Help! So many questions! Female Veiled Chameleon

[Axieglower]

Hi everyone!
So first let me say I did a lot of reaseach and wait a little over 2 years before getting a chameleon. I have several questions I could really use help answering. I tend to freak out but when having a new pet so maybe I'm over reacting but I want to make sure I do the best for Pascal! That being said I have found conflicting info online and wanted to hear from others who have owned female veiled chameleon.

Questions:
1. I was told they need a heat lamp at night - is this true? If so is the red bulb ok or will that effect their sleep?

2. My chameleon is about 3-4mo old I was told to give her 5-6 crickets each day but she always seems to be hungry. I gave her 8 one day to see and she gobbled them up so fast! Does she need more or could she eat herself sick?

3. I was told by one site dust with calcium every day and vitamins once a week is the correct others say every other day? Does it depend on their size or age?

4. What are the best ways to keep humidity up? (I live in Washington and though we have some rain humidity isn't that high)
5. Would a fogger help? Or stress her out?

6. Temps at night some sites say it should be 70's all the time others say they can drop and should drop at night to 60's is this true?

7. How do you know when they are shedding? I have a picture of that I think is the start but not sure. Is there any special things I need to know for shedding?

8. The last few pics are of her sides I don't know if she has to dry of skin or is this normal?

I've only had her 3 weeks and I just don't want to kill her or unententionally stress her out!!

 

[kinyonga]

Welcome to the forum and the world of chameleons!

Hi everyone!
So first let me say I did a lot of reaseach and wait a little over 2 years before getting a chameleon. I have several questions I could really use help answering. I tend to freak out but when having a new pet so maybe I'm over reacting but I want to make sure I do the best for Pascal! That being said I have found conflicting info online and wanted to hear from others who have owned female veiled chameleon.

Questions:
1. I was told they need a heat lamp at night - is this true? If so is the red bulb ok or will that effect their sleep?
No lights should be used at night. Unless it gets really cold in your house they don't need heat at night.
2. My chameleon is about 3-4mo old I was told to give her 5-6 crickets each day but she always seems to be hungry. I gave her 8 one day to see and she gobbled them up so fast! Does she need more or could she eat herself sick?
Until the chameleon is sexually mature you can feed it as much as it will eat in a couple of minutes at each feeding. Females shouldn't be overfed once they are several months old. Constant overfeeding as they reach sexual maturity can make them produce large clutches, push them towards eggbinding and MBD and even towards prolapsing. As they reach 5or 6 months of age they should have dropped from feeding once or twice a day to feeding every other day. The size of the crickets at each stage should be the distance between their eyes approximately.
3. I was told by one site dust with calcium every day and vitamins once a week is the correct others say every other day? Does it depend on their size or age?
We recommend dusting at almost every feeding with a phosphorous-free calcium powder because most feeder insects have a poor ratio of phosphorous to calcium. We recommend dusting twice a month with a phosphorous-free calcium/D3 powder to ensure it gets some D3 without overdosing it and leaving it to produce the rest of the d3from it's exposure to the UVB. D3 from supplements can build up in the system and lead to health issues but D3 from exposure to UVB won't as long as the chameleon can move in and out of it.
4. What are the best ways to keep humidity up? (I live in Washington and though we have some rain humidity isn't that high)
5. Would a fogger help? Or stress her out?
Someone else will have to answer this...I never use them.
6. Temps at night some sites say it should be 70's all the time others say they can drop and should drop at night to 60's is this true?
A drop in temperature at night is good for them.
7. How do you know when they are shedding? I have a picture of that I think is the start but not sure. Is there any special things I need to know for shedding?
They start to look paler and the skin loosens.
8. The last few pics are of her sides I don't know if she has to dry of skin or is this normal?
What pictures?
I've only had her 3 weeks and I just don't want to kill her or unententionally stress her out!!

Are you aware that female veileds can produce eggs without having mated and should have an appropriate place in the cage to dig to show you they are ready once they are sexually mature?

Good luck!

 

[Decadancin]

1. I was told they need a heat lamp at night - is this true? If so is the red bulb ok or will that effect their sleep? No lights at night-this can have serious health implications for your chameleon.

2. My chameleon is about 3-4mo old I was told to give her 5-6 crickets each day but she always seems to be hungry. I gave her 8 one day to see and she gobbled them up so fast! Does she need more or could she eat herself sick? At 3-4 months she can definitely eat a few more than that. Are they full sized crickets? You will want to feed her less soon so she does not produce eggs as quickly.

3. I was told by one site dust with calcium every day and vitamins once a week is the correct others say every other day? Does it depend on their size or age? For a veiled the general consensus is calcium without D3 every feeding, Calcium with D3 once every two weeks and Multivitamin once every two weeks. This is assuming your chameleon does not spend time out in natural sunlight.

4. What are the best ways to keep humidity up? (I live in Washington and though we have some rain humidity isn't that high) Misting System and Live Plants that are safe for chameleons. Veileds will tend to eat leaves.
5. Would a fogger help? Or stress her out? Probably not necessary.

6. Temps at night some sites say it should be 70's all the time others say they can drop and should drop at night to 60's is this true? Temps at night can get even lower than the 60's and she will be fine. A temp drop at night is beneficial.

7. How do you know when they are shedding? I have a picture of that I think is the start but not sure. Is there any special things I need to know for shedding? You will see a dull almost opaque appearance of the skin. Usually there is nothing that you need to do.

 

[Axieglower]

Welcome to the forum and the world of chameleons!



Are you aware that female veileds can produce eggs without having mated and should have an appropriate place in the cage to dig to show you they are ready once they are sexually mature?

Good luck!

Yes, she is in this small cage temporarily as we finish her bigger cage.

Thank you for the answers this was very helpful!!

 

[Axieglower]

Thank you so much for the help this makes me feel much better!

 

[Axieglower]

Yes! In her bigger enclosure we are building it will have a place for her to dig. What age do the become sexually mature?

 

[Axieglower]

Also thank you for the answers this was very helpful!

Yes! In her bigger enclosure we are building it will have a place for her to dig. What age do the become sexually mature?

 

[Decadancin]

This thread has been locked-Duplicate question.