help with new arrival

[rayman]

so, the new juvinile veiled came in today, right away he started hissing (expected) and he drank a ton of water, looks very healthy.

but he will not eat or bask, he just hides. his setup is a 16x16x32 screen cage with coconut substrate, a nice treated log to climb, some good vines, plastic leaves, a 75 watt uvb bulb and a 75 watt spot lamp. temp is ~75 degrees F in cold zone with ~50% humidity. he wont eat or some out from hiding. i mist the cage every hour or so but other than that have left him alone. its only been about 6 hours but i am worried. he is VERY dark brown in color but he does not look cold or unhealthy, hes a steady clean colored brown, high veil, nice looking eyes and moves around with ease, he actually did this whole backflip gymnastics move when i first put him in when he was scared and jumped. any suggestions? should i leave him be? or try something else to feed him? i ran out of calcium and i only have multi-vit at the moment until i restock tomorrow. so the baby crickets are not dusted. he is a male and about 3-4 inches in length and from flchams.

any tips on what to do? im new to chameleons but i am putting in alot of time, effort and money so i want to make sure all is ok. i moved the spot over him in his little hidden in the leaves corner. but he did not turn green as i expected, hes still dark brown.

 

[carol5208]

tell us exactly what uvb bulb you are using. 75 watt what? 5.0 10.0??? Not sure about your uvb bulb. Also, they don't always eat right away. Want to make sure though you are using the right bulb. what is your hotzone or basking temp?

 

[Lovereps]

Chams don't like change and his hiding behavior is normal right now.
He will get used to his new surroundings but it may take a few days.
As long as his conditions are right he should be fine.
I'm guessing that you don't really have a 75 watt UVB bulb.
The 75 watt basking bulb might be too hot for a fairly little guy but the veiled knowledgeable people would need to know what the basking temperature actually is, I'm sure.
Please do get rid of the coconut substrate.
Chams who accidentally ingest substrate can get an intestinal impaction, which can be fatal.

 

[rayman]

i can only measure with my dial thermometer but temp is at 100 degrees while fixture is resting on the screen top and 90-95 when propped up (how i have it now) i have a zoomed combo deep dome fixture, i was wrong about the uvb, i have a 13 watt zilla tropical series 25 and a 75 watt zoo med basking spot lamp. i have a red one also which i am not using.

oh wow, on this site they recommended the substrate.... hmm.... what do i line the cage with? i need something moist my climate is VERY dry here in the winter and with a full mesh cage you can see my problem. i am making a mister from scratch that goes off of the humidity level but for now i mist manually.

the 75 watt is bright i know, but i have it 4-5" inches from cage top and his spot is 2" further from that also he has not been on the top at all. if he starts going on the ceiling i will prop it up more or just get a dimmer bulb unless you reccomend a dimmer one now. i will do whatever it takes to keep him happy.

also he is in the same room with me about 8 feet away and tv is on low volume, is this a problem for now? i let him do his own thing and have not even really looked at him. but the crickets are all right around him and he does not even care about eating them. im glad to hear that is normal though.


EXTRA OFF TOPIC QUESTION:
my wife smokes and the house is pretty open but how far away should she be from him to avoid problems? our old bearded never cared and lived a long life having it in his face all day but was in glass, i am worried about the mesh. i know its not good for them but how harmful is it really in a 5-10' distance?

 

[Jac1582]

Ideally it's best not to smoke in the room your chameleon is in. They're respiratory system can be fairly delicate. If you can't have your Cham in a different seperate room from the smoke I'd reccomend an air purifier with the disposable filters just to help "clean" the air near your chameleon. Good luck with it!!

 

[rayman]

yes i figured that much, i want him to be as healthy as possible, ive been planning this out for months, its sad how scared he is of me though even if i go look at him he starts backing off. i hope he loosens up and gets comfortable soon, i hate seeing him hide all day. and when do you all feel he should start to eat again? he may have eaten 1 or 2 crickets but i have not seen him to be sure but its only a small chance he has.

 

[carol5208]

you are going to have to give him a few weeks to settle in. Just admire him from a distance (as hard as it is) and go to the cage when you need to. It takes some getting used to for these guys. Some acclimate quicker than others. I remember my one friend on here, her cham was dark for over two weeks and then he finaly settled in and brightened up. She was so worried about him!! I was figuring you did not have a 75 watt uvb bulb either. What you are using is ok. The tv could be a problem in disturbing his sleep due to the light. I would cover the cage at night when the lights go off if you are going to watch tv. Some chams will not sleep with any lights around whatsoever. Nothing on the bottom on the cage. I know it does not look as cool but after awhile all that stuff gets wet and moldy and some point(bacteria) and then there is the risk of your chameleon eating it.

 

[Lovereps]

Rayman, I think you (understandably) have a little PTSD from your last horrible cham experience.
Day one behavior is usually not cause for alarm if his setup is good.
If his cage is too hot then he will avoid being up top near the heat.
I am not knowledgeable as to what the right temps for him should be, as I'm fond of Jackson's and Fischer's whose care is a bit different.

When I first got him, my Jackson's was odd colors for nearly a week before he realized he was safe.

I haven't seen anyone recommend substrate on this forum but that doesn't mean it didn't happen.
AFAIK, substrate is bad for the aforementioned reason.
Here is a thread with a typical substrate conversation, starting with post #8
https://www.chameleonforums.com/substarte-question-96649/

Live plants will help to keep the humidity up and if the room is especially dry, you can put clear plastic on 2 or 3 sides of the cage to help retain humidity.

 

[rayman]

yes, quite abit of ptsd, the first cham i have dies in a matter of 2 days (not my fault for the record) so i am very cautious. and ok ill leave him be, he is up top but my last guy was always crawling upside down on the cieling, this one doesnt. but he STILL has yet to go under the light or eat, he just came out for abit from behind the leaves and whenever i walk by he goes into stealth mode and stays on the branch sideways and he thinks i cant see him. i really want a chameleon that is ok with being out of the cage and close to me periodically but he looks healthy so i guess i can relax for now, i really appreciate the help, again...


also, in regards to substrate, can i use that terrarium liner? the stuff that looks like moss but is fake?i think it is made by zilla. i want something on the floor, it is only a white piece of plastic without it, and with my cage i have a lower door to easily remove the substrate at the bottom without stressing the cham or moving anything so i planned on using the coconut and changing it out once a week or so but for now i will remove it. i will keep it empty if you truly believe it will help him.

 

[ChameleonMom]

yes, quite abit of ptsd, the first cham i have dies in a matter of 2 days (not my fault for the record) so i am very cautious. and ok ill leave him be, he is up top but my last guy was always crawling upside down on the cieling, this one doesnt. but he STILL has yet to go under the light or eat, he just came out for abit from behind the leaves and whenever i walk by he goes into stealth mode and stays on the branch sideways and he thinks i cant see him. i really want a chameleon that is ok with being out of the cage and close to me periodically but he looks healthy so i guess i can relax for now, i really appreciate the help, again...


also, in regards to substrate, can i use that terrarium liner? the stuff that looks like moss but is fake?i think it is made by zilla. i want something on the floor, it is only a white piece of plastic without it, and with my cage i have a lower door to easily remove the substrate at the bottom without stressing the cham or moving anything so i planned on using the coconut and changing it out once a week or so but for now i will remove it. i will keep it empty if you truly believe it will help him.

Remove the coconut substrate - your cham does not need it, nor is it healthy for him. If he eats just a small piece it can kill him and believe me, it happens. As for the moss stuff for the bottom...if it is like a 'carpet' and doesn't have any small pieces that can come loose and be ingested, it probably wouldn't hurt, although someone else may chime in and tell you no. I have no experience with it, but I understand that aesthetically you probably don't want a screaming white plastic bottom tray in the bottom of your cham cage. No, no to the substrate though!

 

[ChameleonMom]

Oh hey! A couple of things I forgot to mention. It can take up to 2 weeks for your chameleon to become used to his new home and not feel stressed. The very best thing you can do is just leave him, feed and water him of course but don't try to pick him up and don't get in his face. Do your normal stuff around your house but ignore him as if he wasn't there. This is the best possible way to ensure a trusting relationship in the future which will allow for the type of chameleon you want, which is a 'hang around the house' kind of buddy, right? You CAN achieve this, but in order for it to come, he needs to trust you and that means giving him some space now, when he needs it.

Also a red flag to me is your wife smoking. I know someone mentioned you shouldn't have him in a room with second hand smoke, which is true...but ALSO, in case you weren't aware, and I'm not assuming anything here so please don't take me the wrong way, second hand marijuanna smoke is also extremely deadly to a chameleon and should be avoided at all costs.