Husbandry Review for first time owner

[That Cham Man]

I just got a new veiled chameleon, and I was just looking for advice to see if I’m doing anything wrong, or what I could Improve on. I plan on upgrading his enclosure to a 2x2x4 within a few months. This week I’m also going to add more hanging plants and base plants for the bottom. Any advice would help, thank you!

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - He is 3 to 5 month male veiled chameleon (hard to determine age right now) and I’ve had him for only 5 days.
• Handling - I try to avoid handling right now to let him settle, but I have added a few branches here and there and I go near him when I’m misting or feeding.
• Feeding - I feed him as much as he will eat consisting of calcium dusted crickets gutloaded with a balanced mix of collard greens, carrots, squash and bee pollen I plan to switch the ingredients every week. I also mix in soilder fly larvae. I ordered Dubia roaches and super worms to add in the mix also. I feed him about 10-15 bugs in the morning after lights go on and if he eats them all I add a few more in the afternoon.
• Supplements - i dust crickets every feed with calcium without D3, And I’m going to start doing the recommended supplement schedule from chameleon academy ( rapashy calcium plus LoD twice a month and Arcadia EarthPro-A every feed)
• Watering - I try to hydrate him through misting and using a dripper. I hand mist in the morning before lights come on and After lights go out at night. I use a homemade dripper in the afternoon just in case he needs extra hydration and I sometimes will use it before I go to bed.
• Fecal Description - urates are pure white and poop looks brown, dense and moist.
• History - He is a premium veiled chameleon purchased online from FL Chams.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - his cage is a 18x18x36 reptibreeze screen cage but I want to upgrade to a 2x2x4ft cage very soon.
• Lighting - I use a 18” T5 HO 5.0 UVB reptisun light and run it horizontally on top screen. The lights are on 12 hours and off 12 hours (7am-7pm) as well as his basking bulb.
• Temperature - During the day the temps are 70-75F and the basking temp is 83-88F. At night the temps drop and stay in the 50-60F range. I use a digital thermometer to measure temps and a laser temp gun for more precise readings.
• Humidity - During the day humidity ranges around 40-50% I am going to purchase a dehumidifier to try and bring these levels down closer to 30% any other tips will help! ( I don’t mist during the day so that isn’t brining up humidity) At night the humidity ranges from 75-98% I mist after lights go out and then have a fogger turn on from midnight to 5am. I use a digital hygrometer to read humidity.
• Plants - I currently only have 2 pothos but I ordered more plants and different varieties. I do have a silk vine to add extra coverage and he seems to like to climb on it. I also have 1 plastic hanging plant in the top right that he loves to sit on. Eventually I plan on tossing all fake plants but for the time being I will monitor closely to make sure he doesn’t try to eat the plastic plant.
• Placement - My cage is located in the living room. there is an electric heater/fan but it’s relatively quiet. People are occasionally walking by the cage when they are leaving or returning home but it’s definitely not super active. The cage is raised around 5 and a half feet at the top to the floor. When I upgrade to a 4ft tall cage it will be 6ft+ high.
• Location - I live in Illinois where we have all 4 seasons and the annual relative humidity is 60%.

I will attach photos of his setup below:

(Enclosure full View)

(Basking branch Temp)

(Cool side temps)

(Picture from above the cage)

(Overall Temp and humidity during day)

(Picture of him from the first day he arrived)

I know this was alot I just wanted to make sure I included everything. I love him a lot and I really want to do what’s best for him so I’m just worried about doing anything wrong. I also don’t have a name yet if anyone wants to give suggestions I need to find a name soon. If you need any more pictures or information please let me know and any feedback you guys give would be much appreciated!

 

[Sherbertsmysunshine]

Hello and welcome!
I will include some of the things you can fix. Someone else with more experience can go through your whole husbandry.

Upgrade the enclosure as soon as you can, the 18x18x24 is really small for a cham his age.
I would say he is about 4 months. I would get him a fecal test. I heard that FL chams seem to have parasites more often.
He seems a bit skinny on my screen, could you post another picture of him when you get the chance?


@elizaann2 @MissSkittles do you have anything to add?

 

[That Cham Man]

Hello and welcome!
I will include some of the things you can fix. Someone else with more experience can go through your whole husbandry.

Upgrade the enclosure as soon as you can, the 18x18x24 is really small for a cham his age.
I would say he is about 4 months. I would get him a fecal test. I heard that FL chams seem to have parasites more often.
He seems a bit skinny on my screen, could you post another picture of him when you get the chance?


@elizaann2 @MissSkittles do you have anything to add?

Thank you for the response! I want to buy a dragon strand 2x2x4ft cage within the next month. I regret buying such a small cage I should have known it wasn’t worth it because I knew I would have to upgrade very soon but there was a really good deal for it. I realize now there’s no point in being cheap. I’m also going to call around a few vets in my area today to see if they will do a fecal test. The reason he’s so thin in that picture could possibly just be him trying to make himself look smaller. When he’s basking he is no where near as thin but I’m no expert.

here’s a couple other pictures I have got of him:

(He is also scared in this picture because I opened his cage for feeding)

 

[Andrew1283]

I have a male veiled too. He’s beautiful! Take out all the fake plants because he can eat them and choke. Remove the ropes because his nails can get caught in them and tear out. I suggest the Reptibreeze XL because they can be $75.00 with a coupon and free shipping…and they do the job. Find a local florist and get some mature live pothos plants with hanging vines. When possible, get mature plants, not little ones that take 6 months to grow where you need them. Etsy has so many mature pothos for sale! I also suggest getting a Kasa smart strip to control your lights. It’s a wonderful asset for any cham keeper. With the 24” enclosure you may wish to get a 24” UVB like the Arcadia 6% light and maybe the Jungle Dawn LED for plant growth

 

[That Cham Man]

Hello and welcome!
I will include some of the things you can fix. Someone else with more experience can go through your whole husbandry.

Upgrade the enclosure as soon as you can, the 18x18x24 is really small for a cham his age.
I would say he is about 4 months. I would get him a fecal test. I heard that FL chams seem to have parasites more often.
He seems a bit skinny on my screen, could you post another picture of him when you get the chance?


@elizaann2 @MissSkittles do you have anything to

I have a male veiled too. He’s beautiful! Take out all the fake plants because he can eat them and choke. Remove the ropes because his nails can get caught in them and tear out. I suggest the Reptibreeze XL because they can be $75.00 with a coupon and free shipping…and they do the job. Find a local florist and get some mature live pothos plants with hanging vines. When possible, get mature plants, not little ones that take 6 months to grow where you need them. Etsy has so many mature pothos for sale! I also suggest getting a Kasa smart strip to control your lights. It’s a wonderful asset for any cham keeper. With the 24” enclosure you may wish to get a 24” UVB like the Arcadia 6% light and maybe the Jungle Dawn LED for plant growth

I plan to take the fake

I have a male veiled too. He’s beautiful! Take out all the fake plants because he can eat them and choke. Remove the ropes because his nails can get caught in them and tear out. I suggest the Reptibreeze XL because they can be $75.00 with a coupon and free shipping…and they do the job. Find a local florist and get some mature live pothos plants with hanging vines. When possible, get mature plants, not little ones that take 6 months to grow where you need them. Etsy has so many mature pothos for sale! I also suggest getting a Kasa smart strip to control your lights. It’s a wonderful asset for any cham keeper. With the 24” enclosure you may wish to get a 24” UVB like the Arcadia 6% light and maybe the Jungle Dawn LED for plant growth

Thank you so much for the tips! I plan to take out the fake plants as soon as my other plants get delivered but he loves to sleep and sit on the fake one in the corner so I would feel bad taking it out right now and leaving him with nothing there. Will it be okay to leave it for 2 or 3 more days? I haven’t seen him eat any plants but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t. I don’t have any rope I think you just mistook the wooden dowel rod for a rope or are you saying the vines I have can be bad for his claws? Also thanks for letting me know where I can get mature plants because yes it would be much better to not have to wait for it to grow. I couldn’t find any at the places I looked but I will definitely be checking out Etsy. I also like your recommendation with the power strip I am using plug timers right now but that definitely seems more convenient. I had already planned on getting both lights you recommended when I upgrade so that gave me reassurance. Again thank you!

 

[Gloriawood]

Such a handsome boy! Does he have a name?

I’m a terrible gardener and in order to make up for that I hang my fake plants on the outside of my cage to provide more cover for my guy. I too thought he wasn’t eating his plants, but boy was I wrong! He LOVES to munch on them which makes it a battle in combination with my brown thumb see this recent pic of his BRAND NEW leaf (literally opened that morning ) with the perfect little chomp out of it. If you look close you can see all his other little chomps on other leaves too.


Since he really likes the one in the corner, maybe replace it with a branch or vine?

 

[That Cham Man]

Such a handsome boy! Does he have a name?

I’m a terrible gardener and in order to make up for that I hang my fake plants on the outside of my cage to provide more cover for my guy. I too thought he wasn’t eating his plants, but boy was I wrong! He LOVES to munch on them which makes it a battle in combination with my brown thumb see this recent pic of his BRAND NEW leaf (literally opened that morning ) with the perfect little chomp out of it. If you look close you can see all his other little chomps on other leaves too.


Since he really likes the one in the corner, maybe replace it with a branch or vine?

He doesn’t have a name yet, i want to name him very soon. If you have any recommendations that would be great! But dang yours really does like to munch lol. Now that I’m thinking about it my guy might of taken a few bites from my live plants. I just thought the holes were from a bug infestation or burns before I got the plant . I thought if it was a bite from him it would be from the Edge of the leaf but the holes look pretty similar lol. I also have the same problem though, I have a brown thumb so I’m worried about keeping my plants alive, I already way overwatered one lol. Hopefully when I get a plant light it will make it easier to keep them alive as long as I actually water them right. I’ve heard those really do make a noticeable difference though. Even if your plants seem healthy without the light they can still boost growth. He is currently asleep in the fake plant but I will take it out tomorrow and temporarily replace it with branches until my other plants ship. Thank you for the tips!

 

[Andrew1283]

You can put a 24” 1x2 board on top of the enclosure and then screw eye hooks up into it. Then hang your plants from those eye hooks. I use floral wire to hang the pots, not those big bulky plastic hangers that come with the pots. If you would like photos I can send some. It’s super easy

 

[That Cham Man]

You can put a 24” 1x2 board on top of the enclosure and then screw eye hooks up into it. Then hang your plants from those eye hooks. I use floral wire to hang the pots, not those big bulky plastic hangers that come with the pots. If you would like photos I can send some. It’s super easy

That would be great! I hate having the whole hangar in the enclosure because I don’t use it so it just makes it looks weird. I’m interested to see how you hang the plants on the hook after you screw them into the 1x2.

 

[Andrew1283]

Their lights are off now but I’ll get some better pics in the morning. Here’s a quick example. You barely see the wires.

 

[Gloriawood]

He doesn’t have a name yet, i want to name him very soon. If you have any recommendations that would be great! But dang yours really does like to munch lol. Now that I’m thinking about it my guy might of taken a few bites from my live plants. I just thought the holes were from a bug infestation or burns before I got the plant . I thought if it was a bite from him it would be from the Edge of the leaf but the holes look pretty similar lol. I also have the same problem though, I have a brown thumb so I’m worried about keeping my plants alive, I already way overwatered one lol. Hopefully when I get a plant light it will make it easier to keep them alive as long as I actually water them right. I’ve heard those really do make a noticeable difference though. Even if your plants seem healthy without the light they can still boost growth. He is currently asleep in the fake plant but I will take it out tomorrow and temporarily replace it with branches until my other plants ship. Thank you for the tips!

Yesss lol it took me a hot minute to realize he was actually eating them! It wasn’t until I saw someone else’s plants that I realized.
I just checked on him and apparently he likes that leaf cause it’s Swiss cheese now.
I don’t have a good photo, but I use floral wire to attach the fake ones on the outside of the screen. I’m getting better at growing plants, but yea the grow light helps a lot!

 

[That Cham Man]

Their lights are off now but I’ll get some better pics in the morning. Here’s a quick example. You barely see the wires.

Great idea thank you for the recommendation I will try this out once he is comfortable enough with me to take him out of the cage. I don’t want to be drilling in there while he’s in it. I love your panther btw he looks amazing!

 

[Andrew1283]

Oh you don’t drill in the cage at all. When you have the board, just drill two holes slightly smaller than the screw portion of the eye hooks. That way you don’t split wood and it’s way easier when you screw them in. Put the board on top (holes down) and screw the eye hooks up through the top screen, into the board. And boop you have two solid hooks to hang things from. Takes all of 5 mins.

 

[naterowley]

Their lights are off now but I’ll get some better pics in the morning. Here’s a quick example. You barely see the wires.

These look great! I may use this idea!!! Any specific brand of wire to use to prevent rusting?

 

[MzLaurie]

Such a handsome boy! Does he have a name?

I’m a terrible gardener and in order to make up for that I hang my fake plants on the outside of my cage to provide more cover for my guy. I too thought he wasn’t eating his plants, but boy was I wrong! He LOVES to munch on them which makes it a battle in combination with my brown thumb see this recent pic of his BRAND NEW leaf (literally opened that morning ) with the perfect little chomp out of it. If you look close you can see all his other little chomps on other leaves too.


Since he really likes the one in the corner, maybe replace it with a branch or vine?

View attachment 347868

Gloria. You need to put a salad in for him. Collard greens has the most vitamins he needs. You can hang a leaf or make a salad in a bowl. Keep it a Vase with water in the frig and will last a long time! btw thats my fav cham plant, monstera or swiss cheese trader joes has them all the time for 14.

 

[Andrew1283]

These look great! I may use this idea!!! Any specific brand of wire to use to prevent rusting?

I just get the floral wire from the dollar store. It’s coated in green rubber so it’s not going to rust. If it ever does, replacing it is easy peasy

 

[MzLaurie]

Hi cham man and welcomel your boy has some colors so he is older then 4 months mine got his first colors at 5 1\2 months. i argree he looks thin but you have him on a good diet now so that should turn around quickly. Agree with florida and parasites so i think a fecal test is in order. Flukers bend a branch is the only vine i like that doesnt fall apart or get moldy. Make sure you keep the waer drip that you made in the same place so he knows where to find it. Dont let the room temp drop below 55. They are cold blooded so they do need to sleep witout heat. dont let the mist or fog hit him while he is sleeping. Also no colored lights! Hurts their eyes! Also you can put the fake plants on the outside of the cage. someone check on vit a daily. I think its too much!

 

[Beman]

@MissSkittles if you have time could you do a husbandry review for them?

 

[MissSkittles]

Sure! Give me a bit of time and I’ll have a full review.

 

[That Cham Man]

Sure! Give me a bit of time and I’ll have a full review.

Awesome, thank you!