I bought a baby male veiled chameleon today. I bought one light source that had the red light and regular lamp. The man from the pet store said I can use the red light at night and the other heat lamp during the day, but I seen that you don't have to use any lamps at night. Im confused.
lighting
- Thread starter Debra4476
- Start date
ridgebax1
Avid Member
Welcome to the forums! There are a lot of knowledgeable and friendly folks here willing to share their experience with you to help you and your cham happy and healthy. Like the previous poster said, most pet stores do not know the proper way to care for some of the animals they sell. They exist to make money and will gladly sell you stuff you don't need. Lighting and supplements are commonly erroneous. You need a UVB light to provide the animal the capability to make its own D3; just like we do from exposure to sunlight they need that replicated in their habitat. You also need a light to provide heat so they can regulate their temperature and properly digest their food. You do not need the expensive heat lamps the pet stores sell. You can use a regular household incandescent light bulb or a halogen bulb. Anywhere from a 40 watt to 75 watt bulb should give you the proper basking temp for your chameleon. The care sheets for specific types of chams is under the care resources link to the left of the page.
Supplementation is also important and often wrong from the pet store. You will need to get a plain calcium powder to use daily when feeding crickets, roaches or other calcium deficient feeder. In addition to this twice a month you need to use a calcium with D3 powder and twice a month a vitamin powder. There are many brands and everyone has their favorites. You are also going to want to offer your chameleon a variety of feeders, not just crickets. I feed my Veiled crickets, horn worms, silk worms, phoenix worms, butter worms and an occasional wax worm. I don't give them super or meal worms many people do without any trouble, but they are not the most nutritious food for chams. I think of them as McDonald's food for lizards.
There are lots of great sources for feeders from the folks that are forum sponsors and many keepers raise their own. Also when it comes to feeders what you feed them is ultimately what you feed your lizard. Sandrachameleon's blog about feeders and gutloading is very helpful. There is tons of information here if you search for it. Welcome again and good luck!
Supplementation is also important and often wrong from the pet store. You will need to get a plain calcium powder to use daily when feeding crickets, roaches or other calcium deficient feeder. In addition to this twice a month you need to use a calcium with D3 powder and twice a month a vitamin powder. There are many brands and everyone has their favorites. You are also going to want to offer your chameleon a variety of feeders, not just crickets. I feed my Veiled crickets, horn worms, silk worms, phoenix worms, butter worms and an occasional wax worm. I don't give them super or meal worms many people do without any trouble, but they are not the most nutritious food for chams. I think of them as McDonald's food for lizards.
There are lots of great sources for feeders from the folks that are forum sponsors and many keepers raise their own. Also when it comes to feeders what you feed them is ultimately what you feed your lizard. Sandrachameleon's blog about feeders and gutloading is very helpful. There is tons of information here if you search for it. Welcome again and good luck!
