Flies out of control

[Charlychameleon]

So I have got a significant number of blue bottle (around 30) that have hatched out in my veiled chameleon enclosure (I put too many larvae in thinking tye chameleon would est them). My questions are: will a 5 monty old chameleon eat blue bottle flies, as flies do they provide appropriate nutrition. I was giving crickets but don't want to open the enclosure to give more so the flies escape. Any help would be really appreciated!

 

[Charlychameleon]

Here's a picture showing some of tye flies and the chameleon

 

[Beman]

Blue bottle flies are a larger fly but a 5 month old should be able to handle the size. If the feeder is new to the cham it may take a day for it to realize they are food. Now the issue I see is that there is not much access in this cage for the baby to move around. It will be more difficult for it to hunt the flies down.

I only add 12 larvae a week and then let them hatch out. This staggers the numbers and hatch rate a bit better.


But from what I see in your pic... There are some things that really need to be adjusted with your cage. And confirming gender will be important because females lay infertile eggs and need specific care. start reading through this husbandry program https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/

 

[Charlychameleon]

I have tried to go through that course. What are the aspects of the cage that need adjusting in your opinion. Also an update I did just watch as the chameleon ate one of the flies!

 

[Beman]

I have tried to go through that course. What are the aspects of the cage that need adjusting in your opinion. Also an update I did just watch as the chameleon ate one of the flies!

Honestly the best thing is for you to read through the course. The set up of the cage is not correct for your cham. They are arboreal so they need to climb and move around. Vines, branches, and plants should sit high up into the enclosure. Depending on what UVB lighting your using your distance to the closest branch is based on that specific info. For the correct UVB level at the branch. Without the correct set up and UVB exposure levels the cham can develop MBD.

It also looks like the feeder devise your using has food or something in it? Nothing but the bugs you feed that day should go into the feeder cup. Otherwise baby could very easily ingest the substance as well.

Your fogger should not run during the day at all. Only at night when temps are well below 67. If you can not achieve the temp drop needed then you would not use the fogger at all.

If you want to do a husbandry review we can go over additional info as well. Let me know and I will post the form for you to fill out.

 

[Charlychameleon]

Honestly the best thing is for you to read through the course. The set up of the cage is not correct for your cham. They are arboreal so they need to climb and move around. Vines, branches, and plants should sit high up into the enclosure. Depending on what UVB lighting your using your distance to the closest branch is based on that specific info. For the correct UVB level at the branch. Without the correct set up and UVB exposure levels the cham can develop MBD.

It also looks like the feeder devise your using has food or something in it? Nothing but the bugs you feed that day should go into the feeder cup. Otherwise baby could very easily ingest the substance as well.

Your fogger should not run during the day at all. Only at night when temps are well below 67. If you can not achieve the temp drop needed then you would not use the fogger at all.

If you want to do a husbandry review we can go over additional info as well. Let me know and I will post the form for you to fill out.

I did try to have it so I had some vines as close as possible to the light but I don't know how to secure them to the top mesh. Do yoI have any suggestions for that? I was running the fogger until the leaves had moisture on them for the chameleon to drink. Is there a preferred method to doing it this way? I'll be sure to get the other material out of the feeder container

 

[Beman]

I did try to have it so I had some vines as close as possible to the light but I don't know how to secure them to the top mesh. Do yoI have any suggestions for that? I was running the fogger until the leaves had moisture on them for the chameleon to drink. Is there a preferred method to doing it this way? I'll be sure to get the other material out of the feeder container

So this is why reading through that husbandry program would be really good for you. There is a ton of basic info there from set up to hydration to proper temps and humidity levels. Far more then I would be able to teach you.

Misting the enclosure in the morning and evening and providing a dripper is how we provide them with water to drink.

You can use floral wire to secure vines higher in the enclosure just ensure the part you twist to secure is on the outside of the cage so it does not poke the cham.

What type of UVB lighting are you using? What is the fixture type and what is the bulb strength?


These are the plants you would want to use. Using Veiled tested plants is best since they eat their plants. Doing the larger center piece plants would give you the height needed in the enclosure.

 

[Lindasjackson]

You can also use garden lattice cut to fit the inside sides of your cage and attach vines and branches to those to create a network of climbing branches for your Cham.

 

[insectovore]

I learned my lesson long ago, always add less flies than you think you need