Help New veiled chameleon owner

[Ccat1972]

I just got our boy on Sept 29,2025 from a cousin that bought him from a Petstore (PS) in March and they told her that he was a month or so old then. They sold her their Chameleon kit( shudder) and she had been feeding him crickets and Dudia’s on occasions. She wasn’t giving him vitamins or calcium. I started building him a custom build 2x2x4 enclosure, but that went south fast. So I opted to just buy a reptibreeze xl enclosure and customize it. I changed out the bottom to lexiplate and put in a bar sink drain in the center, and I put the window film on the top door, both sides and the back as to make it a hybrid enclosure. I was having a very hard time keeping the temp and humidity correct in the small glass enclosure so I’m hoping now I can get it to the correct temp and humidity with this. I just got him in this enclosure yesterday. So I’m keeping an eye on it. I have all of the recommended lights and a homemade dripper. I have been feeding him dubias , crickets and for treats hornworms, mealworms and wax worms. I also have been dusting his food with his vitamins once a week and on the other days calcium. His poops have been the was Neptune said they needed to be. I also have all live plants in his enclosure. Please let me know from the pictures if I have the proper amount/size branches? He’s not venturing very far( I son know if that is because he hasn’t realized that he can yet or if my plant placements have him cut off from moving much( note he had absolutely no room to roam in his old enclosure! He was stuck to just one branch that was the basking branch.) I have a few plants in the bottom that I need to put in bigger pots and put somewhere. I would love feedback on what or if I need to do anything different. Thank you in advance! Oh and Skittles has formed a bond with my 16 yr old autistic son and myself! He freely climbs on our hand and up our arms straight for our heads( so far I have gotten lucky and he hasn’t popped on me yet, maybe I should knock on some wood now, lol). Last picture is of his old enclosure!
Thank you in advance for all advice!
Casey, Nate and Skittles

 

[IrohtheVeiled]

Hi and welcome

I’m sure someone will drop the husbandry form soon! Once you fill that out the form can help you in more detail

You already made vast improvements. Once your plants grow in you seem to have a solid foundation for the rest of your cage.

To answer your question about branches, you certainly could add more.

Also your vitamin schedule should be 1x/14 days I usually just do the 1st and the 15th to make it easy to remember. Make sure the calcium you have does not have d3 in it.

 

[IrohtheVeiled]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
• Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
• Location - Where are you geographically located?

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

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Please Note:

1. The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.
2. Photos can be very helpful.

 

[IrohtheVeiled]

https://chameleonacademy.com/choosing-and-arranging-branches/

 

[Beman]

Welcome to the forum. Copy and paste the husbandry review form into your reply and fill it out to ensure you have the right husbandry info.

Per your boy as already mentioned you have made wonderful improvements. But he has pretty significant MBD. I would recommend getting him in with a reptile vet. He may need liquid calcium supplementation that the vet will provide. Need to be able to stop the progression and strengthen the bones.

 

[Ccat1972]

Hi and welcome

I’m sure someone will drop the husbandry form soon! Once you fill that out the form can help you in more detail

You already made vast improvements. Once your plants grow in you seem to have a solid foundation for the rest of your cage.

To answer your question about branches, you certainly could add more.

Also your vitamin schedule should be 1x/14 days I usually just do the 1st and the 15th to make it easy to remember. Make sure the calcium you have does not have d3 in it.

His reptivit has D3, his calcium doesn’t have D3.
Thank you for your feedback! I do appreciate it!

 

[kinyonga]

Definitely has MBD.
If it hasn’t been addressed, it needs to be corrected asap.
Were his front legs bent like that when you got him?if so, you should talk to the store about it. They should not have been selling a chameleon with MBD, IMHO.

It’s mostly a matter of strengthening the bones again and then keeping them strong by correcting the husbandry.

What UVB bulb are you using? Is it the long linear fluorescent type tube light?

What specific calcium poster are you using? Does it contain phosphorus? (I know you said it has no D3). How often do you use it?

How often do you use the vitamins?

What do you feed/gut load the insects with…please be specific?
What insects do you feed to the chameleon?

 

[Ccat1972]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
• Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
• Location - Where are you geographically located?

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Veiled Chameleon, male, his estimated age is 9 to 10 months old, I have had him for almost a month.
• Handling - We handle him maybe once or twice a week if that. We handle him when he wants to come onto our hand when offered. No forcing him at all.
• Feeding - We feed him crickets, debia roaches, horn worms, meal worms and wax worms as treats. 3 to 4 sometimes 5 every other day. Treats maybe 1 to 2 times a week. I gut- load 12 to 24 hrs before feeding and that consist of a mixture of kale, collards, mustard, turnip greens, apple, orange, carrots, mango, bee pollen, gut loading supplement( I have this ground up all together and frozen) I give them a cube to eat before feeding them to him.
• Supplements - so meds reptivite reptile vitamin with D3 1x a week, zoo med repticalcium without D3 3x a week
• Watering - I have a homemade dripper. I mist in the morning with a spray mister, and once at night. I just got a mister machine installed in his enclosure last night, trying to work out some issues with it. I haven’t seen him drink.
• Fecal Description - His poop is brown with white and a creamy yellow stuff with it. I don’t know if the previous owner or the pet store ever had him treated or checked for parasites. I have set him up a vet appointment for this next Wednesday.
• History - My cousin bought him from a Petsmart in March of 2025, the store told them he was maybe a month or so old at the time of purchase. They sold her the glass enclosure kit. She didn’t give him vitamins or calcium, and she fed him crickets and dubia roaches gut- loaded on potatoes. She had a waterfall in the enclosure and had the heat lamp and white bulb that came with the kit. She had 2 live pothos in the enclosure and a fake plant. She didn’t mist, and there weren’t designated branches. He had only 1 branch he could really be on and was just there.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - The cage I just got him in is a reptibreeze XL that I covered the sides and back in window film and then covered that with white corroplast. The door is covered in window film only. Bottom door and top are screen. Size is 2x2x4. His previous cage was glass all but the top and that was screen. It was 12x12x17
• Lighting - vivarium electronics 24” LED day/night 4290 lumens 12hr during the day, zoo med T5 HO 5.0 bulb 12 hrs during the day, zoo med basking light 60w bulb for 3 hrs in the morning.
• Temperature - basking are 82 degrees, middle 78 degrees , bottom 76 degrees. I’m not sure about night time temp. I keep my thermostat at 70 degrees. Temperature gun.
• Humidity - 40-50% during the day, at night it has been not as high as it needed to be. I don’t know yet what it ran since the new enclosure. Misting and dripper during the day. An I misted at night right after his lights turned off. A hygrometer that has a sensor in the enclosure.
• Plants - alive plants, pothos (Golden and marble queen), Swiss cheese philodendron,pink polka dot,purple rose, rattlesnake plant,creeping fig, Petra croton
• Placement - It is in my son’s room, not near any fans or vents. Isolated just to him and myself, top of cage is 6’10” from the floor
• Location - Deep East Texas in a town called Lufkin

Current Problem - I just want to know if his enclosure is good as far as amount of branches? Why would he not venture around in his new enclosure? Are the plants placement keeping him from moving up and down his branches any info and suggestions are needed please.