just got my baby veiled, Kreacher, want to make sure everything is ok

Midninight

New Member
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - male veiled chameleon, about 2 months old [got him on 3/28/11]
Handling - 3 times a week for 5 mins
Feeding - about 10 medium crickets a day... 5 around noon and 5 around 8pm... I asked the breeder if I should feed him worms too and he said just crickets until he's 6 months... is that ok? I started off with small crickets but the breeder said he started his brothers and sisters on mediums and said I should too so I've only done mediums for 2 days now
I use Fluker's Orange Cubes to gut-load the crickets, I plan on getting some carrots and lettuce [not iceberg] just haven't had a chance
Oh and I cup feed him because when I used to let them loose in the cage they would hide and he couldn't find them. He always eats all of the crickets and seems to want even more.
Supplements - repti calcium without d3 every other day, rep-cal with d3 2 times a month [at first I did this every two days but I read that's too much so now I'm going to start this twice a month next month], rep-cal Herptivite 3 times a month [only once so far]
Watering - I mist his cage with a hand mister about 4 times a day and I've seen him drinking but not often. I bought a little dripper but I need to make a cup with a screen on top to catch the water before I put it in the cage.
Fecal Description - black/brown poop with some white in it, he has not been tested for parasites
History - I got him from a local reptile shop, they breed veiled chams there

Cage Info:
Cage Type - reptibreeze all screen 16"x16"x 30"
Lighting - reptisun 5.0 UVB that I keep on for 12 hours a day [at first this was not the same 12 hours everyday but now I have a timer so it goes on at 11am and turns off at 11pm] I also use a 75 watt zoo med nocturnal infrared heat lamp
Temperature - 85-95 sometimes the bottom will reach 75 but never lower... I'm using zoomeds reptile dual thermometer/ humidity gauge but I plan on getting a digital one soon
Humidity - 40% - 60% I have two trash bags covering the two sides of the cage to keep humidity up and to keep him out of eyesight of our snake
Plants - schefflera
Placement - on my dresser in my room [highest place for him to sit on], there's a window near his cage but I never open it, my boyfriend and I work a lot so it's not too high traffic
Location - Orange County, California

Current Problem - There's no problem really. I just want to make sure I have everything set for him. Lately he's been crawling A LOT in the cage. I don't really see him just sitting much. I don't know if that's a bad thing. He walks on the bottom of the cage and crawls up the sides to his top branches. He's been eating the leaves of the plant a little more lately too. At first he NEVER ate them and now I'm noticing more and more bite marks on the leaves. I don't know if I should buy a different plant or if that's ok.


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Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - male veiled chameleon, about 2 months old [got him on 3/28/11]
Handling - 3 times a week for 5 mins
Feeding - about 10 medium crickets a day... 5 around noon and 5 around 8pm... I asked the breeder if I should feed him worms too and he said just crickets until he's 6 months... is that ok? I started off with small crickets but the breeder said he started his brothers and sisters on mediums and said I should too so I've only done mediums for 2 days now
I use Fluker's Orange Cubes to gut-load the crickets, I plan on getting some carrots and lettuce [not iceberg] just haven't had a chance
Oh and I cup feed him because when I used to let them loose in the cage they would hide and he couldn't find them. He always eats all of the crickets and seems to want even more.
Supplements - repti calcium without d3 every other day, rep-cal with d3 2 times a month [at first I did this every two days but I read that's too much so now I'm going to start this twice a month next month], rep-cal Herptivite 3 times a month [only once so far]
Watering - I mist his cage with a hand mister about 4 times a day and I've seen him drinking but not often. I bought a little dripper but I need to make a cup with a screen on top to catch the water before I put it in the cage.
Fecal Description - black/brown poop with some white in it, he has not been tested for parasites
History - I got him from a local reptile shop, they breed veiled chams there

Cage Info:
Cage Type - reptibreeze all screen 16"x16"x 30"
Lighting - reptisun 5.0 UVB that I keep on for 12 hours a day [at first this was not the same 12 hours everyday but now I have a timer so it goes on at 11am and turns off at 11pm] I also use a 75 watt zoo med nocturnal infrared heat lamp
Temperature - 85-95 sometimes the bottom will reach 75 but never lower... I'm using zoomeds reptile dual thermometer/ humidity gauge but I plan on getting a digital one soon
Humidity - 40% - 60% I have two trash bags covering the two sides of the cage to keep humidity up and to keep him out of eyesight of our snake
Plants - schefflera
Placement - on my dresser in my room [highest place for him to sit on], there's a window near his cage but I never open it, my boyfriend and I work a lot so it's not too high traffic
Location - Orange County, California

Current Problem - There's no problem really. I just want to make sure I have everything set for him. Lately he's been crawling A LOT in the cage. I don't really see him just sitting much. I don't know if that's a bad thing. He walks on the bottom of the cage and crawls up the sides to his top branches. He's been eating the leaves of the plant a little more lately too. At first he NEVER ate them and now I'm noticing more and more bite marks on the leaves. I don't know if I should buy a different plant or if that's ok.


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IMG_0512_1.jpg


IMG_0500.jpg


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IMG_0534.jpg

Chameleons need their sleep. first thing, you shouldnt use the infrared night light. Use a basking light, not spot light because it can burn the chameleon. have the light a good 6-10 inches from the basking spot in order to prevent burns.. dont leave the lights on until 11 pm.. too late! I use my timers from 8am till 8pm.. thats when it starts getting dark here in S. Florida. Temperatures should go below 75. Mine hit high 60's at night. Try to have the humidity levels higher (around 75%).. I share Jojojackson's opinion that eye problems often are directly related to lack of humidity. I have a humidifier that i keep running 24/7 in order to help in this.

For the crix, try feeding them many different vegetables. Remember, what you feed them is what you feed your chameleon.
 
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - male veiled chameleon, about 2 months old [got him on 3/28/11]
Handling - 3 times a week for 5 mins
Feeding - about 10 medium crickets a day... 5 around noon and 5 around 8pm... I asked the breeder if I should feed him worms too and he said just crickets until he's 6 months... is that ok? I started off with small crickets but the breeder said he started his brothers and sisters on mediums and said I should too so I've only done mediums for 2 days now
I use Fluker's Orange Cubes to gut-load the crickets, I plan on getting some carrots and lettuce [not iceberg] just haven't had a chance
Oh and I cup feed him because when I used to let them loose in the cage they would hide and he couldn't find them. He always eats all of the crickets and seems to want even more.
try to feed a little earlier than 8 to give him time to digest in the basking light. go ahead and feed worms, variety is good. feeders should be no wider than space between his eyes. carrots, kale, collards, sweet potato, yam, etc. and look up sandrachameleon's dry gutload recipes

Supplements - repti calcium without d3 every other day, rep-cal with d3 2 times a month [at first I did this every two days but I read that's too much so now I'm going to start this twice a month next month], rep-cal Herptivite 3 times a month [only once so far]
plain calcium every feeding except for the d3 twice a month and multivitamin just twice a month

Watering - I mist his cage with a hand mister about 4 times a day and I've seen him drinking but not often. I bought a little dripper but I need to make a cup with a screen on top to catch the water before I put it in the cage.
you can also put a potted plant under the dripper to catch water

Fecal Description - black/brown poop with some white in it, he has not been tested for parasites
white urates are good, means he's hydrated. when it gets yellow or orange he's dehydrated

History - I got him from a local reptile shop, they breed veiled chams there

Cage Info:
Cage Type - reptibreeze all screen 16"x16"x 30"
Lighting - reptisun 5.0 UVB that I keep on for 12 hours a day [at first this was not the same 12 hours everyday but now I have a timer so it goes on at 11am and turns off at 11pm] I also use a 75 watt zoo med nocturnal infrared heat lamp
is your uvb compact or linear? also, get rid of the red bulb. a regular housebulb (not coil) will do. they need complete dark at night. unless your house gets below 60 at night, no extra heat at night

Temperature - 85-95 sometimes the bottom will reach 75 but never lower... I'm using zoomeds reptile dual thermometer/ humidity gauge but I plan on getting a digital one soon
way too hot basking temp. 80-83 at most at this age. play around with bulb wattages to find the right temp, and yes you need digital thermometer. 75 is ok for ambient temp

Humidity - 40% - 60% I have two trash bags covering the two sides of the cage to keep humidity up and to keep him out of eyesight of our snake

Plants - schefflera

Placement - on my dresser in my room [highest place for him to sit on], there's a window near his cage but I never open it, my boyfriend and I work a lot so it's not too high traffic

Location - Orange County, California

Current Problem - There's no problem really. I just want to make sure I have everything set for him. Lately he's been crawling A LOT in the cage. I don't really see him just sitting much. I don't know if that's a bad thing. He walks on the bottom of the cage and crawls up the sides to his top branches. He's been eating the leaves of the plant a little more lately too. At first he NEVER ate them and now I'm noticing more and more bite marks on the leaves. I don't know if I should buy a different plant or if that's ok.
Some veileds like vegetation. Could also be a sign he needs more water. Maybe up the amount of time you mist each time

Hope this helps :)
 
I'd say get away from the store bought gut load asap, but don't just do carrots and lettuce. here's a link to sandrachameleons blog onfeeder nutrition & gutloading

I was going to question feeding @ noon and 8pm then I noticed you said your lights run from 11-11. I also noticed you said he's by a window is it covered? because if not and he's like my guy he'll be awake regaurdless of what your light are set to (in which case you either need to cover the window or change his timers)

one other thing it seems most do calcuim with out d3, lightly dusted every feeding to make up for the crickets low calcium to phosphorus ratio (tho I'm no expert and every other feeding maybe ok as well)

lastly if it were me I'd add some more cover (plants vines etc.), also you said he's eating the leaves, which I hear is normal for vields but you might consider doing what I've read others suggest and pin (like with little clips or something) some fresh (washed) greens, such as collard, mustard or kale
 
I'll switch to 60 watt since it's too hot and turn it off at night because my room doesn't get cold. Also, the basking spot is about 8" away from the lamp. Light doesn't get through the window so I'll keep it on 11am-11pm [that time works best for me for his feedings] I'll feed him at about noon and around, 6pm? I'll change up the supplements a little to what you guys said. I was planning on looking up some good gut loading recipes. I'll get some stuff tomorrow. The humidity has been hardest to keep up, that's why I put up the trash bags. My boyfriend suggested the humidifier too so I think we'll go with that. I had a bunch of leaves in there but I thought it might have been too crowded after seeing a lot of different cages, I'll put a little more up though.

Thanks for the help :)
 
more live plants will also help with the humidity, as for feeding I'm not sure it would need changed since your lights are on for a good 3 hours after feeding, I'm sure the other posted thought like i did, that you either woke your chameleon up to feed him or that you feed him RIGHT BEFOR bed time, which I hear is bad because they need to bask to help digest their food.
 
Awesome! I love him name!!! I've got an Albus, and a Buckbee.

Also, check out cricket crack. It's one of the best gutloads with over 20 different ingredients.
 
more live plants will also help with the humidity, as for feeding I'm not sure it would need changed since your lights are on for a good 3 hours after feeding, I'm sure the other posted thought like i did, that you either woke your chameleon up to feed him or that you feed him RIGHT BEFOR bed time, which I hear is bad because they need to bask to help digest their food.

I said a little earlier so he has at least good 4 hours to digest. So yes 6pm would be ok if you want. 3 hours is ok I think, but I was recommended 4 hours minimum when I first joined. But I just give all food at once in the afternoon. You can offer all food at once if you want and just leave them so he can snack throughout the day, just remove them at night if there's any left over so they dont snack on him when he sleeps.
 
Thanks! I was actually thinking of Dumbledore or Gandalf but then thought of Kreacher and thought it was perfect. :)
 
I made him a bowl with a mesh top to catch the water in and set up the little dripper which he LOVES. :) I also clipped some collard greens on a branch for him, which he has been eating instead of the plant! :)

I think he is much happier with the changes I've made. Thanks all!
 
I read that i was not supposed to handle my chameleon so i didnt, now i regret it cuz he hates me lol. I shoulda held him a little like you do its a good idea.
 
Mine hates me too... until I get him on me and then he sits on me with no problems at all. Mostly I've left him alone lately because he hisses and even snaps at me when I try to get him out now.

I read somewhere on this forum that a good way to get them used to you is hold their food in one hand and put your other hand out in front of him so he has to walk on your hand to eat the food. What do you guys think?

If it's a good idea I'll be up for it. I just don't want him to get stressed and associate me feeding him with stress and then go on a hunger strike or something.
 
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