Husbandry Form

[payton.geschke]

Hi everyone, I just recently got my cham, so I just wanted to check in with y'all to make sure I'm getting started correctly!

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Female Veiled Chameleon, around 2 months old. I have had her for about two or three weeks.
• Handling - I try to rarely handle her, recently I got meds for a respiratory infection, and I need to give her those antibiotics twice a day, so I do handle her for that, but never any other time.
• Feeding - I give her like 10ish small crickets in the morning so she has access to food all day. I feed the crickets Flucker's Orange Cubes, a ZooMed Cricket Block, and spinach.
• Supplements - Since she had broken ribs when I got her (they are pretty much healed now) I dust every cricket I give her with ZooMed ReptiCalcum. I am working on getting D3 to give her twice a month.
• Watering - I mist twice a day, morning and night, for about a minute each time. I give her access to a Flucker's mini-dripper twice a day as well, and I let her drink for as long as she wants (usually like 2 minutes each time). She will only drink when I watch over her, so I see her drinking every time.
• Fecal Description - Her droppings seem normal to me, mainly white or light yellow urates. She has never been tested for parasites.
• History - As she is so young, not much history other than getting her from PetSmart with broken ribs (again, they seem healed now), and I got her treated for an upper respiratory infection (she is pretty much done with that now).

Cage Info:

• Cage Type- My terrarium is 12inx12inx18in, which is small but so is she, I will get a bigger one as she grows. It has glass sides/bottom and a screen top, but I will sometimes open the front doors to allow more airflow.
• Lighting - I have a Thrive hanging lamp with a 75W UVA/UVB heat bulb (Link). It is attached to an automatic switch that turns it on/off at sunrise/sunset respectively, which I'm assuming equates to around 12hrs on 12hrs off.
• Temperature - During the day, the general space in the terrarium stays around 85F, with the basking area around 95F-100F. At night it gets as low as 60F, but usually stays around 70F, since that's the temperature in my house.
• Humidity - Humidity stays around 60% during the day, and I mist her after the lights go off at night, which usually keeps the night humidity around 80%. I have a ZooMed hygrometer to measure this.
• Plants - I'm not using live plants yet, though I know I should be! She has a large fake bonsai tree and some fake vines to climb and hide in (see in picture). I also use a coconut substrate on the ground, just to keep the water from pooling at the bottom of the terrarium. It's only about 1cm deep and I change it once or twice a week. Should that be okay? I used to have that Styrofoam fake rock backing on the tank, but the heat lamp melted it too much and I had to throw it away because the crickets were hiding in the melted holes.
• Placement - The terrarium is on a desk in the corner of my room. It is away from all fans and vents. It is next to a window to allow for some non-artificial sunlight to get to her. The top of the tank is probably 5 feet from the floor.
• Location - Lincoln, Nebraska, USA

Current Problem - Currently no problems, I just want to make sure I'm setting her up for success. Please be critical of me, I won't take any offence, I just want the best for my baby Linda!

Thanks everyone, please ask any questions!!

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi. Give me a few minutes and I’ll give you a husbandry review.

 

[MissSkittles]

I’ll be putting my feedback in red.
Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Female Veiled Chameleon, around 2 months old. I have had her for about two or three weeks.
• Handling - I try to rarely handle her, recently I got meds for a respiratory infection, and I need to give her those antibiotics twice a day, so I do handle her for that, but never any other time.
• Feeding - I give her like 10ish small crickets in the morning so she has access to food all day. At just 2 months old, you should be feeding her as much as she’ll eat in about a 15 minute period. Make sure the feeders aren’t any bigger than the space between her eyes. Crickets are great, but chameleons do enjoy some variety. I feed the crickets Flucker's Orange Cubes, a ZooMed Cricket Block, and spinach. Ahh...good old orange cubes. I believe just about all of us have bought them when starting out. They really aren’t good for more than keeping your crickets hydrated and alive. I’ve no idea what the cricket block is, but I’d guess it’s more or less as useful as the orange cubes. You are close to correct with the spinach, but don’t use spinach. It binds to calcium, which is not good for chameleons. I’ve attached the feeder and ‘gutload’ sheets. I keep my feeder buggies well fed with fresh dandelion greens, watercress, arugula, bell pepper, various squash and Repashy Bug Burger. Occasionally I’ll toss in some blueberries, apple or melon. The healthier your bugs are, the more nutrition they provide to your chameleon.
• Supplements - Since she had broken ribs when I got her (they are pretty much healed now) I dust every cricket I give her with ZooMed ReptiCalcum. I am working on getting D3 to give her twice a month. Yes...phosphorus free calcium without D3 lightly dusted on all feeders at every feeding except those in which you are using D3 or a multivitamin. Yes, you’ll need a multivitamin too. The easiest way to do this is to get Reptivite with D3 and use that one feeding every other week. It’s a great multivitamin as it contains preformed vitamin A which is needed for eye health. Do read the label closely as it also comes without D3.
• Watering - I mist twice a day, morning and night, for about a minute each time. I give her access to a Flucker's mini-dripper twice a day as well, and I let her drink for as long as she wants (usually like 2 minutes each time). She will only drink when I watch over her, so I see her drinking every time. Wow! Really? Many chameleons are very secretive about drinking and won’t drink if being watched. Consider yourself lucky! You should increase your misting times to 2 minutes each time. To add a naturalistic hydration, you could get a cool mist humidifier to use at night when temps are cool. Simulates the fog/dew of their natural environment and they breath in the water vapor.
• Fecal Description - Her droppings seem normal to me, mainly white or light yellow urates. She has never been tested for parasites. Is never a bad idea to have a fecal check for parasites.
• History - As she is so young, not much history other than getting her from PetSmart with broken ribs (again, they seem healed now), and I got her treated for an upper respiratory infection (she is pretty much done with that now). Poor baby!

Cage Info:

• Cage Type- My terrarium is 12inx12inx18in, which is small but so is she, I will get a bigger one as she grows. It has glass sides/bottom and a screen top, but I will sometimes open the front doors to allow more airflow. This is much too small for more than another couple of weeks at best. Before you know it, she will be full grown and be needing a minimum 2x2x4’ enclosure. Start planning to get one ASAP. I am using https://www.diycages.com/collection...umbo-vertical-screen-cage?variant=35995105933 I like much better than ReptiBreeze.
• Lighting - I have a Thrive hanging lamp with a 75W UVA/UVB heat bulb (Link). It is attached to an automatic switch that turns it on/off at sunrise/sunset respectively, which I'm assuming equates to around 12hrs on 12hrs off.This looks to be a mercury vapor bulb. Unless you have a solarmeter to monitor the uvb output/levels, it is not recommended to use. You will need to get a linear T5HO fixture with either a 5.0 ReptiSun or 6% Arcadia uvb bulb, like this https://www.pangeareptile.com/store/arcadia-prot5-uvb-kit.html I prefer Arcadia as they are good for a year vs only 6 months for ReptiSun. Then you’ll need a separate basking bulb. Incandescent is great if you can find them. Halogen also works. LED doesn’t put out heat so can’t be used. I’d suggest starting with a 60w bulb. If you have live plants, you may also want to add a plant grow bulb. Make sure your basking area is about 8-9” below the uvb light.
• Temperature - During the day, the general space in the terrarium stays around 85F, with the basking area around 95F-100F. For a baby, this is way too hot! Basking area shouldn’t be any higher than 80. At night it gets as low as 60F, but usually stays around 70F, since that's the temperature in my house. Night time temps are fine. Veiled’s can handle as low as the 50’s and 60’s at night.
• Humidity - Humidity stays around 60% during the day, This is too high. Ideal range during the day is between 30-50%. and I mist her after the lights go off at night, which usually keeps the night humidity around 80%. Perfect boost for night. I have a ZooMed hygrometer to measure this.
• Plants - I'm not using live plants yet, though I know I should be! Yes, you should be. Veileds eat their plants so they need to be real and safe. They have been known to eat fake leaves and get impacted, which can be fatal if untreated. Attaching a safe plant list. The humble pothos is always a favorite of chams and keepers...very easy to grow, grows fast, no special lighting needed, nice long vines for adding more chameleon roads to travel, big leaves to drink from, hide under and nibble. I use my fake plants attached to my enclosures to give my chams a little more privacy. She has a large fake bonsai tree and some fake vines to climb and hide in (see in picture). I also use a coconut substrate on the ground, just to keep the water from pooling at the bottom of the terrarium. It's only about 1cm deep and I change it once or twice a week. Should that be okay? I know that drainage is a big challenge for a glass enclosure, but I’m going to say get rid of the substrate. Adding some love potted plants instead will help soak up some of that water and then you can use a towel, wet vac or whatever to eliminate the rest of the water. I used to have that Styrofoam fake rock backing on the tank, but the heat lamp melted it too much and I had to throw it away because the crickets were hiding in the melted holes.
• Placement - The terrarium is on a desk in the corner of my room. It is away from all fans and vents. It is next to a window to allow for some non-artificial sunlight to get to her. The top of the tank is probably 5 feet from the floor. As long as she isn’t directly in front of the window and/or the sun won’t come in and heat up her enclosure. Not sure if you’re aware that uvb from the sun doesn’t pass thru glass or plastic. 5’ is ok, but higher is always better for chameleons. They feel safest when they are higher than us. Looking at your pics, you need more branches, vines and plants. Chams live in trees and that’s what we try to recreate for them.
  
  
• Location - Lincoln, Nebraska, USA

Current Problem - Currently no problems, I just want to make sure I'm setting her up for success. Please be critical of me, I won't take any offence, I just want the best for my baby Linda!

Thanks everyone, please ask any questions!!

 

[MissSkittles]

There are some great resources to provide you with all of the information you could ever want, and then some. https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/ is perhaps the most accurate, up to date and comprehensive site there is. The podcasts are fantastic too. On YouTube there is Neptune the Chameleon. Of course, the forum is always here to answer any/all questions you may have, guide and support you in giving your sweet baby girl the best life.
Although it won’t matter for at least 5-6 more months, just wondering if you’re aware that she will lay (infertile) eggs. When she gets to that age, we can help you with all of that and also ways to try and reduce her egg production and frequency of laying.
Hope I’ve been of some help.

 

[payton.geschke]

I’ll be putting my feedback in red.

Thank you so much for all of that information, it's incredibly helpful and valuable!! I will get started on making some adjustments right away, I'm excited to try some real plants, and I do think that'll help with the drainage And yep I have heard they lay infertile eggs, it's soo crazy! They're like little featherless chickens that'll be fun to deal with when the time comes along!

Thank you again for the help and support, I'm sure I'll have many more questions!!

 

[MissSkittles]

Thank you so much for all of that information, it's incredibly helpful and valuable!! I will get started on making some adjustments right away, I'm excited to try some real plants, and I do think that'll help with the drainage And yep I have heard they lay infertile eggs, it's soo crazy! They're like little featherless chickens that'll be fun to deal with when the time comes along!

Thank you again for the help and support, I'm sure I'll have many more questions!!

You are very welcome! Ask as many questions as you need...is the best way to learn. You can also share pics and stories of your baby, progress on upgrading her enclosure and whatever else.