New baby veiled owner!

chlobo

Established Member
Hello everyone :)
Yesterday, my baby chameleon came in the mail along with some crickets from LLL reptile. I have been doing lots of research over the summer, but I wanted to make sure that my system is alright for little Vincent.

Chameleon Info:

Species: Veiled

Gender: Male

Age: I don't really know, but he is about 2 inches long from his nose to the base of his tail.

How long he has been with me: 2 days

Handling: I try not to handle him much so that he can get used to his new home. I put him into his cage yesterday and took him out later to see if he would eat a little. I also took him out to measure him today.

Feeding: I feed him the smallest crickets that I can find out of the ones that came in the package. I try to keep them under 1/2 inch.
He ate 4 crickets yesterday and 4 crickets this morning but he didn't seem in the mood after that. He is still probably a little stressed. I cup feed since the cage is a bit big for him.

Feeding schedule:
0-3 months: 10 feeders twice daily (too much?:confused:)
3-5 months: 10 feeders once daily
5-9 months: 8 feeders once daily
9-12 months: 8 feeders every other day
12+ months: 5 feeders every other day

Gut-loading: I plan on getting some Repashy bug burger ASAP but for now I feed them chopped fruits and veggies that I found around the house (so far apples, carrots, and lettuce). I also gave them crushed whole grain cheerios and some bits of roasted seaweed sheets (the kind people use for sushi) for a dry gut-load. I also provide the Fluker's water gel stuff.

Supplements: I use Rep-cal plain calcium, D3 calcium, and Herptivite.

Supplementing schedule:
0-6 months: plain calcium at every feeding, D3 calcium every Sunday, Herptivite every other Sunday
6-12 months: plain calcium at every feeding, D3 and Herptivite alternate every Sunday
12+ months: plain calcium at every feeding, D3 and Herptivite alternate every Sunday

Watering: I use a cool mist humidifier on a timer. the humidifier is on for half an hour 3 times during the day and three times during the night. I also have a dripper going as often as possible. I have not yet seen my chameleon drinking.

Fecal Description: he pooped inside the container that he was delivered in. It's mostly brown and there is a yellowish part. He has not been tested for parasites.

History : N/A


Cage Info:

Cage Type: Reptibreeze screen cage 16x16x30

Lighting: I use Zoo Med Reptisun 5.0 for UVB and a normal house bulb with Fluker's dimmable clamp lamp for basking. The lights turn on at 6 AM and turn off at 6 PM.

Temperature: At the bottom of the cage, it is around 70 degrees F and at the top I try to keep it around 75-80 degrees F. At night, the temperature doesn't get lower than 65 degrees F. I measure the temperature with this infrared temperature gun
(http://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-Lase...pebp=1440612210534&perid=09PEBFYJKTG2XCNRJHD2).

Humidity: I use a cool mist humidifier on a timer. The humidifier is on for half an hour 3 times during the day and three times during the night. I measure humidity with an Acurite temp/humidity monitor
(http://www.amazon.com/AcuRite-00325...pebp=1440612124392&perid=01Z4EFPS6WNZP2SPJ777). Also, I use coconut substrate as a natural potting soil for my live plants, and that helps to maintain the humidity.

Plants: I have golden pothos plants on the bottom and hanging on the walls near the top. I use baked branches from outside and a couple fake vines twisted together.

Placement: The cage is located in my bedroom. It is not near any fans or vents and there is little to no traffic around the cage. My mom likes to come in and take a peek sometimes though :D. The top of the cage is about 50 inches off of the floor (a bit low in my opinion).

Location: Seattle, Washington

Concerns:

I know that you are supposed to feed your chameleon in the first half of the day in order for proper digestion, but is it ok if I feed Vin before I head off to school around 6:30 AM and then feed him once again after I get back around 3:00 PM? I will only need to do this until his feedings are cut down to once a day.

How old does my chameleon look? I really have no clue lol

Vin has these little white spots on his head (picture provided at the bottom). I am thinking that this might just be some stuck shed, but does it look unnatural? If you have any other ideas of what it is could you please let me know?

Also, I have caught Vin snoozing quite a few times during the day. It could just be that he is stressed out from travelling, but let me know if there is something else that I should change.

I have not seen Vin drink at all. The humidifier leaves some water on the screen, but he can't quite access that area, so I have a dripper going on one of the pothos plants. Is there something else that I can do to encourage him to drink or incorporate water into his meals?

Please let me know if there is anything that you would like me to change. I want to make Vincent as happy as I can! Thanks so much!

Photos in order from left to right
Chameleon Setup
Cricket Setup
Vin on the ruler
Vin's spots (2 pictures)
 

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why did I post this in the food forum :confused:
does anyone know if I can change it back to general discussion?
 
Welcome to the forums and congrats on Vincent! I keep veileds and they are awesome to work with. You can see my veileds here: https://www.chameleonforums.com/my-beautiful-veileds-142194/
He looks tiny so probably 6 to 8 weeks old. He should have a basking spot of 80 to 82 during the day. I wouldn't take him out of his cage at all right now and just let him settle in. He will need very small crickets and some fruit flies. The little ones love fruit flies. he should be eating 12 to 15 feeders a day. Are you misting him? He needs misting 2 to 3 times a day. I'm attaching my blog for new keepers for you to read over. It's how I recommend keeping veiled and panther chameleons. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html
 
Thanks so much! I will definitely bump up the temperature a little bit and mist him. Your blog was very helpful, and your veileds look amazing!
 
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