My first pet chameleon (need advice)

[jajeanpierre]

Yes jajeanpierre I totally agree, Saudi Airlines are my favorite
And yes pet stores here in Saudi Arabia are, well, very unlike the pet stores in North America. But I digress.

I just bought a mister bottle and used bottled drinking water to fill it up. I misted the cage. Alphys then started to smack her lips. By smacking I mean she's opening her mouth, moving her tongue, then closing it. I assume it is to get moisture from the air. This made me so happy because she's getting hydrated! Also I caught two flies and put them in the cage with her at noon. It's night now and I don't see any sign of them so that means she ate them!

Oh and I also bought the Komodo dual gauge. It measures the temperature and humidity in the enclosure.

Thank you all so much for your help!

That opening the mouth is her drinking. As you can imagine, it's not all that fast or effective. Keep misting until she stops doing that and then offer it again in an hour. If she is very dehydrated she won't eat and might not even drink.

I'm trying to think of what you can catch other than flies. Flies are probably your safest bet. Aren't there a lot of flies around date palms? When is the date season? You can set up a trap for flies. Offer them something they want like a sweet fruit. When you want to catch them with your net,mist the air with your spray bottle. The light will reflect off the droplets and they will have more trouble seeing your net. bv

She probably has learned not to touch a scorpion but maybe not because they come out at night when she is asleep. If you found a little one and took off the stinger, she could eat that. Just be careful which scorpion you catch as some are deadly. In general, the bigger the claws the weaker the sting and the most deadly ones are brown. Don't feed her camel spiders (whip scorpions) because they will eat her. I know I once saw a tank full of scorpions with their stingers removed in a pet shop in Saudi Arabia.

The internet will be your friend. I had a lot of things shipped in. I also brought in a lot of things when I was out on holiday.

 

[Damicofam6]

There are plenty of places to buy crickets even local pet stores, also on the forum you can find Cricket Crack which is a great gutload. we are new also 7 months with our panther, we did a lot of research prior. this site is great, follow the care sheets and ask questions, lots of knowledgeable people on here. good luck

 

[LeoThePanther]

WHAT WHAT THATS NOT HOW U FEED A CHAMELON

 

[Trace]

Don’t yell. Why would feeding insects and arachnids that are endemic to the area, which the chameleon is probably already used to eating, be a bad thing?

 

[MelissaB]

WHAT WHAT THATS NOT HOW U FEED A CHAMELON

There are plenty of places to buy crickets even local pet stores, also on the forum you can find Cricket Crack which is a great gutload.

You guys do realize that the original poster lives in Saudi Arabia, right? Things that are easy to get in the UK, USA and Canada aren't readily available over there.

 

[Mshelle88]

all these comments are awesome! I'm new as well and liking this forum.

When I got my veiled chameleon, he was a baby so I "cup fed" him since his cage was huge and I didn't want the crickets to run around and him not find them

Your chameleon looks like female. They have bumps on the back feet that stick out, and very noticeable if a male.

You should mist the cage with a sprayer or get the little dripper. Feed live crickets and put calcium without D3 on them (I heard they get calcium poisoning / overdose if you constantly dust crickets with calcium WITH D3)



Anyway have fun with your chameleon!! They are awesome reptiles. My male veiled is unfortunately not nice and hisses when I stick my hand in his cage so he is more a show reptile lol

 

[jajeanpierre]

Ragidi,

It's been a long time since I was in the Jeddah area. I'm trying to think of places that have standing water near Jeddah where there might be a bigger variety of bugs and I'm drawing a blank. Their range starts at around Al Bahah and goes south into Yemen. The maps I've looked at show that they aren't on the coastal plain but up the escarpment. Unfortunately, the goats have pretty much stripped all vegetation from the land, so finding anyplace that has some greenery is a challenge.

Size of feeder insect could be a challenge. The locusts I've seen have all been huge, just too big to feed your chameleon. (Are you old enough to remember the swarm that came through Jeddah in the early/mid 90s? There were drifts of them over a foot deep up against walls and all over the city.) I know sometimes they sell locusts at the souks. I would cut off the legs (too hard and spiny) and maybe even the wings to make them softer and easier to eat, trying not to torture the poor insect at the same time.

I still think the only reliable feeder you are going to have are cockroaches. You could set up a colony outside away form the house and even feed in a cage beside the roach colony. I know how distasteful dealing with cockroaches will be, but I can't see how you are going to be able to find a steady supply of insects any other way. Flies are a possiblility, but actually catching enough is going to be a real challenge. You want to make sure the roaches you feed have been away from the places that are sprayed with insecticide, which is why you will want to set up a contained colony.

Again, small live fish are a possibility. Offer them in a dish with a little water to keep their gills moist so they don't die and if she doesn't eat them really soon, remove them and put them back in water before they get into distress and try again later. The concern with relying on fish is that I suspect they will contain too high a protein level to use as a staple--you might end up with a bad case of gout.

Can you contact the biology professor you mentioned before?

If you are not able to feed this lizard--and I do appreciate the challenge you are facing--you might take it to an area they come from and let her go. Just make sure she is very hydrated. Choose an area with a lot of growth AND AN AREA THIS SPECIES IS NATIVE TO. They do not live on the coastal plane. There are lots of books available written specifically for the Western expat showing interesting day or weekend trips around Jeddah. I have one in front of me called DESERT TREKS FROM JEDDAH, written by Patricia Barbor. That will give you an idea of where to release her. I just don't know which areas are in the natural range of your chameleon, but you will be more familiar with the towns and can put the Red List maps (link below) against the Saudi maps and the book I've mentioned.

Here's a map of their range, assuming she is a Veiled or Chamaeleo Calyptratus. Click on the "View Map" button at the top left corner.

http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/176306/0

It is possible that she is a Camaeleo arabicus. Here's the link to the distribution map of that species. You can see the C. arabicus is found in Yemen, but you know the border is between the two countries is under dispute and a little on the porous side, and a C. arabicus could easily cross the border and find its way into a pet shop in KSA. I do think it is more likely that it is a C. calyptratus or a Veiled (Yemen) chameleon.

http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/199603/0

Good luck. Keep me posted.

 

[ragidi]

Ragidi,

It's been a long time since I was in the Jeddah area. I'm trying to think of places that have standing water near Jeddah where there might be a bigger variety of bugs and I'm drawing a blank. Their range starts at around Al Bahah and goes south into Yemen. The maps I've looked at show that they aren't on the coastal plain but up the escarpment. Unfortunately, the goats have pretty much stripped all vegetation from the land, so finding anyplace that has some greenery is a challenge.

Size of feeder insect could be a challenge. The locusts I've seen have all been huge, just too big to feed your chameleon. (Are you old enough to remember the swarm that came through Jeddah in the early/mid 90s? There were drifts of them over a foot deep up against walls and all over the city.) I know sometimes they sell locusts at the souks. I would cut off the legs (too hard and spiny) and maybe even the wings to make them softer and easier to eat, trying not to torture the poor insect at the same time.

I still think the only reliable feeder you are going to have are cockroaches. You could set up a colony outside away form the house and even feed in a cage beside the roach colony. I know how distasteful dealing with cockroaches will be, but I can't see how you are going to be able to find a steady supply of insects any other way. Flies are a possiblility, but actually catching enough is going to be a real challenge. You want to make sure the roaches you feed have been away from the places that are sprayed with insecticide, which is why you will want to set up a contained colony.

Again, small live fish are a possibility. Offer them in a dish with a little water to keep their gills moist so they don't die and if she doesn't eat them really soon, remove them and put them back in water before they get into distress and try again later. The concern with relying on fish is that I suspect they will contain too high a protein level to use as a staple--you might end up with a bad case of gout.

Can you contact the biology professor you mentioned before?

If you are not able to feed this lizard--and I do appreciate the challenge you are facing--you might take it to an area they come from and let her go. Just make sure she is very hydrated. Choose an area with a lot of growth AND AN AREA THIS SPECIES IS NATIVE TO. They do not live on the coastal plane. There are lots of books available written specifically for the Western expat showing interesting day or weekend trips around Jeddah. I have one in front of me called DESERT TREKS FROM JEDDAH, written by Patricia Barbor. That will give you an idea of where to release her. I just don't know which areas are in the natural range of your chameleon, but you will be more familiar with the towns and can put the Red List maps (link below) against the Saudi maps and the book I've mentioned.

Here's a map of their range, assuming she is a Veiled or Chamaeleo Calyptratus. Click on the "View Map" button at the top left corner.

http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/176306/0

It is possible that she is a Camaeleo arabicus. Here's the link to the distribution map of that species. You can see the C. arabicus is found in Yemen, but you know the border is between the two countries is under dispute and a little on the porous side, and a C. arabicus could easily cross the border and find its way into a pet shop in KSA. I do think it is more likely that it is a C. calyptratus or a Veiled (Yemen) chameleon.

http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/199603/0

Good luck. Keep me posted.

Thank you so so much! This is some very useful info!
I don't remember hearing of the locust swarm event, but it sounds scary 0_0 I've never seen any grasshoppers in Jeddah, but in Madinah and Makkah there are a lot especially near the Holy Mosques. I went to Madinah a few years back and I remember I went grasshopper catching. I think a trip to Madinah will be added on my to-do list...
As for flies, there are too many of them these days. I never thought I'd be glad to have too many flies xD I was able to catch a few, so hopefully it won't be a problem.

As for releasing Alphys...I know it would be the best solution for her in case I was unable to care for her. But I'm making a slow but good progress so far and I hope I won't have to release her. Besides, what if I did release her and then some pet store employee went chameleon hunting and caught her? I hate to think how stressed she would be...

Again, thank you so much!

 

[ragidi]

all these comments are awesome! I'm new as well and liking this forum.

When I got my veiled chameleon, he was a baby so I "cup fed" him since his cage was huge and I didn't want the crickets to run around and him not find them

Your chameleon looks like female. They have bumps on the back feet that stick out, and very noticeable if a male.

You should mist the cage with a sprayer or get the little dripper. Feed live crickets and put calcium without D3 on them (I heard they get calcium poisoning / overdose if you constantly dust crickets with calcium WITH D3)



Anyway have fun with your chameleon!! They are awesome reptiles. My male veiled is unfortunately not nice and hisses when I stick my hand in his cage so he is more a show reptile lol

Welcome to the forums! I've been here for a few days and I'm learning new things everyday! Everyone helped me out with their advice and suggestions
I did conclude that Alphys is a female. She's small-sized and there are no bumps on her hind legs.
I use a spray bottle with a misting setting to keep her hydrated. As for the crickets and calcium, I haven't been able to find them yet, unfortunately. Until I find them, I'll be catching flies for alphys (and other bugs if they appear)

 

[ragidi]

WHAT WHAT THATS NOT HOW U FEED A CHAMELON

Don’t yell. Why would feeding insects and arachnids that are endemic to the area, which the chameleon is probably already used to eating, be a bad thing?

You guys do realize that the original poster lives in Saudi Arabia, right? Things that are easy to get in the UK, USA and Canada aren't readily available over there.

Yeah, food sources for chameleons aren't readily available for purchase here, unfortunately x(

 

[jajeanpierre]

Welcome to the forums! I've been here for a few days and I'm learning new things everyday! Everyone helped me out with their advice and suggestions
I did conclude that Alphys is a female. She's small-sized and there are no bumps on her hind legs.
I use a spray bottle with a misting setting to keep her hydrated. As for the crickets and calcium, I haven't been able to find them yet, unfortunately. Until I find them, I'll be catching flies for alphys (and other bugs if they appear)

Can you post a picture of her against a measuring tape so I can get an idea of how big she is? If she is fairly mature, her calcium needs won't be very high for a bit of time because she will have already grown a lot.

You can always get calcium mailed to you. Do you know anyone who is travelling to Europe or North America who could bring it in for you? I always brought a lot of things in whenever I left the Kingdom. Just make sure you don't open that bottle of calcium--leave it sealed or customs will have a fit! You do not want any misunderstanding about a white powder! If you can't find anyone to send it to you, I would be happy to mail something off to you.

I have a dear friend who ran the Prince Fahad bin Sultan Falcon Center in Riyadh for many years. He's now working in Abu Dhabi, but is probably in Pakistan on a hunting expedition and might not be available. If you want, I could ask him for some help on locating someone in your area who could help.

You might even call the Falcon Center. Avian vets often have a lot of training in reptiles. They might be able to steer you in the right direction. When I was in Riyadh, they were in Riyadh itself. The Center was in the process of being built and it was to be a huge complex just north of Riyadh. I thought I had their Riyadh phone number, but I can't find it. I did a google search and came up with this information. It might be dated. I know there was a veterinary hospital just a few blocks from the Falcon Center when it was in its temporary location right in Riyadh. You might find that vet clinic and ask them for the Falcon Center's phone number. It's possible I still have the phone number of that vet clinic but I have a lot of things to do today.

http://www.ftaarea.com/company-details-18/1235324.html

If you can do this, you will have accomplished something few others can. But, if you can't, please give her a chance at life before she deteriorates to the point she will also die in the wild.

It's been fun helping you. You've brought back a lot of really wonderful memories I have from my many years in the Kingdom. Shukraan!

 

[oneillchameleons]

These really are the best forums I've ever seen. Someone comes for help with a new chameleon, and by the end of the thread there are suggestions for everything from avian vets to areas in Saudi Arabia for catching native insects. jjeanpierre and the other experts here really take the time to help and I assume countless chams have been saved due to the advice given on these forums. Well done. I find myself on here more and more everyday. Good luck ragidi I hope everything works out for you and your pet.

 

[ragidi]

Can you post a picture of her against a measuring tape so I can get an idea of how big she is? If she is fairly mature, her calcium needs won't be very high for a bit of time because she will have already grown a lot.

You can always get calcium mailed to you. Do you know anyone who is travelling to Europe or North America who could bring it in for you? I always brought a lot of things in whenever I left the Kingdom. Just make sure you don't open that bottle of calcium--leave it sealed or customs will have a fit! You do not want any misunderstanding about a white powder! If you can't find anyone to send it to you, I would be happy to mail something off to you.

I have a dear friend who ran the Prince Fahad bin Sultan Falcon Center in Riyadh for many years. He's now working in Abu Dhabi, but is probably in Pakistan on a hunting expedition and might not be available. If you want, I could ask him for some help on locating someone in your area who could help.

You might even call the Falcon Center. Avian vets often have a lot of training in reptiles. They might be able to steer you in the right direction. When I was in Riyadh, they were in Riyadh itself. The Center was in the process of being built and it was to be a huge complex just north of Riyadh. I thought I had their Riyadh phone number, but I can't find it. I did a google search and came up with this information. It might be dated. I know there was a veterinary hospital just a few blocks from the Falcon Center when it was in its temporary location right in Riyadh. You might find that vet clinic and ask them for the Falcon Center's phone number. It's possible I still have the phone number of that vet clinic but I have a lot of things to do today.

http://www.ftaarea.com/company-details-18/1235324.html

If you can do this, you will have accomplished something few others can. But, if you can't, please give her a chance at life before she deteriorates to the point she will also die in the wild.

It's been fun helping you. You've brought back a lot of really wonderful memories I have from my many years in the Kingdom. Shukraan!

Thank you so much! A friend of mine is currently in North America, so I'll let them order some for me. Thanks for the mailing offer, though!
I'll post a picture of her size as soon as possible. As for the Falcon Center, I'm about to call them.

I am really really thankful for your advice and information you gave. I'll never forget your help Afwann!

 

[ragidi]

These really are the best forums I've ever seen. Someone comes for help with a new chameleon, and by the end of the thread there are suggestions for everything from avian vets to areas in Saudi Arabia for catching native insects. jjeanpierre and the other experts here really take the time to help and I assume countless chams have been saved due to the advice given on these forums. Well done. I find myself on here more and more everyday. Good luck ragidi I hope everything works out for you and your pet.

Thank you! Joining this forum really helped me! When I saw how bad Alphys was (dehydration and no proper feeding), I was so scared and I didn't want to give up on her. The help I received here from jajeanpierre and many others really helped me and Alphys.
I hope I can someday be as knowledgeable as everyone here is so I can also help other chameleon owners

 

[Mopskitty]

So I recently purchase my chameleon Lorenzo about a week ago...he was mistreated his skin was dry (not shedding dry, like I've been in the sun too long) however his skin is waaay better now and he's eating and going the bathroom normally they had him in a long cage (so he had no climbing room) and next to tons of birds (he probably thought he was prey the whole time) so now there is only one thing that freaks me out...he sleeps like he's in a coma...even if I touch him he doesn't wake up...I have to make sure he's breathing just to put my mind at ease as silly as it sounds could it just be that he never got a decent nights sleep in his life??? Idk please help!

 

[ragidi]

Can you post a picture of her against a measuring tape so I can get an idea of how big she is? If she is fairly mature, her calcium needs won't be very high for a bit of time because she will have already grown a lot.

You can always get calcium mailed to you. Do you know anyone who is travelling to Europe or North America who could bring it in for you? I always brought a lot of things in whenever I left the Kingdom. Just make sure you don't open that bottle of calcium--leave it sealed or customs will have a fit! You do not want any misunderstanding about a white powder! If you can't find anyone to send it to you, I would be happy to mail something off to you.

I have a dear friend who ran the Prince Fahad bin Sultan Falcon Center in Riyadh for many years. He's now working in Abu Dhabi, but is probably in Pakistan on a hunting expedition and might not be available. If you want, I could ask him for some help on locating someone in your area who could help.

You might even call the Falcon Center. Avian vets often have a lot of training in reptiles. They might be able to steer you in the right direction. When I was in Riyadh, they were in Riyadh itself. The Center was in the process of being built and it was to be a huge complex just north of Riyadh. I thought I had their Riyadh phone number, but I can't find it. I did a google search and came up with this information. It might be dated. I know there was a veterinary hospital just a few blocks from the Falcon Center when it was in its temporary location right in Riyadh. You might find that vet clinic and ask them for the Falcon Center's phone number. It's possible I still have the phone number of that vet clinic but I have a lot of things to do today.

http://www.ftaarea.com/company-details-18/1235324.html

If you can do this, you will have accomplished something few others can. But, if you can't, please give her a chance at life before she deteriorates to the point she will also die in the wild.

It's been fun helping you. You've brought back a lot of really wonderful memories I have from my many years in the Kingdom. Shukraan!

I just measured her, but she won't sit still so I couldn't take a photo. She is 12-13 inches long.

 

[jajeanpierre]

Thank you so much! A friend of mine is currently in North America, so I'll let them order some for me. Thanks for the mailing offer, though!
I'll post a picture of her size as soon as possible. As for the Falcon Center, I'm about to call them.

I am really really thankful for your advice and information you gave. I'll never forget your help Afwann!

How much space does your friend have to give you and when is he coming back? I want you to get the best products and want to get a list of things for him to get. You can order it online and have it shipped to your friend--I just want to make sure you get exactly what you need and as much as you can get. It is one thing for me to buy something inappropriate--I can just order what is needed.

I'm going to give you the name of two supplements that you can't go wrong with for a veiled chameleon. I suggest you order them for a high-turnover place so you are sure they have them in stock and will order them. If you want, I can call around and speak to some places to see if they will ship to you. Sometimes when you try to order things on the internet, they won't ship to KSA, but if I talk to them, it is possible that they might input the data by hand and get it out to you.

Here are the two supplements that I think will be all you need:
Repashy Super Cal NoD and Repashy Calcium Plus LoD. Minerall Outdoor would be a plus, but you can get by with just the first two, and if you can only get one, just the first which is plain calcium. Try LLL Reptile. I can call them to speak to them if you want and explain the situation. Not many pet shops even in North America carry supplements that I would buy. You need to find specialty places and that's a bit much to ask your friend to do. One tip--put the vitamins in the fridge to preserve them.

It is important you get a "NO Vitamin D" formula of straight calcium. I like Repashy because it is ground really finely. You won't appreciate the difference unless you've used other calcium, but trust me, there is a difference. The Repashy Calcium Plus LoD isn't all that low in Vitamin D. It is basically a vitamin supplement you give once or twice a month. Minerall Outdoor is a mineral supplement without VitaminD. If you can only get one, get the plain calcium. I am not a big believer in supplementing vitamins, but I always supplement plain calcium for a female.

You won't need a lot of VitaminD, your chameleon grew up in her natural environment and is pretty much grown so she is starting with a fabulous skeleton structure. You can get natural sun any time. You will need a good UVB light, but she isn't compromised the way so many baby veileds are that are mass produced here in North America. I let my chameleons make their own VitaminD either under good lights or out in natural sunlight.

Another think I would strongly recommend for you is a dripper. Your house will be heavily air conditioned so the air inside the house will actually be quite dry even though is is dripping with humidity outside. There are drippers systems called The Little Dripiper or The Big Dripper. I saw a really neat adaptation to the valve (which tends to work poorly either not letting water flow or too much flow) using a valve from an IV bag.

Your next concern is lighting. Until you sort out what you want, natural lighting will give your chameleon all she needs. Just don't cook her or dehydrate her outside! It is really easy to put them out in the morning and forget about them--I know lots of people who have accidentally killed their pets that way--so I would recommend if you put her outside you always put her out in a place where the sun will be behind trees in a few hours.

I don't know your financial situation--and face it everything hinges on money in this world--but you can get a really nice set up shipped to you. Your shipping charges will be higher than mine, but not too much. I once had a 200 pound parrot cages shipped to me in Jeddah from Europe for not much money.

One other option for getting help that I just thought of would be the local zoo. I used to know the man who ran the Riyadh Zoo. If he is still in the country, I am sure I can get hold of him through a very dear friend who set up and ran the Falcon Center until he went to Abu Dhabi.

I'll be happy to call around for you to find who will ship to you. We can "talk" t in private if you PM me.

 

[jajeanpierre]

So I recently purchase my chameleon Lorenzo about a week ago...he was mistreated his skin was dry (not shedding dry, like I've been in the sun too long) however his skin is waaay better now and he's eating and going the bathroom normally they had him in a long cage (so he had no climbing room) and next to tons of birds (he probably thought he was prey the whole time) so now there is only one thing that freaks me out...he sleeps like he's in a coma...even if I touch him he doesn't wake up...I have to make sure he's breathing just to put my mind at ease as silly as it sounds could it just be that he never got a decent nights sleep in his life??? Idk please help!

I think that's pretty normal. One of my parrots is like that except she might also have one eye open, too. You look at this parrot and she looks as if she is looking right at you but she is completely unresponsive. It is very weird.

 

[Mopskitty]

I think that's pretty normal. One of my parrots is like that except she might also have one eye open, too. You look at this parrot and she looks as if she is looking right at you but she is completely unresponsive. It is very weird.

Thank you! He's my first lizard so I was worried