Kaylaaabrown
Member
Hello!
I recently bought my husband his first veiled chameleon. It will be a week tomorrow and we have been doing a lot of research to make sure we're taking care of him properly. I'm now realizing the pet store set us up for failure and (thankfully) we are researching everything and got rid of the substrate and waterfall the pet store so kindly recommended to us.. Anyhow we were told he was about 5 months but I'm thinking he's pretty young. We live in Colorado and it's been dry and cold so the humidity has been difficult to maintain. He's got a metal mesh cage and we have an automatic misting system we just purchased today. He was in our bedroom but it's a large room and the humidity was too difficult for me to sleep in. (We managed to get it up to 85 with a temp of 81!) We decided he would be happier in a more secluded area and have a large guest bathroom I thought to be perfect. The only issue is that is does not have any windows. He does have his uvb bulb and basking bulb and we keep the bathroom light on when his lights are on (he is on a 12 on 12 off schedule) will he be okay without a window? I don't really have any other rooms where he would be safe from our kids and other animals aside from our bedroom. We are also curious how long he should be getting his misting and in what type of intervals. He eats A LOT! We've been stopping him at 10 small crickets a day and have been mixing in mealworms as well. He's getting calcium dusting and vitamins with his food as well once a week from what I understand is best. He seems to be drinking and overall pretty happy. He's still a little skiddish around us but will eat from our hand. I'm looking forward to being part of this forum and want to make sure we're doing everything correctly! Thanks!!
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Veiled, male not sure of age but I'd guess maybe 4 months. We've had him a week tomorrow.
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Not at all yet, we took him our of his cage today to clean but used a fake vine.
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? He is eating crickets and mealworms. Approximately 10/day of crickets and only 1/2 mealworms as snacks. He gets fed about an hour after his light comes on in the am.Gutloading at first with only potatoes as the pet store said would be fine but we're going to buy kale and sweet potatoes instead. (Recommendations??)
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? I have the calcium and vitamin dust samples that came with the kit I purchased at the pet store (I can get the specific brand name tomorrow)
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? We had a dripper and were hand misting but just purchased an automatic mist system today. To test it we just did 4 minute intervals every 4 hours and shut it off for the night. I have seen him drink but sometimes he seems to run from the water.
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? He has Brown droppings with white at the end. No he has not been tested as far as I know (we bought him at petsmart)
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. The only previous info we received is that he would eat a lot at the pet store.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? I've got a screen enclosure 16x16x30
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? I've got a 5.0 reprisun uvb 13w and 60w daylight blue lamp (came with the kit at the pet store)
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? Basking spot is about 84 mid cage is usually around 78-80 and cage floor doesn't get below 71. His over night temo has dropped to 65 in the beginning but we've kept it above 70. We have a thermometer that came with my kit but I'd like to get two additional with a better accurate reading for the tol and bottom of his cage.
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? Humidity has been a bit all over. It's typically in the 50/60 range. It's dropped as low as 20 the first day we left him at home before the automatic misting system was purchased but now we're usually a steady 50-60. I purchased a humidity gauge. We actually have been using a humidifier in the room to maintain humidity and I wanted to make sure that was okay. The misting system also has been helping.
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? No live plants yet, but I'm going to purchase at least one or two from the local nursery.
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? My cage is in our guest bathroom. There is one fan vent that is in a typical bathroom. Not high traffic, we don't get much company and want a room dedicated just for our Cham. The top of the cage is about 45 inches from the floor.
Location - Where are you geographically located? Western Colorado
Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about. No specific problems, I'm just making sure we are taking all the correct measures to kepp him safe, healthy happy and comfortable.
Thank you all!!
Pictures are helpful
I recently bought my husband his first veiled chameleon. It will be a week tomorrow and we have been doing a lot of research to make sure we're taking care of him properly. I'm now realizing the pet store set us up for failure and (thankfully) we are researching everything and got rid of the substrate and waterfall the pet store so kindly recommended to us.. Anyhow we were told he was about 5 months but I'm thinking he's pretty young. We live in Colorado and it's been dry and cold so the humidity has been difficult to maintain. He's got a metal mesh cage and we have an automatic misting system we just purchased today. He was in our bedroom but it's a large room and the humidity was too difficult for me to sleep in. (We managed to get it up to 85 with a temp of 81!) We decided he would be happier in a more secluded area and have a large guest bathroom I thought to be perfect. The only issue is that is does not have any windows. He does have his uvb bulb and basking bulb and we keep the bathroom light on when his lights are on (he is on a 12 on 12 off schedule) will he be okay without a window? I don't really have any other rooms where he would be safe from our kids and other animals aside from our bedroom. We are also curious how long he should be getting his misting and in what type of intervals. He eats A LOT! We've been stopping him at 10 small crickets a day and have been mixing in mealworms as well. He's getting calcium dusting and vitamins with his food as well once a week from what I understand is best. He seems to be drinking and overall pretty happy. He's still a little skiddish around us but will eat from our hand. I'm looking forward to being part of this forum and want to make sure we're doing everything correctly! Thanks!!
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Veiled, male not sure of age but I'd guess maybe 4 months. We've had him a week tomorrow.
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Not at all yet, we took him our of his cage today to clean but used a fake vine.
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? He is eating crickets and mealworms. Approximately 10/day of crickets and only 1/2 mealworms as snacks. He gets fed about an hour after his light comes on in the am.Gutloading at first with only potatoes as the pet store said would be fine but we're going to buy kale and sweet potatoes instead. (Recommendations??)
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? I have the calcium and vitamin dust samples that came with the kit I purchased at the pet store (I can get the specific brand name tomorrow)
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? We had a dripper and were hand misting but just purchased an automatic mist system today. To test it we just did 4 minute intervals every 4 hours and shut it off for the night. I have seen him drink but sometimes he seems to run from the water.
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? He has Brown droppings with white at the end. No he has not been tested as far as I know (we bought him at petsmart)
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. The only previous info we received is that he would eat a lot at the pet store.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? I've got a screen enclosure 16x16x30
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? I've got a 5.0 reprisun uvb 13w and 60w daylight blue lamp (came with the kit at the pet store)
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? Basking spot is about 84 mid cage is usually around 78-80 and cage floor doesn't get below 71. His over night temo has dropped to 65 in the beginning but we've kept it above 70. We have a thermometer that came with my kit but I'd like to get two additional with a better accurate reading for the tol and bottom of his cage.
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? Humidity has been a bit all over. It's typically in the 50/60 range. It's dropped as low as 20 the first day we left him at home before the automatic misting system was purchased but now we're usually a steady 50-60. I purchased a humidity gauge. We actually have been using a humidifier in the room to maintain humidity and I wanted to make sure that was okay. The misting system also has been helping.
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? No live plants yet, but I'm going to purchase at least one or two from the local nursery.
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? My cage is in our guest bathroom. There is one fan vent that is in a typical bathroom. Not high traffic, we don't get much company and want a room dedicated just for our Cham. The top of the cage is about 45 inches from the floor.
Location - Where are you geographically located? Western Colorado
Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about. No specific problems, I'm just making sure we are taking all the correct measures to kepp him safe, healthy happy and comfortable.
Thank you all!!
Pictures are helpful