Hey everyone names Elijah, I am from mesa arizona, just bought my first chameleon at the superzoo trade show in las vegas on thursday. Anyway my chameleons name is diego he is 1 month old I'm feeding him flightless fruit flies right now but he doesn't seen to want to eat. Can anybody help me and give me some pointers as how I should go about caring for him. Also I need to get him an tank to live in but is this one fine for now? Never mind can't upload from my phone. Lol
New here, first veiled chameleon
- Thread starter EazyE
- Start date
jaredg87
New Member
chameleons are a VERY high maintenance pet. A good solid enclosure could cost you a pretty penny. Chams need basking spots, uvb light, mistings, gut loaded insects.
You really should have done your research before your purchase in my opinion. Luckily this forum is the right place to be to learn how to house your chameleon in the proper conditions.
You really should have done your research before your purchase in my opinion. Luckily this forum is the right place to be to learn how to house your chameleon in the proper conditions.
slinko9
New Member
Congrats!!!
Go out and buy a nice Ficus plant thats bushy and has lots of branches, take it home and wash up the leaves with some soapy water and spray it down,,,,now love that plant as much as you do Diego!!!
Get a screen cage instead of a tank!!!
Get yourself a mister of some kind to spray the inside of your cage down with( I use a Mistking and use a cup with a pinhole in the bottom for a constant drip of water that travels through the leaves, my Guber loves to chase them water drips!!!)
Set the mister to go off 2 - 3 times a day for around 2 - 3 minutes!!! Removing the water from the bottom is a hassle, but there are some cool water tray ideas on here,,,just read a couple this morning!!!!
Now go tet a lighting fixture you could put a light bulb in that supplies the little critter with UVB rays, not every light does, read the package, go to the pet store and ask for one from zoomed, or terra, or the likes!!!!
Get a couple of thermometers,,,and a hygrometer, make sure the top of his cage is around mid 70`s maybe sometimes peaking into the low 80`s,,,and the bottom of his cage is around mid 70`s constantly,,,,both these temps will change as Diego gets older!!! And as he gets older you will need to get a Basking light to add heat for him to digest his food!!!
Oh ya,,,you could use a normal 25 to 30 wartt house bulb to add to the UVB light to help warm tings up and add a bit of UVA!!!! ( It will not provide UVB!!!!!!!)
Got to the pet store and get some powder Calcium,,,with no D3!!!! And a shitload of crickets, and a cricket cage to keep them in!!!! I lost my first chameleon,,,Jimmie,,,due to his being attacked by the little buggers cuz i was too stupid to know hungry crickets will eat a chameleon when left in the tank!!! RIP Jimmie!!!! SO, DONT MAKE THAT MISTAKE!!!! Its horrible!!!
Get some cricket gutload to feed the crickets the day before feeding them to Diego so they have full fat little tummies of goodness!!!! Lots of good gutload recipes on this forum,,,search em out!!!!
Remember to get a bag, add a pinch of Calcium(with no D3) and shake them crickets up before you feed them to Diego!!!! Now,,,,something i missed,,,while youre at the pet store,,,,get a container of Calcium with D3 and a container of Reptivite or anything similar!!! Now,,,once a week instead of shaking with Calcium,,,shake them buggers up with a pinch of the other powders,,,alternating weeks works for me,,,so on Sunday 1,,,I shake with D3,,,Sunday 2 with Vitamins,,,Sunday 3 D3 and Sunday 4 Vitamins!!!!
A few sticks crossing through your ficus for Diego to scurry along and he should be pretty happy!!!!
Oh ya,,,Height is a good thing too,,,,dont put the cage somewhere where you are looking down at him,,,,,i think Chameleons like it better when you are looking up at them!!!!
Just a couple ideas from me to you and Diego!!!!
Good Luck!!!
CHEERZ!!
Go out and buy a nice Ficus plant thats bushy and has lots of branches, take it home and wash up the leaves with some soapy water and spray it down,,,,now love that plant as much as you do Diego!!!
Get a screen cage instead of a tank!!!
Get yourself a mister of some kind to spray the inside of your cage down with( I use a Mistking and use a cup with a pinhole in the bottom for a constant drip of water that travels through the leaves, my Guber loves to chase them water drips!!!)
Set the mister to go off 2 - 3 times a day for around 2 - 3 minutes!!! Removing the water from the bottom is a hassle, but there are some cool water tray ideas on here,,,just read a couple this morning!!!!
Now go tet a lighting fixture you could put a light bulb in that supplies the little critter with UVB rays, not every light does, read the package, go to the pet store and ask for one from zoomed, or terra, or the likes!!!!
Get a couple of thermometers,,,and a hygrometer, make sure the top of his cage is around mid 70`s maybe sometimes peaking into the low 80`s,,,and the bottom of his cage is around mid 70`s constantly,,,,both these temps will change as Diego gets older!!! And as he gets older you will need to get a Basking light to add heat for him to digest his food!!!
Oh ya,,,you could use a normal 25 to 30 wartt house bulb to add to the UVB light to help warm tings up and add a bit of UVA!!!! ( It will not provide UVB!!!!!!!)
Got to the pet store and get some powder Calcium,,,with no D3!!!! And a shitload of crickets, and a cricket cage to keep them in!!!! I lost my first chameleon,,,Jimmie,,,due to his being attacked by the little buggers cuz i was too stupid to know hungry crickets will eat a chameleon when left in the tank!!! RIP Jimmie!!!! SO, DONT MAKE THAT MISTAKE!!!! Its horrible!!!
Get some cricket gutload to feed the crickets the day before feeding them to Diego so they have full fat little tummies of goodness!!!! Lots of good gutload recipes on this forum,,,search em out!!!!
Remember to get a bag, add a pinch of Calcium(with no D3) and shake them crickets up before you feed them to Diego!!!! Now,,,,something i missed,,,while youre at the pet store,,,,get a container of Calcium with D3 and a container of Reptivite or anything similar!!! Now,,,once a week instead of shaking with Calcium,,,shake them buggers up with a pinch of the other powders,,,alternating weeks works for me,,,so on Sunday 1,,,I shake with D3,,,Sunday 2 with Vitamins,,,Sunday 3 D3 and Sunday 4 Vitamins!!!!
A few sticks crossing through your ficus for Diego to scurry along and he should be pretty happy!!!!
Oh ya,,,Height is a good thing too,,,,dont put the cage somewhere where you are looking down at him,,,,,i think Chameleons like it better when you are looking up at them!!!!
Just a couple ideas from me to you and Diego!!!!
Good Luck!!!
CHEERZ!!
jannb
Chameleon Enthusiast
Welcome to the forums. This is a great place to learn about chameleons. I keep veileds and they are an absolute pleasure to work with. I have a blog attached below for new keepers. I hope that you will find it helpful.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...ung-veiled-panther-chameleons.html#comment835
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...ung-veiled-panther-chameleons.html#comment835
armyrec1
New Member
It's a bit hard to count fruit flies. Throw some in there and let him hunt them down. Make sure you mist him regularly so he gets liquid. (very important)
At his age, he should be sleeping at night and awake during the day. They need UVB during the day, and darkness at night.
Good luck
At his age, he should be sleeping at night and awake during the day. They need UVB during the day, and darkness at night.
Good luck
