Just need thoughts and opinions!!

[Riley0422]

I just purchased a young veiled chameleon, from what I’ve heard and researched she’s 3 to 6 months old I have a 16” 16” 30” screen enclosure, a small artificial plant dripper which is always on, as well as a small spray bottle which I use three times a day, I feed her ten to 15 crickets a day by simply releasing them near her basking area and she starts to eat them, she runs from my hands there’s been little to no handling in this first week I’ve had her besides maybe 20 to 30 minutes when I first got her and I’ve managed to pick her up once the day after that but I can tell it’s something she truly does not enjoy so the only time I plan on doing it is when I clean her enclosure which I would like to do this weekend but I wanted some opinions on how I should go about it, I’ll provides pictures, please anything will help, i just want to make sure I can give her the best life I can right now!

 

[yungzerk]

I just purchased a young veiled chameleon, from what I’ve heard and researched she’s 3 to 6 months old I have a 16” 16” 30” screen enclosure, a small artificial plant dripper which is always on, as well as a small spray bottle which I use three times a day, I feed her ten to 15 crickets a day by simply releasing them near her basking area and she starts to eat them, she runs from my hands there’s been little to no handling in this first week I’ve had her besides maybe 20 to 30 minutes when I first got her and I’ve managed to pick her up once the day after that but I can tell it’s something she truly does not enjoy so the only time I plan on doing it is when I clean her enclosure which I would like to do this weekend but I wanted some opinions on how I should go about it, I’ll provides pictures, please anything will help, i just want to make sure I can give her the best life I can right now!View attachment 353084View attachment 353085

View attachment 353083View attachment 353087

hello! and welcome to the forums it’s great to have you here! off the bat you’re gonna need to get a 2x2x4 cage and i’d remove all the artificial plants as veileds are known to eat their plants and one chomp could cause impaction! but if you wouldn’t mind filling this out this would he helpful!

• 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 do 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.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types 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?
• 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?
• Location - Where are you geographically located?

 

[Gloriawood]

Hi and welcome to you and your baby! If you fill out the above question we can make sure everything is just perfect for her! We would also love to see some pictures of her glad to have you both here

 

[Riley0422]

1 she is a veiled chameleon I believe it’s female because she has no spurs on her feet I’ve had her for about a week and she’s 3 to 6 months old

2 i rarely handle her as i said before once for maybe thirty minutes many days ago and i plan on only handling her when i clean the tank

3 I put meal worms in a dish but she didn’t go for them only crickets on the third day, since then which was two days ago I’ve fed her 10 to 15 crickets a day I’m going to get gut loading supplies tonight like carrots and calcium supplements, no schedule so far I’ve just been kinda doing it either before I leave for work around 7:30 or when I come home around 4

4 I’ve been dusting my crickets with a mix of zoo med calcium and zoomed d3 supplants I’ve only done that once so far I’ve had her

5 I have a large artificial plant water dripper for now but I see I may have to remove it which is always on and I mist three times a day, I be only seen her drink once she when I first put the water dripper in but she spends a lot of time basking I also like to give her space she is really not fond of me lol whatch is okay!! She just gets really stressed at the sight of me I thing her basking are may be to open

6 I have to clean the tank before I think I can find any of her dripping witch may be too dry to accurately depict anything from but I will keep an eye out

7 unfortunately no history besides age and type

8 my cage type is a 16” 16” “30 cage witch I now know needs to be larger

9 I have the t5ho or however you spell it unfortunately I can’t remember off the top of my head with a hood light horizontally placed as well as a zoo med 50 watt heating bulb above the basking branch, as far as schedule goes I turn her lights on around 8 and off around 8

10 as far as temperature goes I have a wired thermostat should I attach it to her basking branch? I just don’t want to stress her out I know the bottom of the cage is room temp around 74 degrees and I keep the thermostat mid to high range in the tank is it stays around 78 to 80 degrees so I figured her basking area had to be around 85 degrees

11 my hygrometer fell to the bottom of the tank it also has a thermometer on it I set it near her basking area just a second ago the hydrometer said 50 percent and it was at the bottom of the tank witch is unsettling seeing as I have the dripper always running but I mist three times a day aswell once in the morning once in the after noon and once at night

12 I have some live plants and live fake and over heard fake isn’t viable so I will be removing b them and I just grabbed some from the front of the garden section of Lowe’s small potted plants I wish I had taken names I had no idea some were harmful

13 my cage is in my bedroom I share with my wife so relatively low traffic with a large window with sunlight on the water witch I think is good for her idk lol!! She’s also on top of a book shelf the bottom of the cage is elbow high

14 I’m in south Florida!! Whew all this typing has me beat!!! I tried to be as descriptive as possible I know I need more ways to measure temp and humidity I’ll be working on it this weekend!!!

 

[Riley0422]

Hi and welcome to you and your baby! If you fill out the above question we can make sure everything is just perfect for her! We would also love to see some pictures of her glad to have you both here

Here, she has some spots on her forehead where she needs to shed still

 

[Riley0422]

So much stress I just want her to be okay she hasn’t looked to great since I got her she’s been oddly dark

 

[Riley0422]

Hi and welcome to you and your baby! If you fill out the above question we can make sure everything is just perfect for her! We would also love to see some pictures of her glad to have you both here

hello! and welcome to the forums it’s great to have you here! off the bat you’re gonna need to get a 2x2x4 cage and i’d remove all the artificial plants as veileds are known to eat their plants and one chomp could cause impaction! but if you wouldn’t mind filling this out this would he helpful!

• 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 do 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.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types 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?
• 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?
• Location - Where are you geographically located?

Hey I posted a reply I hope this helps!!!

 

[Gloriawood]

First things first, it can take a couple weeks for her to settle in to her new home. So give her some time and her stress will go down. You’ve got some things right and some things that need tweaked a bit, but we have seen much worse here I also want to say that no one here will judge or anything, we all just want to help. I will spit this in two parts and my feedback will be in red.

1 she is a veiled chameleon I believe it’s female because she has no spurs on her feet I’ve had her for about a week and she’s 3 to 6 months old she’s a cutie!! I’m no good with age, but some others can confirm for you.

2 i rarely handle her as i said before once for maybe thirty minutes many days ago and i plan on only handling her when i clean the tank handling can cause stress, but you also need to build trust with her so it’s not as hard for vet visits and such. @Beman has a good thread on this hopefully she will post the link here for you.

3 I put meal worms in a dish but she didn’t go for them only crickets on the third day, since then which was two days ago I’ve fed her 10 to 15 crickets a day I’m going to get gut loading supplies tonight like carrots and calcium supplements, no schedule so far I’ve just been kinda doing it either before I leave for work around 7:30 or when I come home around 4 crickets are good! You need some variety in feeders for a balanced diet. I’ll attach a feeder and gutload list for you. Try to feed in the morning so she can digest through the day. As she gets older, you will want a strict diet to help reduce her egg laying. I’ll tag someone with experience with females to help you with this, as she will also need a lay bin.

4 I’ve been dusting my crickets with a mix of zoo med calcium and zoomed d3 supplants I’ve only done that once so far I’ve had her make sure the calcium is without d3. Use that at every feeding and then use a multivitamin like reptivite with d3 twice monthly. Repashy loD is also a great multivitamin choice. My schedule is this: calcium at every feeding and repashy on the 1st and 15th of each month.

5 I have a large artificial plant water dripper for now but I see I may have to remove it which is always on and I mist three times a day, I be only seen her drink once she when I first put the water dripper in but she spends a lot of time basking I also like to give her space she is really not fond of me lol whatch is okay!! She just gets really stressed at the sight of me I thing her basking are may be to open chams are shy drinkers. Many never see theirs drink at all! I would remove the dripper since it is an artificial plant. You can use a solo cup with a pin hole on the bottom. Set it on top of the enclosure. You really only want the dripper going for about 15 min a day so there is time for the enclosure to dry out.

 

[Gloriawood]

6 I have to clean the tank before I think I can find any of her dripping witch may be too dry to accurately depict anything from but I will keep an eye out urates (the white part of the poo) needs to be at least 50% white. If more than 50% is yellow or orange then baby is dehydrated.

7 unfortunately no history besides age and type

8 my cage type is a 16” 16” “30 cage witch I now know needs to be larger she is little so it’s not dire at the moment but upgrade as soon as you can.

9 I have the t5ho or however you spell it unfortunately I can’t remember off the top of my head with a hood light horizontally placed as well as a zoo med 50 watt heating bulb above the basking branch, as far as schedule goes I turn her lights on around 8 and off around 8 perfect. Make sure the t5 bulb is 5.0 or 6%. It should be about 8 inches above the highest branch for proper UV levels.

10 as far as temperature goes I have a wired thermostat should I attach it to her basking branch? I just don’t want to stress her out I know the bottom of the cage is room temp around 74 degrees and I keep the thermostat mid to high range in the tank is it stays around 78 to 80 degrees so I figured her basking area had to be around 85 degrees temps are different for females and males. I have a male so I will tag in @MissSkittles for this and lay bin info.

11 my hygrometer fell to the bottom of the tank it also has a thermometer on it I set it near her basking area just a second ago the hydrometer said 50 percent and it was at the bottom of the tank witch is unsettling seeing as I have the dripper always running but I mist three times a day aswell once in the morning once in the after noon and once at night 50% is good for daytime! 30-50 during the day. If temps get in the 60s at night then you can boost humidity up higher.

12 I have some live plants and live fake and over heard fake isn’t viable so I will be removing b them and I just grabbed some from the front of the garden section of Lowe’s small potted plants I wish I had taken names I had no idea some were harmful I will attach a safe plant list for you. Pay attention to the ones that say veiled tested. These guys will definitly munch their plants. Pathos is your new BFF. My guy loves his and his monstera.

13 my cage is in my bedroom I share with my wife so relatively low traffic with a large window with sunlight on the water witch I think is good for her idk lol!! She’s also on top of a book shelf the bottom of the cage is elbow high good! height is safety for chams so the higher the better!

14 I’m in south Florida!! Whew all this typing has me beat!!! I tried to be as descriptive as possible I know I need more ways to measure temp and humidity I’ll be working on it this weekend!!! probe thermometers are the best for this. You can get multi packs on Amazon. You can also get fancy ones that connect to your phone. I do not have the budget for those just yet, but many here use them. I got a 2 pack of probe thermometers that also measure humidity on Amazon. Wired one to his basking branch and one near the middle/bottom.


Over all, you’re not off to a bad start! Just a few tweaks. I also reccomend a bare bottom. Makes cleaning much easier. You just have to spot clean most of the time! Don’t be afraid to ask questions and share as many photos of your girl as you want! Does she have a name yet?

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi. I haven’t yet read far enough to see where I was tagged, but have a little bit to add.
Your cutie patootie looks much closer to 3 months old or maybe even just a touch younger. From what I can see, it looks like her casque is still developing.
Building trust is super important…not just for when you have to clean, but vet visits and what not. It’s a little scary at first (or it was for me), but not just building trust is important for her, but it’s equally important that you build confidence in handling her. Here is @Beman link. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/
Many of the on line vendors sell feeder variety packs, which are great if you just have one or two animals. Check out some of the sponsors. https://www.chameleonforums.com/sponsors/?tag=food Being in Florida, we can’t have dubia, but we can have discoid roaches which are very similar. While not a forum sponsor, I often get feeders from http://www.lindasgonebuggie.com/page/397479218 She is located on/around the panhandle, so shipping tends to be a bit quick. Her prices are great too.
Your little cutie is far too young now, but before you know it she will be a fully grown beautiful lady. This is a blog I wrote. Give it a quick read now and a more thorough read when your sweet girl is grown up enough. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/veiled-chameleon-laying-101.2488/ This is also very helpful in understanding it. http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/2007/12/keeping-female-veiled.html
I agree with removing the dripper plant. Not only are artificial plants not so good for our often voracious plant eaters, but things like that often just breed bacteria no matter how well it’s cleaned.
For your lights, little ones like to climb and walk along the top screen upside down. This puts them at a high risk for burns as by the time they feel the heat, it’s too late. Until she’s too big to walk upside down, you’ll need to raise your lights above he screen by a few inches. I find dollar store wire baskets work great. For little ones and our girls, we keep their basking temp around and no higher than 80.
Be careful about any sunlight that might come in the window and heat your girl up. You don’t want her to get overheated. Sunshine thru a window is mainly just a nice view and feeling. Uvb is blocked by glass, plastic and similar. Even the screen top of her enclosure blocks some of it, but that has already been taken into account when it was all figured out long ago by people smarter than me. lol
I agree that you’re off to a great start and will be giving your little beauty a wonderful life.
@Gloriawood has given you fantastic advice and suggestions.

 

[Riley0422]

6 I have to clean the tank before I think I can find any of her dripping witch may be too dry to accurately depict anything from but I will keep an eye out urates (the white part of the poo) needs to be at least 50% white. If more than 50% is yellow or orange then baby is dehydrated.

7 unfortunately no history besides age and type

8 my cage type is a 16” 16” “30 cage witch I now know needs to be larger she is little so it’s not dire at the moment but upgrade as soon as you can.

9 I have the t5ho or however you spell it unfortunately I can’t remember off the top of my head with a hood light horizontally placed as well as a zoo med 50 watt heating bulb above the basking branch, as far as schedule goes I turn her lights on around 8 and off around 8 perfect. Make sure the t5 bulb is 5.0 or 6%. It should be about 8 inches above the highest branch for proper UV levels.

10 as far as temperature goes I have a wired thermostat should I attach it to her basking branch? I just don’t want to stress her out I know the bottom of the cage is room temp around 74 degrees and I keep the thermostat mid to high range in the tank is it stays around 78 to 80 degrees so I figured her basking area had to be around 85 degrees temps are different for females and males. I have a male so I will tag in @MissSkittles for this and lay bin info.

11 my hygrometer fell to the bottom of the tank it also has a thermometer on it I set it near her basking area just a second ago the hydrometer said 50 percent and it was at the bottom of the tank witch is unsettling seeing as I have the dripper always running but I mist three times a day aswell once in the morning once in the after noon and once at night 50% is good for daytime! 30-50 during the day. If temps get in the 60s at night then you can boost humidity up higher.

12 I have some live plants and live fake and over heard fake isn’t viable so I will be removing b them and I just grabbed some from the front of the garden section of Lowe’s small potted plants I wish I had taken names I had no idea some were harmful I will attach a safe plant list for you. Pay attention to the ones that say veiled tested. These guys will definitly munch their plants. Pathos is your new BFF. My guy loves his and his monstera.

13 my cage is in my bedroom I share with my wife so relatively low traffic with a large window with sunlight on the water witch I think is good for her idk lol!! She’s also on top of a book shelf the bottom of the cage is elbow high good! height is safety for chams so the higher the better!

14 I’m in south Florida!! Whew all this typing has me beat!!! I tried to be as descriptive as possible I know I need more ways to measure temp and humidity I’ll be working on it this weekend!!! probe thermometers are the best for this. You can get multi packs on Amazon. You can also get fancy ones that connect to your phone. I do not have the budget for those just yet, but many here use them. I got a 2 pack of probe thermometers that also measure humidity on Amazon. Wired one to his basking branch and one near the middle/bottom.


Over all, you’re not off to a bad start! Just a few tweaks. I also reccomend a bare bottom. Makes cleaning much easier. You just have to spot clean most of the time! Don’t be afraid to ask questions and share as many photos of your girl as you want! Does she have a name yet?

Thank you soo much!!!

 

[Riley0422]

6 I have to clean the tank before I think I can find any of her dripping witch may be too dry to accurately depict anything from but I will keep an eye out urates (the white part of the poo) needs to be at least 50% white. If more than 50% is yellow or orange then baby is dehydrated.

7 unfortunately no history besides age and type

8 my cage type is a 16” 16” “30 cage witch I now know needs to be larger she is little so it’s not dire at the moment but upgrade as soon as you can.

9 I have the t5ho or however you spell it unfortunately I can’t remember off the top of my head with a hood light horizontally placed as well as a zoo med 50 watt heating bulb above the basking branch, as far as schedule goes I turn her lights on around 8 and off around 8 perfect. Make sure the t5 bulb is 5.0 or 6%. It should be about 8 inches above the highest branch for proper UV levels.

10 as far as temperature goes I have a wired thermostat should I attach it to her basking branch? I just don’t want to stress her out I know the bottom of the cage is room temp around 74 degrees and I keep the thermostat mid to high range in the tank is it stays around 78 to 80 degrees so I figured her basking area had to be around 85 degrees temps are different for females and males. I have a male so I will tag in @MissSkittles for this and lay bin info.

11 my hygrometer fell to the bottom of the tank it also has a thermometer on it I set it near her basking area just a second ago the hydrometer said 50 percent and it was at the bottom of the tank witch is unsettling seeing as I have the dripper always running but I mist three times a day aswell once in the morning once in the after noon and once at night 50% is good for daytime! 30-50 during the day. If temps get in the 60s at night then you can boost humidity up higher.

12 I have some live plants and live fake and over heard fake isn’t viable so I will be removing b them and I just grabbed some from the front of the garden section of Lowe’s small potted plants I wish I had taken names I had no idea some were harmful I will attach a safe plant list for you. Pay attention to the ones that say veiled tested. These guys will definitly munch their plants. Pathos is your new BFF. My guy loves his and his monstera.

13 my cage is in my bedroom I share with my wife so relatively low traffic with a large window with sunlight on the water witch I think is good for her idk lol!! She’s also on top of a book shelf the bottom of the cage is elbow high good! height is safety for chams so the higher the better!

14 I’m in south Florida!! Whew all this typing has me beat!!! I tried to be as descriptive as possible I know I need more ways to measure temp and humidity I’ll be working on it this weekend!!! probe thermometers are the best for this. You can get multi packs on Amazon. You can also get fancy ones that connect to your phone. I do not have the budget for those just yet, but many here use them. I got a 2 pack of probe thermometers that also measure humidity on Amazon. Wired one to his basking branch and one near the middle/bottom.


Over all, you’re not off to a bad start! Just a few tweaks. I also reccomend a bare bottom. Makes cleaning much easier. You just have to spot clean most of the time! Don’t be afraid to ask questions and share as many photos of your girl as you want! Does she have a name yet?

Yes she does have a name!!! It’s peaches!!! Just thought it was fitting lol

 

[Gloriawood]

Yes she does have a name!!! It’s peaches!!! Just thought it was fitting lol

I love that!!!