KamaKamaChameleon!
Avid Member
Got a new veiled chameleon last night! First time!
- Thread starter Rockythechameleon
- Start date
Rockythechameleon
Member
and what size cage do I need to be looking for?
KamaKamaChameleon!
Avid Member
Relatable. Just try get some more vines while you wait probably be fine until Christmas but as soon as you can!
Rockythechameleon
Member
so I need to just put the crickets in a little container and shake them around in the calcium before I feed to him?
KamaKamaChameleon!
Avid Member
Mine is at least bigger than 2’ by 2’ by 4’ tall you can either go big and just get a 2’ by 2’ by 4’ tall cage right now instead of getting a smaller then bigger cage depends on what you want to do!
KamaKamaChameleon!
Avid Member
Beautiful boy though
Rockythechameleon
Member
really appreciate it
King4Zerg
Member
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/ This will give you the minimum amount for a veily chams cage
Rockythechameleon
Member
medium or small crickets?
Rockythechameleon
Member
thanks for all the help bro
ERKleRose
Chameleon Enthusiast
I’m trying to stay off of here until the new year, but was on to reply to a private conversation and saw this. Some of the info you’ve been given isn’t correct or some critical info hasn’t been given. Let’s see if I can help you out!
Welcome and congrats! Could you post a picture of the back of your chams back feet so we can verify his sex, please? If he is super bright from handling, he isn’t happy, he is ‘fired up’ (pissed/angry/unhappy/etc.). Don’t handle your cham unless he asks for it (willingly climbs onto you). And make sure to come gently and calmly from below and never rip him or his tail off of anything if you do have to handle. At that age, feed your cham as much as he’ll eat in one sitting in the morning every day, make sure every feeder is properly gutloaded and dusted with proper supplements before feeding! To gutload, either use organic fresh fruits and veggies, along with dry gutload ingredients (there’s a gutload list here in the food and nutrition tab in resources) and/or a quality commercial gutload, like Cricket Crack, Pangea Gutload, or Repashy Bug Burger. For watering your feeders, if you use organic fresh fruits and veggies or turn the commercial gutload into a paste/gel with water, no extra water is needed. If not, use either a cotton ball soaked in water or water gel/crystals. Make sure all feeders are either constantly fed a quality gutload or separated the night before or a few hours before feeding and gorged on a quality gutload (still feed the rest of the feeder colony, though). There are many ways to supplement, with any of them, add in some powdered bee pollen for extra nutrients:
1-phosphorous free calcium without D3 every feeding (like Zoo Med ReptiCalcium without D3), phosphorus free calcium with D3 every two weeks (like Zoo Med ReptiCalcium with D3), and a multivitamin without D3 every two weeks (like Zoo Med Reptivite without D3)
2-phosphorous free calcium without D3 every feeding (like Zoo Med Reptivite without D3) and a multivitamin with D3 every two weeks (like Zoo Med Reptivite with D3)
3-an all in one supplement every feeding (like Sticky Tongue Farms Minerall-there’s an indoor and outdoor formula, use the indoor formula since he isn’t kept outside; separate and gutload feeders you’ll feed off the night before or a few hours before with Sticky Tongue Farms Vitall if using Minerall- or Repashy Calcium Plus LoD)
4-Arcadia supplements using the Arcadia insectivore supplement schedule off of their website
To dust feeders, put them in a container with some supplement and shake until each feeder is completely, but lightly, coated, then feed to your cham. Add in more variety, like silkworms, hornworms, butterworms, superworms, black soldier flies and larvae, blue bottle flies, mantids, stick insects, small helix aspersa, painted lady butterflies, and silk, horn, and waxworm moths, to name a few. Make sure whatever you feed is appropriately sized. Reposition the dripper so the water droplets are running down a plant/leaves. He needs to be misted at least 3 times a day, maybe more depending on humidity, for a minimum of 2 minutes each time. I’d take him to the vet for at least a fecal and check up, if not X-rays and bloodwork, as well. He needs a bigger cage, preferably all screen (you can always wrap one or more of the sides with PVC panels or painters plastic if the humidity is too low in the screen cage), a minimum of 2’ by 2’ by 4’ tall or bigger. No need to get an intermediate cage, just go for the biggest one. Take out the substrate, veileds are notorious for eating it, just because he’s spit it out a couple of times doesn’t mean he hasn’t eaten any. Make sure to have a drainage system, as well! He needs a linear uvb bulb and fixture (either t5HO or T8) the length of or longer than the biggest cage you’ll get him (then you just have to replace the bulbs and not the fixture when you upgrade). Make sure his basking bulb is a white light heat bulb, not blue or red, etc. The temperature at the highest perch in his cage (his basking spot), should be 85*F for now and should be at least/around 8” below the top of the cage. If it’s closer, you’ll have to suspend the lights above the cage. You’ll have to play with the wattages until you get the correct basking temp, the ambient temp should be 72-80*F or cooler. Once you decide on the bigger cage and linear uvb fixture, we can talk about uvb strength. There should be 12 hours of uvb and basking light and 12 hours of complete darkness. Go to the hardware store and get a timer for the lights, a digital temp gun for basking temp, and a digital thermometer/hygrometer combo for ambient temp and humidity. Veileds need at least one live plant since they eat them. A pothos is great because it doesn’t need any extra lighting to grow, and your cham can climb its vines! Suspend it from the top or near the top of the cage. Make sure to either Physan, bleach dip (rinse off EXTREMELY well multiple times afterwards with either), or just rinse off really well the entire plant, leaves, roots, etc. and repot bareroot into organic soil after getting a plant. Then cover the soil with rocks bigger than your cham can eat (just go for ones the size of your cham’s body-not including head or tail-or bigger so you don’t have to worry about it) before putting in the cage. Let me know if I need to go into more detail or anything!
Welcome and congrats! Could you post a picture of the back of your chams back feet so we can verify his sex, please? If he is super bright from handling, he isn’t happy, he is ‘fired up’ (pissed/angry/unhappy/etc.). Don’t handle your cham unless he asks for it (willingly climbs onto you). And make sure to come gently and calmly from below and never rip him or his tail off of anything if you do have to handle. At that age, feed your cham as much as he’ll eat in one sitting in the morning every day, make sure every feeder is properly gutloaded and dusted with proper supplements before feeding! To gutload, either use organic fresh fruits and veggies, along with dry gutload ingredients (there’s a gutload list here in the food and nutrition tab in resources) and/or a quality commercial gutload, like Cricket Crack, Pangea Gutload, or Repashy Bug Burger. For watering your feeders, if you use organic fresh fruits and veggies or turn the commercial gutload into a paste/gel with water, no extra water is needed. If not, use either a cotton ball soaked in water or water gel/crystals. Make sure all feeders are either constantly fed a quality gutload or separated the night before or a few hours before feeding and gorged on a quality gutload (still feed the rest of the feeder colony, though). There are many ways to supplement, with any of them, add in some powdered bee pollen for extra nutrients:
1-phosphorous free calcium without D3 every feeding (like Zoo Med ReptiCalcium without D3), phosphorus free calcium with D3 every two weeks (like Zoo Med ReptiCalcium with D3), and a multivitamin without D3 every two weeks (like Zoo Med Reptivite without D3)
2-phosphorous free calcium without D3 every feeding (like Zoo Med Reptivite without D3) and a multivitamin with D3 every two weeks (like Zoo Med Reptivite with D3)
3-an all in one supplement every feeding (like Sticky Tongue Farms Minerall-there’s an indoor and outdoor formula, use the indoor formula since he isn’t kept outside; separate and gutload feeders you’ll feed off the night before or a few hours before with Sticky Tongue Farms Vitall if using Minerall- or Repashy Calcium Plus LoD)
4-Arcadia supplements using the Arcadia insectivore supplement schedule off of their website
To dust feeders, put them in a container with some supplement and shake until each feeder is completely, but lightly, coated, then feed to your cham. Add in more variety, like silkworms, hornworms, butterworms, superworms, black soldier flies and larvae, blue bottle flies, mantids, stick insects, small helix aspersa, painted lady butterflies, and silk, horn, and waxworm moths, to name a few. Make sure whatever you feed is appropriately sized. Reposition the dripper so the water droplets are running down a plant/leaves. He needs to be misted at least 3 times a day, maybe more depending on humidity, for a minimum of 2 minutes each time. I’d take him to the vet for at least a fecal and check up, if not X-rays and bloodwork, as well. He needs a bigger cage, preferably all screen (you can always wrap one or more of the sides with PVC panels or painters plastic if the humidity is too low in the screen cage), a minimum of 2’ by 2’ by 4’ tall or bigger. No need to get an intermediate cage, just go for the biggest one. Take out the substrate, veileds are notorious for eating it, just because he’s spit it out a couple of times doesn’t mean he hasn’t eaten any. Make sure to have a drainage system, as well! He needs a linear uvb bulb and fixture (either t5HO or T8) the length of or longer than the biggest cage you’ll get him (then you just have to replace the bulbs and not the fixture when you upgrade). Make sure his basking bulb is a white light heat bulb, not blue or red, etc. The temperature at the highest perch in his cage (his basking spot), should be 85*F for now and should be at least/around 8” below the top of the cage. If it’s closer, you’ll have to suspend the lights above the cage. You’ll have to play with the wattages until you get the correct basking temp, the ambient temp should be 72-80*F or cooler. Once you decide on the bigger cage and linear uvb fixture, we can talk about uvb strength. There should be 12 hours of uvb and basking light and 12 hours of complete darkness. Go to the hardware store and get a timer for the lights, a digital temp gun for basking temp, and a digital thermometer/hygrometer combo for ambient temp and humidity. Veileds need at least one live plant since they eat them. A pothos is great because it doesn’t need any extra lighting to grow, and your cham can climb its vines! Suspend it from the top or near the top of the cage. Make sure to either Physan, bleach dip (rinse off EXTREMELY well multiple times afterwards with either), or just rinse off really well the entire plant, leaves, roots, etc. and repot bareroot into organic soil after getting a plant. Then cover the soil with rocks bigger than your cham can eat (just go for ones the size of your cham’s body-not including head or tail-or bigger so you don’t have to worry about it) before putting in the cage. Let me know if I need to go into more detail or anything!
Rockythechameleon
Member
Thank you so much! I currently do not have the money to get a new cage so I guess the little guy will have to make do with what he has until Christmas. Do you recommend automatic misters or manual misters?? And what are the best ways to keep the humidity to where it needs to be? I really want him to do well and I know I can do it. Thanks again for the help!
ERKleRose
Chameleon Enthusiast
And when misting, make sure to heavily mist down the entire cage, especially the plants/foliage/etc. until 2 minutes is up and everything is dripping with water. Make sure to GENTLY mist your cham as well, for he needs it to clean out his eyes. Also, chams are dry shedders, so when he’s shedding, don’t mist him extra or anything, carry on like you’d normally do
ERKleRose
Chameleon Enthusiast
Thank you! If you take the substrate out and add a drainage system and more branches, vines, and plant cover, he’ll be fine until after Christmas. Automated misters are easier if you can afford them. I’d recommend a MistKing or CliMist. An Exo Terra Monsoon Multi will also do, but some people have problems with them. Or you can make your own! With a glass cage, you probably won’t be able to mist as long as 2 minutes without seriously raising the humidity above what’s recommended for a veiled (40-70%). Live plants also help raise humidity. A digital reptile thermometer/hygrometer combo from the pet store with probes always works for humidity and basking temperature monitoring. I use them as well as a temp gun and digital thermometer/hygrometer combo from the hardware store.
