New Keeper Introduction

R

regal81455

Established Member
Hello all!

Name is Josh and I just brought home a piebald veiled about 2 weeks ago. Just wanting to introduce myself and my new pal to this forum, we've been lurking for a few weeks now. So without further ado... please say Hi to Digit! :)
20230826_165614.jpg
20230826_165635.jpg


I don't have any pics of his enclosure ATM but I'll fill out a husbandry in a moment and add a pic or two of his temp. enclosure later today / tomorrow while I build his permanent "adult" solution.
 
Chameleon Info:

  • Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Piebald Veiled - see his spurs so Male - thinking right around 4mo
  • Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Only when I took him from box to enclosure when getting home with him. Still letting him acclimate to me and his surroundings.
  • Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? A mixture of crickets, dubias, and Calci / Nutrigrubs daily around 615a. 8-12 ea. Occasionally and extra couple when I get home around 430p. Supers and Horns on occasion. Maybe 5-6 total in two weeks?? Presently gut-loading with commercial mixture ( MAZURI Better Bug ). Still trying to get my gutloading down - gonna start blending / freezing some like others here mention.
  • Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Reptical w/o D3 at each feeding expect on the calci / nutrigrubs, supers, & horns. Reptivite w/ D3 twice a month ( 1st and 15th ).
  • Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? Presently we have a mister setup to go off 4Xs daily. Once at 550a for 2min, noon for 1min, 658p for 2min, and 1a for 30sec. Also have 3.5gal bucket dripper setup dripping 24/7. I think I've witnessed what I think was him drinking but not 100% sure. Do know however his urates are definitely white in color. I think his hydration seems good, at least to me.
  • Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? As mentioned above his urates are white. His poop is dark otherwise. Seems to be of good consistency. Mostly solid but with some moisture until it's been sitting under the lights for a good bit. Going to drop off fecal with local vet tomorrow or Wednesday.
  • History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. Came from Petco :( but he needed saving so that's that.


Cage Info:

  • Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? Reptibreeze 16x16x30. I've covered two sides with HDPE sheet. Mostly for personal reasons ( trying to contain rogue mists ). My intent is to have a 48x36x24 complete before Txgiving, if not sooner.
  • Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? I'm using a jungle dawn for plants / natty light. I've got a 22" Arcadia t5 6% fixture / bulb. Both of these are about 6" above enclosure and approx. 8-9" above his lowest branches/vines. For heat / basking, I've got two 50w halogen heat lamps in a double dome. This hangs about 2" above the screen. The jungle dawn, t5, & 1st of two heat lamps come on at 6a. The 2nd heat lamp comes on around 9a. The 2nd heat lamp goes off at 4p. All the other lights go off at 7p. Based on what I see about Yemen's light cycles this seems to be inline. I know most are saying 12 & 12 but I'm going to stick with 13 & 11.
  • Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? Cage floor hovers around 70*, basking spot seems to be around 82-83*. I have temp probes at both locations.
  • Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? 35-55 during the day. Not really sure overnight except I do know it trends upwards.
  • Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? Presently we've got a pothos and croton in his enclosure along with the silly fake plant thing that came in the kit. I've got a 15yr old chinese banyan that we will be adding to his permanent when it's built.
  • Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? Enclosure is in our "studio". Just me, the wife, and two little min pins so some activity but the studio door is kept shut after his lights go out and we try to keep the noise down as much as possible. There is a ceiling fan in close proximity to his enclosure and it's kept on low just to keep the air moving. Haven't measured to the top but going to guesstimate it at around 5.5-6'.
  • Location - Where are you geographically located? Illinois
 
See my feedback in red bold. Let me know what questions you have as well.


Chameleon Info:


  • Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Piebald Veiled - see his spurs so Male - thinking right around 4mo Good if you want it confirmed just post a pic of the back foot from the side.
  • Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Only when I took him from box to enclosure when getting home with him. Still letting him acclimate to me and his surroundings. Perfect.
  • Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? A mixture of crickets, dubias, and Calci / Nutrigrubs daily around 615a. 8-12 ea. Occasionally and extra couple when I get home around 430p. Supers and Horns on occasion. Maybe 5-6 total in two weeks?? Presently gut-loading with commercial mixture ( MAZURI Better Bug ). Still trying to get my gutloading down - gonna start blending / freezing some like others here mention. With the feeding do it in the morning.. Try to avoid feeding in the evening. They really need time to bask and digest before they bed down. Note on the Mazuri. I personally would not feed this to roaches. It is very high in protein which in turn can raise the uric acid levels of the roaches which is not healthy for chams as they can have issues clearing the uric acid from their systems. Repashy bug burger is good for roaches if your wanting a commercial blend.
  • Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Reptical w/o D3 at each feeding expect on the calci / nutrigrubs, supers, & horns. Reptivite w/ D3 twice a month ( 1st and 15th ). So the only feeder your good with not supplementing is the calci/nutrigrubs or BSFL as they are also called. Because their calcium to phosphorus ratio is awesome. Everything else you want to lightly dust with supplement. No powdered donuts look though. Otherwise supplements and rotation are perfect.
  • Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? Presently we have a mister setup to go off 4Xs daily. Once at 550a for 2min, noon for 1min, 658p for 2min, and 1a for 30sec. Also have 3.5gal bucket dripper setup dripping 24/7. I think I've witnessed what I think was him drinking but not 100% sure. Do know however his urates are definitely white in color. I think his hydration seems good, at least to me. Looks good to me. Might consider altering that noon misting to be like 15 minutes after lights kick on in the morning. This way cage temps are still cool. Reduced risk of raising the humidity and creating hot moist air that way.
  • Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? As mentioned above his urates are white. His poop is dark otherwise. Seems to be of good consistency. Mostly solid but with some moisture until it's been sitting under the lights for a good bit. Going to drop off fecal with local vet tomorrow or Wednesday.Good only drop off the fecal portion do not include the urate.
  • History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. Came from Petco :( but he needed saving so that's that. No worries... my boy is from Petco. :)


Cage Info:


  • Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? Reptibreeze 16x16x30. I've covered two sides with HDPE sheet. Mostly for personal reasons ( trying to contain rogue mists ). My intent is to have a 48x36x24 complete before Txgiving, if not sooner. Ok keep in mind the 16x16x30 is really meant for babies... Your guy is going to grow out of this extremely fast. You have a month tops to get him into a new enclosure. For the new one your looking at 48 tall x 36 wide x 24 deep? If so that will be awesome for him. If you use wood make sure you seal it with water based polyurethane. And you want to use the aluminum window screen not the fiber glass.
  • Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? I'm using a jungle dawn for plants / natty light. I've got a 22" Arcadia t5 6% fixture / bulb. Both of these are about 6" above enclosure and approx. 8-9" above his lowest branches/vines. For heat / basking, I've got two 50w halogen heat lamps in a double dome. This hangs about 2" above the screen. The jungle dawn, t5, & 1st of two heat lamps come on at 6a. The 2nd heat lamp comes on around 9a. The 2nd heat lamp goes off at 4p. All the other lights go off at 7p. Based on what I see about Yemen's light cycles this seems to be inline. I know most are saying 12 & 12 but I'm going to stick with 13 & 11. So what you will see is he will not care that your lights are still on he is going to bed down when he wants to. I run 11 hours on 13 hours off. And my guy is tucked in easily 2 hours before lights kick off. Ok just want to confirm... Total distance for UVB is the 8-9 inches from the bottom of the fixture to the branch correct? This one is important because if you also have it raised 6 Inches it is too far away to get the UVI levels you need at the branch. Really watch temps with the heat bulbs... That is a lot of wattage to have on a small cage.
  • Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? Cage floor hovers around 70*, basking spot seems to be around 82-83*. I have temp probes at both locations. Just make sure basking is not getting hotter than that at the probe. It gets hotter as they rise closer to the heat.
  • Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? 35-55 during the day. Not really sure overnight except I do know it trends upwards. Fine for a veiled during the day. you can buy a govee gauge to go in the cage. This will work with an app and give you specifics.
  • Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? Presently we've got a pothos and croton in his enclosure along with the silly fake plant thing that came in the kit. I've got a 15yr old chinese banyan that we will be adding to his permanent when it's built. Just make sure the banyan does not pose any toxicity to other animals. This is the worry with veileds we recommend only going with veiled tested plants due to them actively eating their plants.
  • Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? Enclosure is in our "studio". Just me, the wife, and two little min pins so some activity but the studio door is kept shut after his lights go out and we try to keep the noise down as much as possible. There is a ceiling fan in close proximity to his enclosure and it's kept on low just to keep the air moving. Haven't measured to the top but going to guesstimate it at around 5.5-6'.
  • Location - Where are you geographically located? Illinois

Here are some images that will assist you as well.

I recommend the Chameleon Academy and Neptune the Chameleon on youtube for additional correct husbandry info.
 

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Beman said:
See my feedback in red bold. Let me know what questions you have as well.


Chameleon Info:


  • Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Piebald Veiled - see his spurs so Male - thinking right around 4mo Good if you want it confirmed just post a pic of the back foot from the side. I'll take one the next opportunity I get.
  • Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Only when I took him from box to enclosure when getting home with him. Still letting him acclimate to me and his surroundings. Perfect. :)
  • Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? A mixture of crickets, dubias, and Calci / Nutrigrubs daily around 615a. 8-12 ea. Occasionally and extra couple when I get home around 430p. Supers and Horns on occasion. Maybe 5-6 total in two weeks?? Presently gut-loading with commercial mixture ( MAZURI Better Bug ). Still trying to get my gutloading down - gonna start blending / freezing some like others here mention. With the feeding do it in the morning.. Try to avoid feeding in the evening. They really need time to bask and digest before they bed down. Note on the Mazuri. I personally would not feed this to roaches. It is very high in protein which in turn can raise the uric acid levels of the roaches which is not healthy for chams as they can have issues clearing the uric acid from their systems. Repashy bug burger is good for roaches if your wanting a commercial blend. Ok, I'll stop the evening feeds and won't use the mazuri with the dubias. He hasn't been a big fan of them yet anyways so no harm done.
  • Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Reptical w/o D3 at each feeding expect on the calci / nutrigrubs, supers, & horns. Reptivite w/ D3 twice a month ( 1st and 15th ). So the only feeder your good with not supplementing is the calci/nutrigrubs or BSFL as they are also called. Because their calcium to phosphorus ratio is awesome. Everything else you want to lightly dust with supplement. No powdered donuts look though. Otherwise supplements and rotation are perfect. So I should be dusting the supers and horns even though only treats too?
  • Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? Presently we have a mister setup to go off 4Xs daily. Once at 550a for 2min, noon for 1min, 658p for 2min, and 1a for 30sec. Also have 3.5gal bucket dripper setup dripping 24/7. I think I've witnessed what I think was him drinking but not 100% sure. Do know however his urates are definitely white in color. I think his hydration seems good, at least to me. Looks good to me. Might consider altering that noon misting to be like 15 minutes after lights kick on in the morning. This way cage temps are still cool. Reduced risk of raising the humidity and creating hot moist air that way. I'm guessing you didn't mean 15min - can you please clarify this. Tx-
  • Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? As mentioned above his urates are white. His poop is dark otherwise. Seems to be of good consistency. Mostly solid but with some moisture until it's been sitting under the lights for a good bit. Going to drop off fecal with local vet tomorrow or Wednesday.Good only drop off the fecal portion do not include the urate. Will do.
  • History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. Came from Petco :( but he needed saving so that's that. No worries... my boy is from Petco. :)


Cage Info:


  • Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? Reptibreeze 16x16x30. I've covered two sides with HDPE sheet. Mostly for personal reasons ( trying to contain rogue mists ). My intent is to have a 48x36x24 complete before Txgiving, if not sooner. Ok keep in mind the 16x16x30 is really meant for babies... Your guy is going to grow out of this extremely fast. You have a month tops to get him into a new enclosure. For the new one your looking at 48 tall x 36 wide x 24 deep? If so that will be awesome for him. If you use wood make sure you seal it with water based polyurethane. And you want to use the aluminum window screen not the fiber glass. Yes, his new enclosure will be 48x36x24 ( basically the whole space occupied presently by his enclosure and the white table / printer.
  • Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? I'm using a jungle dawn for plants / natty light. I've got a 22" Arcadia t5 6% fixture / bulb. Both of these are about 6" above enclosure and approx. 8-9" above his lowest branches/vines. For heat / basking, I've got two 50w halogen heat lamps in a double dome. This hangs about 2" above the screen. The jungle dawn, t5, & 1st of two heat lamps come on at 6a. The 2nd heat lamp comes on around 9a. The 2nd heat lamp goes off at 4p. All the other lights go off at 7p. Based on what I see about Yemen's light cycles this seems to be inline. I know most are saying 12 & 12 but I'm going to stick with 13 & 11. So what you will see is he will not care that your lights are still on he is going to bed down when he wants to. I run 11 hours on 13 hours off. And my guy is tucked in easily 2 hours before lights kick off. Ok just want to confirm... Total distance for UVB is the 8-9 inches from the bottom of the fixture to the branch correct? This one is important because if you also have it raised 6 Inches it is too far away to get the UVI levels you need at the branch. Really watch temps with the heat bulbs... That is a lot of wattage to have on a small cage. Pics above - yes, the lights are 8-9" from his highest branch.
  • Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? Cage floor hovers around 70*, basking spot seems to be around 82-83*. I have temp probes at both locations. Just make sure basking is not getting hotter than that at the probe. It gets hotter as they rise closer to the heat. I'll double and triple check this.
  • Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? 35-55 during the day. Not really sure overnight except I do know it trends upwards. Fine for a veiled during the day. you can buy a govee gauge to go in the cage. This will work with an app and give you specifics. I'll take a look into the govee - tx for the info.
  • Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? Presently we've got a pothos and croton in his enclosure along with the silly fake plant thing that came in the kit. I've got a 15yr old chinese banyan that we will be adding to his permanent when it's built. Just make sure the banyan does not pose any toxicity to other animals. This is the worry with veileds we recommend only going with veiled tested plants due to them actively eating their plants. The chinese banyan is just another name for Curtain Fig, it's a type of Ficus - I think it's on the list???
  • Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? Enclosure is in our "studio". Just me, the wife, and two little min pins so some activity but the studio door is kept shut after his lights go out and we try to keep the noise down as much as possible. There is a ceiling fan in close proximity to his enclosure and it's kept on low just to keep the air moving. Haven't measured to the top but going to guesstimate it at around 5.5-6'.
  • Location - Where are you geographically located? Illinois

Here are some images that will assist you as well.

I recommend the Chameleon Academy and Neptune the Chameleon on youtube for additional correct husbandry info.
Click to expand...
 
Welcome Josh and Diglit!! (also Pokemon are the best). I hope you stick around so we can see your beautiful chameleon grow, I love piebalds!
 
regal81455 said:
Hello all!

Name is Josh and I just brought home a piebald veiled about 2 weeks ago. Just wanting to introduce myself and my new pal to this forum, we've been lurking for a few weeks now. So without further ado... please say Hi to Digit! :)
View attachment 342623View attachment 342624

I don't have any pics of his enclosure ATM but I'll fill out a husbandry in a moment and add a pic or two of his temp. enclosure later today / tomorrow while I build his permanent "adult" solution.
Click to expand...
Welcome!! You've come to the right place :-D I am a new keeper myself and I absolutely love it here. The people here are really nice, and extremely helpful, should you ever need some assistance. Good luck with him. He looks beautiful!
 
So I should be dusting the supers and horns even though only treats too?
Yes, so with our feeders the entire reason we dust them with supplements is actually to balance the phosphorus to calcium ratio of the feeder. The only feeder we use that has a perfect calcium level are bsfl. So you dust everything else. The only things I do not bother dusting are flying insects. So bsfl when they hatch out, blue bottle flies, wax worm moths. This is just due to them being much harder to dust without damaging their ability to fly. And the purpose of feeding them is the fact that they fly and are great enrichment for the cham.


I'm guessing you didn't mean 15min - can you please clarify this. Tx-
No, I mean instead of having that misting mid day when the cage is at its hottest consider changing it to the morning about 15 minutes after the first lights kick on. So cage temps are still low.

Pics above - yes, the lights are 8-9" from his highest branch.
Ok so then UVB is perfect. But I am a bit concerned about the heat since it is only lifted a little bit off the top. If you are using focused heat bulbs instead of regular round incandesent household bulbs then your going to have even more of a thermal burn risk. I would honestly consider 40 watt bulbs in the double if your using both sides. It will be safer and heat intensity will be lower.

The chinese banyan is just another name for Curtain Fig, it's a type of Ficus - I think it's on the list???
Ficus are normally fine. Double check how it likes its environment too. If they do not like being wet then you will want to position it in the cage so it is not getting blasted by the misting system. :)
 
@Beman thank you so much - I'll monitor the basking temps closely and if needed I have a pair of 40w appliance bulbs I can swap into it.

Everything else, OK sounds good. I'll start implementing them pronto.

Tx so much everyone for the kind words and advise!!
 
regal81455 said:
@Beman thank you so much - I'll monitor the basking temps closely and if needed I have a pair of 40w appliance bulbs I can swap into it.

Everything else, OK sounds good. I'll start implementing them pronto.

Tx so much everyone for the kind words and advise!!
Click to expand...
Your welcome. And just note moving forward I would avoid the black coated vines. They do pose a risk if they rub their eyes on them because the coating flakes off. Flukers is the only fake brand that I recommend.

When you get ready to start your cage build post a thread on that. We love seeing the progress and this is a great way to have additional eyes on your plans in case something should be tweaked.

And again welcome to the forum!
 
Duly noted - once I get moving on the new enclosure ( maybe this holiday weekend ), I'll be sure to post a build thread. Tx again!
 
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