Brentholey
Established Member
I received my little guy today! I have been very anxious.This is my first chameleon, his
name is Opie. He is a naval bloodline from FL Chams.
New arrival finally!
- Thread starter Brentholey
- Start date
Brentholey
Established Member
Should I try to offer food right away or should I wait some time? He is pretty nervous. I have left him alone besides just putting him in his cage. I don’t want him stressed any more than necessary. What about misting? Now or wait awhile?
Brentholey
Established Member
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex,and age of your chameleon. Howlong has it been in your care?(Veiled, male, 2-3 months, I got him this morning.)
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? (Only once he’s very shy and timid)
Feeding - What are you feeding yourcham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loadingyour feeders? (I have offered silk worms, small horn worm, extra small Dubia, and small crickets. Also I have Nutrigrubs but have not offered any yet.)
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products areyou dusting your feeders with andwhat is the schedule?( I dusted them with Rep Cal calcium no D3. I have Rep Cal calcium with d3 as well to dust once every other week, and herptivite every other week.)
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? ( i have a dripper 1 drop every 5 seconds. I misted twice today about 2 minute sessions. I did not see him drink but I have been staying away from him cause he about jumps out of his skin when I walk up to the cage.)
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recentdroppings. Has this chameleon everbeen tested for parasites? (He had 2 dropping in the container he came in. One was normal brown with white urate and the other just brown but had some partially undigested insects in it.)
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. (I have no history with my chameleon. Not yet)
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?( screen cage it is 54” tall 30” wide 20” deep. It sits on 12” legs, top of cage is 66” off the ground.)
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?(2x50w LED Beamswork, 2x40w LED Jungle Dawn spots, 75w exo terra basking spot in a dimmable dome so I can adjust his basking temp, 30” uvb 5.0 Repti-Sun)
Temperature - What temp rangehave you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? (Floor: 70-74, top/not the basking area: 78-80, basking area:84-87. I woke up this morning it was 70 on the floor. I have a Therm-Pro, and 2 analogs I think they’re made by zoo- med.)
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?(45-60% humidity. I use the Therm-Pro it is a hygrometer as well.)
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?( yes I have Pothos, ficus benjamina, and Schefflera arbicola.)
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?(his cage is in my dining room, there is one vent directly above his cage but I taped it shut so there is absolutely no air coming out of it. Minimum traffic area. The top of the cage is 66” from the floor.)
Location - Where are yougeographically located? (I am in southeast Michigan.)
Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about. (He has not eaten anything since I have had him. Any ideas on how to entice him to eat? he did try to eat some dirt from a plant but I caught him so I went and bought some rocks to put over it as soon as I could get some. I made a feeder cup and a run cup. one has silks, Dubias, crickets, and a small hornworm. The other has crickets and Dubias. Also he is extremely shy I expected this some, but I guess I didn’t think it would be so intense. If he sees me anywhere near his cage he try’s to run away and hide or spins over on his vine so that the vine is separating him and me lol. How should I go about acclimating him to be a little more social? How long should I let him settle in before I start to have some interaction with him?) ANY OTHER ADVICE IS MUCH APPRECIATED! 1st time Cham owner ~Thank You
Your Chameleon - The species, sex,and age of your chameleon. Howlong has it been in your care?(Veiled, male, 2-3 months, I got him this morning.)
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? (Only once he’s very shy and timid)
Feeding - What are you feeding yourcham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loadingyour feeders? (I have offered silk worms, small horn worm, extra small Dubia, and small crickets. Also I have Nutrigrubs but have not offered any yet.)
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products areyou dusting your feeders with andwhat is the schedule?( I dusted them with Rep Cal calcium no D3. I have Rep Cal calcium with d3 as well to dust once every other week, and herptivite every other week.)
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? ( i have a dripper 1 drop every 5 seconds. I misted twice today about 2 minute sessions. I did not see him drink but I have been staying away from him cause he about jumps out of his skin when I walk up to the cage.)
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recentdroppings. Has this chameleon everbeen tested for parasites? (He had 2 dropping in the container he came in. One was normal brown with white urate and the other just brown but had some partially undigested insects in it.)
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. (I have no history with my chameleon. Not yet)
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?( screen cage it is 54” tall 30” wide 20” deep. It sits on 12” legs, top of cage is 66” off the ground.)
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?(2x50w LED Beamswork, 2x40w LED Jungle Dawn spots, 75w exo terra basking spot in a dimmable dome so I can adjust his basking temp, 30” uvb 5.0 Repti-Sun)
Temperature - What temp rangehave you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? (Floor: 70-74, top/not the basking area: 78-80, basking area:84-87. I woke up this morning it was 70 on the floor. I have a Therm-Pro, and 2 analogs I think they’re made by zoo- med.)
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?(45-60% humidity. I use the Therm-Pro it is a hygrometer as well.)
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?( yes I have Pothos, ficus benjamina, and Schefflera arbicola.)
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?(his cage is in my dining room, there is one vent directly above his cage but I taped it shut so there is absolutely no air coming out of it. Minimum traffic area. The top of the cage is 66” from the floor.)
Location - Where are yougeographically located? (I am in southeast Michigan.)
Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about. (He has not eaten anything since I have had him. Any ideas on how to entice him to eat? he did try to eat some dirt from a plant but I caught him so I went and bought some rocks to put over it as soon as I could get some. I made a feeder cup and a run cup. one has silks, Dubias, crickets, and a small hornworm. The other has crickets and Dubias. Also he is extremely shy I expected this some, but I guess I didn’t think it would be so intense. If he sees me anywhere near his cage he try’s to run away and hide or spins over on his vine so that the vine is separating him and me lol. How should I go about acclimating him to be a little more social? How long should I let him settle in before I start to have some interaction with him?) ANY OTHER ADVICE IS MUCH APPRECIATED! 1st time Cham owner ~Thank You
Brentholey
Established Member
carbyville
Member
Awe congrats on the new addition! He’s adorable
Brentholey
Established Member
So I came home from work today to this. I can’t tell if he’s good or I should help him down? Lol all of his food is still in the cups so that makes day 2 without any food!?
Brodybreaux25
Chameleon Enthusiast
He’s not going to eat for the first few days, adjustment period. Are both of those clear cups feeder cups?
Brodybreaux25
Chameleon Enthusiast
@Brentholey im VERY CONCERNED about your baby crawling around below all three of those basking lights! Two of them may be high enough but the red one looks way too close. A severe burn at this age is a guaranteed death sentence. Have you measured the temps on the top screen?
Brentholey
Established Member
@Brodybreaux25 No I have not taken a temp at screen height. the two elevated lights are jungle dawn plant lights the red only looks red because I have it dimmer down. I should have the basking light elevated? Doing that now! Thank you for the suggestion!
Brentholey
Established Member
@Brodybreaux25 and yes both of those cups are for feeders is that ok? I’ll take any advice I can get! I raised the light also and helped him off the top of the screen. He’s not happy with me for that.
Brentholey
Established Member
He’s eating! I’m so happy about that I’ve been stressed out!
Brodybreaux25
Chameleon Enthusiast
Awesome! Yes, thermal burns are the #1 injury suffered by young chams. Good rule of thumb is if it’s too hot for you to keep your hand on the screen for 1min or more it will burn them severely.
I was going to encourage the multiple feeding stations given how big your viv is and how small your Cham is. It will offer him more opportunities to “stumble across” some food while exploring his viv. Some will say your viv is way too big but I assure you it isn’t.
Have you seen him drink?
I was going to encourage the multiple feeding stations given how big your viv is and how small your Cham is. It will offer him more opportunities to “stumble across” some food while exploring his viv. Some will say your viv is way too big but I assure you it isn’t.
Have you seen him drink?
Brentholey
Established Member
No I have not seen him drink yet he is very timid so it’s hard to get close enough to him to watch. I have been misting him and immediately leaving him alone so he can be comfortable, Because when I’m near he kinda freezes up and is focused on me. So I’m not sure if he has or not. I also have a dripper strategically dropping onto a leaf of the ficus that actually splashes and spreads the water out over most of the plants pretty well so he has the opportunity whenever he wants.
Brentholey
Established Member
@Brodybreaux25 Also I was reading bemen’s thread on “building trust with your chameleon” and I started when I got home from work just sitting by his cage so hopefully he can get used to me being around.
