My first chameleon

[MexicanMate37]

• Your Chameleon - Veiled , female, I think about 3 months old, Shes been in the cage about 2 weeks.
• 
  
• Handling - I don't handle her.
• 
  
• Feeding - I am feeding her crickets about the size of her head, I am cup feeding and letting the criks jump loose inside ,5 criks at 7:20am and 5 criks at 5:20pm, I give the criks lettuce and carrots, I am trying to make/find a gutload recipe
• 
  
• Supplements - ZooMed repti calcium without D3 and ZooMed reptitive reptile vitamins, I use it every feeding since I got her, i use the same container, should I use new supplement powder each time I feed her
• 
  
• Watering - I use a homemade Dripper, but am looking into buying (The Little Dripper) I leave it on all day with a bowl on the bottom of the cage, I turn it off before bed, I mist 3-4 times a day making shure its dry and for about 2 minutes, I have seen her drink a few times but normally just leave her alone after misting
• 
  
• Fecal Description - Dark brown with lightish Orange tip, but she hasn't pooped in about two days
• 
  
• History - I got her at petsmart and she just started shedding

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - I bought the ZooMed Reptibreeze cham kit, (Screen), dimensions are 16 x 16 x 30
• 
  
• Lighting - ZooMed tropical UVB and heat lighting kit, Reptisun 5.0 UVB 13 wat and Daylight blue reptile bulb 60 wat, schedule is 7am - 7pm
• 
  
• Temperature - The cage has an average temp of 75' f - 85' f during the day, Lowest temp is 65'f - 70'f at night, I measure the temp using ZooMed digital thermometer, putting it inside the middle of the cage
• 
  
• Humidity - I am still unsure on what this means, but I am read that misting frequently helps keep it at a good range, what should I buy to measure the humidity levels
• 
  
• Plants - I am using fake plants and vines, but I got a couple branches outside, I cleaned and baked the branches before putting them in
• 
  
• Placement - The cage Is located near a window that gets good sun in the evening and low sun in the afternoon, the cage is near a roof vent that is closed and is not in a high traffic area, but my family likes to go in everyone now and then and look at her, it is about 5 feet from ground to top
• 
  
• Location - I am located in the country part of Georgetown, Texas. Right now the weather has been up and down

Current Problem - Am I doing a good job so far, should I make changes

 

[Syreptyon]

Since you purchased your chameleon from Petco, the first thing I want to tell you is to forget everything they told you about keeping your chameleon. Petco employees are not properly educated on chameleon husbandry and it is unfortunate that they are able to continue to sell them. Since it sounds like you bought the "chameleon kit", too, there are going to be some important changes you need to make.

Feeding: 5:20 PM is pretty late to be feeding your chameleon. You should only offer her food during the early part of the day to make sure she has time to digest them fully (by basking). Feeding that late can cause problems, so best just increase her feeding in the morning. Definitely find a gutload recipe soon, too. Carrots and lettuce, as it sounds like you know, are not nutritious enough alone.

Supplements: This needs some adjusting. You should definitely keep on dusting with the calcium without D3 at every feeding, but you should only use the multivitamin twice a month (no more). The multivitamin can cause problems when used in excess. Most importantly, you are missing an additional supplement you require. In addition to the above supplements, it is very important that you also dust with a calcium powder WITH vitamin D3 twice a month.

Fecal description: Since the urate is orange, she is probably dehydrated. You should increase the number of mistings or the duration of each session for a while until the urates start presenting as whiter.

Lighting: Replace the blue daylight bulb you have with just a regular household incandescent light of the same wattage. The blue bulbs bother chameleons' eyes and provide unnatural color that they (a) can see, and (b) don't benefit from. As for your UVB light, is it the coiled CFL (compact fluorescent light) type? I'm assuming it is, if it came with that kit. It is also recommended that you replace that UVB bulb with a linear model. The compact bulb are bad for chameleons' eyes and do not distribute UVB light well.

Temperature: What is the temperature in the basking spot? This is the most important part.

Humidity: You need to buy a hygrometer. Just google it, you can buy them on amazon or at any local reptile store.

Plants: You ought to add some real plants, too. Pothos, schefflera arboricola, and ficus are all very good, safe, and easy to keep options. They will help provide additional cover and climbing options for your chameleon, as well as increase humidity.

Also, since you have a girl, you are going to need to be ready for her to lay eggs. Just in case you do not know, female chameleons lay eggs even if they do not mate with another chameleon. You will eventually need to put together a lay bin for her to lay her eggs in