hello, Just wanted to say hello. I am owned by many pets including a 6 mo. old cb veiled. I do have one question. My best friend had a sunburst male veiled 4 yr old. He was much more colorful than mine. I have had mine for 2 1/2 weeks. He usually is dark in the morning and lighter in the afrternoon. I noticed reading other threads that not everyone believes there are different color varieties of veiled? I assume that panthers do have different colors? Just trying to find out as much as I can. btw cage is 30-30-48 mesh, vines. branches, uvb basking light 120 warmest spot 80 coolest night 10 degrees cooler. With a ceramic warming bulb for added warmth especially at night. Humidity 50-70 %. Drip system & waterfall. He eats about 12-20 crickets, 7 king mealworms, and 3 wax worms, 2 earth worms a day. I let him eat as much as he wants. Is that o.k? He hasn't stopped shedding for more than a couple days before he shed again. He also defecates 1-2 times a day ( amost as big as my ferrets poo). Hope I am not getting to detailed. Thank You for any info. Jeanie
new cham owner
- Thread starter jeanie
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hello, Just wanted to say hello. I am owned by many pets including a 6 mo. old cb veiled. I do have one question. My best friend had a sunburst male veiled 4 yr old. He was much more colorful than mine. I have had mine for 2 1/2 weeks. He usually is dark in the morning and lighter in the afrternoon. I noticed reading other threads that not everyone believes there are different color varieties of veiled? I assume that panthers do have different colors? Just trying to find out as much as I can. btw cage is 30-30-48 mesh, vines. branches, uvb basking light 120 warmest spot 80 coolest night 10 degrees cooler. With a ceramic warming bulb for added warmth especially at night. Humidity 50-70 %. Drip system & waterfall. He eats about 12-20 crickets, 7 king mealworms, and 3 wax worms, 2 earth worms a day. I let him eat as much as he wants. Is that o.k? He hasn't stopped shedding for more than a couple days before he shed again. He also defecates 1-2 times a day ( amost as big as my ferrets poo). Hope I am not getting to detailed. Thank You for any info. Jeanie
Hello jeanie
welcome to the Chameleon Forums
Your temperatures sound like they are too high. I would drop your high temperature to around 100F. If needed, you can raise your basking light in order to decrease the temperature. If that doesn't help, a lower wattage bulb might be needed.
What kind of plants do you have? Veiled chameleons will eat plants, so it is a good idea to add some safe plant to their cage. It does sound like you are feeding him a lot, but I don't know the size of your cham or of the insects. At 6 months he is still growing and can use more food than usual.
Here is Veiled Chameleon FAQ from the Chameleon News website.
welcome to the Chameleon Forums
Your temperatures sound like they are too high. I would drop your high temperature to around 100F. If needed, you can raise your basking light in order to decrease the temperature. If that doesn't help, a lower wattage bulb might be needed.
What kind of plants do you have? Veiled chameleons will eat plants, so it is a good idea to add some safe plant to their cage. It does sound like you are feeding him a lot, but I don't know the size of your cham or of the insects. At 6 months he is still growing and can use more food than usual.
Here is Veiled Chameleon FAQ from the Chameleon News website.
neil nosy be
New Member
Hi
Hi jeanie
Welcome to the chameleonforums, Panthers are far more capable of colour change than veilds.This is due to the migration of melenin from deeper within the skin migrating to nearer the surface, its a complecated process that involves melanophores & chromatophores.
Panthers depending on were they come from in madagascar ie ambilobe,ambanja,sambava, tamataves etc etc can be anyone of countless colour combinations. This is probably true of the veild cham but to a lesser degree and is probably due to inter-breeding.
The reason your cham is dark in the mornings is whats called thermoregulation it basically means your cham needs to warm up to be able to feed & digest food he therefore goes lighter when he has reached his desired temp.
As brad stated your temps could do with being a bit lower say 95-100f under basking light and around 80f ambient temp. Also get rid of the waterfull they cause bacteria which will give your chameleon respiratory issues.
Safe plants include fiscus, pothos, umbrella
cage & humidity ok
He does seem to be eating alot but like brad stated hes only 6 months old so he is still growing maybe the crickets are to small, veilds grow alot faster than panthers and reach sexual maturity at the age he is now.
Good luck with him and if you have anymore questions fire away
Hi jeanie
Welcome to the chameleonforums, Panthers are far more capable of colour change than veilds.This is due to the migration of melenin from deeper within the skin migrating to nearer the surface, its a complecated process that involves melanophores & chromatophores.
Panthers depending on were they come from in madagascar ie ambilobe,ambanja,sambava, tamataves etc etc can be anyone of countless colour combinations. This is probably true of the veild cham but to a lesser degree and is probably due to inter-breeding.
The reason your cham is dark in the mornings is whats called thermoregulation it basically means your cham needs to warm up to be able to feed & digest food he therefore goes lighter when he has reached his desired temp.
As brad stated your temps could do with being a bit lower say 95-100f under basking light and around 80f ambient temp. Also get rid of the waterfull they cause bacteria which will give your chameleon respiratory issues.
Safe plants include fiscus, pothos, umbrella
cage & humidity ok
He does seem to be eating alot but like brad stated hes only 6 months old so he is still growing maybe the crickets are to small, veilds grow alot faster than panthers and reach sexual maturity at the age he is now.
Good luck with him and if you have anymore questions fire away
Thank You
My vet told me that the cage was being kept too cold. He said that was why he was dark in the morning. I am looking for a vet who specializes in reptiles in addition to the one in town. It is only 120 directly under the basking bulb at the hottest time of day. I have syngonium rubrum and greengold, angelwing begonias ( large canes to climb on and flowers), pothos,and hibiscus in the cage. I looked thru all the books I could to find plants they called safe. I did not use ficus because I heard they have sap. The waterfall gets taken out and cleaned daily like a water dish. I am starting to think he may be going thru some kind of hormonal stage. He is agressive and seems to have attitudes at times. I will drop the temp. He usually gets darker when he notices me so I will try lighter colored clothing. I don't expect to be able to hold him, but I wish he wouldn't turn brown every time I put the food in his dish. I would eventually like to be able to get him to come out on a branch so he can have supervised play time in my heated greenhouse. Do you think he is still adjusting to his new home? I will put a humidifier near his cage if you think the waterfall should come out. Drip system and misting is not enough to keep humidity up when the furnance is on ( getting cold in WI already). Thank You very much for the help. I try to take good care of all my animals, and extra help is apreciated. Jeanie
My vet told me that the cage was being kept too cold. He said that was why he was dark in the morning. I am looking for a vet who specializes in reptiles in addition to the one in town. It is only 120 directly under the basking bulb at the hottest time of day. I have syngonium rubrum and greengold, angelwing begonias ( large canes to climb on and flowers), pothos,and hibiscus in the cage. I looked thru all the books I could to find plants they called safe. I did not use ficus because I heard they have sap. The waterfall gets taken out and cleaned daily like a water dish. I am starting to think he may be going thru some kind of hormonal stage. He is agressive and seems to have attitudes at times. I will drop the temp. He usually gets darker when he notices me so I will try lighter colored clothing. I don't expect to be able to hold him, but I wish he wouldn't turn brown every time I put the food in his dish. I would eventually like to be able to get him to come out on a branch so he can have supervised play time in my heated greenhouse. Do you think he is still adjusting to his new home? I will put a humidifier near his cage if you think the waterfall should come out. Drip system and misting is not enough to keep humidity up when the furnance is on ( getting cold in WI already). Thank You very much for the help. I try to take good care of all my animals, and extra help is apreciated. Jeanie
neil nosy be
New Member
no problem
Hi jeanie
firstly your temps ar'nt to cold in fact the oposite,all chams are dark in the morning as i explaned in the above thread this is because of the need to thermoregulate.
Fiscus trees are safe to use in your cham set up i have been using them for around 9yrs now and never had any problems related to toxins,this is not only myself but nearly every breeder(i breed panthers) & keeper in the world.
Veiled chams are one of the most aggresive species known, try to handle him once or twice a day as to much will result in unneccessary stress. All true chameleons DO NOT LIKE BEING HANDLED
Also as i stated he is just reaching sexual maturity which may account for his aggresive behavour
Yes he may still be adjusting to his new set up
Remove waterfull and replace with humidifier or mister
Hope this helps
Hi jeanie
firstly your temps ar'nt to cold in fact the oposite,all chams are dark in the morning as i explaned in the above thread this is because of the need to thermoregulate.
Fiscus trees are safe to use in your cham set up i have been using them for around 9yrs now and never had any problems related to toxins,this is not only myself but nearly every breeder(i breed panthers) & keeper in the world.
Veiled chams are one of the most aggresive species known, try to handle him once or twice a day as to much will result in unneccessary stress. All true chameleons DO NOT LIKE BEING HANDLED
Also as i stated he is just reaching sexual maturity which may account for his aggresive behavour
Yes he may still be adjusting to his new set up
Remove waterfull and replace with humidifier or mister
Hope this helps
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reptileguy
New Member
if veilds are the most aggressive, then why would they be best to buy if starting out. Wouldn't something a little more docile be better. I am still looking around for my first one too and all this info is helping me out as well.
neil nosy be
New Member
Hi
Hi reptileguy, this is a double edged sword, male veilds are known for being aggresive but as a specie they are the most tolerant of husbendry mistakes therefore making them a better starter cham(females generally do not make good starter chams of any specie) Most can get used to being handled although all true chameleons do like being handled,and this should be kept down to a minimun as it causes stress
Hi reptileguy, this is a double edged sword, male veilds are known for being aggresive but as a specie they are the most tolerant of husbendry mistakes therefore making them a better starter cham(females generally do not make good starter chams of any specie) Most can get used to being handled although all true chameleons do like being handled,and this should be kept down to a minimun as it causes stress
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Thank You less agressive now
Thank You. I am still trying to figure out my new cham ( Louie) . He does not want me to touch him yet. He is to the point where I can put my hand in the cage to feed without running towards me and trying to bite. Now he just hisses. Lighter colored clothing and associating my hands with food seems to help. He is not friendly in the morning, but will almost eat out of my hands in the afternoon. We need to get used to each other. I previously had 2 iguanas that I raised until they were about 4-5'. Then a zoo keeper asked if he could use them for an exhibit. They have a good home. I wanted something that didn't need a whole room. The iguanas liked it hotter. I think my vet was under the impression that chams neeed similar temps. I have a 7' tall ficus that he can play in as soon as he feels comfortable comming out of the cage. It seems obvious to me now that he is dark in the morning and much brighter and happier in the aft.
I keep forgetting that thermo reg is a way of life for cold blooded animals. I guess the sun/light is like my cup of coffee in the morning.
I think when people say they are good for begginers they mean that they are tolerant of conditions. Not that they are more friendly. I have heard that as far as reptiles go bearded dragons can be friendly Please let me know if that is correct as I am not an expert on herps at all.
Thank You again for the help. This is a wonderfull new experience for me.
Jeanie
Thank You. I am still trying to figure out my new cham ( Louie) . He does not want me to touch him yet. He is to the point where I can put my hand in the cage to feed without running towards me and trying to bite. Now he just hisses. Lighter colored clothing and associating my hands with food seems to help. He is not friendly in the morning, but will almost eat out of my hands in the afternoon. We need to get used to each other. I previously had 2 iguanas that I raised until they were about 4-5'. Then a zoo keeper asked if he could use them for an exhibit. They have a good home. I wanted something that didn't need a whole room. The iguanas liked it hotter. I think my vet was under the impression that chams neeed similar temps. I have a 7' tall ficus that he can play in as soon as he feels comfortable comming out of the cage. It seems obvious to me now that he is dark in the morning and much brighter and happier in the aft. I keep forgetting that thermo reg is a way of life for cold blooded animals. I guess the sun/light is like my cup of coffee in the morning. I think when people say they are good for begginers they mean that they are tolerant of conditions. Not that they are more friendly. I have heard that as far as reptiles go bearded dragons can be friendly Please let me know if that is correct as I am not an expert on herps at all. Thank You again for the help. This is a wonderfull new experience for me.Jeanie
