Is there any way to tell his age?

[honeybee1985]

Hi,

I got my first chameleon (and his amazing enclosure) for christmas. He is a male veiled called Cassius. I was just wondering if there's any way to estimate his age?
Apparently the people at the pet shop weren't very helpful information-wise. He is about 11" long including his tail, his body is about 5/6 inches.

Amy

 

[Julirs]

Pictures would help in the age guessing game!

 

[kuskye25]

Hi,

I got my first chameleon (and his amazing enclosure) for christmas. He is a male veiled called Cassius. I was just wondering if there's any way to estimate his age?
Apparently the people at the pet shop weren't very helpful information-wise. He is about 11" long including his tail, his body is about 5/6 inches.

Amy

11" is good sized, but depends on if its female or male. let us know more and man get some pics up, hahaha, seriously though pics of the chameleon and the enclosure...

 

[honeybee1985]

I'm working on it...my stupid USB cable for my camera has gone walkies . I'll post pics as soon as i can find it!

 

[honeybee1985]

Ok, here are the pics of Cassius and his enclosure. Any opinions, tips etc. will be greatly appreciated as I still have a lot to learn. In the enclosure pics he has wood chip substrate...I have since found out (from this site) that that's very bad, so I've removed it...now he just has paper towels.

 

[Julirs]

I would say he is a full grown adult male Veiled. I would add some live plants through the middle to give him places to hide.

 

[honeybee1985]

Oh right! So he shouldn't grow much more then? I do have a Ficus plant to put in there with him I just didn't want to overcrowd him. Thanks for the advice though, I'll put it in for him shortly!

 

[honeybee1985]

Oh, sorry one more thing, at what age do male veiled chams usually become fully grown adults? Just so I can estimate his minimum age.

 

[Julirs]

I would say anywhere from 9 months to 1.5 years. He looks to be mostly fullgrown, but in a pic would be hard to estimate minimum age.

He is a nice looking healthy Veiled.

 

[OntarioLizardman]

thats an awsome looking enclosure! whered u get that?

 

[Brad Ramsey]

They actually never stop growing!
However, it slows down considerably around the age that Juli posted.
How deep is that enclosure?

-Brad

 

[Sang]

Also you got a waterfall in there, he won't drink from that. you want to remove it as it will cause more problems then reduce.


He looks good otherwise.

 

[sandrachameleon]

He looks good.
Are the sides of that cage some kind of solid material or a mesh? I'm wondering about ventilation. Also Not sure where the UVB light is located or if its got something between it and the chameleon?

 

[beeze]

My guess would be 9 months or so. I would recommend you fill out the questions below to get some tips on making your little guy happy and healthy for a long time. Also check out the Raising Kitty blog in Brads post above. You'll get some great info there.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage construction (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
Lighting - What brand, model, and type of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
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? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
Current Problem - The current problem that you are concerned about.

 

[BocaJan]

I agree with Julie - a young adult male. He will probably thicken a bit more, but he is an adult. Please answer the questions posted above because as a new chameleon owner it is always good to get your habitat checked for sufficiency.

 

[honeybee1985]

Wow thanks for all the advice guys - ok answers to questions!

Firstly for RichardTexasHerp - Thanks! My boyfriend built the enclosure for me, he's a joiner (I have a feeling that in the USA you don't call them joiners, maybe a carpenter would be a better description?)

Brad Ramsay - The enclosure is 2ft deep by just over 2.5ft wide and 3.5ft high.

Sandrachameleon - Both sides of the enclosure and the roof of the enclosure are mesh, hopefully this is enough ventilation? Also the mesh separates the UVB light and the cham.


Ok and finally Beeze - Cage wise the dimensions are as above, it's a glass fronted enclosure with mesh sides and roof.

Lighting - Exoterra UVB lamp, Which I leave on for around 10 hours during the day, if anyone has any advice on this it'd be greatly appreciated as I'm not 100% sure that that's the right thing to do.

Temp - I have an Exoterra ceramic heat lamp just above the mesh roof, the temp is around 78 - 83 degrees, drops to around 73 at lowest night temp. All measured by thermometer...

Humidity - Is around 60%. I'm under the impression it should be higher. After misting it's around 75 - 80%. Hydrometer inside the enclosure monitors humidity.

Plants - I use a live Ficus plant, that's the only live plant I have in the enclosure at the moment and it's quite a large one.

Location - The enclosure is located in the middle room of my house, I suppose it is a high traffic area because you have to pass through the room to enter the kitchen. It's not near any fans or air-vents. The top of the cage is about 6ft off the floor, it's on a cabinet.

Cham info:

My Cham - Adult male veiled chameleon, going on the replies I've had to this thread he's between 9 months and 1.5 years old. i've only had him since Christmas day.

Handling - When feeding he seems to want to come out and crawl on me, that's happened probably 2/3 times. I don't try to handle him unless he comes to me of his own accord.

Feeding - It's a bit up in the air at the minute. I'm still trying to find out what he likes. I think crickets will be the main food source but I've also offered him waxworms (which he seems to love, being careful though, I've heard they are very fatty), grasshoppers, mealworms and I've ordered some silkworms which should be arriving today. He also seems to like munching on his Ficus leaves.

Supplements - I use Nutrobal, I'm not sure if you have it in the US? Schedule is that I'm dusting the crickets very lightly ever time they are given to him. If that's wrong PLEASE tell me.

Watering - At the minute I've been using misting as the way to give him water, I've seen him drink it from the leaves in his enclosure. To make sure he is never without I'm going to buy a dripper today, just to be on the safe side. Obviously will still continue misting. I mist about 3/4 times a day for about 5/10 minutes.

Fecal description - Poop is black solid substance mixed white runny substance, a bit like bird droppings. He has not been tested for parasites by myself. Apparently he was at the pet shop but I'm unsure whether or not to trust them. Maybe i should get him checked?

And breathe...

 

[Julirs]

I would say that everything is going great with a few tweaks. First, make sure your UVB in the linear tube kind and not the coiled compact type. Zoomed Reptisun 5.0 is the most recommended. The ceramic heater would be good for night time if your temps in your house drop below 60, but for daytime basking he needs a regular lightbulb in that clamp lamp-chams associate the white light with basking heat. Make sure your temps are in the low 90's in the basking spot. Nutrobol I beleive is a vitamin/mineral supplement. You need a phosphorous free calcium without D3 that you will dust with most days, a calcium with D3 for 2X a month, and then the Nutrobol a few times a month. Correct me if I am wrong but I am not totally versed on European supplements, but I beleive the calcium brand is Calypso?

 

[honeybee1985]

You're right with Calypso, I've just googled it and that's a calcium only supplement so I'm ordering it as we speak. Thank you so much, you're being a massive help for a cham novice!!

 

[kuskye25]

healthy looking cham. and sounds like everything is in order to preform professional care which is needed with chams., if your new to chameleons then i give you props on picking out a good chameleon, and making it as comfortable as it can be. this post should help clear up the few things you needed, good luck.

i use rep-cal for my suppliments, w/d3, without/d3, and herptivite, http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/reptile-supplies/vitamins-medicines-and-cage-cleaners/

i lightly sprinkle the without d/3 on all feedings, except for twice a month you sprinkle w/d3 and herptivite instead, mines full grown so it eats every other day

 

[honeybee1985]

healthy looking cham. and sounds like everything is in order to preform professional care which is needed with chams., if your new to chameleons then i give you props on picking out a good chameleon, and making it as comfortable as it can be. this post should help clear up the few things you needed, good luck.

i use rep-cal for my suppliments, w/d3, without/d3, and herptivite, http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/reptile-supplies/vitamins-medicines-and-cage-cleaners/

i lightly sprinkle the without d/3 on all feedings, except for twice a month you sprinkle w/d3 and herptivite instead, mines full grown so it eats every other day

Thanks as soon as I got him (he was a christmas present) I made sure i read up on everything he needs and obviously joined this forum, which has been the best thing I've done! There's so much useful information here. To be fair though my boyfriend did a LOT of research when building his enclosure so most of it was already done for me!

Thanks for the information on supplements, I'm not sure if they have those in the UK though. I've bought some Calypso calcium for everyday use and i also have Nutrobal for use once or twice a month.