Help please

I have not heard any noises and she has not been doing it anymore. The calcium does have d3 in it.
I'm glad the gaping has stopped.
Calcium with D3 should not be used every feeding. Use calcium (without D3 or phosphorus) at nearly every feeding, multivitamin once every 2 weeks, and calcium with D3 once every 2 weeks. Other veiled keepers can give you a better schedule but this will get you started. Since you have been giving D3 every day this month I would start with a plain Calcium for now and the next couple weeks until some one gives you a better schedule.
 
I'm glad the gaping has stopped.
Calcium with D3 should not be used every feeding. Use calcium (without D3 or phosphorus) at nearly every feeding, multivitamin once every 2 weeks, and calcium with D3 once every 2 weeks. Other veiled keepers can give you a better schedule but this will get you started. Since you have been giving D3 every day this month I would start with a plain Calcium for now and the next couple weeks until some one gives you a better schedule.
If I don’t have any normal calcium right now do I feed with none until I get some? I am going to the store in a little to get some
 
Did you see that I filled out that review? I would love to hear your thoughts. Also I switched the light out last night and at the bottom of the cage it is only 74 degrees is that correct?
Yes, I tagged my friend that does husbandry reviews with me. She will give you great feedback which she is currently working on. You would only run your lighting for 12 hours. So turning it off at night is correct. Really want to get temps a bit lower than that at night.

Do not use the reptivite with D3. You want to go get plain calcium without d3. This you will use at all feedings and then 2 times a month say the 1st and the 15th you will use the reptivite. Supplements should be lightly dusted on insects prior to feeding them to the chameleon. Do you use any more of the reptivite for the next 2 weeks or you can overdose the cham on the fat soluble vitamins.
 
You’ve gotten some great advice on plants and enclosure already. I’m not fully caffeinated yet, so if I repeat anything that has already been said, just smile and nod. ;)
I have only had this chameleon for 1 month and she is a pied veiled chameleon. I believe she is a girl because I do not see a tascal spur. I can attach a picture of her back legs Yes, it does look like you have a beautiful little girl. This makes it more important than ever to get all of your husbandry as perfect as possible to prevent egg laying complications. Not sure if you know or not, but she will lay eggs (infertile) even though she hasn’t been mated…like chickens.

I usually handle her one a day but sometimes I go 2 days without handling when she shows me that she isn’t in the mood Generally chameleons don’t like being handled and this is never more true than for our veiled girls. It is important to build trust with her. This is a great blog on how to do that. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/ Once you get her set up better, she will likely not be as tolerant of you anymore. 99% of veileds that willingly come out to their humans are trying to escape their enclosure because they really aren’t happy in it.

I feed her meal worms and small crickets. 5 of the crickets and 5 of the worms in the morning and at night I feed her 5-7 worms however much she eats. She seems very hungry all the time though and goes for the food right after I put it in. She likes the meal worms the most. I give the crickets orange cubes from the pet store. Ok, so lots of improvement is needed here. Crickets are ok, mealworms are not. There are lots of other types of feeders available that are so much better and you will want to give her a variety. Vendors like Rainbow Mealworms, Dubia Roaches, the Critter Depot and others offer variety packs, which are perfect if you have just one or two animals. Then, it’s very important to feed those insects very well and keep them as healthy as possible so that they will be more nutritious. The orange cubes will keep them alive for a few days, but offer little to no real benefit for the bugs or your chameleon. Unless they have a special diet (like hornworms and silkworms), feed your insects a variety of fresh produce - greens, veggies and just a bit of fruit. There are some commercial bug diets that are much better than the cubes and jelly pots. I feed my bugs the same stuff that I make salads for my bearded dragons along with a little Repashy Bug Burger. I’m adding some graphics for you below.
I’m not sure about the amount that you’re feeding since I don’t know your little cutie’s age. I’m guessing she’s maybe around 4 months old...maybe. This is where things get a little challenging when it comes to our girls. The amount that they eat has direct impact on how many eggs their body produces and veiled girls mature fast and can lay eggs as young as 6 months old. Feeding her daily about 10-15 appropriately sized feeders sounds about right for now. However, in about a month or so, start slowly decreasing her diet. I prefer reducing by a couple of feeders daily every few weeks to a month (depending on age). When I get to around 5-6 feeders daily, I then go to feeding every other day. This is a good amount until she matures and lays her first clutch of eggs OR reaches one year old. After either of those, her diet should be 3-4 feeders, 3 days a week, plus treats. This reduces egg production and laying frequency, which in turn will add to her length of life.


I dust all of the food I give her with calcium which I will attach a picture of. I would love for some advice on what other supplements I can give her You want to dust lightly (no little snowmen bugs) every feeding with a phosphorus free calcium without D3. One feeding every other week you want to instead dust with the ReptiVite with D3 OR Repashy calcium plus LoD. Either of these are great supplements. You may hear that some add bee pollen and things, but I don’t advise that. You could infrequently add a light sprinkle of bee pollen to the food that you give your feeders if you wanted. Keeping your feeders well fed and healthy is the best way to give your cham nutrition.

I have seen my chameleon drink a few times but not as of the past 2 days. (Putting on my tin foil hat) It’s a conspiracy! They’re all in on it! They know how cute they are when they drink and so they won’t give us that little bit of happiness and hide their drinking. :ROFLMAO: Seriously though, many/most chameleons are secretive about drinking. I’ve only seen mine drink when they were quite sick. We look to their urate to determine their hydration. More on that below. I use a mister machine at night Do you mean a fogger or humidifier? You only want to boost night time humidity IF your night temps are below at least 68-70. and I spray the cage during the day. Ok, good. It’s best to spray/mist for at least 2 minutes right before lights go on and off. Mid day you can either add a 1 minute misting or use a dripper for 15-20 minutes. I also have a water fountain in her cage. Please remove the fountain. No matter how well you clean it, it will become a breeding ground for bacteria. No fountains or waterfalls for chams. She drank from the water fountain 2 days ago when I put it in, but I haven’t seen her drink since that.

Her poop is usually solid and looks very normal. Her urate is white but usually has a few orange looking pieces in it which worries me a lot. If the pieces were all orange, then yes, she is dehydrated. If just a little orange on the end of mostly white or cream colored, that is ok. I am not sure how to get her to drink more. Having all parts of your husbandry correct is the best way. I have not had her tested. It’s always best to have a fecal done. I do believe it is the law that the vet needs to see the animal before doing anything, but a wellness visit is always best too.

I can’t think of anything else. Besides she just today looks like she is going to start shedding but it has been a few hours and no progress yet. The speed in which they shed goes by age. Baby chams just go ‘poof’ and seem to explode, while an old cham may shed a leg here and next week shed the other leg there. She does have a lot of wrinkles on her belly today which I have not had noticed before which I will post a picture of.

One of the parts of doing these reviews is that it seems like I’m sooo critical and mean. 😡
Really though, there’s no sense sugar coating anything and my goal is for you to enjoy many years of happiness and good health with your beautiful little friend. Many of us started off making just as many errors. Ok…now that has been said, let me end this half and move on to part two. *sorry if I’m a bit slow today.


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Others are better with this, but one thing already stands out. You’re baking her and that’s why she has her mouth open. Temps should be 78 max 80 at the basking spot, that’s directly under the light measure on their back, 70-74 as ambient temp in the lower part.. Your enclosure measures at the bottom 82, and will probably hit 95 under the light, meaning she‘s constantly overheating and she has no way to escape the heat. Your enclosure needs ventilation and lower wattage lights.
More things are needed, but first things first, because this becomes life threatening for her.
I changed the light for her and now at the bottom it is 75 degrees but she is up top and looks somewhat dark in color
 
The cage was sold to me at the pet store and they said it was okay in size while she is still little. After a year she will need a bigger one. The cage is glass but the top is a screen and the front has a little bit of screen as well at the top. Pet stores! :rolleyes: Unfortunately most don’t really know and their goal is to sell whatever they have to you. You were given a link to the proper sized enclosure and said you bought it, so yay! 🥳 Your girl will be soooo much happier in it. 😊 It is important to set it up properly, but more on that later.

The schedule I have set is for the lights to turn off at 10:30 every night and turn on at 10:30 every morning. The 12 hour schedule is perfect. You may want to change the times so that they better coincide with sun up/sun down. Even though your lights may not go on until 10:30, I’ll bet that your girl wakes up as soon as the room is light. Of course sun up/down changes with the seasons, but it’s ok to keep the same schedule as long as it’s close. I am using a uvb light from the pet store that is not a blue light. I’m too lazy to go back and look, but I know @Beman mist likely already told you that you need a linear T5HO fixture with either ReptiSun 5.0 or Arcadia 6% uvb bulb. The screw in uvb is essentially worthless for chams. If nothing else is correct, having supplements and uvb correct is a MUST. I am also using a basking light. I was using a higher wattage one since the old one I was using was only making her cage 60-70. I just put that one back in because everyone was saying she was too hot. Although this light bulb isn’t very bright. I will post a picture in the morning when the lights turn back on The wattage varies depending on your environment. However, the goal is to have a basking temp of and no higher than 80 for both girls and young ones. Only adult males can be a bit warmer at 85.

For temp I usually have it at 85 near the bottom during the day which makes her basking spot about 90-95. See above. Although I just switched the light which I think might mess her up. At night it is at lowest 65 and doesn’t go higher than 70 Excellent night temps! You most definitely want to use a cool mist humidifier/fogger at night to boost humidity all the way. This simulates natural hydration thru fog that they get in the wild. It’s very effective. Just remember though - hot plus humid = respiratory infection.

I have the mister in the cage which I only use at night to keep the moisture up as much as I can. At night it is around 80 for humidity and during the day I just spray the cage down and keep it between 30-50 See above.


I am using fake plants as of now because I cannot find real ones anywhere that chameleons are safe around. If there is a sight to buy them I would love to! One of the main problems with fake plants is our veiled friends like to nibble their plants. My experience has shown that my girls especially voracious and will strip some plants down to the stems. Even just one nibble of a fake leaf can potentially cause a bowel obstruction, that at best is an expensive and risky surgery, but if not caught can be fatal. Save live plants that have been washed are best. A tall plant like a schefflera or weeping fig with some pothos around it is perfect. Pothos is one of the best plants. Philodendron is not on the lists, but I’ve been using it with no problems. The toxicity is the same as is listed for pothos. Besides all of the other reasons, it’s very easy to propagate new plants from cuttings. I try to keep a few plants on back up for when my girl devours her plants or I forget to water. I’m in Florida, so plants are available year round. But, I believe the big box stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s carry houseplants in all of their stores. Even here, the house plants are kept inside the store. You could also check with local floral shops, but you’ll be paying a ton more and the leaves may have some chemical treatment on them (you’ll have to ask). Pothos and philodendron are such common plants that you probably know people who have them and may give you some clippings. Spider plants are ok too and those are always shooting out babies.
I take my new plants down to bare root as much as possible and repot in fresh organic soil. I wash the leaves in soapy water (using gentle dish soap like Dawn) and then rinse rinse rinse. Some have a problem with their chams eating the soil, so they use river rocks that are way too big for the cham to eat to cover the soil.
You also want to add lots and lots of branches and vines. I prefer natural branches like from oak. Just avoid branches from trees that are sappy or have an odor, like pine/fir trees, eucalyptus and such. Gorgeous Maine has lots of forest and woods so it shouldn’t be a problem to find some nice branches. I’m adding a pic or two of how I’ve set up some of my enclosures. It is a challenge to attach to screen and you don’t want to attach anything to the screen. You need to use the enclosure frame to bear the weight. Dragon Ledges are awesome. https://dragonstrand.com/dragon-ledges/ I didn’t have any and just used scraps of garden trellis instead. I drilled small holes in the trellis and secured it to the frame using thin but strong wires. It would be even better to secure the wires to the screws or attach some screws just for that purpose. It’s then secure enough to hang some plants too. Don’t toss out the fake plants. Use them to give your girl more privacy by hanging them to the enclosure.


The cage is pretty high up it is on a larger than usual nightstand in the corner of my room away from a lot of traffic, but my cat does like to sit on my desk sometimes and look at her. Height is safety for chams, so the higher the better. Beware your cat! With just one bite, your cat can fatally injure your cham. You may need to move the enclosure to an area that your cat lacks ability to easily jump or otherwise see and reach your cham. Thankfully, my cats are old and lazy and I don’t think they even know there are animals in the big enclosures. I still don’t trust them though and keep it hard for them to see or reach my chams.
I will attach a picture of the setup

I live in Maine. 🤗 My favorite state!


I am really looking forward to the best advice I can get. I want to give her the best life as possible and want to make sure she is healthy. Just by being here and open to making changes, I‘ve no doubt you’ll achieve this goal. :)


In this first pic I was low on branches and used wooden dowels. This was a temporary solution as dowels do not do well with all of the water we use. Also, this was just the start of setting it up. I just wanted to show the attachments of the trellis.
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While I’ve given you a lot of info to digest, there is even more to tell! :oops: 😂 We haven’t even started on the egg laying process. I don’t want to overwhelm you right now though. Make the needed changes and get your pretty girl all set up properly first. Once that is all done, then let us know that you’re ready and we’ll go over all of the egg stuff. :) Keep asking whatever questions you have and sharing your progress. The very best part of all of this is seeing all of the improvements you make for your chameleon and your growth into a skilled keeper. 💗
 
I changed the light for her and now at the bottom it is 75 degrees but she is up top and looks somewhat dark in color
I think this is her normal resting color and you were probably seeing her distressed colors (light due overheating). This is better for her daytime temps, they need the temperature gradient to regulate their body temperature.
 
While I’ve given you a lot of info to digest, there is even more to tell! :oops: 😂 We haven’t even started on the egg laying process. I don’t want to overwhelm you right now though. Make the needed changes and get your pretty girl all set up properly first. Once that is all done, then let us know that you’re ready and we’ll go over all of the egg stuff. :) Keep asking whatever questions you have and sharing your progress. The very best part of all of this is seeing all of the improvements you make for your chameleon and your growth into a skilled keeper. 💗
Thank you so much for all your help! I will let you know when I’m ready for the egg laying process. I went out today and got some real plants that are safe but they are a little flimsy for her. Ever since putting them in she is pawing at the glass and wants to get out. I let her sit on my head for while because she wanted to get out but it is her bedtime and she won’t stop.
 

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Great advice here! I'll just say that Neptune the Chameleon has advice and suggestions that are pretty much spot on for husbandry. Most people don't understand that chameleons are very unique reptiles with VERY unique needs. These folks may be speaking bad of her videos because they don't understand that caring for a cham is very different than caring for, say, a bearded dragon or a hognose snake.

Turning lights AND heat off at night, for example, is something that has to happen for chameleons to be healthy, but most reptiles don't need that. Little things like that make a huge difference.

Best of luck and keep asking questions!
 
The cage was sold to me at the pet store and they said it was okay in size while she is still little. After a year she will need a bigger one. The cage is glass but the top is a screen and the front has a little bit of screen as well at the top. Pet stores! :rolleyes: Unfortunately most don’t really know and their goal is to sell whatever they have to you. You were given a link to the proper sized enclosure and said you bought it, so yay! 🥳 Your girl will be soooo much happier in it. 😊 It is important to set it up properly, but more on that later.

The schedule I have set is for the lights to turn off at 10:30 every night and turn on at 10:30 every morning. The 12 hour schedule is perfect. You may want to change the times so that they better coincide with sun up/sun down. Even though your lights may not go on until 10:30, I’ll bet that your girl wakes up as soon as the room is light. Of course sun up/down changes with the seasons, but it’s ok to keep the same schedule as long as it’s close. I am using a uvb light from the pet store that is not a blue light. I’m too lazy to go back and look, but I know @Beman mist likely already told you that you need a linear T5HO fixture with either ReptiSun 5.0 or Arcadia 6% uvb bulb. The screw in uvb is essentially worthless for chams. If nothing else is correct, having supplements and uvb correct is a MUST. I am also using a basking light. I was using a higher wattage one since the old one I was using was only making her cage 60-70. I just put that one back in because everyone was saying she was too hot. Although this light bulb isn’t very bright. I will post a picture in the morning when the lights turn back on The wattage varies depending on your environment. However, the goal is to have a basking temp of and no higher than 80 for both girls and young ones. Only adult males can be a bit warmer at 85.

For temp I usually have it at 85 near the bottom during the day which makes her basking spot about 90-95. See above. Although I just switched the light which I think might mess her up. At night it is at lowest 65 and doesn’t go higher than 70 Excellent night temps! You most definitely want to use a cool mist humidifier/fogger at night to boost humidity all the way. This simulates natural hydration thru fog that they get in the wild. It’s very effective. Just remember though - hot plus humid = respiratory infection.

I have the mister in the cage which I only use at night to keep the moisture up as much as I can. At night it is around 80 for humidity and during the day I just spray the cage down and keep it between 30-50 See above.


I am using fake plants as of now because I cannot find real ones anywhere that chameleons are safe around. If there is a sight to buy them I would love to! One of the main problems with fake plants is our veiled friends like to nibble their plants. My experience has shown that my girls especially voracious and will strip some plants down to the stems. Even just one nibble of a fake leaf can potentially cause a bowel obstruction, that at best is an expensive and risky surgery, but if not caught can be fatal. Save live plants that have been washed are best. A tall plant like a schefflera or weeping fig with some pothos around it is perfect. Pothos is one of the best plants. Philodendron is not on the lists, but I’ve been using it with no problems. The toxicity is the same as is listed for pothos. Besides all of the other reasons, it’s very easy to propagate new plants from cuttings. I try to keep a few plants on back up for when my girl devours her plants or I forget to water. I’m in Florida, so plants are available year round. But, I believe the big box stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s carry houseplants in all of their stores. Even here, the house plants are kept inside the store. You could also check with local floral shops, but you’ll be paying a ton more and the leaves may have some chemical treatment on them (you’ll have to ask). Pothos and philodendron are such common plants that you probably know people who have them and may give you some clippings. Spider plants are ok too and those are always shooting out babies.
I take my new plants down to bare root as much as possible and repot in fresh organic soil. I wash the leaves in soapy water (using gentle dish soap like Dawn) and then rinse rinse rinse. Some have a problem with their chams eating the soil, so they use river rocks that are way too big for the cham to eat to cover the soil.
You also want to add lots and lots of branches and vines. I prefer natural branches like from oak. Just avoid branches from trees that are sappy or have an odor, like pine/fir trees, eucalyptus and such. Gorgeous Maine has lots of forest and woods so it shouldn’t be a problem to find some nice branches. I’m adding a pic or two of how I’ve set up some of my enclosures. It is a challenge to attach to screen and you don’t want to attach anything to the screen. You need to use the enclosure frame to bear the weight. Dragon Ledges are awesome. https://dragonstrand.com/dragon-ledges/ I didn’t have any and just used scraps of garden trellis instead. I drilled small holes in the trellis and secured it to the frame using thin but strong wires. It would be even better to secure the wires to the screws or attach some screws just for that purpose. It’s then secure enough to hang some plants too. Don’t toss out the fake plants. Use them to give your girl more privacy by hanging them to the enclosure.


The cage is pretty high up it is on a larger than usual nightstand in the corner of my room away from a lot of traffic, but my cat does like to sit on my desk sometimes and look at her. Height is safety for chams, so the higher the better. Beware your cat! With just one bite, your cat can fatally injure your cham. You may need to move the enclosure to an area that your cat lacks ability to easily jump or otherwise see and reach your cham. Thankfully, my cats are old and lazy and I don’t think they even know there are animals in the big enclosures. I still don’t trust them though and keep it hard for them to see or reach my chams.
I will attach a picture of the setup

I live in Maine. 🤗 My favorite state!


I am really looking forward to the best advice I can get. I want to give her the best life as possible and want to make sure she is healthy. Just by being here and open to making changes, I‘ve no doubt you’ll achieve this goal. :)


In this first pic I was low on branches and used wooden dowels. This was a temporary solution as dowels do not do well with all of the water we use. Also, this was just the start of setting it up. I just wanted to show the attachments of the trellis.
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Tonight her cage is at 60 degrees! Is that too low???
 
Tonight her cage is at 60 degrees! Is that too low???
60 is okay. :) they can go as low as 55. 60 is pretty ideal.

This site may help too... It's long but tons of great info. The forums here are wonderful for help, and a lot of the info we get comes from this expert keeper. He's got info, podcasts, dozens of years of experience raising and researching chams.

Ps, scroll down a ways and he gives proper nighttime temps and humidity levels. :)

https://chameleonacademy.com/veiled-chameleon-care/
 
60 is okay. :) they can go as low as 55. 60 is pretty ideal.

This site may help too... It's long but tons of great info. The forums here are wonderful for help, and a lot of the info we get comes from this expert keeper. He's got info, podcasts, dozens of years of experience raising and researching chams.

Ps, scroll down a ways and he gives proper nighttime temps and humidity levels. :)

https://chameleonacademy.com/veiled-chameleon-care/
Thank you so much I will read it!
Is it okay that the plants I got a flimsy? They don’t seem to hold her so I don’t know if she will walk on them. Or just stay in one spot all the time. And what does it mean that she kept pawing at the glass and wanted to be out once I changed things around? I thought she would like it better like this!
 
Thank you so much I will read it!
Is it okay that the plants I got a flimsy? They don’t seem to hold her so I don’t know if she will walk on them. Or just stay in one spot all the time. And what does it mean that she kept pawing at the glass and wanted to be out once I changed things around? I thought she would like it better like this!
Your plants will grow. You definitely want to add some sticks going horizontally cross the new cage when you get it - the flimsy leaves will help her hide if she wants to, and they'll get bigger and stronger as they grow.

Her surroundings have changed, and if I recall she's in too small a cage. Between the changes and lack of room, a chameleon will often paw at the door and try to leave because they want more space. Once you get the bigger cage, she'll likely stop doing that.

Remember, they're very... Hmm.. Simple-minded animals. Lol I love them but they are NOT bright. She'll be taking some time to adjust to the positive changes you'll be making. It'll mean some stress in the short term, but overall she will be much happier and healthier once you make those changes.

So expect her behavior to be a little different while you update her cage and your husbandry.

You're doing the right thing though! And it's a good sign you're concerned for her well-being. Believe me, everyone here can be real worry-warts (myself included) about our lovely tree dragons. You'll fit right in here.
 
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