My first chameleon is a female.(need info)

[hiddenflaws]

It stays around 50 during the day and then I hand mist about 5 min after the lights go off .I have it set for 8am and 8pm . Also how often should I run my dripper every day ? I haven't seen her drink but I'm almost positive she does it when I'm not around or when I'm not looking

Run it during the day, I believe. You probably won't see her drink at all. Some chams won't drink when you're around. Some don't care and will drink whenever they please. Just make sure to be giving her many chances to drink. When that fogger comes in, I wouldn't mist him when his lights go off. That fogger will work. I usually mist my cham in the morning when his lights turn on, in the afternoon, and a few hours before his lights go off. So 9:00 AM for 2 minutes. 2:15 PM for 1 Minute and 15 seconds, and 5:00 PM for 2 minutes. My lights turn on at 9:00 AM and 9:00 PM. At night, I run my fogger. All chams are different and you don't have to follow my schedule. Do what works for you and your cham.

 

[Mattson98]

You answered some of them and not with much detail.

Cage is in the corner of my room away from the window .
I got her from PetSmart with little previous info on her she is young .
Gutloading crickets with sweet potatoes and squash , feeding in the morning 30 min after lights come on about 6 small crickets.(she hasn't wanted to eat more than 6).
Fecal is black and solid white
I have one live plant in there right now and it's a fig. Watering is misting once in the morning and once at night for 2 minutes by hand .
I have a dripper set up that I turn on for about 2 hours on and off until the lights go off and that's when I turn it off and mist.
Also wondering if anyone can look at my first pic and maybe tell me if there is anything else I should add . I've been struggling to find leave like coverage at the stores here

 

[MissSkittles]

Ok. Give me a few minutes and I’ll try to piece it all together in a way that makes sense.

 

[Mattson98]

Cage is in the corner of my room away from the window .
I got her from PetSmart with little previous info on her she is young .
Gutloading crickets with sweet potatoes and squash , feeding in the morning 30 min after lights come on about 6 small crickets.(she hasn't wanted to eat more than 6).
Fecal is black and solid white
I have one live plant in there right now and it's a fig. Watering is misting once in the morning and once at night for 2 minutes by hand .
I have a dripper set up that I turn on for about 2 hours then off for an hour and back in for 2 hours until the lights go off and that's when I turn it off and mist.
Also wondering if anyone can look at my first pic and maybe tell me if there is anything else I should add . I've been struggling to find leave like coverage at the stores here

It's actually been holding humidity nicely .that's why I've only been spraying once in the morning and once after the lights go out .
I'm using repticalcium without d3 and I have repticalcium with d3 I plan to use twice a month.
Top of my cage is about 5 foot from the floor.
Only thing I have as far as airflow is my fan and I have a humidity gauge in the tank at the top and a digital once at the bottom .kinda feel like I wasted my money honestly they both read roughly the same .Mid 50s during the day and at night and in the mornings around 67 .

 

[Mattson98]

As far as handling I've kept it to a minimum. Only time I handle her is when she is reaching for me so she can climb up my arm and chill for a min and then back in the cage once a day and ive had her for 3 days

 

[MissSkittles]

I’m not good at judging age, but I’d guess she’s around 2-3 months old...maybe?
It’s good that you’re trying other feeders. Keep trying. Make sure they are the right size. Anything larger than the space between her eyes is too big. Best to feed early in the day. You can improve your gut loading. Attaching feeder and gut loading graphics for you.
Supplements: you should be dusting lightly with phosphorus free calcium without D3 at every feeding except one per week. One feeding every other week should be calcium with D3 and rotating every other week a multivitamin.
Misting at least 2-3 times daily for 2 minutes is perfect. Is up to you to use a dripper or not.
I always a good idea to have a fecal checked for parasites.
As she gets a bit older, she will be needing a much larger enclosure. 2x2x4’ or equivalent is the minimum size for an adult. You’ll appreciate that extra space too when you put her lay bin in.
From the pics it looks like you have the correct uvb. Needs to be a T5 with 5.0 uvb bulb. It will need to be changed every 6 months as they lose effectiveness.
Basking temp is too high both for a little one and a girl.Is best to keep it in the very low 80’s...like 80-82*. It can and should get much cooler at night.
Your humidity is too high. Needs to be between 30-50% during the day and can get as high as 100% at night when it’s cool. Heat+humidity=respiratory infections.
Pothos imo is the best plant for veileds. Easy to grow, tolerant of low light, non toxic, grows long vines which offer more climbing area and nice big leaves to drink from, hide behind and take a little nibble from.
You could raise her enclosure up a bit. They feel safest when they are able to look down upon the world. Hope I’ve covered everything. Any questions, ask away!

 

[Mattson98]

I’m not good at judging age, but I’d guess she’s around 2-3 months old...maybe?
It’s good that you’re trying other feeders. Keep trying. Make sure they are the right size. Anything larger than the space between her eyes is too big. Best to feed early in the day. You can improve your gut loading. Attaching feeder and gut loading graphics for you.
Supplements: you should be dusting lightly with phosphorus free calcium without D3 at every feeding except one per week. One feeding every other week should be calcium with D3 and rotating every other week a multivitamin.
Misting at least 2-3 times daily for 2 minutes is perfect. Is up to you to use a dripper or not.
I always a good idea to have a fecal checked for parasites.
As she gets a bit older, she will be needing a much larger enclosure. 2x2x4’ or equivalent is the minimum size for an adult. You’ll appreciate that extra space too when you put her lay bin in.
From the pics it looks like you have the correct uvb. Needs to be a T5 with 5.0 uvb bulb. It will need to be changed every 6 months as they lose effectiveness.
Basking temp is too high both for a little one and a girl.Is best to keep it in the very low 80’s...like 80-82*. It can and should get much cooler at night.
Your humidity is too high. Needs to be between 30-50% during the day and can get as high as 100% at night when it’s cool. Heat+humidity=respiratory infections.
Pothos imo is the best plant for veileds. Easy to grow, tolerant of low light, non toxic, grows long vines which offer more climbing area and nice big leaves to drink from, hide behind and take a little nibble from.
You could raise her enclosure up a bit. They feel safest when they are able to look down upon the world. Hope I’ve covered everything. Any questions, ask away!
View attachment 270480View attachment 270481

I got the fig because I read that it was okay for them and it has big drinking leaves. Also all the pothos I found here were way to tiny and would barley cover much of her enclosure .I also haven't been gutloading greens because she has been eating mustard greens .I have some I can throw in the cricket bin so I'll add those as well .Tomorrow my exotic pet store gets their shipment of hornworms so I'm gonna grab some of those and try . Also thanks about the humidity I didn't know it had to be below 50 during the day . The fogger comes tomorrow hopefully so that will definitely be on at night . I already set money aside for the bigger dragon enclosure when she gets bigger . Hopefully the coming week I can find some bigger pothos .how do I hang that in this cage ? It doesn't have any mount points just screen . I've been using this flipsy twist wire to attack things I got at the exotic pet store here also I can't feed her anything from tongs or a cup she refuses to eat anything unless it is simply just in there and she can hunt it down .

 

[MissSkittles]

I got the fig because I read that it was okay for them and it has big drinking leaves. Also all the pothos I found here where tiny and would barley cover much of her enclosure .I also haven't been gutloading greens because she has been eating mustard greens .I have some I can throw in the cricket bin so I'll add those as well .Also tomorrow my exotic pet store gets their shipment of hornworms so I'm gonna grab some of those . Also thanks about the humidity I didn't know it had to be below 50 during the day . The fogger comes tomorrow hopefully so that will definitely be on at night . I also already set money aside for the bigger dragon enclosure when she gets bigger . Hopefully the coming week I can find some bigger pothos .how do I hang that in this cage ? It doesn't have any mount points just screen . I've been using this flipsy twist wire to attack things I got at the exotic pet store here also I can't feed her anything from tongs or a cup she refuses to eat anything unless it is simply just in there and she can hunt it down .

Awesome on the Dragon Strand. They come with Dragon Ledges which make it so much easier to hang things like branches and plants. For now, you could get a small Pothos and just wait for it to grow. They grow pretty fast. To hang a plant in the current enclosure, you could rig a sturdy something (metal, wood, pvc, etc) across the top, secure to the frame. Then run some strong enough wire of fishing line to suspend it. Another way is to make a little scaffold type support inside, secured to the frame and zip tie plant pots to it. When I set up the same size enclosure, I repurposed a little bucket type thing, flipped it upside down and sat my plant on it. Your imagination is the limit.
Tong feeding isn’t so great.There’s always a risk of tongue damage. She’s still adjusting to everything and needs to learn to trust that you aren’t going to eat her. I’ve been fortunate that my chams have easily accepted me holding their feeder cup, although I still get hissed at by one every now and then (until she realizes it’s food). I am waiting on mine to be delivered, but I’ve heard great things about the feeding gallery. Use this and we’ll each get $1 credit. ? http://i.refs.cc/okLl3HWI?smile_ref...vZ3JhbSIsInNtaWxlX2N1c3RvbWVyX2lkIjpudWxsfQ==
She doesn’t need to eat anything other than live bugs. Greens, fruits and veggies should just be an occasional treat of your cham enjoys them.

 

[MissSkittles]

Duh! I know what I forgot. Great resources to learn more about your cham and her keeping.
Just about everything you want to know and more. Not just what to do but how and why. Also can access podcasts from there. Created by Bill Strand, who is the creator of Dragon Strand.
https://chameleonacademy.com/
If videos are more to your liking, check out https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3n4S2GRkOGfk2U8-xhaw6Q @Gingero is a forum member and has a video for almost everything and always creating more.

 

[Mattson98]

Awesome on the Dragon Strand. They come with Dragon Ledges which make it so much easier to hang things like branches and plants. For now, you could get a small Pothos and just wait for it to grow. They grow pretty fast. To hang a plant in the current enclosure, you could rig a sturdy something (metal, wood, pvc, etc) across the top, secure to the frame. Then run some strong enough wire of fishing line to suspend it. Another way is to make a little scaffold type support inside, secured to the frame and zip tie plant pots to it. When I set up the same size enclosure, I repurposed a little bucket type thing, flipped it upside down and sat my plant on it. Your imagination is the limit.
Tong feeding isn’t so great.There’s always a risk of tongue damage. She’s still adjusting to everything and needs to learn to trust that you aren’t going to eat her. I’ve been fortunate that my chams have easily accepted me holding their feeder cup, although I still get hissed at by one every now and then (until she realizes it’s food). I am waiting on mine to be delivered, but I’ve heard great things about the feeding gallery. Use this and we’ll each get $1 credit. ? http://i.refs.cc/okLl3HWI?smile_ref=eyJzbWlsZV9zb3VyY2UiOiJzbWlsZV91aSIsInNtaWxlX21lZGl1bSI6IiIsInNtaWxlX2NhbXBhaWduIjoicmVmZXJyYWxfcHJvZ3JhbSIsInNtaWxlX2N1c3RvbWVyX2lkIjpudWxsfQ==
She doesn’t need to eat anything other than live bugs. Greens, fruits and veggies should just be an occasional treat of your cham enjoys them.

I just threw some turnip, mustard greens and blackberries in the cricket bin plus the squash and carrots .that's all I had on hand at the moment . Still kinda mad I missed the expo here in tn . I really wanted a male but I went to 9 stores and family owned exotic pet stores here and not a single male veil or panther chameleon . I was trying to avoid the whole egg complication situation because everyone kinda scared me away from it . I appreciate everyones help and answered questions ! ? I feel alot more comfortable for the future with this little gal .

 

[MissSkittles]

I just threw some turnip, mustard greens and blackberries in the cricket bin plus the squash and carrots .that's all I had on hand at the moment . Still kinda mad I missed the expo here in tn . I really wanted a male but I went to 9 stores and family owned exotic pet stores here and not a single male veil or panther chameleon . I was trying to avoid the whole egg complication situation because everyone kinda scared me away from it . I appreciate everyones help and answered questions ! ? I feel alot more comfortable for the future with this little gal .

As long as your husbandry is on point, egg laying shouldn’t be a problem. Oh, you’ll still stress about it though. No avoiding that. Lol While the males are big and bright, the ladies are just as beautiful.

 

[Mattson98]

As long as your husbandry is on point, egg laying shouldn’t be a problem. Oh, you’ll still stress about it though. No avoiding that. Lol While the males are big and bright, the ladies are just as beautiful.

Thank you for all the info . Screw the PetSmart lady. She had 9 of them all female in a super shallow glass enclosure with just a dripper and like 0 freaking plants . Half the reason I bought one from there was because I just wanted to make it happy lol they all looked miserable and they were all dark colored and hanging from the ceiling right under the bulb .

 

[Mattson98]

Thank you for all the info . Screw the PetSmart lady. She had 9 of them all female in a super shallow glass enclosure with just a dripper and like 0 freaking plants . Half the reason I bought one from there was because I just wanted to make it happy lol they all looked miserable and they were all dark colored and hanging from the ceiling right under the bulb .

It's crazy how ecologically fragile these things are and after learning all I have the past few days it's almost ridiculous seeing how these things were all being kept at the main big company petstores

 

[MissSkittles]

It's crazy how ecologically fragile these things are and after learning all I have the past few days it's almost ridiculous seeing how these things were all being kept at the main big company petstores

Yes, is why it’s usually best not to buy from chain pet stores. The poor animals come from what I believe is essentially reptile mills. I once tried to bring serious issues to the manager’s attention & was told they follow corporate protocols and was lied to about the crappy care they gave to at least the chams. However, many aren’t aware & keep buying and then some of us (I’m guilty) take pity and try to ‘save’ at least one poor little soul. Ironically, I believe they make little to no profit on selling the animals. It’s the ‘everything you need’ chameleon kit and other ridiculous crap that they profit from. It’s really a rotten situation and the animals pay the steep price.
~sigh~ if only I ran the world

 

[Mattson98]

Yes, is why it’s usually best not to buy from chain pet stores. The poor animals come from what I believe is essentially reptile mills. I once tried to bring serious issues to the manager’s attention & was told they follow corporate protocols and was lied to about the crappy care they gave to at least the chams. However, many aren’t aware & keep buying and then some of us (I’m guilty) take pity and try to ‘save’ at least one poor little soul. Ironically, I believe they make little to no profit on selling the animals. It’s the ‘everything you need’ chameleon kit and other ridiculous crap that they profit from. It’s really a rotten situation and the animals pay the steep price.
~sigh~ if only I ran the world

Yeah that everything you need kit comes with like nothing you actually need too ? it's a good cage but that's it .I swapped the lights and the fake plants . Also what do you use for a cricket housing . I need a better way to store them with alittle more space so I can gutload them better and keep more than 20

 

[MissSkittles]

Yeah that everything you need kit comes with like nothing you actually need too ? it's a good cage but that's it .I swapped the lights and the fake plants . Also what do you use for a cricket housing . I need a better way to store them with alittle more space so I can gutload them better and keep more than 20

You could get a cricket keeper that can hold a fair amount of crickets. I found my crickets tend to die when I use it though. I use a massive plastic tub that I cut out holes in the top and hot glued some screening over. I keep a bit of vermiculite in the bottom for odor control. I’ve been getting crickets by the 500-1000 lately though for my spoiled beardie...seems to be his favorite. A medium sized plastic tub would do just fine for 100+ crickets though.

 

[Mattson98]

You could get a cricket keeper that can hold a fair amount of crickets. I found my crickets tend to die when I use it though. I use a massive plastic tub that I cut out holes in the top and hot glued some screening over. I keep a bit of vermiculite in the bottom for odor control. I’ve been getting crickets by the 500-1000 lately though for my spoiled beardie...seems to be his favorite. A medium sized plastic tub would do just fine for 100+ crickets though.

I named my chameleon morph lol from treasure planet ?

 

[MissSkittles]

I named my chameleon morph lol from treasure planet ?

Cute name but I’m clueless on your inspiration. Is that a TV show?

 

[MissSkittles]

Cute name but I’m clueless on your inspiration. Is that a TV show?

Feeling old/out of touch ?

 

[Mattson98]

Cute name but I’m clueless on your inspiration. Is that a TV show?

It's a Disney movie I watched when I was like 12 ?