New First Time Owner

[Justingalang3]

Hello all! I am a first time owner and this forum site has been helpful. I must admit I am uneducated as much as you guys about chameleons. I found my (veiled chameleon) "Viserion" on the road in my community and was able to catch him and bring him home. I made him an enclosure 16x16x30 a screen cage. I started him on crickets from llreptiles and he's eating and I'm misting everything. I just wanted to have some helpful first timer tips and to see if he' healthy. He' my first chameleon and I've quickly grown attached just need some help please. Thank you. I'll attach some pictures!

 

[laurie]

Hello all! I am a first time owner and this forum site has been helpful. I must admit I am uneducated as much as you guys about chameleons. I found my (veiled chameleon) "Viserion" on the road in my community and was able to catch him and bring him home. I made him an enclosure 16x16x30 a screen cage. I started him on crickets from llreptiles and he's eating and I'm misting everything. I just wanted to have some helpful first timer tips and to see if he' healthy. He' my first chameleon and I've quickly grown attached just need some help please. Thank you. I'll attach some pictures!View attachment 189368 View attachment 189369 uView attachment 189370 View attachment 189369 View attachment 189369

Hello there, and welcome. We have a lot of great keepers here who will help all the way. There is a way to link you to the care sheet for your veiled, but the brain has already gone to sleep I guess. I will check that someone post the link tomorrow, or I will get it for you.

For now make sure he has gutloaded food. That means if you buy him crickets at the pet store, you take them home, and feed the crickets, or what ever feeders you have, some healthy feast veggies. Also make sure you have a good UVB bulb, and that you mist him several times a day so he can drink. That will get you started for tonight.

 

[kinyonga]

You need to provide appropriate temperatures so he can digest his food properly. For a male veiled the basking temperature should be in the mid to high 80's F.good digestion plays a part in nutrient absorption indirectly. The basking light can be a regular household incandescent light in a hood of a wattage that produces the right temperature.

You need to feed/gutload the crickets, superworms, roaches, etc with greens such as dandelion greens, kale, endive, escarole, collards, etc and veggies such as carrots, squash, zucchini, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, etc and a small amount of fruit such as berries, melon, apples, pears, etc.

Since many of the insects have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorous it's recommended that you dust the insects just before feeding them to the chameleon with a phosphorous-free calcium powder to help make up for it.

It's recommended that you dust lightly twice a month with a phosphorous-free calcium/D3 powder to ensure the chameleon gets some D3 without overdosing it and leaving it to produce the rest of it from its exposure to the UVB light. D3 from supplements can build up in the system and lead to health issues but D3 produced from exposure to the UVB light won't as long as the chameleon can move in and out of the UVB at will.

It's also important to dust twice a month with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene prOformed source of vitamin A. PrOformed sources wont build up in the system like prEformed sources can so this makes it safe to use. This puts you in charge of deciding if/when the chameleon needs the prEformed vitamin A.

Of course you have to provide a suitable big enough habitat...which you already seem to have... and water through misting and a dripper.
Don't place the cage near a draft (vent, window, etc).

I've likely missed a few things...but there are care sheets on the forum you can read too. Hope this helps.

 

[Graves923]

https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/

Here is the caresheet that has been mentioned. This, along with what the other members above have posted, will get you headed in the right direction!

Good luck