I'm a new Chameleon Mom :)

[longlostlotrelf]

Hey guys,
I'm new here, and have been reading up on a few posts over the past few days.
I've wanted a chameleon for a about a year now, I've been pet sitting a gorgeous panther named Cezanne and he sparked my absolute love for chameleons.

I got myself a cage last week and got it all set up. There is Eco-Earth in the bottom at the moment. I know I should change it to cage carpet now but I'm going to wait just a tiny bit so I don't mess with the new little guy I have in there.

I went to the Northern Berks Expo (Hamburg) and found a Senegal Chameleon.
Perfect size for my cage and low priced. Unfortunately he is wild caught.
I was happy to see that within the first few minutes he started drinking, he went right to his dripper as well and started drinking from that. (Though I haven't seen him do it since) He loves crickets, he gets a little excited when he sees them climb up the screen and goes to get them.

I have seen him eating today but I have not witnessed him drinking. Though I have been away for several hours. Is it normal for him to not drink a lot?
Are there any signs that I should watch for as far as dehydration?


I am posting a few pictures of my set up, any thoughts would be great

 

[longlostlotrelf]

 

[Lizardlover]

You seem to be doing everything right, just make sure you are also misting him a lot. Senegals need lots of water. If you see his urate (the part at the end of the poop; normally white) is orange then it is a sign of dehydration, as well as sunken eyes. When you can I would probably add in a few live plants like schefflera or ficus. Otherwise you seem to know what your doing

 

[longlostlotrelf]

As of right now he has a Bonsai Tree, and two fake Ficus until I can get my hands on the real stuff...then the ficus in his tank is being donated to my red eyed tree frog lol

I'm glad I'm doing something right...haha he has been handled a little but he has still eaten afterwards. He seems to enjoy perching on my finger if I stick my hand in the cage he comes right to me and tries to grab on. I heard this isn't normal behavior though O-o

 

[laurie]

Welcome to the forum. so you have your first chameleon? I almost remember that far back, when i thought I would only have one. Those days are gone for me, you may find it hard to hold it down to just one of the little charmers.
Nice looking little one you have, I would remove the substrate if he were mine. It is too easy for them to get the substrate when they are shooting for crickets. You don't want him to have an impaction.

 

[Ricardo]

Good looking Senegal you have! Grats! Ohh and welcome to the forums!

 

[Trace]

For future reference it looks like you have a female so do a little reading about egg laying. There are plenty blogs and threads on here about proper egg laying bins and husbandry (before and after eggs) for the girls. That said, I haven't found the Senegal's to cycle eggs consistently or regularly like Veileds and Panthers do.

For a WC chameleon she looks really good. They do like to drink so offer plenty of water on a daily basis particularly initially as they do come in somewhat dehydrated. They aren't fussy eaters and most bugs are accepted. I have not found them to overeat but do use limits for the girls as you don't want them to get overweight. You may want to consider getting a fecal done in a few weeks to see what's going on inside. She does have a few bruises and scratch marks but those will go away with each shed.

Here is a good article on the Senegals: http://chameleonnews.com/08FebFrancis.html

They are a beautiful, calm and underrated species. Have fun with her.

 

[warpdrive]

I don't like her dripper spot as it needs to drip on the plants. also, get some live plants soon as it is better overall for them. the silk plants don't hold water well enough. plastic is better...live is the best.

her feeding cup needs to be higher off the flore. look at old posts for ideas. hang it just under a vine or branch. add more vines and branches...yes the stuff you find outside after it rains.

do as Laurie says about removing the substraite or she will pay you a visit and slap you silly.

good luck and keep us posted. PM me if you need help with anything.

Harry

 

[carol5208]

One added thing, It is hard to tell from the first pic, but to me it looks as if your basking branch is close to the basking light. You cham could get a burn if his body touches the screen or it may just be too hot because it is so close. It should be down about about a good 6- 8 inches or so..

 

[carol5208]

oh and.... Welcome to the Forums!!!!

 

[Gensen]

I agree...

Welcome to the forum. so you have your first chameleon? I almost remember that far back, when i thought I would only have one. Those days are gone for me, you may find it hard to hold it down to just one of the little charmers.
Nice looking little one you have, I would remove the substrate if he were mine. It is too easy for them to get the substrate when they are shooting for crickets. You don't want him to have an impaction.

Best to leave the cage bottom completely bare, no subtrate... they can accidentally ingest it and cause an impaction as Laurie mentioned... plus it can be a breeding ground for bacteria. Good luck with your Cham!

 

[longlostlotrelf]

?

Would I be able to put some cage carpet down? The person before me drilled holes in the bottom of the cage, that would make it easy for crickets to get out and it would all drain out of the cage and soak everything.

 

[carol5208]

I would use linoleum or something. you want something that is smooth and easy to clean and will not hold bacteria like a carpet would especially when everything is getting wet all the time. My cage is completely bare on the bottom and I just take a cloth a wipe it down. Easy clean up!

 

[dreamforthedead]

Going by the look of the canopy is that a compact UVB light your using? Welcome to the forum.

 

[Stanly]

Would I be able to put some cage carpet down? The person before me drilled holes in the bottom of the cage, that would make it easy for crickets to get out and it would all drain out of the cage and soak everything.

Maybe glue some screen/mesh over the holes and put a drop pan under it (a washer machine drip pan would work well if your cage would fit) this is what I'm thinking of doing to mine.

 

[longlostlotrelf]

Going by the look of the canopy is that a compact UVB light your using? Welcome to the forum.

It's a spiral UVB bulb that sits sideways in the fixture.

 

[lisa h]

It's a spiral UVB bulb that sits sideways in the fixture.

It's best if you get rid of the spiral bulb and get a linear one instead. The spirals can cause eye problems/blindness, although some say the newer ones don't. I tend to err on the side of caution. If you're intent on keeping the substrate, please get rid of the moss stuff. That stuff can caught in their mouths, and if you're not there to pull it out you may end up with a dead chameleon. Happened to one of my pygmies, but luckily I was standing right there when it happened. I scooped out all the moss right then,

 

[longlostlotrelf]

Meep

I just spent a ton on the light and the fixture and couldn't find any other fixture that would fit on top of her cage....the smallest UVB 5.0 bulbs I can find are 18 inches and that overshoots the top of the cage by quite a bit.

Actually now that I look at it...it's not in a spiral shape. Can someone tell me if this light is okay?

 

[longlostlotrelf]

moss?

I read a bunch of threads on here about humidity and they recommended moss... I only have a tiny bit surrounding the bonsai tree I have in there just to absorb some water since they don't need constant watering.

 

[carol5208]

The best light is the Reptisun 5.0 tube(not coil) that the majority of us use. There have been people in the past who's chams have had eye issues using the compact. Others have had no problems. Alls you can do is try it and if your chameleon starts closing his eyes(during the day), or rubbing them on branches, vines, etc they you know you have a problem.