New chameleon owner be gentle :)

Hi and thanks for having me :)

So I've had my cham for around 5 days now (male yemen). bought from a pet store with a full setup. At least that's what I was told. They sold me a 23x19x36 VivExotic Viva+ Arboreal with uvb t8 tube, heat lamp, branches, some wooden substrate (got rid of that on day 1), and what can only be described as the cheapest temp/humidity gauges I've ever seen.


Now I realise I messed up in listening to them, so I did some research and ordered a VivExotic Viva+ Arboreal large deep. I know this is not ideal, but living in the UK is my best option... I also ordered an Arcadia t5 6%uvb jungle kit with the jungle dawn led and a digital temp/humidity sensor ceramic bulb for nights (it gets very cold!) I have another e27 fitting for this bulb, and a heat shield for it too. I have live plants that I will be transferring over from the small one and more branches too. Just while I am waiting for all this to arrive, have I missed anything? that I may also need



I'm just trying to do my best for the little guy, so any help is appreciated.
 
Hi and welcome! :) You are so very not alone in buying what the pet store told you and then learning it’s all wrong. It’s sadly a common occurrence. Looking at that brand of enclosure, the one you’ve ordered seems like it’ll work well. While it’s a bit shorter than the standard, it is longer which compensates nicely. My only concern for the enclosure is if it has a screened top or if it’s solid. You won’t want to hang your lights inside the enclosure due to risk of burns. You may need to cut away some of the top and cover it with screening to rest your lights on. The Arcadia T5 with the 6% is perfect! You’ll want a distance of about 20-22 cm between lights and basking area. Basking temps for young chameleons and ladies should stay around 26c and for adult males around 29c. At night a substantial cooling off is perfect and veileds can easily handle temps down to 15c. To use a cool mist humidifier at night to simulate natural hydration thru fog, you need your temps to go at least lower than 20c.
You haven’t mentioned what supplements you’ll be using. Those are just as important to have correct as lighting and all.
 
Hi and welcome! :) You are so very not alone in buying what the pet store told you and then learning it’s all wrong. It’s sadly a common occurrence. Looking at that brand of enclosure, the one you’ve ordered seems like it’ll work well. While it’s a bit shorter than the standard, it is longer which compensates nicely. My only concern for the enclosure is if it has a screened top or if it’s solid. You won’t want to hang your lights inside the enclosure due to risk of burns. You may need to cut away some of the top and cover it with screening to rest your lights on. The Arcadia T5 with the 6% is perfect! You’ll want a distance of about 20-22 cm between lights and basking area. Basking temps for young chameleons and ladies should stay around 26c and for adult males around 29c. At night a substantial cooling off is perfect and veileds can easily handle temps down to 15c. To use a cool mist humidifier at night to simulate natural hydration thru fog, you need your temps to go at least lower than 20c.
You haven’t mentioned what supplements you’ll be using. Those are just as important to have correct as lighting and all.
supplements are calcium without d3 and a multivit/cal with d3 all in one ill keep them night temps in mind and the basking! I was told by the shop he is 8 month old but going n size i very much doubt that he is around 6 inch body length (without tail) h was so skinny when i got him but has plumped up nicely and was dehydrated too when brought home soon as i misted he spent a good 30min drinking

thanks for confirming what i got right lol makes me feel better ill def put mesh up top too
 
You’ll want to use the calcium without D3 lightly dusted at every feeding. The multivitamin with D3 you’ll use for one feeding every other week.
Ideal daytime humidity is between 30-50%.
Best to use only clean safe live plants. Veileds nibble plants and have been known to eat a fake leaf and become impacted. Plants will help maintain ideal humidity.
What you feed to your feeder insects is just as important as everything else. A variety of fresh produce is great.
Either bare floor/no substrate or fully bioactive (with drainage layer) is best and most hygienic.
Generally misting for at least 2 minutes at least twice daily (right before lights go on and off) is great. Some use a dripper for about 15-20 minutes mid day or give a brief 1 minute misting. Many chameleons are very secretive about drinking.
Building trust is important and here’s a great blog on doing that. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/
If you post some pics of your guy we may be able to estimate age. Plus we just like seeing everyone’s chams. 🤗
These may help.
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You’ll want to use the calcium without D3 lightly dusted at every feeding. The multivitamin with D3 you’ll use for one feeding every other week.
Ideal daytime humidity is between 30-50%.
Best to use only clean safe live plants. Veileds nibble plants and have been known to eat a fake leaf and become impacted. Plants will help maintain ideal humidity.
What you feed to your feeder insects is just as important as everything else. A variety of fresh produce is great.
Either bare floor/no substrate or fully bioactive (with drainage layer) is best and most hygienic.
Generally misting for at least 2 minutes at least twice daily (right before lights go on and off) is great. Some use a dripper for about 15-20 minutes mid day or give a brief 1 minute misting. Many chameleons are very secretive about drinking.
Building trust is important and here’s a great blog on doing that. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/
If you post some pics of your guy we may be able to estimate age. Plus we just like seeing everyone’s chams. 🤗
These may help.
View attachment 329014View attachment 329015View attachment 329016
thank you for all the information it helps a lot!

here is a few pictures of my little guy probably wont be able to tell age as there is nothing to go off being still 6 days new to me im trying to let him settle in as much as i can before i attempt to handle him.

i guess i need to cut back on the calcium iv been putting locust in a tub with it and shaking it around 😅 how do you lightly dust?
 

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Ok, so almost everything has arrived now all I'm waiting for is the new enclosure which should be here tomorrow (was a special order direct from manufacturer) since my dimensions are (H)90 (D)60 (W) 115 has anyone got pictures or ideas of the branch / vine layout since I have a lot of horizontal space to play with.



I added a few more pictures of my guy (Wiggy) he's growing so fast this new enclosure can't get setup quick enough.

edit: forgot to add iv bought a wireless and weatherproof inkbird ith-20r for temps and humidity now too and the difference in reading from the cheap one i had is ridicules.
 

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I just add branches in wherever it looks like they’re needed and give my chams lots of climbing area. I always make sure to have at least one branch leading to the bottom floor just in case they should find their way down there and need a way back up. Think about how trees are…lots of branches of different diameters and going different directions. Allow space for casques to fit thru easily and the ability to travel from one branch to another.
 
Dont worry he will get over it. Spoil him.with a few treats to ease tension. i am very happy you have a new family member and yourcham has a forever home. Coming here for advice was a good move. Chams are remarkable creatures. Learning about them has brought me great joy. Please know that chams hide illness and injury very well. So the more tuned into your guy you are the better. Also its best to find a cham vet before one is actually needed as they can be hard to find in a pinch. If you ever sense anything is off come here and post right away. Congradulations on you new gorgeous cham!
 
Quick question iv read that they go on hunger strike? Hiw long does this last as the last few days he has maybe had one locust a day and refusing anymore today's poop was a tiny but hardly anything at all buttye urate is still white so atleast he is hydrated if I offer wax worms he will still feed on those but even then they are just treats and refuses after a couple
 
Dont worry he will get over it. Spoil him.with a few treats to ease tension. i am very happy you have a new family member and yourcham has a forever home. Coming here for advice was a good move. Chams are remarkable creatures. Learning about them has brought me great joy. Please know that chams hide illness and injury very well. So the more tuned into your guy you are the better. Also its best to find a cham vet before one is actually needed as they can be hard to find in a pinch. If you ever sense anything is off come here and post right away. Congradulations on you new gorgeous cham!
Good idea on the vet I'll start looking g today when I get bk from work didn't even think of that tbh thanks for the suggestion
 
Quick question iv read that they go on hunger strike? Hiw long does this last as the last few days he has maybe had one locust a day and refusing anymore today's poop was a tiny but hardly anything at all buttye urate is still white so atleast he is hydrated if I offer wax worms he will still feed on those but even then they are just treats and refuses after a couple
Are you feeding the same feeders he was being fed prior to coming to your home? How long have you had him now?
 
Are you feeding the same feeders he was being fed prior to coming to your home? How long have you had him now?
Iv had him around 2 week now and yes same feeders just got home from work and tried a feed again and was so eager today he's hand feeding large locust again I have ordered some dubia to mix it up a little too
 
As they get older, they dont eat everyday.at about 9-10 months my male ate every other day and full grown, (about a year) once every three days. Of course, each cham develops eating habits with its owner so it varies. I also put a fresh salad in about three timrs a week. Try variety to see what your cham likes to nibble on. Collard greens has the highest vitamin content especally vit A.
 
As they get older, they dont eat everyday.at about 9-10 months my male ate every other day and full grown, (about a year) once every three days. Of course, each cham develops eating habits with its owner so it varies. I also put a fresh salad in about three timrs a week. Try variety to see what your cham likes to nibble on. Collard greens has the highest vitamin content especally vit A.
Dont put salad in his enclosure.
 
Iv had him around 2 week now and yes same feeders just got home from work and tried a feed again and was so eager today he's hand feeding large locust again I have ordered some dubia to mix it up a little too
Ok and remember size of feeder matter... Too large is not a good thing. They can have issues getting them down and back off of eating them. As he matures you will notice a normal reduction in eating. This is due to them maturing and not needing as much food. You typically see this around 9 months. This is when I take mine to every other day feeding of roughly 5-8 feeders. Once they hit the 12 month mark they should only be eating every other day 3 feeders. If your feeding really large feeders than you want to reduce to 2 feeders. If they start putting on extra weight in the casque then taking them to 2-3 feeding days a week of 3 feeders is best.
 
OK, so it took longer than expected (thanks suppliers) but he is in his new cage now i know this is still not perfect as i have to cut a hole in the top of the viv now for the heat bulb (I am watching very carefully to make sure he does not grab it) Any recommended tools to do this? i can get the wire mesh locally. i have tried to give him as much diversity as i can when it comes to branch size, texture, ect and he has all live plants in there he does seem to fall off one type of branch pretty regularly though and has started to avoid those should I take them out? even though I've read a lot! and had support on this thread i still feel like i have a ton to learn, so any suggestions are more than welcome.

iv also added some new pictures. The day i moved him into his new enclosure he started to shed and the colours coming through are gorgeous.
 

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