 

[BissySitch]

Harry is a vieled however he is from Florida Chams and his dad is quite colorful: he’s a male:
Harry’s Dad first pic, Harry who is 3 -4 mos old now second pic: they get more colors when they get older

Wow if he looks anything like his dad, he will be very vibrant soon!

 

[Tucklander]

I didn't order him yet, I am waiting on the kit to come before i get him.

Good move, I thought I was ready when my guy came, now I’ve had to order stuff and run out and buy stuff too...sounds like you’ll be well prepared