My first cham

mauicham

mauicham

New Member
Hey guys, got me a veiled chameleon Sunday from petco. Wish I would have ordered from flchams now that i've looked online. The girl there had me get a 20gal long aquarium. after research (which should have been done prior) I see they need a tall enclosure, made of mesh or wire. Anyways i still love my little guy. I named him maui. Can someone tell me when to turn my light off, and do I just turn the UV light off or do I turn the UV and the Heat lamp off? I turned them both off last night, when i woke up this morning he was up on his plant sleeping. He did not wake up when I turned the light on, so i touched him and he woke on up and came to life. He still don't like being held, so I don't mess with him much, I just get at eye level and talk to him. lol he's pretty cool .
 

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my cham looks just like him/her and i just have her free roaming in a tree she never leaves it. for the lighting you need uvb bulb and a heat lamp, i went and spent a little money and bought the big blub that has uva uvb and heat to save having more than one light set up, with the sleeping they can sleep even once the lights turn on for a little bit, i have a meller cham and have had her for a year now and sometimes she will be awake before i turn on the lights and sometimes it will take her 30 min to wake up after i turn on the lights but shes healthy and fine, chams just have there own personality i love it!
 
try to make it like night and day as much as possible when they get into the sleeping position which is like they are crouched up with their arms next to their body and there tail completely curled up but also when you turn your lights off they will go into sleep mode and go to sleep to yes again try to keep it like night and day don't turn their lights off at midnight but around 7-9pm and when ever you wake up is good as long as they aren't in a completely dark room they will wake up with the natural sunlight and chameleons aren't the best handling pet but they will get used to you if you use food association like hand feeding and also you turn both their lights off at night but if your house gets cold at night they get a night time bulb my breeders cut off for degrees was 50 degrees and his chameleons are perfectly happy so that's also my cut off i use have fun with your new chameleon and personally i have a terrarium with ventilation and he loves it but when they get bigger you will probably need a wire one but as a baby that will be fine if you can drill small holes in the sides so he can get some air and use a screen top, hope this was informative and correct me if i'm wrong i hope you enjoy your new chameleon bye
 
Yea i have a screened top.
Thanks for the advice on lighting. Much appreciated. Anyone able to tell about how old he is by looking at him? They didn't give me much info on it. I guess I should have asked. All things I had in my head to ask when I went, but some slipped my mind throughout the process.


Also thanks for the care sheet. I will read up on that. Any educational info. I'm up for it. I want to care for my cham the best I can.

I read online that a lot of things anger them. What happens when they get angry? He already hissed at me the day I got him, while trying to put the top on he kept climbing his vine trying to get out. I picked him up and that just pissed him off. lol they are def. interesting to watch. They have a mind of their own, and he's warming up to me, he don't hide every time i walk over to his home anymore. I got stoned last night and just laid and watched him for about 2 hours. lol
 
He looks about 3 months old, but it is difficult to tell because they will grow at different rates (depends on temps, food etc.) People usually recommend to leave them to settle in for a week or so with very little disturbance (a bit of stoned watching is definitely allowed, just not taking him out of his new house).
Hissing is one way of telling you to leave him alone, black spots or stripes is another. There are a few things that often annoy chameleons, like seeing their reflection or another cham. Sometimes they get angry at a colour (like if you wear a red jumper :)).
As long as he has plenty of leaves and branches and he is eating well then he probably isn't stressed :)
 
DavidBuchan said:
He looks about 3 months old, but it is difficult to tell because they will grow at different rates (depends on temps, food etc.) People usually recommend to leave them to settle in for a week or so with very little disturbance (a bit of stoned watching is definitely allowed, just not taking him out of his new house).
Hissing is one way of telling you to leave him alone, black spots or stripes is another. There are a few things that often annoy chameleons, like seeing their reflection or another cham. Sometimes they get angry at a colour (like if you wear a red jumper :)).
As long as he has plenty of leaves and branches and he is eating well then he probably isn't stressed :)
Click to expand...

Yea he seems to be liking me as long as it is just me in the house. He don't like company lol. Glad red don't make him angry because i wear red a lot. He posed for me today. I'm going to post the pic. I love this picture.
 

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Age is a funny thing with reptiles, and it isn't nearly as important as you would think. They mature based as much on temperature and food as they do on time.

RIGHT NOW is the best time to get your nutritional information. Metablolic bone disease and kidney issues are terrible things, so you need to understand how important Ca:p ratios are, and how to keep the little guy (are you sure its male? I couldn't see the hind foot in the pics) well hydrated.

Good luck!
Tyg
 
TyggyToo said:
Age is a funny thing with reptiles, and it isn't nearly as important as you would think. They mature based as much on temperature and food as they do on time.

RIGHT NOW is the best time to get your nutritional information. Metablolic bone disease and kidney issues are terrible things, so you need to understand how important Ca:p ratios are, and how to keep the little guy (are you sure its male? I couldn't see the hind foot in the pics) well hydrated.

Good luck!
Tyg
Click to expand...


No I am not sure it's a male. You can tell it's sex by the hind foot? I'll take a pic of the hind foot and post it, I'd love to know if it's male or female.
 
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