I just got a veiled....

[LuckyFitto]

Hey i just got a veiled chameleon.. i got it the first day the reptile house had them so im guessing its fairly young... its pretty small so i was just wondering if you guys had any suggestions or just basic help you could tell me... thanks..John

 

[curly]

Is there any pics..here is my 6 week old

 

[LuckyFitto]

ya ill go take some pics now....

 

[LuckyFitto]

here are some pics for eveyone to see... just tell me what u think..

 

[scooter4n]

Very nice.
Enjoy because he will grow so fast

 

[kinyonga]

Suggestions:
Read some of the old posts on here. There is lot of great information in them!
Look at these sites:
http://adcham.com/
http://www.chameleonnews.com/

Make sure that your basking temperatures (mid 80's for a young one) are good so that digestion can be good.

Make sure that you gutload your insects with an appropriate and nutritious gutload. I feed my crickets, for example, a wide variety of greens (dandelion greens, collards, kale, endive, ROMAINE lettuce, etc.) and veggies (sweet potato, white potato, squash, carrots, zucchini, celery leaves, etc.).

Supplement the insects properly before feeding them to the chameleon. Insects have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorous, so use a phos.-free calcium at most feedings. I also use a vitamin powder that has a beta carotene source of vitamin A. Beta carotene sources don't build up in the system, but preformed do. There is some controversy over chameleons needing preformed vitamin A so some people dust once in a while with the preformed. Since my chameleons only get UVB light from a tube light (no direct sunlight) I dust with a D3/calcium powder twice a month. D3 can build up in the system too, so caution is advised not to overdo it.

Make sure that you have a good UVB florescent bulb and that its close enough to the chameleon to be of benefit and that the light from it doesn't pass through glass or plastic...and if you can, get your chameleon into direct sunlight.

Make sure that you keep your chameleon well-hydrated. Hand misting, drippers, etc. all help to provide a chameleon with enough water. It is not recommended to use fountains in the cages due to the difficulty in keeping them clean.

I don't recommend using substrate for arboreal chameleons. Its too easy to cause impaction.

If you use real plants (and I do recommend it) then they should be non-toxic and well washed (both sides of the leaves) and the soil well rinsed through and covered to prevent the chameleon from ingesting it.

If you have an egglaying female, then I recommend that you put an appropriate egglaying site in her cage from the time she is about 5 month old. Failure to provide a female with a place to lay her eggs can lead to eggbinding....and death.

Whew! Hope you aren't sorry you asked now!

 

[LuckyFitto]

how do i i tell if mines a male or female... and can u tell by my pictures if its a male or femal?

 

[Dave Weldon]

Howdy,

I saw that your Avatar shows a red glow. If you are using a red heat lamp, you will want to change that out with the appropriate wattage (maybe 50-75W?) low-cost small halogen flood lamp ($4 Home Depot) to create the temperature gradient that you've probably read about by now. White light can have beneficial effects. It's easy to cook a baby so get a digital thermometer with remote probe ($13 Lowe's) at the basking spot. I'll stop there for now. Oh, also in addition to the other sites mentioned, look through www.chameleonsdish.com for lots of help with basic chameleon husbandry.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Luckyfitto,

The store where you bought it should have told you the sex. Anyway, veileds are easy!
The male has a tarsal spur that is absent on the female.
At your chams age it will just be a little lump between sets of toes on his hind feet.
Research this if you are confused, there are lots of pics out there.
I will try to locate one and post it here for you.

-Brad

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Here you go.

-Brad

 

[LuckyFitto]

thanks everyone i will try to get some more pics on here as he/she grows

 

[LiveSquid]

Cool. I got a baby veiled today at the reptile show here in NOLA. He isnt as green as yours is, though.

So I have him in a 10gal tank right now with a fake vine and some pinhead crix. I read that mid 80s is ideal for teh little guys, but what should his humidity level be? And should the mid 80s be the tank temp or the basking spot temp?

Tomorrow or next weekend Im going to get busy building a screen enclosure 4' tall by about 20" wide and deep so it can fit where I want it. As he gets bigger, what size should I look at upgrading him to and how soon?

Sorry to ask so many uestions, but with a baby Im sure he is very delicate and everything needs to be just so.

Thanks guys!

 

[scooter4n]

Keep basking spot at 80-85
humidity around 40-60%
Get UVB light too
Dusk crickets

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Read through all the old threads.
The answers to all of your questions and tons of advice
are already posted here.
Congrtulations and good luck!

-Brad