I’m no good with ages, but I do have a suggestion. If you are looking for advice with set up, I would recommend a husbandry review. You just copy paste and fill out this form with as much info as possible and one of the more experienced keepers here will review it and give you feed back. This was the most hopeful thing to me when I first started with my guy a year ago. Everyone here is super helpful, friendly and non judge mental. Which I’ve found hard to come by in other forums.
I’m going to reserve the majority of advice for more experienced keepers to give you. Does your sweet girl have a name?
You might mist longer, I mist 30 minutes after lights are off for 5 minutes and 30 minutes before lights are on for five minutes. You can also put a plastic shower curtan around the sides and see if that helps.
Thanks so much for the feedback here are the answers to some of the questions you were asking: the crickets are 1/2 inch. I have the little dripper I forgot to mention but she dose not seem interested. I got her at a local pet store. I use the zoo med basking spot lamp. also not sure if you have any info on egg laying. I am pretty nervous for when she will lay infertile eggs do you have any idea of the age she would start laying her eggs?see my replies in bold.
Here is this if anyone wants it
Chameleon Info:
- Your Chameleon - veiled, female, not sure of age . Had her for one week. Around three months is my guess on age. @Beman might know more about that.
- Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? I had to once because we had to adjust a plant in her cage. No hissing or any biting just walked up my arm. Have not handled since. Good. I wouldn't handle for a few more days, so she can adjust.
- Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? I feed her crickets and I have black soldier fly larvae coming in. I gut load with carrots looking to do more if anyone has advice. I feed her about 8-10 every morning What size are the crickets? I'll add a sheet of gut-loading and more options for food.
- Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with, and what is the schedule? I am using calcium without d3 every feeding and the reptivite with d3 multi every two weeks Great! Twice a month with the Repti-Vite should be good.
- Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long do you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? I must for 1:30 min in the morning and for 1:30 min about 30 min after her lights turn off I see her drinking sometimes You can add some ice cubes to the top of her enclosure, they will melt, and the water will drop into her enclosure. You can also make a dripper out of a jug. Poke a hole in it and it will drip into her enclosure for a nice drink.
- Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? She has a half orange white thingy but she was super dehydrated when I first got her so I am sure that’s why. The rest of her poop is a normal brown color and looks a little wet but not watery. Sounds like she's a little dehydrated. you want a small amount of orange is normal, but too much is dehydration. Like I mentioned above a dripper should help.
- History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. Not really that I can think of Where did you get her? A breeder, pet store?
Cage Info:
Here are some amazing websites and YouTube channels on chameleons.
- Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? It’s a medium screen enclosure. Looking to get an XL but it was not available when I got her Try to get a bigger enclosure as soon as you can. 2'x2'x4 is the recommended size.
- Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?her lights are the Arcadia 6% her lights turn on at 9 and off at 9 Awesome!
- Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? Basking spot is 78-82 usually and the lowest spot is 70 overnight lowest is 65 measure temps with a reptile thermometer 82 seems a little high for her. What wattage are you using? What brand is your basking light?
- Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? Humidity during the day is usually 40-50 but has dropped as low as 30 I am wondering if anyone has advice for overnight humidity it’s has been dropping to 30
- Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? I am using a pothos I would add more Veiled safe plants, I will provide a picture of some plants you can use.
- Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high-traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? She is on my dresser in my room which is a very low traffic area in my home Good, the higher they are off the ground, the safer they feel.
- Location - Where are you geographically located? Florida
https://www.youtube.com/@ChameleonAcademy https://chameleonacademy.com/
https://www.youtube.com/@NeptunetheChameleon https://www.neptunethechameleon.com/
And here are some sheets that might be helpful with food.
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her name is Irene my family has an inside joke so her nickname is mrs ma'amyou’re in good hands
Here is some great info on egg laying: How does a chameleon lay eggs? — Neptune the Chameleon
I initally used a zoo med basking bulb. That bulb can get really hot, it is very concentrated heat. I switched to a incandescent 40w appliance bulb which gives less concentrated heat decreasing chances for burns.
When is she falling asleep? During the day when lights are on?
once her light are off. She usually "falls asleep" almost as soon as her lights turn off but if I walk in the room or make any noise her eyes open up and she looks around. I also notice that she is at her basking spot almost all day and only leaves to eat. When she leaves she turns a green color but the whole time she is basking she is that dark color you can see in the pictures.
So this is normal... She does not feel secure because the cage still needs more branches and plants for her to hide in. Once it is set up correctly she should not sleep on the screen at night. They can not hear the way we can but if you are turning on lights in the room when you walk in this is going to wake her up. We want to try to avoid doing this. They really need 12 hours total darkness.
That is a lot more plants and climbing sticks than I have now. I will be sure to add a bunch more so she feels safer. Thanks
