iam new

[skinind1522]

hey everybody iam new to this whole thing i had always wanted a chameleon and i finally got one i bought a veiled cham at pets mart yesterday his cage is all set up and all he is eating i do know that but my biggest concern is if he is drinking. and how long should i keep his basking lamp on. i keep checking him like a parent would a new born child he stays mostly brown but he turns green and the colors of his backround when he moves. so am i being over protective by watching him to much. if you could help me out it would be apperciated thanx.

 

[mika]

I didn't know Petsmart sells chams. There's 2 stores here near each other where I live

I gotta check that out and see how well they have them setup here.

Pictures of your setup would do wonders.

I would also fill this out:

Cage Info:
Cage Type - What kind of cage are you using? What is the size?
Lighting - What kind of lighting are you using? How long do you keep the lights on during the day?
Temperature - What temperature range have you created? Basking spot temp? What is the temperature at night?
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels?
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
Location - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas?

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon.
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What kind of schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Supplements - What are you dusting your feeders with and what kind of schedule do you use?
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? Do you see your chameleon drinking?

 

[Kat77]

Chameleons during the warm months should probably have 12 hours of light and twelve hours of dark, with the night time period being cooler, meaning his basking lamp should be off. He should also be in a TALL screen enclosure, hopefully you have one, but since you got him at PetSmart, I wouldn't guess they gave you the best advice.

He needs to be misted at least twice a day, warm water, with a plant mister. This will help keep him hydrated and also help keep the humidity up in his enclosure. If you have a dripper (ZooMed Little dripper works great) that will help ensure his hydration as well, in addition to the misting.

Also, you may want to invest in a one of these bulbs: http://cgi.ebay.com/Reptisun-5-0-UV...oryZ1285QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
and a hood that will fit it. You can find both the bulb and the hood at most pet stores or reptile supply stores. It is essential that he gets enough UV exposure and this light will help, although having him bask in natural sunlight is the best way to do that.

Sorry if I went overboard, I just want to help.

 

[Kat77]

They do sometimes sell Chameleons, although they house them horribly. The PetSmart in my area stopped carrying them after I complained to management about the conditions they were being kept in.

I didn't know Petsmart sells chams. There's 2 stores here near each other where I live

I gotta check that out and see how well they have them setup here.

Pictures of your setup would do wonders.

I would also fill this out:

Cage Info:
Cage Type - What kind of cage are you using? What is the size?
Lighting - What kind of lighting are you using? How long do you keep the lights on during the day?
Temperature - What temperature range have you created? Basking spot temp? What is the temperature at night?
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels?
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
Location - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas?

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon.
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What kind of schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Supplements - What are you dusting your feeders with and what kind of schedule do you use?
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? Do you see your chameleon drinking?

 

[mika]

Oh really?? Yeah I know for a fact they don't even house iggies right.

I'm on my way to the petsmart here since I gotta drop something off at my mom's.

I gotta check this out.

 

[mika]

The PetSmart in my area stopped carrying them after I complained to management about the conditions they were being kept in.

I think you what you did was really awesome

 

[Kat77]

I'm glad I did it too. They had a big GORGEOUS male veiled in a little ten gallon glass terrarium with NO trees to climb on and two male jacksons in the same tiny ten gallon two cages over.

 

[jannb]

Hello! and Welcome. When I joined the Forums this helped me so much. If you read it I'm sure you will agree.

http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/

 

[skinind1522]

i will give you what they told me to get and your right they seemed to no absolutly nothing

Cage- EXO TERRA 18x18x24 inch
lights-they are also exo terra repti glo 5.0uvb basking lamp is 50w tight beam i leave the uvb light on all day and i turn the basking lamb on for a few hours but i started a 12 on 12 off rotation.
cage temp- 75-80 basking lamp temp-98 night temp is from 70-75
humidity is 55-60
fake plants
its by a air vent and the window its up high on a book shelf and not high traffic areas


its a boy veiled chameleon i dont know how old he his. he is about 3 inches from nose to vent

we are feeding him crickets 3 in the morning and 3 at night i have not dusted them or anything because i dont know what kinda of stuff to get

i water useing a spray bottle and i mist everything and i get a good amount on the plants but i dont ever see him drink when he see's us he freezes .

i hope this helps i will try and get some pics as soon as possible

 

[skinind1522]

i think i attached these but not sure

 

[Kat77]

He will probably eventually want some more coverage than what you have provided but it looks really nice! Also, an all screen enclosure is really better for chameleons (ventilation is ESSENTIAL to their health), but you can get a large one when he gets bigger.

 

[krug1313]

I would take that dirt out of the bottom. You really should get a different cage asap. There is not enough air flow in those. I am guilty for it too. Just got one the other day thinking it would be fine for a bit but no. I have to go exchange it for a flexarium because I need a small enclosure until he is big enough to catch his food better.

 

[krug1313]

oops. I was posting while Kat was..lol.

 

[viaje]

mika, the standard petsmart chameleon habitat is very small with vines and a still water dish at the bottom. (I work at one) at my store, I've been trying to at least get a small drip system worked into the cage for their water, but corporate won't allow anything more elaborate than this. The average employee is very upset about the way they're housed, I hope you understand that we're not the ones who do this, the only people who have control over are businessmen who probably don't know what a chameleon is.

 

[Kat77]

Oh, yeah, I didn't see the dirt, I was looking at the branches. That needs to go. Definitely NO substrate is better. I honestly think that glass is ok for a short time. But I also mistakenly thought the doors were screen and now see they're aren't. We're not trying to rag on you, really! It's just that airflow and ventilation are really important. You NEED a different cage. If you want a quick fix that wont put you out much money, check out these:
http://www.bigappleherp.com/Reptarium-Cages

I have one as my enclosure right now, and although I probably will get a higher quality screen cage later on, this one works great right now. I have a 38 gallon and it's nice and big for my baby Ambilobe.

 

[Kat77]

mika, the standard petsmart chameleon habitat is very small with vines and a still water dish at the bottom. (I work at one) at my store, I've been trying to at least get a small drip system worked into the cage for their water, but corporate won't allow anything more elaborate than this. The average employee is very upset about the way they're housed, I hope you understand that we're not the ones who do this, the only people who have control over are businessmen who probably don't know what a chameleon is.

Hey, we're both from MN! You're the first MN person I've seen on here. If you read the posts above, you'll see my dilemma with Petsmart and what happened. The one I referred to was in Bloomington.

 

[mika]

i will give you what they told me to get and your right they seemed to no absolutly nothing

Cage- EXO TERRA 18x18x24 inch

Screen is better. Better ventilation. Less problems. Glass is stressful to chams, when they see their reflection, they'll think it's another cham.

I agree with no substrate, it's harder to clean and crickets will eat anything (including the chams poop..ewww) and they'll end up bringing it to the cham.

lights-they are also exo terra repti glo 5.0 uvb basking lamp is 50w tight beam i leave the uvb light on all day and i turn the basking lamb on for a few hours but i started a 12 on 12 off rotation.

You need a reptisun 5.0 fluorescent tube (long one, not the coil). Is that what you have besides the basking lamp?

For a basking bulb, you can use any household bulb or whatever you're using right now.

age temp- 75-80 basking lamp temp-98 night temp is from 70-75

For a baby that size, basking spot temp should be 80F, ambient temp around 70F.

Nightime temps can drop 10 degrees lower, this allows the cham deeper sleep.

humidity is 55-60

Pretty good humidity, I assume it's high because you're using a glass enclosure. Veileds can go with 40-70%.

fake plants
its by a air vent and the window its up high on a book shelf and not high traffic areas

I personally use live plants because I have a screen cage. It helps keep the humidity up.

its a boy veiled chameleon i dont know how old he his. he is about 3 inches from nose to vent

He's probably 2-3 months. Someone correct me pls?

we are feeding him crickets 3 in the morning and 3 at night i have not dusted them or anything because i dont know what kinda of stuff to get

I fed mine as much as he could eat until he was 6 months old. You need variety in their diet like silkworms, roaches, crickets, hornworms etc.

I also cup feed, some of the crickets jump out of the cup & he end up chasing them.

You need to gutload the crickets with veggies, fruits, orange slices etc.

I use Repcal Calcium (No phosphorus) with D3 and without D3. So that's the green one and the pink one. Minerall-O since my chams get unfiltered sunshine in the afternoon. Herptivite and Vit A gelcaps.

i water useing a spray bottle and i mist everything and i get a good amount on the plants but i dont ever see him drink when he see's us he freezes .

Some people never see their chams drink some do. I see my chams drink, from the dripper and when I'm misting them.

You might want to get a dripper or make one.

And I would usually have to get hot tap water in order for it to come out warm when I mist my cham.

Just make sure you check when you're spraying so you know how far you need to spray in order for it to land on the cham with the correct temp.

They don't like cold water.

Instead of a spray bottle, you might want to get one of those hand pressure sprayers. It's easier to use (just pump & spray) and they're like 12 bucks or less I think.

My cham gets dehydrated if I only spray him once a day with 48 oz of water and a dripper running till 8pm so now I have to spray him 2x a day.

But my female cham does fine with misting once daily & dripper running. I've actually seen her drink from the dripper.

i hope this helps i will try and get some pics as soon as possible

Welcome to the world of chameleoning! and someone please correct me if I'm wrong. I'm kinda sleepy.

This must be the longest reply I have ever written.

P.S.

Check out these other sites:

http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/
http://chameleonnews.com/

 

[mika]

If you just bought the exo terra, I'm pretty sure you can return it and get your money back.

Then you can get the proper enclosure.

Did you say your basking temp was 98F?

 

[kinyonga]

Welcome to the forum!

Appropriate basking temperatures help with digestion...thus play a part in nutrient absorption. An incandescent household bulb can be used for a basking light.

Exposure to UVB from either tube UVB light or direct sunlight (neither of which should pass through glass or plastic) allows the chameleon to produce D3 which allows it to use the calcium in its diet.

Since most insects used as feeders have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorous dusting the insects with a phos.-free calcium powder at most feedings before they are fed to the chameleon helps to make up for this.

I dust with a vitamin powder twice a month that contains a beta carotene source of vitamin A. Beta carotene sources of vitamin A won't build up in the system. There is controversy over whether all chameleons can convert beta carotene to vitamin A though...so some people give a little preformed vitamin A once in a while. Excess preformed can prevent the D3 from doing its job and lead to MBD...so be very careful with the preformed.

If your chameleon only gets light from the UVB lights, then it won't hurt to dust lightly twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder. D3 from supplements can build up in the system....so, again, be careful with it.

Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are the main players in good bone health and its important that they are in balance. Look at the supplements you use, what is fed to the insects and what is fed to the chameleon when trying to attain a balance.

Here are some sites that give good information...
http://www.adcham.com/
http://www.chameleonnews.com/
http://web.archive.org/web/20060502...rnals.com/vet/index.php?show=5.Vitamin.A.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20060421.../index.php?show=6.Vitamin.D3.and.Calcium.html
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/index.htm
https://www.chameleonforums.com/supplementation-mbd-1-a-2451/
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/

 

[Kat77]

I think we're scaring him away . We're sometimes very zealous chameleon keepers!