I am getting a Veiled Cham and want to know everything I need for it to be healthy!

[LeahMcL]

The other day I was looking around in a store in my local mall and saw a little baby chameleon. My dad said that when the my fish died that my landlord gave me he would buy me any small(er) pet I wanted. The little chameleon I saw was a baby veiled. He said that next monthhe would buy me one after my mom and I talked about ti since this month is Christmas. I would like to know what I need for a baby veiled that is only a couple weeks old. I asked a professional about a cage and they said to get a Small Reptibreeze for the baby and upgrade from there so I bought one yesterday because I want to show my dad that I want to spend my money on a pet instead of wasting it on movies and stuff. The small is so the chameleon doesnt ge tlost, so it can find its food, and if it accidently falls off a branch it wont be too far down. What else do I need so my chameleon is healthy and happy. I also heard that you arent supposed to hold them very oftem but is there a way to get them used to it so they dont get stressed out? If not then I will leave it alone but I have been trying to do as much research as possible. Thanks and Happy Holidays!

 

[lauriexcurtis]

The other day I was looking around in a store in my local mall and saw a little baby chameleon. My dad said that when the my fish died that my landlord gave me he would buy me any small(er) pet I wanted. The little chameleon I saw was a baby veiled. He said that next monthhe would buy me one after my mom and I talked about ti since this month is Christmas. I would like to know what I need for a baby veiled that is only a couple weeks old. I asked a professional about a cage and they said to get a Small Reptibreeze for the baby and upgrade from there so I bought one yesterday because I want to show my dad that I want to spend my money on a pet instead of wasting it on movies and stuff. The small is so the chameleon doesnt ge tlost, so it can find its food, and if it accidently falls off a branch it wont be too far down. What else do I need so my chameleon is healthy and happy. I also heard that you arent supposed to hold them very oftem but is there a way to get them used to it so they dont get stressed out? If not then I will leave it alone but I have been trying to do as much research as possible. Thanks and Happy Holidays!

I think it's great that you want a baby veiled and want it to have the best possible experience . I have a veiled male who is about six months old so I must be doing something right. I also keep him in the extra large ReptiBreeze screened cage.

I'm probably not one to be able to tell you everything, but about the holding your chameleon thing, I actually hold mine almost everyday. The very first day I got him he kind of hissed at me, but he hasn't hissed since. I think it'd be a great idea to at least try to see if your little guy is friendly while he's still young. The young ones are supposed to be much much less aggressive, and only if you see him trying to escape or biting you or if he turns black is when you should know that you can't play with him anymore.

Hope this helped you a little.

 

[Ace]

Welcome!

Hi there,

well im glad you are trying to learn about veiled chameleons, nd here is a great place ot get IMPORTANT info so that your new pet will live happy and healthy....

so a vieled cham you say.....hmmm, at a pet store....well becareful cuz most pertstores dont care of chameleons that well, and you mite b getting a sick cham out of nowhere....pictures of the cham would help if he is ok.....and let
to let you know that male veileds have a spur on the back of their feet t show its a boy (bump on the back of feet).....if there is not bump then its a girl cham...and female veileds lay infertile eggs (can lay eggs without mating a male cham)....they will be infertile (they will not hatch, empty eggs so to speak)...


ok....glad you got the reptibreeze for the cham

you need proper lighting a heat bulb about 40-60 watts regular hardware bulb for heat, put it otop f the cage at a corner for the cham to have a basking spot.....not in the middle.....(basking temps should b 78-85 degreed MAX) dont let it get too hot, or else your cham will burn....get a digital thermometer to find out the temperature around the cage...everywhere else should b in the 70-75 degrees range

you need a LINEAR UVB tube (Repti-Sun, or Repti-glo 5.0) not the coil bulbs, helps with keeping him healthy by not getting MBD (metabolic bone disease) and such...

so both lights one basking and one uvb are on top of the cage, leave both on for about 12 hours on and 12 hours off...turn off the lights at night...they sleep at night....

you need to give water by a dripper and misting the cage and your cham...they do NOT drink from a bowl, they lick of the waterdrops from leaves, so get live plants too (safe plants are ficus, hibiscus, and pothos plants), so mist 3-5 times a day for about 5 minutes each or more....

they eat bugs,when you get the bugs gutload the bugs (feed the bugs healthy friuts and vegeatbles except tomatoe , spinache, and broccolli)... get small crickets like 3/8 inch or 1/4 inch crix size, and maybe some flies you can order online....also silkworms, superworms when older, hornworms, butterworms, dubia roaches, etc not recommended to get bugs outside that mite have pesticide on them and can kill your cham......


do not get any substrate or put stuff on the floor on the bottom of the cage, leave it empty or add paper towels to soak up water when you have the dripper and misting...

and you need supplements

i use (example)

rep-cal without D3 (most feedings)

repcal with D3 (2-3 times a month)

herptivite (2-3 times a month)


feed your little guy about 8-12 little crix during the day, that are no bigger than the length between his eyes (general way of knowing what size bugs to fee your cham)


i hope this helps, i know i mite of missed some stuff.....

But dont hesitate to ASK questions

thats what we are here for and research on the forums too


goodluck

Ace

 

[kinyonga]

Hope this will help...
Exposure to UVB from either direct sunlight or a proper UVB light allows the chameleon to produce D3 so that it can use the calcium in its system to make/keep the bones strong and be used in other systems in the chameleon as well. The UVB should not pass through glass or plastic no matter whether its from the sun or the UVB light. The most often recommended UVB light is the long linear fluorescent Repti-sun 5.0 tube light. Some of the compacts, spirals and tube lights have caused health issues, but so far there have been no bad reports against this one.

Since many of the feeder insects have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorus in them, its important to dust the insects before you feed them to the chameleon with a phos.-free calcium powder to help make up for it.

If you dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder it will ensure that your chameleon gets some D3 without overdoing it. It leaves the chameleon to produce the rest of what it needs through its exposure to the UVB light. (Some UVB lights have been known to cause health issues, so the most often recommended one is the long linear fluorescent Repti-sun 5.0 tube light.) D3 from supplements can build up in the system but D3 produced from exposure to UVB shouldn't as long as the chameleon can move in and out of it.

Dusting twice a month with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A will ensure that the chameleon gets some vitamins without the danger of overdosing the vitamin A. PrEformed sources of vitamin A can build up in the system and may prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the chameleon towards MBD. However, there is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert the beta carotene and so some people give some prEformed vitamin A once in a while.

Gutloading/feeding the insects well helps to provide what the chameleon needs....so its important too. I gutload crickets, roaches, locusts, superworms, etc. with an assortment of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.)

Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are important players in bone health and other systems in the chameleon (muscles, etc.) and they need to be in balance. When trying to balance them, you need to look at the supplements, what you feed the insects and what you feed the chameleon.

Here are some good sites for you to read...
http://chameleonnews.com/07FebWheelock.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200605020...Vitamin.A.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200604210...d.Calcium.html
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/
http://web.archive.org/web/200601140...ww.adcham.com/

 

[Julirs]

The other day I was looking around in a store in my local mall and saw a little baby chameleon. My dad said that when the my fish died that my landlord gave me he would buy me any small(er) pet I wanted. The little chameleon I saw was a baby veiled.

Please understand that the baby Veiled you saw will be about 17" long when full grown and will need a cage that is 2 feet long and wide by 4 feet high when full grown. These cages take up a considerable amount of space. He also may grow up to be territorial and aggressive and not handleable-most are this way. As for future expenses, you will need to change out your UVB tube light $15-$25 every 6 months. You will need to buy live feeders constantly, and a Vet visit is usually over $100. The other thing to understand about these animals is they take multi-daily care unless you invest $ 100 in a decent misting machine as they need to be misted at least twice daily. If you are prepared for all of this, then by all means they are a wonderful animal. However, if you are looking for something to pet an hold that will not require such intensive care, get a hamster.

 

[jannb]

Welcome to the forums. You have received allot of good info already. I'm adding my blog to the list and I have links to pictures of what you'll need and where you can order from. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html

 

[warpdrive]

Since you got a lot of great advice I'll just add my two cents...

What do you need for a baby chameleon? A rich dad!!!
Mine are eating me out of house and home. Hmmm, butterworms are starting to look yummy to me.

Harry

 

[Carlton]

I would like to know what I need for a baby veiled that is only a couple weeks old.

I also heard that you arent supposed to hold them very oftem but is there a way to get them used to it so they dont get stressed out?

A tiny baby like this is going to be pretty tricky for a newbie. Most good breeders won't sell their babies until they are a few months old. Very tiny hatchlings often die for no apparent reason...some clutch members just aren't meant to survive. By the time they are older this mortality is past.

Every cham is an individual and handling won't necessarily mean you end up with a friendly one. Occasional handling during cage cleaning or to take it to a favorite sunny window is OK. At least you should teach the cham that you are not a threat and a source of good things. You can teach a cham to trust and tolerate some handling by hand feeding it favorite treats, moving slowly when you work in the cage, making sure the cage has some places to hide from view and is out of the busy areas of your house, and coaxing it to climb on to you rather than picking it up by the body.

 

[LeahMcL]

Thanks everyone for your help. I do realize that this will be a big responsibilty and I will take great care of it and even better than great. I want something that will take lots of care because I am always looking for something to do. The cages should be no problem for me but I was wondering also if its okay to make one when they are adult size? My dad and I are very good at making stuff and I tihnk we could make an awesome chameleon habitat!

 

[Ace]

Thanks everyone for your help. I do realize that this will be a big responsibilty and I will take great care of it and even better than great. I want something that will take lots of care because I am always looking for something to do. The cages should be no problem for me but I was wondering also if its okay to make one when they are adult size? My dad and I are very good at making stuff and I tihnk we could make an awesome chameleon habitat!

Go for it!!!!

many people n here make custom chameleon cages ...check the "enclosures" section on the forums