Is my Veiled chameleon male too skinny?

Cacti3

Member
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This is my chameleon Spyro. I’ve been kind of concerned that he is too skinny for a little bit. I’m also not completely sure how old he is since the pet store I bought him at didn’t tell me. My guess is around 10-12 months?

Also if I should add anything to his enclosure please let me know since he is my first chameleon.
 

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Hi and welcome. :) Very hard for me to determine if he’s too thin or not. Are you able to get some better pics - preferably without the screen in the way? If you can’t do it without risking stressing him (if you just got him), don’t worry about it. Instead, let me give you this.

I would like to see some better pics of your enclosure too please. That you don’t need to disturb your cutie for. It’s best to get a full shot that includes the top/lights, the bottom floor and then we can see everything in between. Like this, but showing more of the floor.
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Hi, thanks for responding. I watched the video you sent me and now I’m starting to think he may be fine?

I will also try to get some pictures of him with his cage open. It may be a little hard since he can get stressed when I am doing things in his enclosure and he will probably hide in the plants. He may also look a little plumper than usual since I just fed him a decent amount of hornworms not too long ago.

I also will send you some pictures of his enclosure. It may look a little empty right now since some of the plants are dying. I am planning to replace them and get more in a few days. I’ve also been adding a few more branches but I think I need to add more when I see other people’s enclosures.

I also couldn’t get too many pictures of him with his cage open without him getting stressed out from seeing the camera. I didn’t want to push him more than I already was.
 

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Hi and welcome. :) Very hard for me to determine if he’s too thin or not. Are you able to get some better pics - preferably without the screen in the way? If you can’t do it without risking stressing him (if you just got him), don’t worry about it. Instead, let me give you this.

I would like to see some better pics of your enclosure too please. That you don’t need to disturb your cutie for. It’s best to get a full shot that includes the top/lights, the bottom floor and then we can see everything in between. Like this, but showing more of the floor.
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Hi, sorry but have you read my message yet..? If you have, I’d like to know your thoughts. Also sorry if this is bothering you if you just haven’t been online.
 
Hi, sorry but have you read my message yet..? If you have, I’d like to know your thoughts. Also sorry if this is bothering you if you just haven’t been online.
You aren’t a bother at all. :) I usually hop on and off of here a few times a day…usually. I want people to succeed in keeping their chameleon happy and healthy, and sometimes a little, or a lot of help is needed. From what I can see of your guy, he looks good. He’s well fleshed out and looks to be a healthy size. Hard to determine age since he looks to be near or full grown.
Let’s talk about your enclosure. You do need to add many more branches or vines. They can be hard to hang, but there are some easy enough solutions. There are Dragon Ledges https://dragonstrand.com/dragon-ledges/ which are awesome. I’ve been using garden trellis, which has been quite effective. Some create a scaffold structure by adhering branches to the corners of the frame. I’ve done all three, and if you want a bit of guidance on how, just ask. I use natural branches that I’ve scavenged wherever I can find them. Oak is great to use. Just avoid pine, eucalyptus and other woods with heavy sap or odor. I wash with dish soap, rinse very well and dry in the sun. No need to remove bark, bake, bleach or anything else. Just keep in mind that nature is not sterile.
Your plants will do much better if you provide a special plant light for them. There is the Arcadia Jungle Dawn which so many use and s fantastic. But unless you’re going for hibiscus and other tropical plants that need lots of sun, you can get away with a 35w screw in plant light or similar. Some plants are better suited than others. Pothos is king when it comes to chameleon enclosures. You can have nothing but pothos if you want…your chameleon won’t care and neither will anyone here. Tradescantia zebrina is another great plant along with other common houseplants like spider plant and philodendron. This will help you. https://chameleonacademy.com/plants/ You basically want to create a forest edge type environment, although I think of it more as creating similar to a tree limb. Hopefully your uvb is a T5 with either a ReptiSun 5.0 or Arcadia 6%. You want a basking area about 8-9” directly below and then lots of big leafy plants to provide shade, hiding spots, places to drink collected water off, etc. If you place a pothos on the floor of your enclosure and train it to grow upwards, the leaves will grow bigger. You already see how I set up an enclosure for one of my panthers. Of course the pic is from when it was freshly set up and hadn’t settled yet. Often I do have plants that just don’t do well and others (usually pothos) that go crazy. Also, I do encourage if you have the space and ability to provide your guy a double sized enclosure, to do it. Our fella like to do routine patrols and can be quite active. However, I’ve found even my girls use all of their extra space too.
Now let’s talk a bit about temps, humidity and supplements. Tell me what you’ve got. Also, what are you feeding, how much, how often and how are you caring for the feeder bugs?
 
You aren’t a bother at all. :) I usually hop on and off of here a few times a day…usually. I want people to succeed in keeping their chameleon happy and healthy, and sometimes a little, or a lot of help is needed. From what I can see of your guy, he looks good. He’s well fleshed out and looks to be a healthy size. Hard to determine age since he looks to be near or full grown.
Let’s talk about your enclosure. You do need to add many more branches or vines. They can be hard to hang, but there are some easy enough solutions. There are Dragon Ledges https://dragonstrand.com/dragon-ledges/ which are awesome. I’ve been using garden trellis, which has been quite effective. Some create a scaffold structure by adhering branches to the corners of the frame. I’ve done all three, and if you want a bit of guidance on how, just ask. I use natural branches that I’ve scavenged wherever I can find them. Oak is great to use. Just avoid pine, eucalyptus and other woods with heavy sap or odor. I wash with dish soap, rinse very well and dry in the sun. No need to remove bark, bake, bleach or anything else. Just keep in mind that nature is not sterile.
Your plants will do much better if you provide a special plant light for them. There is the Arcadia Jungle Dawn which so many use and s fantastic. But unless you’re going for hibiscus and other tropical plants that need lots of sun, you can get away with a 35w screw in plant light or similar. Some plants are better suited than others. Pothos is king when it comes to chameleon enclosures. You can have nothing but pothos if you want…your chameleon won’t care and neither will anyone here. Tradescantia zebrina is another great plant along with other common houseplants like spider plant and philodendron. This will help you. https://chameleonacademy.com/plants/ You basically want to create a forest edge type environment, although I think of it more as creating similar to a tree limb. Hopefully your uvb is a T5 with either a ReptiSun 5.0 or Arcadia 6%. You want a basking area about 8-9” directly below and then lots of big leafy plants to provide shade, hiding spots, places to drink collected water off, etc. If you place a pothos on the floor of your enclosure and train it to grow upwards, the leaves will grow bigger. You already see how I set up an enclosure for one of my panthers. Of course the pic is from when it was freshly set up and hadn’t settled yet. Often I do have plants that just don’t do well and others (usually pothos) that go crazy. Also, I do encourage if you have the space and ability to provide your guy a double sized enclosure, to do it. Our fella like to do routine patrols and can be quite active. However, I’ve found even my girls use all of their extra space too.
Now let’s talk a bit about temps, humidity and supplements. Tell me what you’ve got. Also, what are you feeding, how much, how often and how are you caring for the feeder bugs?
Hi again, I probably am going to add more branches into his enclosure. I figured I should since I feel like it’s somewhat empty. I will hopefully add them soon, maybe today or in a couple of days? I’ll post what his enclosure looks like then.

But, about the cage size, I’m not completely sure I would want to upgrade him yet unless it’s necessary.

About his humidity and supplements, I have an automatic mister that mists twice a day for around 1 minute or one minute 30 seconds I’m not completely sure. His UVB is Reptisun T5 5.0. His basking light is 75w. I feed him 8 large crickets everyday ( unless I run out ) and once or twice a week either hornworms or black solider flies ( surprisingly he only eats the adults ). I usually put either 5-20 black soldier flies and usually 6 or 7 medium-small hornworms. I usually get 50-250 crickets at a time. I keep the crickets in a 20 gallon fish tank. I feed the crickets Fluker’s orange cubes which have vitamins, water, and food in them. About the hornworms and black soldiers flies, the place I get them from is shipped so I usually keep them in the container they come in. The container the hornworms come in has lots of food at the bottom.

Also, something strange is when I tried to give Spyro waxworks, he would NOT touch them. Should I try giving them to him again? Same thing with black soldier fly larvae. Also, some of my hornworms are chrysalised. Should I feed the moths to him?
 
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Okay I just added all the branches to his enclosure. I will add more plants soon
 

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Hi again, I probably am going to add more branches into his enclosure. I figured I should since I feel like it’s somewhat empty. I will hopefully add them soon, maybe today or in a couple of days? I’ll post what his enclosure looks like then.

But, about the cage size, I’m not completely sure I would want to upgrade him yet unless it’s necessary.

About his humidity and supplements, I have an automatic mister that mists twice a day for around 1 minute or one minute 30 seconds I’m not completely sure. His UVB is Reptisun T5 5.0. His basking light is 75w. I feed him 8 large crickets everyday ( unless I run out ) and once or twice a week either hornworms or black solider flies ( surprisingly he only eats the adults ). I usually put either 5-20 black soldier flies and usually 6 or 7 medium-small hornworms. I usually get 50-250 crickets at a time. I keep the crickets in a 20 gallon fish tank. I feed the crickets Fluker’s orange cubes which have vitamins, water, and food in them. About the hornworms and black soldiers flies, the place I get them from is shipped so I usually keep them in the container they come in. The container the hornworms come in has lots of food at the bottom.

Also, something strange is when I tried to give Spyro waxworks, he would NOT touch them. Should I try giving them to him again? Same thing with black soldier fly larvae. Also, some of my hornworms are chrysalised. Should I feed the moths to him?
Sounds like you’ve got a good grasp on things so far. I’ll probably tell you things you might already know, so just smile and nod if you need to. 😂The minimum size enclosure for adult chameleons is 2x2x4’, so as long as you have that, it’s fine. I just like encouraging people to go larger if they can. :)
Keep adding branches and make sure that they are of varied diameter to keep those mitten feet muscles in top shape. My personal rule is to go as thick as my loppers can cut thru. I have no trees, but my neighbors do and get them trimmed regularly. They are probably used to seeing me scavenge thru their trimmings pile and dragging limbs across the street. 😂
It sounds like you don’t measure temps or humidity yet. It is important to know both. Ideal daytime temps for a mature male veiled is about 85. At night you want a good temp drop and if you can get it below 68-70, perfect. Ideal daytime humidity is between 30-50%. If you are able to achieve that perfect night time temp below at least 68, you can run a humidifier at night to boost humidity all the way.
For feeding, it would be good to add more variety. For many of us it takes a bit to get used to the idea of roaches, but they are great feeders. Dubia and discoid are quite easy to keep and adults are unable to climb slick surfaces and don’t fly even though they have wings. Silkworms are my favorite feeder and are very nutritious and hydrating. It can be a bit challenging to find them available. Fram’s chams sells them. Grasshoppers are a great feeders, but only a couple of sources for them. Here is one. https://dragonhoppers.com/ They are a bit meatier, so one hopper is equivalent to maybe 2 crickets or roaches or so (depending on size). It’s fine if your guy doesn’t like wax worms. They are just fatty treats, like reptile candy. Most do like superworms for treats. Those are fatty and addictive. Hornworms do have some calcium in them, but are primarily hydrating treats only. You can feed the moths, but it possibly could be too large for your guy to eat.
The orange cubes are ok for hydrating your feeder insects, but not great for nutrition. The healthier your bugs are, the more nutritious they are. Fresh veggies, greens and a bit of fruit are great to feed them. There are some commercial preparations that are decent, like Repashy Bug Burger.
For supplements, you want to use a phosphorus free calcium without D3 lightly dusted at every feeding. While there are several different ways to provide vitamins and D3, the easiest and most common that we suggest is to use either Repashy calcium plus LoD or ReptiVite with D3 one feeding every other week (or twice a month if you prefer).
Sorry if I have told you stuff you already know. I can be like a mother hen. 🐔
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Sounds like you’ve got a good grasp on things so far. I’ll probably tell you things you might already know, so just smile and nod if you need to. 😂The minimum size enclosure for adult chameleons is 2x2x4’, so as long as you have that, it’s fine. I just like encouraging people to go larger if they can. :)
Keep adding branches and make sure that they are of varied diameter to keep those mitten feet muscles in top shape. My personal rule is to go as thick as my loppers can cut thru. I have no trees, but my neighbors do and get them trimmed regularly. They are probably used to seeing me scavenge thru their trimmings pile and dragging limbs across the street. 😂
It sounds like you don’t measure temps or humidity yet. It is important to know both. Ideal daytime temps for a mature male veiled is about 85. At night you want a good temp drop and if you can get it below 68-70, perfect. Ideal daytime humidity is between 30-50%. If you are able to achieve that perfect night time temp below at least 68, you can run a humidifier at night to boost humidity all the way.
For feeding, it would be good to add more variety. For many of us it takes a bit to get used to the idea of roaches, but they are great feeders. Dubia and discoid are quite easy to keep and adults are unable to climb slick surfaces and don’t fly even though they have wings. Silkworms are my favorite feeder and are very nutritious and hydrating. It can be a bit challenging to find them available. Fram’s chams sells them. Grasshoppers are a great feeders, but only a couple of sources for them. Here is one. https://dragonhoppers.com/ They are a bit meatier, so one hopper is equivalent to maybe 2 crickets or roaches or so (depending on size). It’s fine if your guy doesn’t like wax worms. They are just fatty treats, like reptile candy. Most do like superworms for treats. Those are fatty and addictive. Hornworms do have some calcium in them, but are primarily hydrating treats only. You can feed the moths, but it possibly could be too large for your guy to eat.
The orange cubes are ok for hydrating your feeder insects, but not great for nutrition. The healthier your bugs are, the more nutritious they are. Fresh veggies, greens and a bit of fruit are great to feed them. There are some commercial preparations that are decent, like Repashy Bug Burger.
For supplements, you want to use a phosphorus free calcium without D3 lightly dusted at every feeding. While there are several different ways to provide vitamins and D3, the easiest and most common that we suggest is to use either Repashy calcium plus LoD or ReptiVite with D3 one feeding every other week (or twice a month if you prefer).
Sorry if I have told you stuff you already know. I can be like a mother hen. 🐔
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Hi again, and you are correct that I don’t measure temp and humidity yet. I’m also kinda confused by it. Also, should I hand mist his cage? But, the local pet stores near me don’t sell humidity measurements I don’t think. Also, I forgot to include vitamins and supplements. I give him Repashy calcium plus and Rep-Cal Herptivite multivitamins. I have a petco near me and they have silkworms in stock so I probably will get some for him there. My enclosure size for him is 2x2x4. Today in my neighborhood there is somebody giving away a large thick stick that he apparently cut from a tree so I will also add that to his enclosure. Anything else I should add?
 
I give him Repashy calcium plus and Rep-Cal Herptivite multivitamins.
These are both vitamins and using that particular Repashy daily is going to overdose on vitamins D3 and A. Both are fat soluble, so aren’t quickly eliminated in the body and can build up to toxic levels. You need a phosphorus-free calcium without D3. Repashy Supercal is a good one and doesn’t clump like many do, but the Zoo Med ReptiCalcium without D3 or similar is good too. Most of the chain pet stores in my area don’t even carry calcium without D3, so do be careful and read the labels. The Repashy Calcium Plus (the one with the leopard gecko on the label) is more for creatures like leopard geckos who don’t get much or any sun/uvb and contains higher levels of vitamins for them. The Calcium Plus LoD (has a Jackson’s chameleon on the label) is the ideal one for chameleons. It’s a combination multivitamin and D3 and is used just twice a month or once every other week (whichever you prefer). The reason why this Repashy and the ReptiVite with D3 are preferred is because they have preformed vitamin A (retinoids) which we know chameleons are able to utilize. The other form of vitamin A is proformed (carotenoids) and we aren’t sure they can process it effectively. The Herptivite contains proformed A and isn’t needed at all.
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Many use a smart thermometer/hygrometer like one of these. https://www.amazon.com/Govee-Thermo...8-3-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1 Or you can use a digital one with a wired probe end, like one of these. https://www.chewy.com/zoo-med-digit...rrJ-E-GikdQj9nW_wAbt0W57-41lyKz1OhUFrrI&gQT=1
 
Okay so about the vitamins, should I feed my chameleon the calcium and multivitamin together or separate? Also, do I keep the thermometer underneath the basking light or just in the enclosure somewhere. Should I also just put the hydrometer just somewhere random in his cage? I used to have a hydrometer and thermometer when I first got him and his temperatures and humidity were fine. I’m not sure now since back then I hand misted him. Also, his hydrometer and thermometer got lost and broke and back then I figured it was fine until I went on vacation for 2 weeks and that’s when I thought him the automatic mister. I never got another one even though I had a feeling I needed to get another one. By the way, the hydrometer and thermometer were cheap ones from Petco.

Thanks for responding to me each time lol.
 
Okay so about the vitamins, should I feed my chameleon the calcium and multivitamin together or separate? Also, do I keep the thermometer underneath the basking light or just in the enclosure somewhere. Should I also just put the hydrometer just somewhere random in his cage? I used to have a hydrometer and thermometer when I first got him and his temperatures and humidity were fine. I’m not sure now since back then I hand misted him. Also, his hydrometer and thermometer got lost and broke and back then I figured it was fine until I went on vacation for 2 weeks and that’s when I thought him the automatic mister. I never got another one even though I had a feeling I needed to get another one. By the way, the hydrometer and thermometer were cheap ones from Petco.

Thanks for responding to me each time lol.
You want to use the calcium without D3 at every feeding. The multivitamin/D3 combo you use for only one feeding, every other week or two times a month, whichever is easiest for you. Lightly dust his feeders with the supplement. You don’t want or need them to look like powdered donuts. I put a scant sprinkle of supplement in the bottom of a tall deli cup and then put my feeders in. As they move around, they dust themselves perfectly.
Put the probe end of the meter at basking area to monitor the basking temp. It’s fine to check humidity there too. Of course after misting, the humidity will spike briefly and that’s fine. By the soil in your plants will be small pockets of higher humidity too and that’s fine too is fine. Chameleons will bask for only a short part of their day. The rest of their time awake they will maybe choose a lower and cooler area to be, or maybe they want to be somewhere with just a tad more humidity for a little bit. We provide them gradients of temperature and humidity within the ideals.
No worries…ask what you need. :)
 
I always love the powdered doughnut reference, it's the best. I also keep the seal on the vitamin container, twist the lid off and just put a little hole in the seal; that way you don't have a ton just dumping out and going to waste. I find it also helps keep it fresh because less air/moisture can get in.

Also just a small tip for hanging your branches. The top door knob on your reptibreeze is exactly 8", that's the sweet spot for your cham to get his UVB. If you can line your top branches with that, along with your UVB light, you'll be golden! Also remember you have to replace the UVB bulb every 6 months with a zoomed bulb, or you can buy an Arcadia bulb and it will fit into the zoomed fixture and last for a year.
 
Thanks everybody, today I am buying new plants for him. Any suggestions? I already know I will buy a pothos, but I kinda wanna switch up from the birds nest fern I had in there because it was not doing well. Any recommendations for plants to be higher up?
 
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