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[DrBFragged]

Hi everyone!

I've been following these forums for a while getting myself ready to be a chameleon owner, and I thought that I would introduce myself and my wife since we finally got our baby!

Myself, Brandon, and my wife Whitney have wanted to get a chameleon for a while now, and I got a baby, about 2-3 months old, veiled from FLChams about 2 weeks ago. He is looking and doing great so far, and just had his first shed since we got him 2 days ago.

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Male Veiled 2-3 months old. We've had him for just over 2 weeks.

Handling - We handle him daily, but normally just to move him from his cage to a tree that we have in our house. Occasionally we will hold him for about 30 minutes though.

Feeding - Right now, we have been feeding him crickets, 1/4 size I believe, and very small meal worms. He eats 6-7 2 times a day right now. My wife and I are out of the house a lot, so we feed him first thing in the morning, about 6 am, and then again at around 6 pm when we get home. We gut load the crickets with fruit and vegetables, oranges and lettuce mostly, as well as Fluker's Cricket quencher, calcium fortified, and Fluker's High-calcium cricket diet.

Supplements - I feed the Crickets the Fluker's products mentioned above and I dust every meal in Rep-Cal Herptivite w/ Beta Carotene Multivitamins.

Watering - For the watering, I use filtered water in a spray bottle as well as a cup on top of the cage to drip throughout the day. I mist 3 times a day for about 15 secs each time. I have seen him drink before, but don't see it very often. I have never seen him drink from the water from the cup, only from the spray.

Fecal Description - His droppings have all looked healthy as far as I can tell. He has new droppings daily and they are always black, or very dark, and slightly gooey. He has not been tested for parasites since I have had him.

History - I have not had him long, but he has been very lively and seems very healthy so far. No problems yet!

Cage Info:
Cage Type - We have a mostly glass cage with a screen top and a vent in the front. The dimensions are approximately 12wx12dx18h.

Lighting - I have 2 lamps currently. One uses a 75 watt Exo-terra basking bulb and the other uses a 5.0 UVB Exo-terra bulb. His lights are on a timer and run from 8 am to 9 pm every day.

Temperature - I use a Fluker's thermometer/hydrometer combo to measure the temperature in his cage. I only have the one and it is away from his basking spot, so I'm not sure what temperature that stays at. In general though, his cage stays at about 78-84 during the day, and at night, it gets down to about 66.

Humidity - I try to keep humidity fairly consistent. I have a Fluker's thermometer/hydrometer combo which I use to measure the levels. The humidity levels usually stay between 40-60%. I spray his cage 3 times a day and have a cup drip onto the leaves to help keep it at these levels.

Plants - At the moment we have no real plants in his cage. There are 2 fake leafy vines and one large bend-a-branch.

Placement - His cage is currently located in our bedroom, the area of least traffic, across the room from a heater. The cage sits on a 3 ft tall table, so the top of the cage is about 4.5 ft from the floor.

Location - We are currently on the central coast of California

I hope you enjoy the pics!
Any tips are appreciated!

 

[KatCham]

Hi and welcome.

First thing I'd say is, you need a thermometer in your basking spot!
Not measuring this accurately can cause problems. Place it where your cham would sit when basking to ensure it is warm enough for digesting food, but not too hot that it will burn your cham. Especially in a glass enclosure which will hold much more heat. I'd use a digital one so you can get the probe exactly where you need it. Not expensive and much better than those round dial ones! JMO

2nd thing, I wouldn't feed at 6pm. They need enough time under their basking lights to properly digest their food before lights out.

Supplementing - Most schedules on here are calcium only at every feed, Calcium with D3/Multivitamin twice a month.

Handling. If he is happy with daily handling and not stressed by it great, but handling at such an early stage, especially after the stress of a move and new surroundings can stress them out further so be careful

Droppings - Is there a white part with the black part??

I'll let others correct/add to my suggestions.

Could you post pics of your enclosure??

Good luck with your cham, very cute!! xx

 

[DrBFragged]

Thanks for the advice. I'll work on getting a thermometer for his basking spot as well. His droppings do have a white part as well though. As far as the supplements go, I will stop giving him the multivitamin everyday. I have a d3 supplement as well, but that I have only given him once so far. I'm planning on only using that once every 2 weeks. I will get him another calcium to use for every meal though. And I only feed him so late because that is when I get home from work. Would it be alright to just give him the full meal in the morning then?

I'll get a picture of the enclosure up at some point. Thanks again for the help!

 

[brandon1]

Hi everyone!

I've been following these forums for a while getting myself ready to be a chameleon owner, and I thought that I would introduce myself and my wife since we finally got our baby!

Myself, Brandon, and my wife Whitney have wanted to get a chameleon for a while now, and I got a baby, about 2-3 months old, veiled from FLChams about 2 weeks ago. He is looking and doing great so far, and just had his first shed since we got him 2 days ago.

Hello! My name is also Brandon and I got a 2-3 month old Veiled from FL Chams, last summmer. Maybe they're brothers

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Male Veiled 2-3 months old. We've had him for just over 2 weeks.

Handling - We handle him daily, but normally just to move him from his cage to a tree that we have in our house. Occasionally we will hold him for about 30 minutes though.

Make sure while holding him or having him out he is still warm. Same goes with when you place him on your tree. If he can stay at least in the 70s for that amount of time he will be fine.

Feeding - Right now, we have been feeding him crickets, 1/4 size I believe, and very small meal worms. He eats 6-7 2 times a day right now. My wife and I are out of the house a lot, so we feed him first thing in the morning, about 6 am, and then again at around 6 pm when we get home. We gut load the crickets with fruit and vegetables, oranges and lettuce mostly, as well as Fluker's Cricket quencher, calcium fortified, and Fluker's High-calcium cricket diet.

Crickets are good for a while so long as you continue gutloading them the way you are, until he gets a bit bigger and can take on different feeders. Remember that meal worms should not be fed consistently because they, for one: are not very nutritious, and two: could cause impaction. The number of crickets you say sounds right, but allow him to eat as many as he wants. If it's 20 let him eat 20. Try not to feed him after 3 o'clock to allow him plenty of time to bask with all the food he's going to have on that day before it's time for him to go to sleep. For the lettuce, unless you know for sure, I know Romaine is ok but just isn't as nutritious as mustard or collard greens, but I'm pretty sure Iceburg lettuce is not ok to use at all. Check to make sure, but I'm pretty certain it is not ok to use for feeders for your cham or for your cham directly.

Supplements - I feed the Crickets the Fluker's products mentioned above and I dust every meal in Rep-Cal Herptivite w/ Beta Carotene Multivitamins.

Three Words: Repashy Calcium Plus. Replaces all three supplements you are supposed to be administering to your cham, and I've heard about using it every feeding or every other feeding. Personally I would do every other. I haven't gotten it yet, but soon will to replace the multiple supplements and supplement schedules.

Watering - For the watering, I use filtered water in a spray bottle as well as a cup on top of the cage to drip throughout the day. I mist 3 times a day for about 15 secs each time. I have seen him drink before, but don't see it very often. I have never seen him drink from the water from the cup, only from the spray.

If you have the time to spray him 3 times a day that is awesome. If not always, I would suggest investing in a misting system. Really comes in handy. The cup for the dripper is a swell idea but, if it runs out sometimes, to keep from having to refill it throughout the day you could purchase a ZooMed Little or Big Dripper, as the small one holds over half a gallon and the big one holds a gallon. Don't be discouraged from not seeing him drink ofter. So long as his urates are white, he is well hydrated.

Fecal Description - His droppings have all looked healthy as far as I can tell. He has new droppings daily and they are always black, or very dark, and slightly gooey. He has not been tested for parasites since I have had him.

Again just check for the white urates, and other than that, good poo . As far as checking him for parasites: it doesn't hurt and allows you to know for certain, but I'm pretty sure he is clean as a whistle on the inside.

History - I have not had him long, but he has been very lively and seems very healthy so far. No problems yet!

Cage Info:
Cage Type - We have a mostly glass cage with a screen top and a vent in the front. The dimensions are approximately 12wx12dx18h.

It's ok for him to stay in that type of enclosure. That's a terrarium and it is perfectly fine for him. The only thing you have to worry about is upgrading to a larger enclosure once he get's a little bigger and older. I would suggest going ahead and building or buying his adult cage of at least 24"x24"x48" instead making or buying slightly larger cages as he grows, but it's your call.

Lighting - I have 2 lamps currently. One uses a 75 watt Exo-terra basking bulb and the other uses a 5.0 UVB Exo-terra bulb. His lights are on a timer and run from 8 am to 9 pm every day.

Spot on with the lighting

Temperature - I use a Fluker's thermometer/hydrometer combo to measure the temperature in his cage. I only have the one and it is away from his basking spot, so I'm not sure what temperature that stays at. In general though, his cage stays at about 78-84 during the day, and at night, it gets down to about 66.

I would suggest getting a temp gun, preferably with the red laser so you can be farther away and not too close to tick him off, instead of using what you currently have. The temps you mentioned are perfect, and the basking spot should be in the mid to high 80s. Everything else is perfect.

Humidity - I try to keep humidity fairly consistent. I have a Fluker's thermometer/hydrometer combo which I use to measure the levels. The humidity levels usually stay between 40-60%. I spray his cage 3 times a day and have a cup drip onto the leaves to help keep it at these levels.

Spot on with the humidity as well. Just be sure that you allow periods for the cage to dry out so that it's not constantly wet to allow for bacterial growth.

Plants - At the moment we have no real plants in his cage. There are 2 fake leafy vines and one large bend-a-branch.

Your plants are fine. I only kept fake plants as well until I put my Velied in his adult cage. When you do have his adult enclosure though, I would highly recommend real plants. You can choose any on the safe plant list but what I would say to go with is a large Schefflera arboricola and a hanging pothos or two. And maybe even a regular dracena to take up some more room. Also don't forget to add plenty of fake vines and/or branches to create lots of highways for his baby cage and his adult cage.

Placement - His cage is currently located in our bedroom, the area of least traffic, across the room from a heater. The cage sits on a 3 ft tall table, so the top of the cage is about 4.5 ft from the floor.

Location - We are currently on the central coast of California

I hope you enjoy the pics!
Any tips are appreciated!

Love the pics! The last one is pretty cute. Since he is a FL Chams baby, and mine is as well, check out this thread I just posted with pics of my near 1 year old male Veiled: Hawk. This is what you could possibly be looking at in about 8 months

https://www.chameleonforums.com/have-day-hawk-78962/