Getting to know my nee chameleon, signs I should be looking out for.

[Adamski23]

Hi guys, I have recently spontaneously accepted to take a friends yemen chameleon as he is always away and has not enough time for him. He is a beautiful little dude and around 6 months old, I am a total noob with lizards and have only realised how advanced these guys are to look after. Ive had rango since friday (8th) and have noticed changes in his actions. On friday he sat on his top branch all night, saturday morning his timed lights came on and he was straight over to his basking lamp and I could swear he winked at me . After work arriving back around 5pm I added some woodchip and a cool little waterfall. After staring at it for a couple hours he made his way down there for a drink. He eventually ate a couple mealworms and 3 very large locusts, he backed away everytime I opened his cage saturday. Sunday he was moving around his large enclosure freely and after staring at me on the couch for a few hours he decided to come to the end of the branch and touch the mesh with his hand. I went over to and opened his cage to him suddenly start to climb on my hand without hesitation. I let the little guy roam for an hour or so for him to make his way back into his own cage which was interesting to see. Have I got a very tolerant cham here and should I let him out when he wants? Has he come to life and accepted his new move in such short time ? So far so good it seems. Hoping to hear from experienced cham owners on whether this is normal behaviour. Thanks.

 

[chameleons59]

I have a veiled Cham also and everyone says no substrate at the bottom so take that out ASAP as it can mass with there internal parts and the waterfall is re-using the same water so unless you are monitoring him, he could pee in the water and drink the pee later. So serious bacteria can occur.what are his temps and are you using vitamins?

 

[Devokid]

You should read the general care sheet for him. You would also help us out if you filled out the "How to ask for help" questionnaire. From the info that you have included, I would say that you are pretty lucky to have such a tame veiled!
I would remove the water feature and the wood from the bottom. The water feature will breed bacteria and, depending on its layout, could drown the chameleon. They are really bad in the water. Other than that, enjoy the new little guy!!

 

[Adamski23]

Thanks for the quick response guys ! In regards to the temperature, it is around 80-90f in the day and the basking lamp reaches around 32 degrees. I am mixing multivitamins with the mealworms. The waterfall is only a small feature and has no kind of depth and is cleaned and changed everyday. It isnt woodchip, its quart bark bedding if that is still suitable ?

 

[Devokid]

The temps are fine, but the bedding is still not good. Nothing or paper towels are your best options. If you are willing to clean the water feature every day, you should be good. I still wouldn't have it, but then, I am not willing to clean it every day.