Husbandry Review please!

[PenTheCham]

• Your Chameleon - Veiled, female, about 6 months and I’ve had her for 4 days! (super new i know!)
• Handling - Currently not much as I wanted to give her some time to adjust to her new environment but today I pulled her out so that I could remove her substrate (thank you forums!) and she was crawling all over me!
• Feeding - Currently crickets but am looking into purchasing other feeders to give her some variety! Based on what I’ve read I’m feeding her 10 a day but was wondering when to start feeding her less? At what age? She is fed about 15 minutes after her lights go on in the morning. I’m gut-loading carrots today and have been trying my best to follow the guide I found on here!
• Supplements - Currently none as the owners of the store never mentioned I needed to do this but I’ve been looking into the reptivite w/d3 and then one without d3 as I read that those were the 2 you for sure need to be feeding but any brand recommendations and advice is appreciated! I’ll take all the advice I can get!
• Watering - Currently I’m hand misting as I’m home most of the day. I mist 3-4 times a day (some days it’s only 2) and I mist for about 30 seconds each time. I’ve seen her drink a few times but honestly I haven’t really been focused too much on it but I will definitely be watching closer now.
• Fecal Description - I cleaned her enclosure today and forgot to look ugh! Will update as soon as I know. She has not been tested.
• History - None that I am aware of.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Glass Exo Terra (I know I’m looking into changing it so any recommendations would be awesome!) I don’t know the for sure size but I believe it is 10 gallons, it is a bit small which is also why I’m looking for a new one.
• Lighting - I believe that it is the zoo med hood range! I am using a UVB light and then my other one that came with the range. Lights on at 6am and out at 6pm
• Temperature - I’m kind of realizing I’m unprepared, but I have a handheld temp gun being delivered tomorrow in order to make sure my temps are in check. Currently I haven’t had any issues so far but if I find it’s getting super hot in there I turn off my heat for a few to cook it down a bit.
• Humidity - Again a bit unprepared ugh, I’ve seen differing opinions on the hygrometers that stick in the enclosure, what are some good options?
• Plants - Live plants! They are tropical plants but I’m not sure what kind, the reptile store had no labels on them and never told me but I am also looking into getting some Pothos!
• Placement - In my bedroom! It is not near any vents, there is a fan in here but it is not blowing on or near the enclosure. The enclosure is on top of a cube shelf and is a i it 4 feet off the ground.
• Location - Southwestern Ontario in Canada!

Current Problem - No specific concerns but any advice or anything that you think I should change I would appreciate! I want Penelope to have the best life she can so all critiques and advice is welcome!

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi and welcome! I’ll gladly review your husbandry but it will take me a bit of time.

 

[MissSkittles]

Putting my feedback in red.

• Your Chameleon - Veiled, female, about 6 months and I’ve had her for 4 days! (super new i know!)
• Handling - Currently not much as I wanted to give her some time to adjust to her new environment but today I pulled her out so that I could remove her substrate (thank you forums!) and she was crawling all over me!
• Feeding - Currently crickets but am looking into purchasing other feeders to give her some variety! Yes! Roaches are great if they are legal where you are. Attaching the feeder sheet. Based on what I’ve read I’m feeding her 10 a day but was wondering when to start feeding her less? At what age? Now sounds like a good time to start cutting her back slowly. She is fed about 15 minutes after her lights go on in the morning. I’m gut-loading carrots today and have been trying my best to follow the guide I found on here! Yes...add much more. Attaching the gut loading sheet too.
• Supplements - Currently none as the owners of the store never mentioned I needed to do this but I’ve been looking into the reptivite w/d3 and then one without d3 as I read that those were the 2 you for sure need to be feeding but any brand recommendations and advice is appreciated! I’ll take all the advice I can get! You’ll need to use a phosphorus free calcium without D3 at every feeding except one every two weeks. The Reptivite with D3 is to be used on those every other week feedings. Rep cal is a pretty good calcium to use. The green label is without D3.
• Watering - Currently I’m hand misting as I’m home most of the day. I mist 3-4 times a day (some days it’s only 2) and I mist for about 30 seconds each time. You could increase the time to about 2 minutes 2-3 times daily. If you’re misting once in the AM and once in the PM, you could use a dripper for about 15-20 minutes mid day if you wanted, instead of a 3rd misting. I’ve seen her drink a few times but honestly I haven’t really been focused too much on it but I will definitely be watching closer now. Many chams are very secretive about drinking, so no worries.
• Fecal Description - I cleaned her enclosure today and forgot to look ugh! Will update as soon as I know. She has not been tested. I’m a believer in taking all animals to the vet for wellness checks and having decals done.
• History - None that I am aware of.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Glass Exo Terra (I know I’m looking into changing it so any recommendations would be awesome!) I don’t know the for sure size but I believe it is 10 gallons, it is a bit small which is also why I’m looking for a new one. Way too small! You want at least a 2x2x4’ enclosure or equivalent. Glass is a bit expensive in the largest sizes, so I use screen. Depending on your budget, there’s Dragon Strand enclosures which I hear are incredible.
• Lighting - I believe that it is the zoo med hood range! I am using a UVB light and then my other one that came with the range. Lights on at 6am and out at 6pm Is your uvb a T5 or T8? T5 is the recommended with either a 5.0 or Arcadia brand 6% uvb bulb. If you have a T8, I believe you’d need to be using a 10.0 (or 12%) uvb.
• Temperature - I’m kind of realizing I’m unprepared, but I have a handheld temp gun being delivered tomorrow in order to make sure my temps are in check. Currently I haven’t had any issues so far but if I find it’s getting super hot in there I turn off my heat for a few to cook it down a bit. The temp guns are great, but they can only read surface temps...not air temps. For that you’ll need a probe thermometer. Digital is more accurate. Ideal basking temps shouldn’t be any higher than 80-82*. At night, a temp drop is desired.
• Humidity - Again a bit unprepared ugh, I’ve seen differing opinions on the hygrometers that stick in the enclosure, what are some good options? Ideal humidity during the day is between 30-50%. Again, use digital. I have a few different kinds and have no idea what brands they are.
• Plants - Live plants! They are tropical plants but I’m not sure what kind, the reptile store had no labels on them and never told me but I am also looking into getting some Pothos! I’m going to make you do some work and figure out what your plants are. You could always post pics of them and hopefully one of us can ID them. As veileds will nibble their plants, they need to be safe. Some of the tropical and other plants have high light needs and you may need to invest in a grow light. I use this one and it so far has been keeping my hibiscus alive. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07TKKG8Q3/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Pothos and philodendron will do just fine without any special lighting and are a favorite for chams. Here’s the safe plant list. https://chameleonacademy.com/plants/
• Placement - In my bedroom! It is not near any vents, there is a fan in here but it is not blowing on or near the enclosure. The enclosure is on top of a cube shelf and is a i it 4 feet off the ground. Chams feel safest when they are able to look down upon their world.
• Location - Southwestern Ontario in Canada!

Current Problem - No specific concerns but any advice or anything that you think I should change I would appreciate! I want Penelope to have the best life she can so all critiques and advice is welcome!
Did you know that Penelope will lay eggs regardless of being mated or not? It’s easiest to keep a lay bin as a permanent part of her enclosure to avoid guessing when she’ll need it. She’s at the age...first she’ll become receptive. She’ll show all of her pretty colors and patterns and be very restless for about a week or two. Within a couple to a few weeks she’ll start getting plump and at any time after that, she’ll lay her eggs. Since it shortens the ladies lives, it’s suggested to try and reduce the frequency and number of eggs by diet and lower basking temps. By the time she starts looking prettied up, you’ll want to have her eating 3 feeders every other day. After my ladies first clutches, I switched them to 3 feeders 3 days a week. It is a process. This is a good read. http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/2007/12/keeping-female-veiled.html

 

[PenTheCham]

Putting my feedback in red.

• Your Chameleon - Veiled, female, about 6 months and I’ve had her for 4 days! (super new i know!)
• Handling - Currently not much as I wanted to give her some time to adjust to her new environment but today I pulled her out so that I could remove her substrate (thank you forums!) and she was crawling all over me!
• Feeding - Currently crickets but am looking into purchasing other feeders to give her some variety! Yes! Roaches are great if they are legal where you are. Attaching the feeder sheet. Based on what I’ve read I’m feeding her 10 a day but was wondering when to start feeding her less? At what age? Now sounds like a good time to start cutting her back slowly. She is fed about 15 minutes after her lights go on in the morning. I’m gut-loading carrots today and have been trying my best to follow the guide I found on here! Yes...add much more. Attaching the gut loading sheet too.
• Supplements - Currently none as the owners of the store never mentioned I needed to do this but I’ve been looking into the reptivite w/d3 and then one without d3 as I read that those were the 2 you for sure need to be feeding but any brand recommendations and advice is appreciated! I’ll take all the advice I can get! You’ll need to use a phosphorus free calcium without D3 at every feeding except one every two weeks. The Reptivite with D3 is to be used on those every other week feedings. Rep cal is a pretty good calcium to use. The green label is without D3.
• Watering - Currently I’m hand misting as I’m home most of the day. I mist 3-4 times a day (some days it’s only 2) and I mist for about 30 seconds each time. You could increase the time to about 2 minutes 2-3 times daily. If you’re misting once in the AM and once in the PM, you could use a dripper for about 15-20 minutes mid day if you wanted, instead of a 3rd misting. I’ve seen her drink a few times but honestly I haven’t really been focused too much on it but I will definitely be watching closer now. Many chams are very secretive about drinking, so no worries.
• Fecal Description - I cleaned her enclosure today and forgot to look ugh! Will update as soon as I know. She has not been tested. I’m a believer in taking all animals to the vet for wellness checks and having decals done.
• History - None that I am aware of.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Glass Exo Terra (I know I’m looking into changing it so any recommendations would be awesome!) I don’t know the for sure size but I believe it is 10 gallons, it is a bit small which is also why I’m looking for a new one. Way too small! You want at least a 2x2x4’ enclosure or equivalent. Glass is a bit expensive in the largest sizes, so I use screen. Depending on your budget, there’s Dragon Strand enclosures which I hear are incredible.
• Lighting - I believe that it is the zoo med hood range! I am using a UVB light and then my other one that came with the range. Lights on at 6am and out at 6pm Is your uvb a T5 or T8? T5 is the recommended with either a 5.0 or Arcadia brand 6% uvb bulb. If you have a T8, I believe you’d need to be using a 10.0 (or 12%) uvb.
• Temperature - I’m kind of realizing I’m unprepared, but I have a handheld temp gun being delivered tomorrow in order to make sure my temps are in check. Currently I haven’t had any issues so far but if I find it’s getting super hot in there I turn off my heat for a few to cook it down a bit. The temp guns are great, but they can only read surface temps...not air temps. For that you’ll need a probe thermometer. Digital is more accurate. Ideal basking temps shouldn’t be any higher than 80-82*. At night, a temp drop is desired.
• Humidity - Again a bit unprepared ugh, I’ve seen differing opinions on the hygrometers that stick in the enclosure, what are some good options? Ideal humidity during the day is between 30-50%. Again, use digital. I have a few different kinds and have no idea what brands they are.
• Plants - Live plants! They are tropical plants but I’m not sure what kind, the reptile store had no labels on them and never told me but I am also looking into getting some Pothos! I’m going to make you do some work and figure out what your plants are. You could always post pics of them and hopefully one of us can ID them. As veileds will nibble their plants, they need to be safe. Some of the tropical and other plants have high light needs and you may need to invest in a grow light. I use this one and it so far has been keeping my hibiscus alive. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07TKKG8Q3/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Pothos and philodendron will do just fine without any special lighting and are a favorite for chams. Here’s the safe plant list. https://chameleonacademy.com/plants/
• Placement - In my bedroom! It is not near any vents, there is a fan in here but it is not blowing on or near the enclosure. The enclosure is on top of a cube shelf and is a i it 4 feet off the ground. Chams feel safest when they are able to look down upon their world.
• Location - Southwestern Ontario in Canada!

Current Problem - No specific concerns but any advice or anything that you think I should change I would appreciate! I want Penelope to have the best life she can so all critiques and advice is welcome!
Did you know that Penelope will lay eggs regardless of being mated or not? It’s easiest to keep a lay bin as a permanent part of her enclosure to avoid guessing when she’ll need it. She’s at the age...first she’ll become receptive. She’ll show all of her pretty colors and patterns and be very restless for about a week or two. Within a couple to a few weeks she’ll start getting plump and at any time after that, she’ll lay her eggs. Since it shortens the ladies lives, it’s suggested to try and reduce the frequency and number of eggs by diet and lower basking temps. By the time she starts looking prettied up, you’ll want to have her eating 3 feeders every other day. After my ladies first clutches, I switched them to 3 feeders 3 days a week. It is a process. This is a good read. http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/2007/12/keeping-female-veiled.html
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Thank you so much! You’ve definitely helped a lot! My main goal right now is searching for a larger enclosure and getting a lay bin for her. I’m going to head out and get a thermometer and hygrometer for inside the enclosure for temps and humidity. I’ll post some photos of the plants tomorrow when she’s awake and hopefully someone can help identify them!