Meet Bob the chameleon

[Slo Surfer]

Hey everyone. First time chameleon owner here. Just thought I'd post up a picture of Bob and a picture of his home to see what you guys think. He seems very healthy to me. I'm not sure how old he is (clueless shop people), but he was about 6" from his nose to the tip of his tail when we got him 2 months ago, and he is now 12"!!! He eats about 10 large crickets a day, and a few king worms, super worms, or wax worms every once in a while. He also usually picks off a fly or two when I take him outside. And he loves lettuce.

So does he look healthy to you?

And what do you think of his home?
It's got a Repti Glo 5.0 UV bulb that stretches across the top of the cage, a 150W basking light, and an infrared heat bulb to keep the ambient temps up (the red one goes off at night). He's got a dripper that drips all day (off at night) and he gets misted several times a day.

 

[hallenhe]

We'll have to wait for the veiled people to chime in, but he certainly looks nice, handsome and healthy, and it looks like he's got lots of space and plants in his set-up.

What kind of temps are you seeing with the infra-red? What temps in the room without it?

 

[Ryan Jarosek]

Where do you live? Typically a infrared bulb and a basking bulb are not both needed unless you live where it is really cold. Room temp for ambient temps is usually fine. What are the ambient temps with the infrared light on.

I also think it is an overkill to use a 150w bulb. I only use a 75 watt for my veiled.

Do you supplement and gut load?

With that said I love your setup looks great and he looks good too. Couldn't tell you on the age. I have a huge 5 month old that stopped my from ever trying to guess age on these guys.

 

[BocaJan]

My guess would be a teenager. He is not yet an adult, so I would say about 8-10 months. Could be wrong. As Ryan said, some get big fast like his, but yours still has a ways to go, of this I'm sure.

 

[Slo Surfer]

Where do you live? Typically a infrared bulb and a basking bulb are not both needed unless you live where it is really cold. Room temp for ambient temps is usually fine. What are the ambient temps with the infrared light on.

I also think it is an overkill to use a 150w bulb. I only use a 75 watt for my veiled.

Do you supplement and gut load?

With that said I love your setup looks great and he looks good too. Couldn't tell you on the age. I have a huge 5 month old that stopped my from ever trying to guess age on these guys.

Hey again. I live in San Luis Obispo, CA. The thing is, we don't really use the heater in our house because we are poor college students and the insulation in the house is so bad it wastes a LOT of heat. This time of year the house temp drops down to the high 50's or low 60's at times (right now its 55 deg. in the house, but we're having a nasty cold spell). Brrr......

I'm a little bit confused about what the "ambient" temperature refers to, because there is a gradient of temperatures between the basking spot and the floor of the cage (where Bob never goes anyway). Where would you measure the "ambient" temperature?

Here's how the temps look with the 150W bulb (a pet store bought "basking light" about 6" above the screen) and the infrared bulb on (dimmed slightly). The basking spot (the branch he's on in the picture) is about 90 degrees. The infrared bulb is beside the basking buld, providing an area which is about 80-85 degrees on the highest branch he could stand on, and cooling off rapidly as you move down. The temp drops to about the mid 70's when you get down about a foot and a half below the top screen. If you move down farther from that, it eventually reaches a little over the temp in the house by the time you get to the floor.

And yes, I am supplementing and gut loading. The shop we got Bob from sold us a calcium with D3, and said we should dust with this every time. After reading around, I discovered thats a bad idea. I cut back to a couple times a week with the D3 calcium, and couple times a week with calcium without D3. The gut load is one that I bought at the shop, and I also throw some veggies in with the crickets.

 

[Ryan Jarosek]

Hey again. I live in San Luis Obispo, CA. The thing is, we don't really use the heater in our house because we are poor college students and the insulation in the house is so bad it wastes a LOT of heat. This time of year the house temp drops down to the high 50's or low 60's at times (right now its 55 deg. in the house, but we're having a nasty cold spell). Brrr......

I'm a little bit confused about what the "ambient" temperature refers to, because there is a gradient of temperatures between the basking spot and the floor of the cage (where Bob never goes anyway). Where would you measure the "ambient" temperature?

Here's how the temps look with the 150W bulb (a pet store bought "basking light" about 6" above the screen) and the infrared bulb on (dimmed slightly). The basking spot (the branch he's on in the picture) is about 90 degrees. The infrared bulb is beside the basking buld, providing an area which is about 80-85 degrees on the highest branch he could stand on, and cooling off rapidly as you move down. The temp drops to about the mid 70's when you get down about a foot and a half below the top screen. If you move down farther from that, it eventually reaches a little over the temp in the house by the time you get to the floor.

And yes, I am supplementing and gut loading. The shop we got Bob from sold us a calcium with D3, and said we should dust with this every time. After reading around, I discovered thats a bad idea. I cut back to a couple times a week with the D3 calcium, and couple times a week with calcium without D3. The gut load is one that I bought at the shop, and I also throw some veggies in with the crickets.

Sounds to me that you are spot on with your setup. Sometimes people use the infrared bulbs when not needed. You have it setup good and ambient temperatures (the gradient) is perfect you want it to range from 70ish to 85 or so with the 90or so basking. giving him a place to be comfortable where he chooses fit. For measuring the ambient temps I use a infrared thermometer and measure all parts of the cage.

If you are getting the proper temps then it doesn't matter what watt of bulb. Probably in the summer or when it warms up you could change it to a 75w or so to save a little $$.

Nice work and thanks for sharing. If you wouldn't have said it I would have never though first time owner.

 

[kenya]

Hey, looks good, though you should probably cut down on the D3 at least to only once a week or once every other week. Once chams are adults, twice a month with the D3 is suggested. It can build up in organs and cause serious health issues.

By the way, you lucky dog, if I remember correctly San Luis Obispo is home to a feral Jacksons colony. Maybe you should go hunting

 

[SoCaliSon]

Hey There,

Kenya is right about the D3.... You definately want to pick up some calcium without D3 to use regualrly, and only occasionally supplement with the d3 stuff.

 

[jannb]

Bob is a very handsome veiled! How old is he? I have 2 veileds a male & a female. Welcome to the forum. Jann

 

[Slo Surfer]

I'm not really sure how old he is? He's 12" from nose to tip of tail. Any guesses?

 

[jannb]

I'm not really sure how old he is? He's 12" from nose to tip of tail. Any guesses?

I'd guess 8 to 10 months old. Only a guess tho. He's certainly a handsome guy! Jann