New Member/ Need General Advice

PascalDude

New Member
Hello all!
I'm new to the site and could use some pointers on how to get started. I don't know how to put up pictures or anything on my profile. I joined the forums because I have a young chameleon and want to be a good mom!:)
Any and every advice is appreciated!

An introduction to my chameleon
and our story of how we came to be:

*Caution: May be a tearjerker!*
I am personally more of a cat/dog/horse type person. I would have never imagined myself owning any type of reptile in my life. Yet, here I am! My friend had gone to a reptile convention and bought a juvenile chameleon for the heck of it and didn't ever pick up an information guide before taking him home. When I met the little chameleon, I had never seen one before and he was so interesting! I enjoyed watching and handling it every time I went over to her house. He had such a personality, I almost instantly fell in love with him. My friend let him roam freely around the house: climbing up drapes, scavenging through indoor plants and sleeping on top of the towel rack in the bathroom. In transport, he was put in a clean/humid plastic pretzel jar with a crested gecko (the other pet). Her boyfriend mainly took care of him. Almost two months ago to this day (around the end of July) he committed suicide in their apartment. He was a good friend of mine as well. A few weeks after his death, my friend decided she didn't want to take care of the chameleon anymore so I adopted him from her. Before, his name was Dude (the gecko's name was Bro...original, lol). I had seen disney's film Tangled previously. People used to call me Rapunzel all the time when I was little because of my long hair. I fell in love with tangled at the end where it show's she's actually a brunette, cause I am too! So, it seemed appropriate to name my new chameleon Pascal after the one in the movie! <3

I obviously wasn't going to keep him in a plastic pretzel jar. He was extremely capable of climbing out of it anyway. I had a 5 gallon tank that I kept him in for awhile. It had a screen top, I bought bark bedding, and put a stick in it from the yard to let him climb onto something. The next day I decorated the outside of the cage with fake vine leaves to make him feel more protected, bought crickets and a cricket keeper (put in a piece of manderine orange for food/water), and a uvb/uva bulb and lamp. He lived in that on my screened in back patio for about a week. I had a little mister bottle and sprayed him in the middle of the day. During this week, I educated myself a little on chameleon care through google (yay google!) and realized that he needed a MUCH bigger cage. I went to petsmart and found an awesome cage for about $70. Yea, I was like forget that! I had some scrap wood (teak) donated to me from a friend who helps build sail boats and bought a $7 screen, went home and built the cage!

After a week of labor, I built my first hardy piece of furniture! The cage has a removable glass cover to the bottom wood base so it will be easier to clean, a top hinged "lid" and a side hinged "door". The dimensions are 29" tall, 21" wide, and 19" deep. That's what I was able to do with the wood I was given. I built it vertical because I was told chameleons prefer heights. All five sides are screen because I read that it was a better habitat for them. I tossed the bark bedding and bought coconut fiber bedding that apparently absorbs moisture better and is easier to clean. The only thing holding the screen to the wood are staples from a gun and then covered it in wood caulking so he wouldn't scratch himself (I let it dry before putting him in the cage. As a chemical is this safe for him?). The cage is now indoors. He also has a foam wire stick to climb on (from petsmart) and I cut the fake fabric vine leaves and stuck them in the sides of his cage so he could climb on it (he sleeps on it at night). I got calcium supplement to coat the crickets in but I'm not sure I'm using it right because half of them die within a few hours and also bought food cubes for the cricket cage.

I read about dehydration and upped his misting to two times a day for 10 minutes manually or three times a day 5 minutes manually. I make sure to spray toward the leaves in the morning so that it would imitate the "dew" for him to drink. I also take him outside once a week to bask in normal sunlight and natural Florida humidity. I only do this for 15-30 minutes because I read that juveniles can't stand heat very well. While we were out the other day, he had his mouth open while basking and I noticed black powder looking stuff on the back his throat. The back/ top of the inside of his mouth was greyish but his gums were their normal pinkish color. I dont know if this is calcium buildup (giving him too much) or some kind of infection, or just a normal condition. I'm not sure how old he is. He is about 4" long with his tail curled up under him. A night when sleeping and when he is climbing on my arm he is usually a pale green. When basking in the cage and outside he turns tan with dark brown diamonds on his back and speckles everywhere else. I've also seen him turn all dark brown with the line on his underbelly and chin almost white when climbing around in his cage. Sometimes he looks like he's trying to show a orange or red color but never really gets there. Is this because he is young? Or is he sick?

Extra: (AKA- stuff I forgot to put in... He is a veiled chameleon, I keep a towel over the outside of his cage on one side between the cage and my bed to help hold humidity, his cage is in the corner of a room up against the two walls. I was told to not have glass as a side or door because their reflection could make them think it is another chameleon, he is fed large crickets. I have have seen him eat several house flies before I owned him and I've attempted feeding him collard green leaf, mustard green leaf, and turnip green leaf but he won't eat it. I've put a live meal worm in front of him before and he walked over it, never looking at it as food. I make sure the water I spray into his cage is spring or other filtered water because I was told tap water could have chemicals in it that would kill him.

I've been caring for this little guy for almost 5 weeks now. He's taught me so much already and like I said, I want to be a good mom! Thank you for taking the time to read all of this. I'm really glad I found this forum and hope you all could help me out a little. It's hard learning how to take care of an exotic animal in a little apartment while going to college, but it's worth it! :)
 
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I would fill out the how to ask for help form which would make it much easier for people to provide advise.


Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
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?
Location - Where are you geographically located?

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.
 
I've listed all those things in my message. I have no idea where the form is that you are talking about or else I would have filled that out instead of posting this long message. Where do I find that? Like I said, I'm new and have no idea how things work!
 
I've listed all those things in my message. I have no idea where the form is that you are talking about or else I would have filled that out instead of posting this long message. Where do I find that? Like I said, I'm new and have no idea how things work!

Thats the form, right under what he said. All those questions.
 
Your cham looks like a beautiful female panther im on my phone so had to enlarge the pic lol. Do you know how old she is if shes between 7-9 months feed her about 6-8 4 week old crickets every other day. Keep basking temps 80-85 degrees and the keep the lower temps at the bottem around 70-75 degrees. Dust her food with calcium w/o D3 at every feeding and i do once a week with D3 with reptivite vitamins. Silk worms and horn worms make an excellent treat for them from time to time. Also use a 5.0 reptisun uvb tube thats what most of us use and a 60 watt basking bulb keep her basking branch at least 6-8 inches under it she will regulate her own temps its cool to watch them do it. Seeing shes a female an 18-18-36" screen cage is ideal for her and seeing you let her free range alot that wont be a problem. Also make sure you have a laying bin readyy female chams will lay eggs mated or not so its always good to be ready. I mist my guys 3 times a day for about 30 seconds. Hand feed her to so she really wants to hang out with you. Anything else just ask also for her laying bin some people use play sand i prefer vermiculite cause of how sturdy it is when moist. Best of. Luck anf welcome to the forums ask anything!!!
 
hmm. I was told it was male. I've been feeding about 5 large crickets every other to every three days. I never tried silk or horn worms so i'll try that next! Thank you so much for your help!
 
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
I don't know. I've had the little guy for almost 5wks, he's young, but I'm not sure of the exact age. Might be female... I was told he was a veiled male.

Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
Every other or every three days for an hour or so.

Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
3-7 Large crickets every other/ every three days with fluker's calcuim suppliment. I feed the crickets the little orange cube things. Tried feeding a live mealworm to my cham but he literally thought it was a stick and walked right over it.

Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
Read above

Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
SPring or other drinking water manually sprayed with a mist bottle two or three times a day. I've only seen him drink once.

Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
Orangey-dry strings and white pellets. Not been to a vet yet.

History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
Read original post

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
5 sides screen. Wood and caulking. Read original post for dimensions.

Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
50watt uva/uvb bulb. 9 or 10am to 9 or 10pm.

Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
I haven't measured temperature. The lamp is at the top of the cage. there is a stick he near the top of the cage that he likes to bask on. I live in florida so it is always around 70 to 90 degrees naturally.

Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
I don't know. I was told the coconut fiber bedding was better for maintaining humidity than the bark I was using. I spray the whole cage two to three times a day, making sure everything is wet.


Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
No. I tried feeding him a turnip green leaf, a collard green leaf and a mustard green leaf. I tried them all to see which one he liked so I could put a plant in his cage but the leaves just dried up so I never got a live plant.

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?
it's about two feet off of the ground in the back corner of my bedroom so two sides of the cage are up against the wall. I turn off my fan when I'm out suring the day so it won't get too cold. The house is around 76 degrees but is probably warmer in his cage with the uva lamp. I also put a towel on a third side of his cage that is between my bed where the house air vents might blow toward. I figured this would also help keep humidity in? It is definitely not a high traffic area.

Location - Where are you geographically located?
Florida USA

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.
Black powder looking stuff in the back of his throat.
Is dried wood caulking toxic to chams?
Best affordable feeding methods.
Any other helpful tips for noobs (like me)

~Thanks! :)
 
You may just be seeing a natural coloration. It's sort of amazing how far down their gullet you can see when they really open up.

I think your crickets are too big. If you're getting them from Petco or Petsmart, I know the only options are "large" or "small" and I know small seem stupid and overly expensive, but for awhile, I think small would be better. You might check around for a reptile store in your area. They usually carry "medium" crickets which are probably the size you really need. But, again, smaller is better than too big. They can eat more small crickets, but sometimes they can't eat the big crickets. Also, some smaller chameleons seem almost intimidated by the big crickets and crickets do bite!

Most people here don't use any "bedding" or substrate. If anything is used it's usually just newspaper or paper towels to absorb moisture.

I read your story and first, let me say I'm so sorry for your loss. I hope you find keeping this chameleon a good way to honor the memory of your friend.

Second, you might live to regret some aspects of the cage you built. Maybe you can make some adjustments to it? You really want drainage. The best thing for your chameleon is to have water constantly dripping. Of course, unless there is drainage, that will cause flooding and problems.

Can you take a picture of your chameleon's back feet? Male veileds have "tarsal spurs" on their back feet. You might be able to make that determination without the picture, but if there's any doubt, I'm sure experts here will be able to tell.
 
oh and no substrate of any kind on the bottom of the cage i use papertowls cause they can sometimes ingest it while hunting for crickets and out of curiosity eat some of it. this can cause a big problem for them.
 
oo good to know!! I will just finish up this bag then and not get another. It will be a lot cheaper just using paper towels anyway! :)

I never thought about the size of the crickets! I will definitely downsize!! Do you think the black is indication of soreness??

Yea, I don't see any tarsal spurs. I googled the two differences and I'm pretty sure I have a female! lol. Poor Pascal has to be switched to Pascella!!!

If I got a hamster water thing would they drink out of that? Probably not. I was just wondering if anyone had tried it. Haha!
 
If I got a hamster water thing would they drink out of that? Probably not. I was just wondering if anyone had tried it. Haha!

No, that won't work - they will rarely drink out of bowls, so misting and preferably a constant drip (you can buy a dripper or make one yourself using a cup with a pin hole in the bottom) One drip per second, onto leaves is best.
What kind of uvb do you use? The tube bulbs are best, like reptisun 5.0 or reptiglo 5.0.
They usually love mealworms, but they shouldn't be fed too often anyway, too much chitin can cause problems with digestion. They are very eyesight based, so if it wasn't moving he probably won't have noticed it.
Variety is good for food, so many different kinds of things is good, keeping it almost all crickets because they are generally better (and easier to gutload with the good stuff). Here is a good blog on gutloading to have a look at -
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/ferretinmyshoes/446-basics-gutloading.html
Probably best to get more pics up of the Cham and setup before you change the name.......it can be hard to tell
 
When you are writing a post, scroll down until you see the button that says 'manage attachments' - click this and go to 'choose file'. You should then be able to add any pics you have on your computer.
 
For the cage picture, I've added fake foliage on the right and left sides on the inside of the cage. The half-log is faced down in case shade is needed. The bedding has been changed to coconut fiber (will be changed, again, to paper towels later). I've also gotten a second lamp for a uvb light bulb.

The picture of Pascal was during the day while climbing around the cage. He (she?) shed for the first time under my care last night. I did some extra misting directly on the skin to hopefully make it easier. This is it's natural color when in the cage during the day. My avatar picture is his color when I handle him indoors and also the color when he sleeps. Sometimes he'll be just speckled with no diamonds on his back when in his cage, and sometimes he turns all dark brown with the line under his chin and belly whitish when basking outdoors in natural sunlight and occasionally when climbing in the cage.
 

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First. I dont think you have a veiled chameleon. I think its a panther.

Second, You need a TON more foliage in that cage.
I mean like alot alot.
more plants, real or fake.
if you do real, pothos, scheffelara and hibiscus, and ficus are chameleong safe. some chams enjoy munching the leaves

third- it is very dark, i think you need to up your temps. some.
 
are you sure your heat bulb is also a UVB bulb? Typically UVB and UVA bulbs are not one in the same unless it is a mercury vapor bulb. It is really hard to tell what he is, but it looks like a male panther who is in bad condition. If he has been going for that long without the proper lighting he could be getting the start of MBD(metabolic bone disease). If you could post a closer picture of him that would be great but assuming it is a male panther chameleon I will post what he needs:

More plants and vines are a must, you can use live plants which help a lot with humidity, schefflera, pothos, ficus, and hibiscus are the most commonly used. You can use fake vines that you can buy either at a pet store or if you want to save some cash you can go to a craft store. He will need a UVB light, preferably a reptisun 5.0 linear tube bulb. Those are about $20 but you can get a light fixture for it at a hardware store for about $10. You can also use a regular florescent house bulb, about 60-75 watt, depending on the distance from a basking spot and the bulb. Check the temperature to make sure it is not above the mid 80's since he is a juvenile. i didn't get to read what supplements you have but just FYI, you will need plain calcium(no phosphorus or D3), calcium with D3, and a multivitamin. The plain calcium if for every feeding, the calcium with D3 is foir twice a month, and the multivitamin is for once a month. that's my 2 cents =) good luck!
 
For the cage picture, I've added fake foliage on the right and left sides on the inside of the cage. The half-log is faced down in case shade is needed. The bedding has been changed to coconut fiber (will be changed, again, to paper towels later). I've also gotten a second lamp for a uvb light bulb.

The picture of Pascal was during the day while climbing around the cage. He (she?) shed for the first time under my care last night. I did some extra misting directly on the skin to hopefully make it easier.

This is all good. Can we see new pics with the extra foliage/ branches? is your new bulb a tube? reptisun or reptiglo? Keep taking out for some real sun when you can.....its not a veiled.....looks like a panther, maybe a common chameleon though.....more close up pics please :)
 
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