Help with my little veiled :)

[Skyler]

Hi, my name is Skyler, I'm 19 and from Southern California. I have recently purchased a baby veiled chameleon from a local pet store. I did some research online before buying her but I want to make sure I am providing the absolute best care possible! Any input would be very much appreciated Thanks!

Chameleon Info:

Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Veiled, female (I think), not sure on exact age, but a baby! She has been in my care about 3 weeks
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Rarely.
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? Crickets, and meal worms, with calcium once a week. I offer dark leafy greens but she shows no interest. What amount? 4 crickets a day or 8 meal worms. What is the schedule? Break up feedings, once in morning, once around 3pm How are you gut-loading your feeders? Give crickets lettuce and veggies, otherwise no gut loading.
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Regular calcium powder, once a week
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? Drip system and misting. How often and how long to you mist? Twice a day. Do you see your chameleon drinking? Sometimes.
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Solid, one part dark, the other part white. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? No.
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. She isn't very friendly, hissing when I put my hand in cage.


Cage Info:

Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) Screen cage. What are the dimensions?18x18x24
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? Repi-glo 10.0 UVB. What is your daily lighting schedule? 7am-9pm
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? I'll have to double check in the morning
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? Again, I'll check in the morning
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? Fake plants.
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? Not near any air flow or traffic, in the corner of my room.
Location - Where are you geographically located? Anaheim, CA

The day I got her

In her cage for the first time

Her cage (now has more plants and no substrate)

Recent pictures!

 

[EvilLost]

i would add a whole LOT of foliage....you can buy pothos and the like very cheap at home depot and they grow super easily


i'm not entirely sure on veiled but do you not have a calcium+d3 supplement (diff from calcium only) or a multivitamin supplement?


I believe you should be dusting with calcium daily, and with calc+d3/multivitamin on alteranting sundays (so 2 times a month for the others)


if you have those analog gauges, they are USELESS (the error is way too high). if the petstore sold them to you, without a doubt take them back and get a digital one (you can get a digital thermometer+hygrometer for like $20).


Great start and good job on the research. There are a lot of local keepers so its not too hard to get advice; I'm in costa mesa myself



EDIT: I am not too sure about the UVB10.0....they can run into too much uvb problems I believe if they are able to get too close to the bulb (most keepers use a 5.0) but I doubt it could be enough to hurt her....as a baby though, I'm not entire sure. What is the distance from the UVB bulb to the basking point? Also, a similar point those UVB bulbs only effectively generate UV within the first 6-12" so anything further will get a greatly diminished effect (but given its a 10.0, be careful about putting it too close). Someone else might be able to tell you better on that, i'm not super informed.

 

[DavidBuchan]

Welcome Skyler

She is about 8 weeks old, normally they are sold from about this age. Looks female, to be 100% sure need a pic of back leg/foot from behind to look for the spur......
You mention no basking light, but it looks like there is one. Low wattage like 40W is easiest to get temp correct. Max temp nearest the light at 80F, don't worry about any other temp for now, you have enough room for a good gradient.......
Distance from uv - make it a min of 6 inches.
3 kinds of powder are what most people on here use. Every 2 weeks is Calcium with d3, once a month a multivit, and regular calcium you want some every day. Depends on the d3 strength in the brand, so you need to check that yourself......
Gutloading of feeder insects, and variety of insects is important, fruit flies are great at this age. Mealworms are a good treat, but not good as a staple (too much Chitin armour, can cause digestion trouble).
Best gutloads have a dry part, of like calcium flakes, and a wet part of veggies/fruit - lettuce is not so good, but use a bit. Dandelion, kale, there's plenty to choose from but variety as much as possible is always good.
Definitely more small branches and lots of leafiness - this will make her feel much more at home ( and games of hide and seek become more fun for you....)
Lots to learn, but you have a good start, and a very cute little Chameleon.......

 

[DavidBuchan]

Oh, yeah - lights on a timer is a good idea. On for 12 hours, off for 12 hours is easy and works well......but you can work up to that slowly now that you've started on the 10 hour schedule, if you want.