New chameleon owner, new to forum

Hello! I've been caring for my male baby veiled chameleon Apone for 10 days now, just wanted to introduce him and say I'm excited to find such an active and knowledge-filled community for these fascinating animals. Have a great day!

Chameleon Info:

  • Your Chameleon - Piebald Veiled Chameleon, Male, ~6 weeks old, I've had him 10 days.
  • Handling - I've handled him once since getting him, to get him down off the roof of his cage, he usually hisses and pouts if my hands get close.
  • Feeding - He's been eating 5 or 6 small-to-medium crickets each day, put in his cup in the morning, he also has mealworms but I don't think he's touched any, I'm getting a shipment of small dubia roaches soon. I've tong-fed him a couple crickets each day and he goes right for them, like maybe he forgets where the food bowl is.
    Supplements - Zoo-Med calcium w/o D3 for 6 days, Zoo-Med calcium w/D3 or Zoo-Med vitamin on the 7th day (alternating weeks).
  • Watering - I use a hand sprayer first thing in the morning and in the evening 30 mins before lights out, 1 to 3 minutes, with a Little Dripper dripping most of the day and night. I've seen him drinking a lot (see question below).
  • Fecal Description - I've seen about 5 different droppings in 10 days, all black with slightly off-white urate. He's not been tested for any parasites.
  • History - He doesn't have too much of a history yet, I was worried a little bit earlier this week because I saw him ingest a tiny stick/root out of one of the live plant pots (see question below).

Cage Info:

  • Cage Type - I have the 24x24x48 Reptibreeze screen cage with aluminum flat bar rails I've installed for attachment points, on a 24" cubed stand made from 2x4's.
  • Lighting - Reptisun 5.0 T5HO 22" linear UVB on top of cage, and 8.5" dome light with 60w halogen bulb for heat suspended from ceiling about 8" above cage, both on at 7am and off at 7pm.
  • Temperature - Cage floor reads about 71 degrees F, basking spot 81 degrees F, using a digital therm/hygrometer for temp/rh readings. Temp is never below 70 degrees F.
  • Humidity - Based on the digital hygrometer, humidity during the day stays between 37-45%, night time is 75% after misting and usually around 55% by morning. I have shower curtain lining the back and left sides of the cage.
  • Plants - I have a live Pothos up top and a live Schefflera on the bottom. There are also faux leafy vines from Fluker's filling in some spots.
  • Placement - Cage is in a very low-traffic corner up an upstairs bedroom, 3 feet from window with no direct sunlight (facing north) top of cage is almost exactly 6 feet off the floor, there's no fans in the room but there is a central air vent above the cage I have closed.
  • Location - Huntsville, AL, USA, north end of Alabama in the Tennessee River Valley, fairly high humidity and warm temps.

    Questions/concerns:
    1. I've seen Apone drinking several times, and it seems to me he treats water droplets just like he does live insects in his cage. He sneaks up on the water droplets real slow and then tongue-shoots the drops from a distance. He doesn't ever just walk up to the leaves and sip the water off like I would expect. Is this normal? His urates are white to off-white, so I've not been concerned for his hydration, it just seems like he's working way too hard to drink when he could just lay on the leaves and sip instead.
    2.I have rocks covering the soil in the live plants, but there was one time earlier this week I saw him climb on top of the Pothos and eat a little stick or root that must have been coming out of the soil in one spot. The stick was probably not much wider than a piece of string , maybe an inch long. If he's trying to eat sticks or dirt, does this mean he's not getting enough food? He's pooped a few times since then, I've not been able to identify a stick or anything of the like in the droppings.

    Thanks!

    Thomas B
 

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Hi and welcome! :) What a little cutie! Your husbandry looks pretty good to my eyes except for a few things.
At such a young age, he should be eating as much as he wants within a 15-20 minute period, twice a day. His feeders need to be very small. Anything larger than the space between his eyes is too big. I am thinking that 1/4” or smaller sized crickets would be the right size. You may need to order some. You can also see if bsfl are small enough for him. Mealworms generally aren’t recommended, at least not as a staple feeder. Attaching the feeder and gutload graphics for you.
Definitely replace and remove the artificial plants with real ones. He will nibble on his plants and no sense risking him eating a fake leaf and getting impacted. I use my fake plants on the outside of my enclosures for added privacy. You could also add more branches or vines for him to travel.
As the little stick he ate was plant matter, hopefully it will pass thru him. I’d stay alert to make sure he’s eating and pooping ok.
I’m afraid I can’t answer your question about drinking. I’m one of the unfortunate ones who’s chameleons are secretive about drinking. I did once see my panther start to strike out at a drop of water as though it was a bug. I’m inclined to believe it’s not too unusual for them to do that with dripping water.
One last thing...an FYI. When you have questions or what not about your chameleon, is better to post under one of the chameleon husbandry topics so that more people will see it.
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Aw. Cutie! I have a piebald vieled too. Any new update pics? Have they gotten any new colors yet?
 
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