Hax's husbandry review (It's a girl!)

[Steve A]

I just posted a husbandry review the other day, but now we know for sure she is a female and we should do it again. With that being said, I also wanted to include what it looks like with and without the fake shrubbery. I'm trying to remove the fake shrubbery ASAP while also continuing to give her ample hiding space to keep her happy. So I posted some picks with and some without. Now, I am looking for tips to reduce risk/provide a good environment for her to lay her eggs (we absolutely do not plan on breeding her), and I also want to know what people think of me removing all of the fake shrubbery and only leaving in the live plants (pothos on the walls, and Ficus Benjamina as the base). I personally think it's thin / is lacking for her to hide but she doesn't seem unhappy with it like this. I just removed the fake shrubs to see how she reacts. Please let me know what you think and include any tips for what lies ahead with raising a female Veiled. thank you!

Cage: 16"×16"×30"
Reptisun T5 HO 5.0 UVB terrarium Hood 24" w/ reptisun 5.0 bulb
Flukers repta clamp 5.5" w/ rough service shop 75w bulb dimmed about 50% because Temps rise into the mid to high 90s if we leave it at full blast.
We have a misting system that I am using for 2 minutes about 20-30 minutes before her lights come one, and then for 2 minutes 20-30 minutes after her lights shut off.

I am dusting her crickets with calcium (no d3) every morning, and she also gets ~10 or so small BSFL.

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi. I haven’t much time nor energy at the moment to go back and look at your previous post - work nights and animals woke me so half asleep and on my way back to bed. I’ll offer partial feedback for now and if no one else offers more, I’ll be back later when I have time. Right now I can tell you that your sweet little girl will definitely be needing a larger enclosure of at least 2x2x4’. She also needs many more plants (safe real ones) and more branches. I’m a fan of dragon ledges which make it sooo much easier to hang plants and branches. https://dragonstrand.com/dragon-ledges/ I’m also a fan of DIY screen enclosures rather than ReptiBreeze (budget choices). https://www.diycages.com/collection...ducts/sc4-48x24x24-jumbo-vertical-screen-cage They are just sturdier and it’s always a bonus to support small businesses. For plants, it doesn’t have to be anything fancy. Pothos is awesome, especially for our ladies who really like to nibble their plants. You can still use the fake plants, but hang them on the outside of the enclosure to provide her with a sense of more privacy.
Are you using a D3 or multivitamin? If not, you need to. Reptivite with D3 or Repashy calcium plus LoD are what I prefer. You’d use either one for one feeding every other week. So much more to say, but my bed is calling.

 

[Steve A]

Hi. I haven’t much time nor energy at the moment to go back and look at your previous post - work nights and animals woke me so half asleep and on my way back to bed. I’ll offer partial feedback for now and if no one else offers more, I’ll be back later when I have time. Right now I can tell you that your sweet little girl will definitely be needing a larger enclosure of at least 2x2x4’. She also needs many more plants (safe real ones) and more branches. I’m a fan of dragon ledges which make it sooo much easier to hang plants and branches. https://dragonstrand.com/dragon-ledges/ I’m also a fan of DIY screen enclosures rather than ReptiBreeze (budget choices). https://www.diycages.com/collection...ducts/sc4-48x24x24-jumbo-vertical-screen-cage They are just sturdier and it’s always a bonus to support small businesses. For plants, it doesn’t have to be anything fancy. Pothos is awesome, especially for our ladies who really like to nibble their plants. You can still use the fake plants, but hang them on the outside of the enclosure to provide her with a sense of more privacy.
Are you using a D3 or multivitamin? If not, you need to. Reptivite with D3 or Repashy calcium plus LoD are what I prefer. You’d use either one for one feeding every other week. So much more to say, but my bed is calling.

Thank you so much. I really appreciate your time! I already am planned to build her a new cage in the semi near future (I'm hoping I can put off for at least a couple months?) I am 100% going with your recommendation for the DIY cage. I saw those dragon ledges before and they look awesome so I will look more into those. We will also be getting more plants too. I'm stopping locally at stores to see what they have and they rarely have what I need for her but I will keep my eyes open for more. We already pull apart the pothos we have and planted it into a bunch of smaller planters to make more pothos Tomorrow she will get her first dose of vitamin with me (it is the Reptivite with D3 multivitamin). So I should use that Multivitamin 1 time every other week? I was planning to go with twice per month as per the videos posted under Neptune the Chameleon. But maybe you're saying this specifically because she's a female? TY again, get some rest. I appreciate the fact you took the time you did. I did a little rearranging but I will also order some more branches. I was trying to leave some space in the middle for the Ficus to grow but I guess it'll just grow around it anyway. It was funny, as soon as I moved one of the Ficus' branch up to hang it over a vine, she ran right down from the top, onto the ficus and shot her tongue at and tried to eat a dying leaf lol She didn't eat it though it fell out of her mouth.

 

[MissSkittles]

As the weather has gotten warmer, more of the big home improvement stores should be stocking up plants. Most that I find are from inside the stores where they keep the true houseplants. This is a great list to go by. https://chameleonacademy.com/plants/ Do keep in mind that many of the plants will need a special plant light and some like hibiscus and even schefflera need a strong one. I’ve tried many of the prettier plants, but seem to have a brown thumb so pothos and tradescantia zebrina are my go tos and I’m always making more of them from clippings.
Did you know that you can use branches that you’ve scavenged from outside? Avoid pine and other woods that have sap or odor. Give a little scrub with some dish soap, rinse very well and dry in the sun. No need to bake, remove bark, bleach or any of that. I even keep lichen on my branches…it looks nice.
It’s pretty much the same whether you give the ReptiVite with D3 once every other week or twice a month. Basically do however you can best remember when it’s due.
I just glanced at your previous posts. I see that you’re aware she’ll be laying eggs when she matures. Do you need more info on how that all goes and how to help reduce her egg production? Just let me know. I am working tonight, but hopefully it will be slow that I can give you my egg laying 101.

 

[Steve A]

As the weather has gotten warmer, more of the big home improvement stores should be stocking up plants. Most that I find are from inside the stores where they keep the true houseplants. This is a great list to go by. https://chameleonacademy.com/plants/ Do keep in mind that many of the plants will need a special plant light and some like hibiscus and even schefflera need a strong one. I’ve tried many of the prettier plants, but seem to have a brown thumb so pothos and tradescantia zebrina are my go tos and I’m always making more of them from clippings.
Did you know that you can use branches that you’ve scavenged from outside? Avoid pine and other woods that have sap or odor. Give a little scrub with some dish soap, rinse very well and dry in the sun. No need to bake, remove bark, bleach or any of that. I even keep lichen on my branches…it looks nice.
It’s pretty much the same whether you give the ReptiVite with D3 once every other week or twice a month. Basically do however you can best remember when it’s due.
I just glanced at your previous posts. I see that you’re aware she’ll be laying eggs when she matures. Do you need more info on how that all goes and how to help reduce her egg production? Just let me know. I am working tonight, but hopefully it will be slow that I can give you my egg laying 101.

That is the list I am currently using to shop for plants. Right now we have a Ficus Benjamina but somehow I totally never saw that they can actually be toxic Now I feel really bad and want to find another main plant for her. The pothos is my go to so far. I may try a money tree next. I can tell I still need to get something bigger anyway. As far as vines go I really like the Flukers bend-a-branches as they're cheap, look nice/natural and they're so versatile. If there is any reason I shouldn't be using those please let me know and I will replace them.


As far as her laying eggs is concerned, I am absolutely not prepared for that at all lol I had no idea at first that they still lay eggs even without reproducing. So ANY info on that will be super helpful. But I will certainly be learning about that now too. I hope you have a good night at work! If you somehow get bored I'd appreciate any info, but I'm sure that can wait as I don't think she will be laying eggs for at least some months, correct!? I hope haha. Unfortunately, I rescued her from Petsmart against my better judgement. I didn't plan this at all. I saw her and had to do it. Plus my son is autistic and he is fascinated in the fact they can change color, shoot their tongue, and it's kind of a "perfect" pet for him as she likes to be left alone, and he doesn't want to have to give something attention all the time lol. And he has really no desire to handle her. Thanks again

 

[MissSkittles]

Did you know that if pothos vines grow up instead of down, their leaves and vine get bigger? I had thought the distance needed would be well over at least 6 feet, but the 4 ft height of our chameleon enclosures is enough. Just another benefit of them and random fact to toss at you.
The Fluker’s vines are probably one of the very few that most of us recommend. Avoid the black gritty ones like the Exo Terra. The grit comes off as tiny particles that too easily get trapped in little googly eyes and cause problems. Ficus benjamina is ok and veiled tested as safe. It makes an awesome center plant. I wish I could find them of the right size in my area.
I need to just set aside an afternoon and write up a veiled female/egg laying blog. Since I’m an efficient procrastinator, I’ll just have to go over it here and now for you. Grab a drink, settle in and get comfy. I talk a lot.

 

[MissSkittles]

By the time your little girl reaches about 5-6 months old, she may have reached sexual maturity and start producing eggs. Usually you’ll know she’s old enough because she’ll start showing her beautiful colors of teal and orange/mustard and become very restless - constantly on the go all over her enclosure. Basically she’s gotten all prettied up and is looking for a boy. This is the receptive phase and can last a few weeks. This is when you need to get her lay bin made and place it in her enclosure. Preferably you’ll use at least a 12” long and wide opaque plastic bin. Drill several tiny holes in the bottom to allow for drainage. Fill to about 5-6” deep with washed play sand. When she’s ready to lay, the sand needs to be kept moist enough to hold a tunnel without collapsing. Some chams have a special poo side or spot of their enclosure. If you can determine where it is, you can place the bin away from it. It’s best to keep the bin in the enclosure permanently. Don’t forget to add a couple of stable ways for her to get in and out.
As early as a few weeks after her receptive period ended, she may be ready to lay eggs. She’ll probably have gotten plump and even a bit lumpy, is moving a bit less and as she gets within a few days of laying, may eat less or not at all. Some (like my girls) let nothing interfere with their meals. You’ll have prepared well for ‘the day’ and gotten a light sheet and partially attached it to the enclosure, so when you see she’s entered the bin and started digging, you can quietly and quickly pull the sheet and attach it to cover at least the bottom third or half of the enclosure. You don’t want her to see anyone as it may cause her to feel unsafe and stop digging. I make small peek holes in my cover sheets so I can monitor. She may dig a few holes until she likes one. Then it’s dig dig dig all the way to the bottom. When she turns around and her head is pointing out, she’s laying her eggs. When done she’ll cover all of her holes thoroughly and return to her usual basking branch. The whole process may take a couple of days and she may sleep in her hole. Mine goes to her sleeping branch. You’ll want to feed her very well for a couple of days. I love silkworms and hornworms at this time to help rehydrate too. You’ll want to dig up the eggs and count them. Hopefully and ideally there aren’t more than 30. Btw, just toss the eggs out. They rot so can’t be kept.
Now that she’s recovered, you’ll start her on ‘the regimen’. Hopefully you’ve already been keeping her basking temps no higher than 80F and been gradually reducing her feeding so she’s getting fed every other day. Now you’ll further reduce her diet to 3-4 appropriate sized feeders, 3 days a week (plus treats). It may take a cycle or two to take effect, but this should reduce the number of eggs produced as well as the frequency. I have 2 veiled ladies. One lays a clutch of 30+ eggs once a year. The other hasn’t laid any eggs in over 3 years. My panther lady will be 2 years old in June and has never laid any eggs (and hopefully never will).
Questions?

 

[Steve A]

Did you know that if pothos vines grow up instead of down, their leaves and vine get bigger? I had thought the distance needed would be well over at least 6 feet, but the 4 ft height of our chameleon enclosures is enough. Just another benefit of them and random fact to toss at you.
The Fluker’s vines are probably one of the very few that most of us recommend. Avoid the black gritty ones like the Exo Terra. The grit comes off as tiny particles that too easily get trapped in little googly eyes and cause problems. Ficus benjamina is ok and veiled tested as safe. It makes an awesome center plant. I wish I could find them of the right size in my area.
I need to just set aside an afternoon and write up a veiled female/egg laying blog. Since I’m an efficient procrastinator, I’ll just have to go over it here and now for you. Grab a drink, settle in and get comfy. I talk a lot.

That's good to hear about Flukers vines because so far I really like using them. I actually did not know that about the pothos! A shame. because I originally had the pothos in the middle. But I felt I made a mistake because I thought it was just going to grow out and down instead of up. Maybe I'll also search for a bigger pothos and just do a bunch of pothos haha. It'll depend on what I can find near me. The blog sounds like an awesome idea!

 

[Steve A]

By the time your little girl reaches about 5-6 months old, she may have reached sexual maturity and start producing eggs. Usually you’ll know she’s old enough because she’ll start showing her beautiful colors of teal and orange/mustard and become very restless - constantly on the go all over her enclosure. Basically she’s gotten all prettied up and is looking for a boy. This is the receptive phase and can last a few weeks. This is when you need to get her lay bin made and place it in her enclosure. Preferably you’ll use at least a 12” long and wide opaque plastic bin. Drill several tiny holes in the bottom to allow for drainage. Fill to about 5-6” deep with washed play sand. When she’s ready to lay, the sand needs to be kept moist enough to hold a tunnel without collapsing. Some chams have a special poo side or spot of their enclosure. If you can determine where it is, you can place the bin away from it. It’s best to keep the bin in the enclosure permanently. Don’t forget to add a couple of stable ways for her to get in and out.
As early as a few weeks after her receptive period ended, she may be ready to lay eggs. She’ll probably have gotten plump and even a bit lumpy, is moving a bit less and as she gets within a few days of laying, may eat less or not at all. Some (like my girls) let nothing interfere with their meals. You’ll have prepared well for ‘the day’ and gotten a light sheet and partially attached it to the enclosure, so when you see she’s entered the bin and started digging, you can quietly and quickly pull the sheet and attach it to cover at least the bottom third or half of the enclosure. You don’t want her to see anyone as it may cause her to feel unsafe and stop digging. I make small peek holes in my cover sheets so I can monitor. She may dig a few holes until she likes one. Then it’s dig dig dig all the way to the bottom. When she turns around and her head is pointing out, she’s laying her eggs. When done she’ll cover all of her holes thoroughly and return to her usual basking branch. The whole process may take a couple of days and she may sleep in her hole. Mine goes to her sleeping branch. You’ll want to feed her very well for a couple of days. I love silkworms and hornworms at this time to help rehydrate too. You’ll want to dig up the eggs and count them. Hopefully and ideally there aren’t more than 30. Btw, just toss the eggs out. They rot so can’t be kept.
Now that she’s recovered, you’ll start her on ‘the regimen’. Hopefully you’ve already been keeping her basking temps no higher than 80F and been gradually reducing her feeding so she’s getting fed every other day. Now you’ll further reduce her diet to 3-4 appropriate sized feeders, 3 days a week (plus treats). It may take a cycle or two to take effect, but this should reduce the number of eggs produced as well as the frequency. I have 2 veiled ladies. One lays a clutch of 30+ eggs once a year. The other hasn’t laid any eggs in over 3 years. My panther lady will be 2 years old in June and has never laid any eggs (and hopefully never will).
Questions?

Teal/orange!? omg she truly belongs with me [I'm a huge Miami Dolphin fan (aqua/orange haha)]. 5-6 months , that young huh? Wow she may be close then, I imagine. There is a lot to unpack here, but this doesn't sound so bad. I think I should get started on the bin like right away. I do need to find a way to lower her basking spot. It is still higher than 80f, but I've been lowering the heat lamp more and more. I'll have to drastically lower it at this point I think to keep it that low. Thank you so much for all of this. This is going to help me so much!

 

[MissSkittles]

When I got my first chameleon (my sweet girl Grumpy), I knew less than zero. I did everything so wrong, including feeding her massive quantities. She was around 5 + months old and quickly became responsive and laid her first clutch of about 34-36 eggs when she was maybe 7 months old. She is my girl who hasn’t laid in 3+ years. Had I not been feeding her dozens of crickets daily, she may not have matured so young.

 

[Steve A]

When I got my first chameleon (my sweet girl Grumpy), I knew less than zero. I did everything so wrong, including feeding her massive quantities. She was around 5 + months old and quickly became responsive and laid her first clutch of about 34-36 eggs when she was maybe 7 months old. She is my girl who hasn’t laid in 3+ years. Had I not been feeding her dozens of crickets daily, she may not have matured so young.

Now that's interesting. I don't give her dozens of crickets daily, but I give her I'd say between 8-12 per day (she does not always eat them all though), along with about 10 BSFL (very small). With that being said, I provide cricket food + water not only in their own cage, but in hers so that they can continue to live/gutload until she is ready to eat them, since she never eats all of them. I may try to introduce less. Maybe 5 BSFL and 6 crickets? Something like that. Might help with cleaning up dead crickets anyway since there won't be so many left over.

 

[MissSkittles]

8-12 is a very reasonable amount to give her daily. I’m surprised she isn’t eating them all though. Veileds are opportunistic eaters and seem to never get full bellies. Have you had her tested for parasites? If not, it’s definitely a good idea to do so. Are you by chance here in Florida? There’s a couple of good exotics vets in Orlando that have solid experience with chameleons. There’s Dr Bruce https://myavho.com/ and Dr Diaz https://www.orlandoexoticveterinarian.com/ They are well worth whatever your drive to them may be. I don’t know about Dr Diaz, but Dr Bruce’s fees are very reasonable.

 

[Steve A]

8-12 is a very reasonable amount to give her daily. I’m surprised she isn’t eating them all though. Veileds are opportunistic eaters and seem to never get full bellies. Have you had her tested for parasites? If not, it’s definitely a good idea to do so. Are you by chance here in Florida? There’s a couple of good exotics vets in Orlando that have solid experience with chameleons. There’s Dr Bruce https://myavho.com/ and Dr Diaz https://www.orlandoexoticveterinarian.com/ They are well worth whatever your drive to them may be. I don’t know about Dr Diaz, but Dr Bruce’s fees are very reasonable.

Unfortunately, I am in NJ and I think it would be very hard to do that but I will look into that. With that being said, I may not be describing the situation accurately enough. She definitely eats plenty (and again she also gets the BSFL which she usually eats all of!) from what I can tell. But I am having an issue with crickets hiding at the bottom of the cage and in the little corners at times. I will look into vet care near me though to see if they offer testing for this. My vet tests my dogs poop so I wonder if they'll do this lol

 

[MissSkittles]

Yeah…that would be one heck of a drive. Lol Being a Dolphins fan I thought you might live here. There are ways to find good vets with chameleon experience. I just do a search of the forum. Like this https://www.chameleonforums.com/search/2353326/?q=New+Jersey+vet&o=relevance
Have you tried using a feeding station to help contain the crickets? There’s several different types. I like the shooting gallery https://www.rainbowmealworms.net/shooting-gallery-chameleon-feeder-1/ although bsfl very easily and quickly wriggle their way to freedom in it. Crickets and roaches stay in it quite well though. I’d suggest adding more variety of feeders if you can. Roaches and silkworms are my personal favorites for nutrition.

 

[Steve A]

Yeah…that would be one heck of a drive. Lol Being a Dolphins fan I thought you might live here. There are ways to find good vets with chameleon experience. I just do a search of the forum. Like this https://www.chameleonforums.com/search/2353326/?q=New+Jersey+vet&o=relevance
Have you tried using a feeding station to help contain the crickets? There’s several different types. I like the shooting gallery https://www.rainbowmealworms.net/shooting-gallery-chameleon-feeder-1/ although bsfl very easily and quickly wriggle their way to freedom in it. Crickets and roaches stay in it quite well though. I’d suggest adding more variety of feeders if you can. Roaches and silkworms are my personal favorites for nutrition.

I also give her hornworms but as a treat only. I've only actually done that once so far but I plan on doing it more. I just want to figure out a way to keep them alive so it makes sense to order them. Petsmart robs me ($10 for ...3???) and they dont survive long. It looks like they just eat each other sooner than later. I don't think I can convince my wife of the roaches lol but I am gonna look into the silkworms, just to add variety.

I have contemplated the feeding stations but have not tried that yet. I'm curious how you'd get them in there without them falling out. It's been of a process for me. I've been using a large ziploc bag to shake the crickets off into, then I dust them lightly with calcium, shake it up, and then drop them into the cage. Is there an easier way to go about this!?

 

[Steve A]

Okay I REALLY like the shooting gallery lol I'm going to get that. Would you recommend medium or large?
I have a little cup attached to the side of her cage that she eats the BSFL out of. I will just continue using that for them.

 

[MissSkittles]

Most of us buy our buggies on line. Check the forum sponsors - dubia roaches and rainbow mealworms are both excellent vendors and sell a variety of different feeders. Some have variety packs.
I have to say, it initially freaked me out to get roaches. I hate hate hate bugs! The dubia or discoid aren’t anything at all like the German and other super icky types. I have a colony of discoid (dubia illegal in FL) and have grown to respect their little icky ways and lives. They may be responsible for me learning how to breed a few other types of bugs like mealworms, superworms, hornworms, silkworms and really disgusting stinky crickets.
I use a tall deli cup to dust. Put a tiny pinch of supplement in it and then the feeders. They usually move around and dust themselves. Then I use a tongs to move them into the shooting gallery. I have both sizes of it and small is just fine.

 

[Steve A]

Most of us buy our buggies on line. Check the forum sponsors - dubia roaches and rainbow mealworms are both excellent vendors and sell a variety of different feeders. Some have variety packs.
I have to say, it initially freaked me out to get roaches. I hate hate hate bugs! The dubia or discoid aren’t anything at all like the German and other super icky types. I have a colony of discoid (dubia illegal in FL) and have grown to respect their little icky ways and lives. They may be responsible for me learning how to breed a few other types of bugs like mealworms, superworms, hornworms, silkworms and really disgusting stinky crickets.
I use a tall deli cup to dust. Put a tiny pinch of supplement in it and then the feeders. They usually move around and dust themselves. Then I use a tongs to move them into the shooting gallery. I have both sizes of it and small is just fine.

I bought the shooting gallery but from somewhere else because they wanted $20 shipping! I've only purchased online from Joshes Frogs so far. Max really seemed to like the hornworms so I may try some silkworms soon.

 

[Steve A]

@MissSkittles I know you recommended washed play sand for her clutch area. However, I have this FoxFarm Happy Frog organic soil that I use for the plants in her enclosure. I was thinking about using that to fill a plant pot for her and just leave that in the enclosure at all times. Do you think this would be a good idea, or should I stick to that sand? And do you have a specific recommendation for the sand?

 

[MissSkittles]

The Fox Farm is great soil. If you wanted, you can use a 50/50 mix of it with the sand. I would say to stick with a larger plastic bin for a lay bin rather than a plant pot. Rectangle gives more area for them vs round. However, if you are using a 50/50 mix, you can put a plant in the bin (add more soil at that area for the plant). They do like to lay their eggs up against root balls. The bin can easily be hidden behind plants. Since you’ve got a little bit of time before she becomes old enough for eggs and laying, you may want to think about going bioactive. It’s much easier than it initially looks and then the whole floor is her lay ‘bin’. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/intro-to-bio-activity.2429/ I started my girls off in regular no substrate enclosures and plastic lay bins. After much anxiety, I learned last year that at least the one doesn’t recognize her bioactive soil ‘floor’ as suitable for laying and will only lay in her plastic bin. So now I have a kind of stupid looking set up of a nice bioactive with a big pink plastic bin sitting in it.
For play sand, I’m very limited to whatever my local Lowes or Home Depot carries and I don’t recall brand...quikcrete maybe? One of our most experienced members suggests King brand, but I believe that’s only available in Canada. The most important thing is that it be the same type of sand that you would fill a child’s sand box with.