Is my female veiled chameleon environment correct? I got her 3 days ago

[Mk2MadMitch]

 

[jamest0o0]

To be blunt, not even close.

Bulb should be outside the cage.
Much, much more vines/branches
Get rid of that bark at the bottom
Where's the uvb?
Many more live plants
No water dishes... they hydrate from heavy misting and humid air

Honestly a lot needs changing. I would suggest reading the caresheets here and filling out the how to ask for help form stickied st the top of the health clinic section.

 

[Syreptyon]

In addition to everything James said, the enclosure itself is completely ill-suited for chameleons. It is way too short. Chameleons need HEIGHT way more than width. Take out the substrate, unless its bioactive (which I can tell it isn't). Please look up the care sheets on this forum if you want your chameleon to have a chance at survival.

 

[JacksJill]

https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/enclosures/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/
http://www.chameleonbreeder.com/podcast/episode-001-microclimates-and-gradients/
These should be good to get you started.

 

[Jevin]

Also should try to get a screen cage rather than glass, although that depends on your local environment.

 

[Jevin]

These are examples of what a proper setup is like.

 

[JapSolum]

Also should try to get a screen cage rather than glass, although that depends on your local environment.

I cant tell from the pic of that bottom part is screen. but if that is glass on all four sides you need ventilation. not just coming from the top but at a very minimum one side or some sort of ventilation coming from the bottom to create good air flow

 

[Jevin]

I cant tell from the pic of that bottom part is screen. but if that is glass on all four sides you need ventilation. not just coming from the top but at a very minimum one side or some sort of ventilation coming from the bottom to create good air flow

it's an exoterra cage. It is all glass with a screen top and vents along the bottom of the doors.

 

[JapSolum]

it's an exoterra cage. It is all glass with a screen top and vents along the bottom of the doors.

looked like exoterra but couldn't tell for sure

 

[Mk2MadMitch]

To be blunt, not even close.

Bulb should be outside the cage.
Much, much more vines/branches
Get rid of that bark at the bottom
Where's the uvb?
Many more live plants
No water dishes... they hydrate from heavy misting and humid air

Honestly a lot needs changing. I would suggest reading the caresheets here and filling out the how to ask for help form stickied st the top of the health clinic section.

Okay, thank you for the advice, need to be blunt to express the facts, that's not an issue the bulb is an all in one bulb, so I'll just put that on top of the mesh then? I do want to get a tall, more ventilated environment for her anyway so I'll do that soon, the bark? Should I just get rid of it completely? I mist her for two minutes, 3 times a day, do I need a dripper/waterfall too? I showed that same picture to the guys at the reptile shop and asked if that was fine, they said yeah but I still wasn't sure, it didn't seem right for a chameleon so thank you for letting me know the right way, also, I seen a thing where some chameleons got sick because of live plants? So I wasn't so sure on that. I think I covered everything you mentioned. But yes I'll keep away from the handling part until I've got everything set up correctly. Also I never tried to get her out I literally put a hend in down in front of her and if she hissed which she did the first couple of times I backed off for the day.

 

[Mk2MadMitch]

Ah another thing I was supposed to add! I literally just came in to go to bed and I've looked in the tank and she's sleeping upside down on the roof of the tank on the mesh, is that normal!?!?

 

[Jevin]

Ah another thing I was supposed to add! I literally just came in to go to bed and I've looked in the tank and she's sleeping upside down on the roof of the tank on the mesh, is that normal!?!?

It is normal.

 

[Char333p]

I would get that UVB bulb ASAP, that's one of the most important things. Also look into the vitamins it needs, like the calcium. and NO mealworms.

 

[Mk2MadMitch]

I don't know if you can tell from this picture or not but does she look healthy? Her eyes aren't sunk from what I see of her everyday. Obviously the dark colours appear when I mist the tank or clean it or something but she isn't use to that from me yet.

 

[JapSolum]

a better pic, more in the open with better light, would be helpful. from what I can see there's no sunken in eyes, and bones look nice and straight. from the position in the pic it looks like she's on the move which is a good sign. but chams usually dont show visible signs of being sick unless they are pretty late into it. so I would make those changes asap (especially a change to watering and a linear uvb bulb that can cover the length of the cage) or she may not stay that way for long.

 

[Mk2MadMitch]

a better pic, more in the open with better light, would be helpful. from what I can see there's no sunken in eyes, and bones look nice and straight. from the position in the pic it looks like she's on the move which is a good sign. but chams usually dont show visible signs of being sick unless they are pretty late into it. so I would make those changes asap (especially a change to watering and a linear uvb bulb that can cover the length of the cage) or she may not stay that way for long.

Yeah I struggle to get a good clear picture as she shys away and goes dark when I get too close, right now she's actually walking around the tank and climbing up and down the wall and now just at the glass nearest to me just staring at me haha, in regards to water, are you implying that I should get a dripper system installed? The light that's in there at the moment provides uvb but I'm guessing the longer one would be better? Especially if it's a light with just one job?

 

[Mk2MadMitch]

I would get that UVB bulb ASAP, that's one of the most important things. Also look into the vitamins it needs, like the calcium. and NO mealworms.

Yeah I seen a thing about mealworms, I'm just gonna stick to crickets and fruit once in a while, I'll get a uvb today

 

[JapSolum]

yeah I've heard people get by with just misting. although they are usually the ones with the expensive mistking setups, not misting by hand. but droppers give them a constant source of water they can go to whenever they want. those bowls you have in the bottom won't be touched, and will only grow bacteria. they are cheap to buy, or SUPER easy to make. so it's a good investment either way. it's good that the light does have uvb. but as you can see, it covers maybe half the tank at best. the linear tubes are better for them, and cover more area, giving them constant source of uvb. which is critical for a cham's bone development.

 

[Mk2MadMitch]

yeah I've heard people get by with just misting. although they are usually the ones with the expensive mistking setups, not misting by hand. but droppers give them a constant source of water they can go to whenever they want. those bowls you have in the bottom won't be touched, and will only grow bacteria. they are cheap to buy, or SUPER easy to make. so it's a good investment either way. it's good that the light does have uvb. but as you can see, it covers maybe half the tank at best. the linear tubes are better for them, and cover more area, giving them constant source of uvb. which is critical for a cham's bone development.

Okay cool, I'll try and get a good mist king today, do you have a picture for me so I know the exact one/type to get? I'll get a uvb as well, 5.0 or something?

 

[jamest0o0]

You'll probably have to order a mistking