Iam a newbie to chams need help please

[Chameleons Lover]

i searched the forum for questions as many said but i found nothing so i posted this thread

should i be gut loading the crickets and if i dont what will happen???

from what i should make my cage's screen???

what cage size to put for chameleon age less than 6 months???

if i dont use artificial rain or fountain only spray misting and hand made dripping system will that be a problem???

pls answer me so i can take a good care of my future veiled chameleon

 

[hallenhe]

You should be gutloading the crickets. The crickets are as nutritious as what they've eaten - no nutritious gutload, and the chameleon is getting little food value. There are commercial gutloads (Nature Zone Cricket Total Bites; Cricket Yummies) which are convenient but not necessarily cost effective; otherwise, people will feed them veggies (they like carrots), bee pollen (nutritious), etc. Forum member sandrachameleon has a very helpful blog; the page I've linked to has a lot of info on good foods for gutloading.

Several of our sponsors sell cages and supplies. This link to Kammerflage gives some ballpark figures for cage sizes (and furnishings) for different size animals.

I've always used a drip system and hand misting; no mist system or artificial rain and certainly no fountain (fountains can be breeding grounds for bacteria if they're not kept scrupulously clean). When the cham defecates, there are two components - the brown fecal matter, and the lighter colored urates. If the urates are white, that's generally a sign that he's well-hydrated; if they're orange, he is not getting as much water as he should. With my chameleons, it's sometimes necessary to mist them steadily for 5-10 minutes before they really catch on and start drinking; once they do, they'll go around for some time afterwards licking water off leaves. Some will drink readily from a drip system, some need encouragement (in the form of misting).

We'll let someone who's made their own cage answer the screen question. Good luck, and thanks for asking all the questions before you get the chameleon!