Help with Chameleon Lighting and Calcium needs

[vladdimir26]

Hello I am planning on getting my FIRST chameleon this christmas at probably Petco or something like that I am going for a male Veiled Chameleon. If i am right they are juveniles and I have been doing my homework and doing a lot of research but I just can't get the calcium and proteins stuff straight and what better place to ask but the best ? First thing I can't get straight is the lighting. So i used to have a ball python and I bought him a heating lamp and thats it. He loved it and he seemed to be happy. Anyways, I am confused with the uvb and uva lighting and the calcium powder. So his cage is going to be right by one of our windows and he will get sunlight in the afternoon for about 4 hours in winter time and summer time maybe 8. Of course he will have shade and such but I have been hearing a lot of MBD and i just don't know what to do with the calcium powder since he will be getting enough D3(I think). Another question is about the uvb lights. Does the sun count as uvb? and also since i don't want to spend the money in a 2nd lamp (unless necessary) could I put the uvb bulb on this heating lamp that i mentioned before or at least in any of the normal desk lamps? Please answer my questions as I want to be as prepared as a spider could be Thanks

 

[camimom]

Hello and welcome!
Beware, chams are addictiing!
Now to answer your questions.
YOu need a basking bulb, which can be a regular 40-60 watt house bulb form home depot.
You need a uvb bulb, reptisun or reptiglo 5.0 (not optional)
Even though your cham will be by a window, UVB rays from the sun do not pass through glass or plastic. so that wont help.
He needs a uvb AND basking bulb on, 12 hours a day, and 12 hours off.
Temps in his cage at the highest should be around 85ish.
No lights at night.
You can buy a dual light housing unit at petsmart for about 40 bucks. I use it for my smaller Hoenelli chameleon. (I I have a veiled too)
Most people wil say not to use the compact (spiral looking) uvb bulbs, but I use them and have had no problems. the older versions used to cause eye issues, but the new ones are fine. The housing unit only takes the spiral or regular bulbs, nott he tube lights.
For powders-
Calcium without d3 is used for every feeding, you dust these on the feeder bugs ( you cant buy this at a store, must order from online somewhere)
Calcium with d3 is used twice a month, dust on feeders.
A multivitamin is needed and is to be used twice a month, dusted on feeders.

Now, what kind of cage will you be using for him?
They need cages that are taller than they are long, and we prefer mesh most of the time.
What bugs do you plan to feed him?
do you know what gutloading is?
how do you plan to water him?

 

[BeBoSON]

Hey, Welcome to the forum.

Lighting:

With lighting you need to provide a UVB bulb. Reptisun 5.0 is the standard everyone usually follows. You also need to provide a basking light.

Supplementing:

For everyday feeding, you will need to use Calcium without D3 to dust your feeders. You will need to use Calcium with D3 twice a month. Last, you'll need to provide Herptivite which is a multi-vitamen about twice a month.


When lighting from the sun passes through a piece of glass, the UV rays are filtered. You will still need to provide UVB lighting.

Hope this helps

 

[vladdimir26]

Thanks! That helps a lot. And yes I do know all about those other things you asked me Camimon. Anyways another quick question is what is a basking light? Isn't it just the same as a heating lamp? Man so many requirements about lighting and powder! Never thought it was going to consume so much money for those extra things I need to buy!

 

[camimom]

Thanks! That helps a lot. And yes I do know all about those other things you asked me Camimon. Anyways another quick question is what is a basking light? Isn't it just the same as a heating lamp? Man so many requirements about lighting and powder! Never thought it was going to consume so much money for those extra things I need to buy!

basking light= heat bulb= cheap bulb from home depot. you dont need to get any of those expensive bulbs from the pet store. just get a 2 dollar bulb from home depot, 40-60 watts and your good.
chameleons are expensive. trust me. jsut wait til you buy feeders.

 

[vladdimir26]

basking light= heat bulb= cheap bulb from home depot. you dont need to get any of those expensive bulbs from the pet store. just get a 2 dollar bulb from home depot, 40-60 watts and your good.
chameleons are expensive. trust me. jsut wait til you buy feeders.

Hehe. I am up for the challenge. I mean I have dreamed of traveling to madagascar and getting my own chameleon since i was 5 yrs old (Silly kid dream) Another question is my same one that i didn't clearly get. So when i get a uvb bulb can it be plugged in a regular desk lamp and used on his cage? Also i was looking at a video online and they said that calcium with d3 is not required if he gets at least 4 hours of sunlight by a window. Also I am not planning on farming my own insects for gut loading. Another quick question. I have a mini little water fountain that I bought because I thought it was cute about a year ago. It is not totally quiet and not too loud and I was wondering if I could use it without stressing my chameleon out for him to drink? its beautiful looking and its also perfect size ( i did not buy it in intentions for a pet, i just remembered I had it)

 

[camimom]

Hehe. I am up for the challenge. I mean I have dreamed of traveling to madagascar and getting my own chameleon since i was 5 yrs old (Silly kid dream) Another question is my same one that i didn't clearly get. So when i get a uvb bulb can it be plugged in a regular desk lamp and used on his cage? Also i was looking at a video online and they said that calcium with d3 is not required if he gets at least 4 hours of sunlight by a window. Also I am not planning on farming my own insects for gut loading. Another quick question. I have a mini little water fountain that I bought because I thought it was cute about a year ago. It is not totally quiet and not too loud and I was wondering if I could use it without stressing my chameleon out for him to drink? its beautiful looking and its also perfect size ( i did not buy it in intentions for a pet, i just remembered I had it)

YOu have to gutload no matter what, even if you dont farm your own.
ANd like I said, UVB wont pass through glass, so unles you keep that window open, calciwum with d3 is needed.
no water fountains. chams wont drinking running or standing water. fountains breed bacteria. chams only drink dripping water off leaves.
You can put uvb bulb in adesk lamp, i think, but i would just keep an eye on it to be sure nothing melts. (if the shade is plastic)

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

First off, welcome to the forums! A lot of your questions have been answered here actually if you'd like to take a look: https://www.chameleonforums.com/frequently-asked-questions-71620/#post668826. Feel free to read up and then ask more questions if you have them.

 

[vladdimir26]

YOu have to gutload no matter what, even if you dont farm your own.
ANd like I said, UVB wont pass through glass, so unles you keep that window open, calciwum with d3 is needed.
no water fountains. chams wont drinking running or standing water. fountains breed bacteria. chams only drink dripping water off leaves.
You can put uvb bulb in adesk lamp, i think, but i would just keep an eye on it to be sure nothing melts. (if the shade is plastic)

So how do I gut load them? Do i just feed them those little things to the crickets a day before I feed them to the chameleon or what? And if i didn't feed him gut load, would he not be able to survive? I wish they would sell gut loaded crickets already that would make my life so much easier instead of having to feed another animal.. Thanks for the help btw and sorry if I'm asking really dumb questions.

 

[lindawaz]

welcome- Chameleons take a lot of time, patience and dedication to get and keep their environment and needs right. They also are usually a look at-
don't touch pet.

Here is a link on gutloading from Sandrachameleons Blog https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/75-feeder-nutrition-gutloading.html

You will need to mist their cage 3 or 4 times a day for approx 3 mins each time- you are simulating- dew,fog,rain- how the would drink in the wild. You need plants for the water to catch on for your Cham to drink.

Check out the FAQ link that was given to you Happy Reading

 

[kinyonga]

Welcome to the forum!
Here's some information I hope will help you ....
Appropriate cage temperatures aid in digestion and thus play a part indirectly in nutrient absorption.

Exposure to UVB from either direct sunlight or a proper UVB light allows the chameleon to produce D3 so that it can use the calcium in its system to make/keep the bones strong and be used in other systems in the chameleon as well. The UVB should not pass through glass or plastic no matter whether its from the sun or the UVB light. The most often recommended UVB light is the long linear fluorescent Repti-sun 5.0 tube light. Some of the compacts, spirals and tube lights have caused health issues, but so far there have been no bad reports against this one.

A wide variety of insects that have been well fed and gutloaded should be fed to it.

Since many of the feeder insects we use in captivity have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorus in them, its important to dust the insects just before you feed them to the chameleon at most feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder to help make up for it. (I use Rep-cal phosphorus-free calcium).

If you also dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder it will ensure that your chameleon gets some D3 without overdoing it. It leaves the chameleon to produce the rest of what it needs through its exposure to the UVB light. D3 from supplements can build up in the system but D3 produced from exposure to UVB shouldn't as long as the chameleon can move in and out of it. (I use Rep-cal phos.-free calcium/D3).

Dusting twice a month as well with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A will ensure that the chameleon gets some vitamins without the danger of overdosing the vitamin A. PrEformed sources of vitamin A can build up in the system and may prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the chameleon towards MBD. However, there is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert the beta carotene and so some people give some prEformed vitamin A once in a while. (I use herptivite which has beta carotene.)

Gutloading/feeding the insects well helps to provide what the chameleon needs. I gutload crickets, roaches, locusts, superworms, etc. with an assortment of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.)

Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are important players in bone health and other systems in the chameleon (muscles, etc.) and they need to be in balance. When trying to balance them, you need to look at the supplements, what you feed the insects and what you feed the chameleon.
Please note that various supplements have various amounts of D3 and vitamin A and so some can be given more often than others. The idea still is not to overdo the fat soluble vitamins like D3 and prEformed vitamin A.

Here are some good sites for you to read too...
http://chameleonnews.com/07FebWheelock.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200605020...Vitamin.A.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200406080...d.Calcium.html
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
http://web.archive.org/web/200601140...ww.adcham.com/
If you can't access the sites above that have the word "archive" in you can do it through the WayBackMachine.