My responses and any questions will be in red. I’ll post helpful and informative links and images below.
@ERKleRose of the 3 plants in the enclosure, only 1 is fake. The other two plants are a pothos and a zizi plant. What is wrong with the one fake guy? Also, There is no cage humidifier, just one I keep in my office because its so dry in the interior of british columbia. My plants shrivel up without my humidifer being run about 2x a week!
Veileds will try to take a bite out of anything, so fake plants are an impaction risk. Room humidifiers are fine, just not cage humidifiers for during the day. I just wanted to make sure.
@Fchamel he ate just fine the last two days. The regular amount as I listed. I dont have a current problem, but here is that thing filled out. I based all my husbandry off of this forum's caresheet for veiled, but altered the basking temp to a but lower for my juvenile cham.
This forum’s caresheet is a little out-dated, but The Chameleon Academy has the most up-to-date and accurate info. I’ll link their veiled care sheet below.
Chameleon Info:
- Your Chameleon - veiled, 3 mo, in my care for 2 weeks Does he have tarsal spurs?
- Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? currently, not at all
- Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? daily at 9am, 10-12 (2week) crickets, 20-30 hidei fruit flies, 1-2 tiny wax worms every sat and tuesday. gutload crickets with spinach, carrot, and bug burger Right now that’s fine for feeding amount, but you should start to ween him down to the equivalent of 5 crickets every other day in a bit. Stop the spinach as a gutload immediately, it binds calcium! I’ll attach feeder and gutload charts below. Variety is best for both!
- Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? a few times a week I dust the crickets in calcium + d3 You need a quality phosphorus-free calcium without D3 on every feeding, a quality phosphorus-free calcium with D3 once every two weeks, and a quality multivitamin without D3 every two weeks. Zoo Med is a good quality brand. If you take him outside when it’s warmer out, make sure to adjust how much D3 is being given if he’s out there long enough.
- Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? 3 (20 second long) mists, each day ( 2 times if it doesnt dry fast enough). I have a larger dripper sitting on the tank to provide a constant drip onto the leaves of Jim's pothos. Each misting session should be a minimum of 2-5+ minutes each time. Try to only mist in the morning and late afternoon/night when the cage is cooler, if your humidity allows it.
- Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? poop each day, soft, dark brown with 1/4 white in dropping. no, he has not been tested. I trust he is parasite free from this seemingly reputable breeder. I would get a fecal float done anyway, as it’s recommended for all chameleons. Try to get bloodwork and x-rays when you go to an experienced chameleon vet, too, and make sure to drop off 2-3+ more fresh fecal samples to make sure no parasites were missed.
- History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. No, he was sent to me as a young, healthy cham, from chameleons galore (British Columbia, Canada)
Cage Info:
- Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? repti breeze, 18x18x36 He’ll need a minimum cage size of 2’ x 2’ x 4’ tall when he gets bigger, but preferably 4’ x 2’ x 4’ tall or larger. Bigger is always better! I’d also replace the Exo Terra vines (if that is what you have), as they can cause health issues.
- Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? 100 halogen heat bulb for basking, reptisun 10% UVB T5 bulb, 15W How far away is the UVB from his basking branch?
- Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? as recommended by the care sheet provided, basking spot 80'f, ambient temp 70'f - 78'f What are the nighttime temps? How do you measure them?
- Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? consistently 60%, a hygrometer. That is too high! Veileds need 30-50% during the day and up to 100% at night. Too high of a humidity level during the day can cause a respiratory infection. Is your hygrometer digital or analog?
- Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? 2 live plants (zizi and pothos), and one fake plastic plant from zoo med. Live plants only. Make sure all are chameleon-safe (I’ll post links for lists below) and properly cleaned and prepared beforehand, including putting rocks too big for him to eat over the soil in the pots.
- 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? in my office, near my desk. The table it sits on is 3 ft tall.
- Location - Where are you geographically located? Interior of British Columbia, canada
Could you post photos of him and his full cage, please? Here are the links and images:
https://www.chameleons.info/en/
(link no longer valid)
https://flchams.com/chameleon-safe-plant-list/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/external-resources/
https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/
https://chameleonacademy.com/veiled-chameleon-care/
https://chameleonacademy.com/plants/
