Getting my Veiled Chameleon tomorrow

[julissabriseno]

Hi everyone! I will be getting my Veiled Chameleon tomorrow, I have some questions for all of you as his arrival comes closer.
Age: will most likely be about 2-3 months old
1. How many crickets should I buy for the first time? (I have a cricket keeper as well)
2. At what time is a good time for their basking and UVB lights to go on and off at?
3. I have my basking spot about 9 inches away from the basking light, do y'all think that is okay?
4. Should I hand feed it, put the crickets in a container inside the enclosure, or free roam?
Thank you so much for all your help in advance, these forums have helped me a lot.
*I now just need to make a solidified schedule for feeding, and misting times. If anyone has a good schedule, I would love to see it for reference! Thank you!

 

[Beman]

Goodness well. ok you really need food now.

At that age they need a minimum of 12 feeders each day. So your looking at 84 a week but you have to account for die offs. I would plan on 100 small crickets per week. cheaper and cleaner to order... https://www.rainbowmealworms.net/crickets/

Lighting everyone does differently. Typically your going to follow sunrise sunset Not exceeding 12 hours a day. Should be totally dark when lights are out.. This means lights in the room as well.

basking spot being 9 inches away should be good depending on wattage and temps. Make sure it is not hotter then 82 degrees. chams that age should be no hotter at basking.

Hand feed when he gets adjusted to new enclosure... I recommend always using a feeder run or cup. free feeding leaves the chance of the baby not finding feeders when they crawl into areas and getting bitten when the lights are off and the crickets get hungry.

Feeding should always be done in the first half of the day.

As far as misting typically 2- 3 times a day for 2 minutes. https://www.chameleonbreeder.com/podcast/ep-89-naturalistic-hydration-for-chameleons/

 

[PabloTheCham]

If you don't already know this, you should probably wait a little before you get your chameleon, just to get everything perfect. Also where are you getting him?

 

[Beman]

sorry for my bluntness, but if you don't already know this, you should probably wait a little before you get your chameleon.

The cham is already coming tomorrow so how is this helpful?

 

[nightanole]

1) a box of crickets is going to be about the same price reguardless of head count. I would get 500 pin heads or the next size up. 1.5 weeks later those crickets that might be a bit too small, become 6 times heavier and will be good eaten size. And by that time your cham will be 25-50% heavier depending on growth spurts. This is the "grow the crickets with the cham" technique.

2) lighting is generally 12 hours a day, no need to adjust further unless you will be breeding. I would not advise basking for a baby. Maybe you could have a common hous bulb (not a spot/flood) to warm "an area" to the mid/upper 80's. Start time will be when the room starts getting light. I use the lights as my alarm clock.

3) get a temp gun and a "black body", i use an old film camera tube, but im "old". Place the cham simulator 9000 in the spot, hit it with the gun, it should be in the mid/upper 80's after a half hour.

4) babies kinda want to hunt, you could put a big bowl with some sticks going across it as a giant swimming pool of food. Or you could make your own cup feeder. I would not be hand feeding for a few months. The hand feeding is for your benifit, not its.

 

[PabloTheCham]

The cham is already coming tomorrow so how is this helpful?

ohhh it's coming in the mail. I thought he was saying he wanted to get it tomorrow.

 

[dakota18]

The cham is already coming tomorrow so how is this helpful?

and that is what this website is for, people ask for help not judgment or anything other than the answer to their question

 

[Beman]

and that is what this website is for, people ask for help not judgment or anything other than the answer to their question

Your quoting the wrong person...

 

[dakota18]

Your quoting the wrong person...

i was just adding to your comment

 

[PabloTheCham]

and that is what this website is for, people ask for help not judgment or anything other than the answer to their question

before adding your opinion (which is not helpful in any way either) try actually reading what i reply.

 

[Prince of Duval]

I recommend getting 250 crickets to start. That’s about what he’ll need accounting for die off. Any more than that and they probably won’t be alive by the time you get to them. I ordered my crickets from Josh’s Frogs when I found out my chameleon was being shipped and then picked up 12 at PetsMart a day before to gutload and have on hand when he arrived as my crickets came later in the day then my cham. I do 7am-7pm on my lighting. Hold your hand at the basking spot. It should be warm, but not hot/burning. Ultimately it depends on your bulb, but you should get a digital thermometer to dial in the temps. You can do some hand feeding once your chameleon is comfortable after a few days.

 

[The Wild One]

Hi and welcome to the forums! Your going to love your little guy so we need to make sure everything is perfect. Can you please post pictures of the setup?

 

[julissabriseno]

and that is what this website is for, people ask for help not judgment or anything other than the answer to their question

Thank you, I understand what you're saying. I come to this website for guidance. I am preparing for his arrival in advance however with food I cannot just have 100 crickets a week before my Cham arrives because of the die offs. I want to get the opinion of chameleon owners. I have an idea to the questions I ask, however I think it is best to get a different perspective from what I have been researching and come to all of you...

 

[dakota18]

Thank you, I understand what you're saying. I come to this website for guidance. I am preparing for his arrival in advance however with food I cannot just have 100 crickets a week before my Cham arrives because of the die offs. I want to get the opinion of chameleon owners. I have an idea to the questions I ask, however I think it is best to get a different perspective from what I have been researching and come to all of you...

yes exactly and i apologize if i offended pablo the cham, i just felt like it was unnecessary and i would be upset if it were me

 

[julissabriseno]

I recommend getting 250 crickets to start. That’s about what he’ll need accounting for die off. Any more than that and they probably won’t be alive by the time you get to them. I ordered my crickets from Josh’s Frogs when I found out my chameleon was being shipped and then picked up 12 at PetsMart a day before to gutload and have on hand when he arrived as my crickets came later in the day then my cham. I do 7am-7pm on my lighting. Hold your hand at the basking spot. It should be warm, but not hot/burning. Ultimately it depends on your bulb, but you should get a digital thermometer to dial in the temps. You can do some hand feeding once your chameleon is comfortable after a few days.

Thank you! My cricket keeper is said to hold about 150 crickets so ill do around that for the beginning and buy from my petsmart as it is very close to my home, but for current circumstances, I'll check out Joshs frogs!

 

[julissabriseno]

1) a box of crickets is going to be about the same price reguardless of head count. I would get 500 pin heads or the next size up. 1.5 weeks later those crickets that might be a bit too small, become 6 times heavier and will be good eaten size. And by that time your cham will be 25-50% heavier depending on growth spurts. This is the "grow the crickets with the cham" technique.

2) lighting is generally 12 hours a day, no need to adjust further unless you will be breeding. I would not advise basking for a baby. Maybe you could have a common hous bulb (not a spot/flood) to warm "an area" to the mid/upper 80's. Start time will be when the room starts getting light. I use the lights as my alarm clock.

3) get a temp gun and a "black body", i use an old film camera tube, but im "old". Place the cham simulator 9000 in the spot, hit it with the gun, it should be in the mid/upper 80's after a half hour.

4) babies kinda want to hunt, you could put a big bowl with some sticks going across it as a giant swimming pool of food. Or you could make your own cup feeder. I would not be hand feeding for a few months. The hand feeding is for your benifit, not its.

1. Love that technique!

2. I have a timer for my lights for consistency, so that will help. From my understanding I thought all veiled chameleons were supposed to have a basking light for warmth, digestion, etc? Should I not have the basking light on throughout the day (12 hours) when its smaller?

3. I have temperature readings

4. I will definitely put his food in a cup for his benefit and I like the idea with sticks for hunting. Thank you!

 

[julissabriseno]

Goodness well. ok you really need food now.

At that age they need a minimum of 12 feeders each day. So your looking at 84 a week but you have to account for die offs. I would plan on 100 small crickets per week. cheaper and cleaner to order... https://www.rainbowmealworms.net/crickets/

Lighting everyone does differently. Typically your going to follow sunrise sunset Not exceeding 12 hours a day. Should be totally dark when lights are out.. This means lights in the room as well.

basking spot being 9 inches away should be good depending on wattage and temps. Make sure it is not hotter then 82 degrees. chams that age should be no hotter at basking.

Hand feed when he gets adjusted to new enclosure... I recommend always using a feeder run or cup. free feeding leaves the chance of the baby not finding feeders when they crawl into areas and getting bitten when the lights are off and the crickets get hungry.

Feeding should always be done in the first half of the day.

As far as misting typically 2- 3 times a day for 2 minutes. https://www.chameleonbreeder.com/podcast/ep-89-naturalistic-hydration-for-chameleons/

This is all so helpful, thank you so much. I will be using a feeder cup for sure to be able to monitor if he is eating and getting ahold of all his food. I appreciate all of this information!

 

[Beman]

This is all so helpful, thank you so much. I will be using a feeder cup for sure to be able to monitor if he is eating and getting ahold of all his food. I appreciate all of this information!

Your welcome. watch for its urates these should be mostly white and moist. If they are dry or yellow the baby is not drinking enough.

If you are on the west coast ordering from rainbow mealworms would be faster for you.

Per your heat lamp please be sure to watch those temps. Babies under that 3 month mark you really do not want any warmer then 82 at basking. So it will mean lifting the lamp up off the cage to lower temps or dropping the bulb wattage. use a regular incandescent bulb. The spot heat bulbs are focused heat and can be quite a bit warmer in one spot rather then warming an area.

 

[julissabriseno]

Hi and welcome to the forums! Your going to love your little guy so we need to make sure everything is perfect. Can you please post pictures of the setup?

Here is my enclosure. Please keep in mind that it is not completely finished yet, I still have another branch to add, as well as more foliage/plants. Thank You

 

[The Wild One]

Here is my enclosure. Please keep in mind that it is not completely finished yet, I still have another branch to add, as well as more foliage/plants. Thank You
View attachment 264472

You’ve actually done really well! One note I would add is that any exposed soil should be covered with large river rocks (too big for the Cham to eat) so he can’t eat the soil and become impacted. I would add more horizontal branches. Think of the cage like a city, the plants are the buildings and the branches are roads to get to the buildings.