Hello all, tomorrow makes two weeks having my first cham. We got him from PetSmart, I believe he is between 4 and 5 months old.
I know that the cage size is incorrect, as we got the chameleon kit for him so we would be able to bring him home. I know it's recommended to have your set up ready before you bring them home, but alas. We did not..
I am mostly happy with everything aside from the size. I already had a number of plants perfect for an enclosure so being able to use them this way was exciting to me.
I changed the soil in all of them to jungle mix repi-breeze.
His stick for basking is right at 6 inches from his heat lamp. (I have to double check what he's go in there for that. I know it's one of the blue blubs that emits the soft white light.
We have the reptisun T5 H0 5.0 UVB 24" fixture, and it is 4 feet from the bottom of his enclosure. I see this is recommended for enclosure this size. (I don't quite understand UVB yet. would love help on that.... ) We just got the correct bulb for him yesterday.
ambient temps in house are usually 68-70.
I have a thermal heat gun as well as the probe thermometer and circular hydrometer that came with the kit. I know they tend to be kind of off, but I like it for a general idea. I also have a digital reader for temp and humidity. I move it around in the day. sometimes I keep it right by the window and I know if its high there, it's probably getting that way in his enclosure. I will close the blinds and or curtains and turn the air down one degree in the house and that does the trick.
I don't let it get any hotter that 90 at his basking spot. I will turn his heat bulb off for a while if it starts getting up there.
I check his temps a time or two throughout the day, especially around 12, as he is near a window. I keep the ceiling fan on during the day and that helps the humidity stay down. Between 35 and 55, depending on how it is outside/ inside
Lights turn on at 8am and off at 8pm
Fogger turns on at 1am until 7am
I hand mist for one minute right after his lights turn off, and for one minute, 30 minutes before his lights come on. ( Will get the mist king when we get his 2X2x4 enclosure in about 3 weeks. ) He is not a fan of the misting. he absolutely hates it.
When his lights turn off, I cover two sides of his enclosure with a clear shower curtain cut to size, and turn off the ceiling fan.
I take it off about 7:30am.
As far as I know. Temps get down to 68 late in the night. And the highest I can get the humidity is between 60% and 70%
Once I get the mist king I know it'll be able to get a bit higher in the late/early hours.
Oxylus (my cham) seems to wake up between 6-6:30AM. And he then moves to sit under his fogger. Once it cuts off, he slowly walks around some. Or goes to one of the sun beams coming through the window into his enclosure. Once I uncover him he either comes to life and is I assume hunting, or sits and watches me when I lay back down. I am thinking of keeping him covered until his lights come on.
He ate two Dubia roaches and is showing ZERO interest in them after. He eats crickets fine. This is what he ate at the pet store so I expect that.. He seems unsure of the horn worm but it also was on my hand. He will eat from a bowl that I am holding, but still isn't crazy about my hand. I am still trying out bugs.
I gut load with sweet potato, mango and bell pepper at the moment.
In his first week he was only eating up to 7 crickets a day.. but the last week he's been eating up to 19.
I also have some Wax worms. I give him two or three every few days.
He enjoys to free rang his food more than the bowl. He seems to loose interest in the bowl after about 3-5 bugs and then will literally go eat dirt until I shake the bowl and stir up the crickets. Or let one loose to catch his eye.. I am getting some flat rocks to cover the dirt.. I know I got dirt safe for him.. But it's stressing me out seeing him eating this dirt..
I've watches several videos and read articles on how to dust. And I feel like I'm doing everything accordingly.
Repti Calcium without D3 every feeding except the 1st and 15th, I use Reptivite with D3
(once again help understanding UVB would be awesome.. I feel like I have a decent grasp on everything else )
update as I type.. He seems to still be going for his dirt even after eating at least 19 crickets today. It is 4:05 pm. He still has one cricket that I can see left. If its not gone soon Ill take it out... I just put a small glass jars upside down on top of the soil. But he's still going for it. I have no idea what do.. I gotta find rocks.. but whats making him to do it in the first place?!?!?!?
I know that the cage size is incorrect, as we got the chameleon kit for him so we would be able to bring him home. I know it's recommended to have your set up ready before you bring them home, but alas. We did not..
I am mostly happy with everything aside from the size. I already had a number of plants perfect for an enclosure so being able to use them this way was exciting to me.
I changed the soil in all of them to jungle mix repi-breeze.
His stick for basking is right at 6 inches from his heat lamp. (I have to double check what he's go in there for that. I know it's one of the blue blubs that emits the soft white light.
We have the reptisun T5 H0 5.0 UVB 24" fixture, and it is 4 feet from the bottom of his enclosure. I see this is recommended for enclosure this size. (I don't quite understand UVB yet. would love help on that.... ) We just got the correct bulb for him yesterday.
ambient temps in house are usually 68-70.
I have a thermal heat gun as well as the probe thermometer and circular hydrometer that came with the kit. I know they tend to be kind of off, but I like it for a general idea. I also have a digital reader for temp and humidity. I move it around in the day. sometimes I keep it right by the window and I know if its high there, it's probably getting that way in his enclosure. I will close the blinds and or curtains and turn the air down one degree in the house and that does the trick.
I don't let it get any hotter that 90 at his basking spot. I will turn his heat bulb off for a while if it starts getting up there.
I check his temps a time or two throughout the day, especially around 12, as he is near a window. I keep the ceiling fan on during the day and that helps the humidity stay down. Between 35 and 55, depending on how it is outside/ inside
Lights turn on at 8am and off at 8pm
Fogger turns on at 1am until 7am
I hand mist for one minute right after his lights turn off, and for one minute, 30 minutes before his lights come on. ( Will get the mist king when we get his 2X2x4 enclosure in about 3 weeks. ) He is not a fan of the misting. he absolutely hates it.
When his lights turn off, I cover two sides of his enclosure with a clear shower curtain cut to size, and turn off the ceiling fan.
I take it off about 7:30am.
As far as I know. Temps get down to 68 late in the night. And the highest I can get the humidity is between 60% and 70%
Once I get the mist king I know it'll be able to get a bit higher in the late/early hours.
Oxylus (my cham) seems to wake up between 6-6:30AM. And he then moves to sit under his fogger. Once it cuts off, he slowly walks around some. Or goes to one of the sun beams coming through the window into his enclosure. Once I uncover him he either comes to life and is I assume hunting, or sits and watches me when I lay back down. I am thinking of keeping him covered until his lights come on.
He ate two Dubia roaches and is showing ZERO interest in them after. He eats crickets fine. This is what he ate at the pet store so I expect that.. He seems unsure of the horn worm but it also was on my hand. He will eat from a bowl that I am holding, but still isn't crazy about my hand. I am still trying out bugs.
I gut load with sweet potato, mango and bell pepper at the moment.
In his first week he was only eating up to 7 crickets a day.. but the last week he's been eating up to 19.
I also have some Wax worms. I give him two or three every few days.
He enjoys to free rang his food more than the bowl. He seems to loose interest in the bowl after about 3-5 bugs and then will literally go eat dirt until I shake the bowl and stir up the crickets. Or let one loose to catch his eye.. I am getting some flat rocks to cover the dirt.. I know I got dirt safe for him.. But it's stressing me out seeing him eating this dirt..
I've watches several videos and read articles on how to dust. And I feel like I'm doing everything accordingly.
Repti Calcium without D3 every feeding except the 1st and 15th, I use Reptivite with D3
(once again help understanding UVB would be awesome.. I feel like I have a decent grasp on everything else )
update as I type.. He seems to still be going for his dirt even after eating at least 19 crickets today. It is 4:05 pm. He still has one cricket that I can see left. If its not gone soon Ill take it out... I just put a small glass jars upside down on top of the soil. But he's still going for it. I have no idea what do.. I gotta find rocks.. but whats making him to do it in the first place?!?!?!?
Give me a bit to go thru all of your info.
Oh no! How horrible!
That’s ok. Most of us have less than ideal starts, to put it kindly. You will want at least a 2x2x4’ enclosure, which is the minimum size for an adult. If you are able to give him larger than that, he’ll use all of the space. 
He eats crickets fine. This is what he ate at the pet store so I expect that.. He seems unsure of the horn worm but it also was on my hand. Do be careful with hornworms. They have super sticky feet and on some surfaces your cham will have difficulty snagging them. It can result in tongue damage. I only hand feed them or put them on smooth plastic. He will eat from a bowl that I am holding, but still isn't crazy about my hand. Keep at it. Great way to build trust. 
Oh…just wondering if you’re aware that veileds often nibble their plants. Some take rare bites and some devour them. No one has figured the reason for this either. 
I’m very glad that you’ve found your way here. Do ask whatever questions you may have, share pics of your little one and just celebrate how incredible our animals are. 
