Just a few concerns the pet store couldnt seem to help with

Curly Carlos

New Member
I just got Curly Carlos yesterday and hes a veiled chameleon, very health great skin, eats good, basks for hours on end, but I have ran into a problem... I have yet to see him intake any water and ive been kind of watching him. Maybe he is still in shock. Hes only about 4in. Long. Body looks very good and he was def takin care of. I just want to see the act of drinking.. When should I be concerned? Also I noticed this morning that the temp gage said 90 degrees from the night heat (obviously its one side of the tank but im sure thats not ok if he needs the 10degree drop at night. Alil more info im using a 10g fish tank at the moment with dome lights ( hes too small to hunt for a normally tall one) I have a basking light uvb and night heat lined in a row. If i keep my apartment at arounf 75 at night should I even bother with a night time heat lamp???
 
Heres his set up
 

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You do not need a heat source at night if your apartment is kept at 75 degrees. As for drinking, I've yet to actually see mine drink either but I've had her since may and she shows no signs of dehydration so she must be drinking something. Also, you should ditch the substrate in the bottom of your enclosure as it could cause major problems if ingested. I would also suggest getting a different enclosure as the one you currently have might be OK for a baby cham but will quickly become improper for a juvenile and adult Cham.
 
Welcome to the forums. Unfortunately, you are going to have to get a different set up for your chameleon. Fish tanks are a no no and trap the heat and do not provide proper ventilation. Screen cages are preferred or terrariums that are vented at the bottom. No mulch or substrate! They can in jest it and die. No lights or heat at night. U will never be able to control your temps in a tank like that with lights shining down. You are going to overheat your chameleon.
 
Well darn. I thought I had it set up right. Thanks for the info. Guess i will splurge on a correct cage then... As for bedding, what should I put down? Anything... I only got the bedding to keep in moisture, I have seen him eat and he is very good at aiming but I can see how that one mistake could lead to suffocation or ingesting the stuff
 
Yes he could ingest the substraight and have probs, I would also follow the suggestions of getting into a different setup, and to your first question I have many chams I never see drink esp, the veiled. As long as they have good urate and a full plump casquse and cheecks I don't worry.
 
Looks like they sold you a bunch of stuff you don't need, and didn't sell you the stuff you do. Pretty typical. Your setup looks just like how the big pet chains display their animals for sale. :(

At least you found this forum. There is a sticky thread in the Enclosure and Supplies section where people show off their setups. You'll notice a trend in how similar they are in the basics. Pick one you like and copy it. Can't go wrong there. :)
 
Hi and welcome to the forum!

Here's the forum resource on chameleons, it'll cover what a proper cage looks like, lighting, etc.: https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/chameleons/

And here's the veiled-specific caresheet: https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/
That will cover everything you need to know regarding how to keep the little one. Amount of food, cage size, etc.

Between one thing and another it should answer (hopefully) all of your questions, and if you still have any afterwards we're always happy to answer them. But both links have photos and such, so they're very helpful.
 
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