New person with a new chameleon

[imchives]

Hi everyone, since I've been lurking around for a bit I figured I'd finally actually make an account and join in on the fun lol

I am a relatively experienced reptile keeper but fairly new to chameleons, and would very much appreciate any advice or tips anyone can offer as I'm sure I'm not perfect with everything I do.

I previously had a female veiled cham that I got late June of 2023 who unfortunately passed sometime January 2024 of unknown cause, she was acting perfectly normal the day before, and when I went to feed her the next morning she was dead at the bottom of her tank. My husband and I couldn't find anything clearly wrong with her or the setup beyond a leaf that had broken off of one of her fake plants, so we chalked it up to either a fall or some mystery illness we had failed to notice.

Not really wanting to get another chameleon (she was amazing, and would gladly take bugs from our hands or climb onto our hands to get a different viewpoint of the house, and I knew that not many chams are as tolerant of regular handling), I took apart her setup and split up her plants, branches, etc. between my other reptiles, and was heavily debating selling or trashing the screen cage itself. Cut to about a week ago, we have a chameleon returned to our store (I work at a big chain pet store) and this poor little guy had only been with his new owners for two weeks and about 3/4 to a full 1 inch of his tail is dead and falling off. Well, we have him checked out by a local reptile vet, and she clears him to be adopted after cleaning up the remaining dead bits of his tail, and me being the bleeding heart I am decides to give him a much better home than the tiny temporary enclosure we have to keep 'sick' reptiles in at the store.

Given the sudden loss of my last cham, I'm kinda paranoid about the new one, especially given his already rocky start with his previous owners. So far he seems to be doing well, but I think I'll always be a bit worried. I put in a picture of his current setup, and there are plenty of things I plan on upgrading here soon, such as linear uvb vs coil (just trying to use up the last of the useful lifespan of the existing bulb first), more live plants vs fake ones, and eventually a larger enclosure. I know he could use some more leaf cover for starters so I plan on adding some more once I can get my hands on some good ones, the store I work at primarily focuses on desert lizards, so there aren't many appropriate decor options, and taking cuttings of my pothos will take some time.

But anyways, uh, hi everyone!

P.S. This little guy hiding in the pic doesn't have a name yet, so if anyone has some cute ideas, feel free to share them with me!

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi and welcome! That’s awesome that you brought the poor little guy home. We can definitely help you get everything as perfect as possible for him. It’s challenging to know what the correct husbandry is for chameleons since there’s so much outdated and incorrect info out there. From just looking at your current set up, I can make several suggestions. The first is that yes, you need a linear T5 ho uvb with either ReptiSun 5.0 or Arcadia 6% without delay. The coil bulb isn’t really providing any uvb unless he’s 2-3” directly below it. I will add to stick to ReptiSun and Arcadia brand. I recently tested a ReptiZoo uvb and it was seriously lacking. Also, while the Arcadia shade dweller may be less expensive, it can not be used for a chameleon. Once you get the correct uvb, you then want to place it so that there’s about 8-9” distance between the light and basking area. For basking, your ideal temp should be around 80 for now. Depending on his age/size, you may need to elevate the lights off the screen to prevent burns. Little ones like to walk upside down on the screen top. To measure temps, a digital thermometer with a probe end is the basic way. Avoid analog gauges.
You’ll need to upgrade him in just a few short months to a larger enclosure of at least 2x2x4’. He needs lots more branches and vines to travel on. Avoid the black Exo Terra ones - they shed micro particles that somehow make their way into the eyes. I use natural branches. Avoid ones with odor or sap, like pine and eucalyptus. Hanging things is a challenge, but there are lots of ways. The main thing to remember is to have the frame bear the weight and not the screen. You can make a scaffolding from branches and attach it to the frame, use garden trellis or whatever else you can come up with. There are Dragon Ledges for when you upgrade. Since veileds nibble their plants and it only takes one nibble of a fake leaf to cause a potentially fatal bowel obstruction, use only live safe plants.
There’s so much more, but it would be best if you went to either https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/ or https://www.neptunethechameleon.com/ Both are amazing resources with the most correct and current husbandry standards. Once you’ve had your fill there, come on back and we can answer any questions you may have, help you find/buy the right stuff and just be like cheerleaders for your progress. One last thing before I go is supplements. These along with uvb are essential. Use a phosphorus free calcium without D3 at every feeding and then for one feeding every other week you’ll use either Repashy calcium plus LoD or ReptiVite with D3.

 

[imchives]

Hi and welcome! That’s awesome that you brought the poor little guy home. We can definitely help you get everything as perfect as possible for him. It’s challenging to know what the correct husbandry is for chameleons since there’s so much outdated and incorrect info out there. From just looking at your current set up, I can make several suggestions. The first is that yes, you need a linear T5 ho uvb with either ReptiSun 5.0 or Arcadia 6% without delay. The coil bulb isn’t really providing any uvb unless he’s 2-3” directly below it. I will add to stick to ReptiSun and Arcadia brand. I recently tested a ReptiZoo uvb and it was seriously lacking. Also, while the Arcadia shade dweller may be less expensive, it can not be used for a chameleon. Once you get the correct uvb, you then want to place it so that there’s about 8-9” distance between the light and basking area. For basking, your ideal temp should be around 80 for now. Depending on his age/size, you may need to elevate the lights off the screen to prevent burns. Little ones like to walk upside down on the screen top. To measure temps, a digital thermometer with a probe end is the basic way. Avoid analog gauges.
You’ll need to upgrade him in just a few short months to a larger enclosure of at least 2x2x4’. He needs lots more branches and vines to travel on. Avoid the black Exo Terra ones - they shed micro particles that somehow make their way into the eyes. I use natural branches. Avoid ones with odor or sap, like pine and eucalyptus. Hanging things is a challenge, but there are lots of ways. The main thing to remember is to have the frame bear the weight and not the screen. You can make a scaffolding from branches and attach it to the frame, use garden trellis or whatever else you can come up with. There are Dragon Ledges for when you upgrade. Since veileds nibble their plants and it only takes one nibble of a fake leaf to cause a potentially fatal bowel obstruction, use only live safe plants.
There’s so much more, but it would be best if you went to either https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/ or https://www.neptunethechameleon.com/ Both are amazing resources with the most correct and current husbandry standards. Once you’ve had your fill there, come on back and we can answer any questions you may have, help you find/buy the right stuff and just be like cheerleaders for your progress. One last thing before I go is supplements. These along with uvb are essential. Use a phosphorus free calcium without D3 at every feeding and then for one feeding every other week you’ll use either Repashy calcium plus LoD or ReptiVite with D3.

Would a T8 work just the same as a T5? I have an older fixture that takes T8 bulbs, and I know Reptisun makes 5% T8s and I could grab one of those much sooner than getting a whole new T5 fixture. I’m not sure if there are any major differences beyond the size of them…

I used to have some real branches I cleaned off and sanitized from my yard for my last cham, but got rid of them since I wasn’t planning on getting another, so this is a very very quickly thrown together setup from stuff I still had left. I plan on grabbing more once I can find some good ones!

As for temps, I have a digital therm/hygro at the bottom of the tank, and have a spare digital temp gauge with a probe I just haven't set up yet. I have moved the one without a probe around to get an idea of temps in different spots and the basking spot seems to stay at about 85F and ambient at about 74F, and humidity averages between 50-75%

Currently he only gets crickets (the dubias we have at work are too big for him just yet), and I dust them every feeding with calcium without d3. I have reptivite with d3 that I was doing once a week with my last cham, so I’ll stick to every other week with this guy!

I never had any issues with my last one biting any plants but I do know they like to munch so I’ve been keeping a very close eye on him with the fake ones. I plan on swapping to all live, but haven't gotten enough just yet to swap them all out.

 

[MissSkittles]

A T8 isn’t as effective as a T5, but will work. You’ll need a ReptiSun 10.0 or Arcadia 12% bulb and then for the distance, I believe you would want basking to be around 6” away.
I understand it’s a quick starter set up. Just gotta give the info. Depending on how old your little guy is will dictate his temp. If he’s a young one, like around 4 months or younger, you’ll want a cooler basking temp of 78-80. Adult males basking temp can be around 85. Your humidity is a bit high. Ideal range for veileds is between 30-50% during the day.
I’ve found that while younger, chams don’t nibble their plants so much. But once they get older, they can devour them. Not all do, but we still need to be cautious. I hang my fake plants on the outside of my enclosures to help give them a bit more sense of privacy.
For branches, I mainly have oak available, which works great. I know the trees aren’t sprayed with chemicals. I just give a little scrub with dish soap and then blast rinse thoroughly with the hose. No need for baking, removing bark or anything like that. Lots of feeder vendors sell variety packs, which are awesome if you have just one or two insect eaters. Check some of the forum sponsors. https://www.chameleonforums.com/sponsors/?tag=food Several members are getting grasshoppers from https://feedmychameleon.com/ and currently a few of us have gotten mantid ooths to hatch out. https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/praying-mantis.192332/ This is the perfect time of year to get ooths. I get mine from eBay.
You had earlier asked about a name. I’m not all that creative when it comes to names, but I will say that we see wayyyy too many Rangos and Pascals. Since he’s getting a new life with you, Wade (Deadpool’s name) is cute. Guacamole, or Guac for short is also cute.

 

[imchives]

A T8 isn’t as effective as a T5, but will work. You’ll need a ReptiSun 10.0 or Arcadia 12% bulb and then for the distance, I believe you would want basking to be around 6” away.
I understand it’s a quick starter set up. Just gotta give the info. Depending on how old your little guy is will dictate his temp. If he’s a young one, like around 4 months or younger, you’ll want a cooler basking temp of 78-80. Adult males basking temp can be around 85. Your humidity is a bit high. Ideal range for veileds is between 30-50% during the day.
I’ve found that while younger, chams don’t nibble their plants so much. But once they get older, they can devour them. Not all do, but we still need to be cautious. I hang my fake plants on the outside of my enclosures to help give them a bit more sense of privacy.
For branches, I mainly have oak available, which works great. I know the trees aren’t sprayed with chemicals. I just give a little scrub with dish soap and then blast rinse thoroughly with the hose. No need for baking, removing bark or anything like that. Lots of feeder vendors sell variety packs, which are awesome if you have just one or two insect eaters. Check some of the forum sponsors. https://www.chameleonforums.com/sponsors/?tag=food Several members are getting grasshoppers from https://feedmychameleon.com/ and currently a few of us have gotten mantid ooths to hatch out. https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/praying-mantis.192332/ This is the perfect time of year to get ooths. I get mine from eBay.
You had earlier asked about a name. I’m not all that creative when it comes to names, but I will say that we see wayyyy too many Rangos and Pascals. Since he’s getting a new life with you, Wade (Deadpool’s name) is cute. Guacamole, or Guac for short is also cute.

I actually have no idea how old he is, I know obviously still pretty young, he’s maybe three or four inches long not counting his tail. I had a 60w bulb on him for the first couple days but he seemed to be lingering around the heat source a good bit and was staying dark.

Swapped him to the 100w he has now and he’s a bit more active but still staying dark a majority of the time. His resting color is this really gorgeous pale green so I know he’s not just naturally dark, but still can’t seem to figure out why he’s dark brown most of the time. Even when he was first brought to our store (before the other people bought him and returned him) he’s always stayed dark. I’m hoping once I get his setup better that maybe he’ll lighten up.

With the new uvb bulb I’ll lower the basking spot so that should lower the actual basking spot temp some, if not I’ll swap him back to the 60w or try and find a bulb in between those, currently all I have on hand are basking bulbs for my beardie and leos, those might be a bit much for this little guy

As for humidity I’ll set the mister for shorter sessions, currently have it at about 30 seconds every 6 hours, which I only even set it that high since I don’t have a dripper at the moment. The last one I tried to make kept either stopping randomly or dripping faster and faster until I had a stream going vs drops, so I couldn’t rely on it very well. If you know of anyone with a good tutorial to get a nice steady drip rate I would very much appreciate it!

Also yeah I’ve been meaning to look into the variety boxes, I’ve got quite a few bug eaters here, a bearded dragon (who thankfully is older so he eats more veggies than bugs), two leopard geckos, a white’s tree frog, and now this little guy! I have a small mealworm farm going as sort of an emergency backup since I know they aren’t the best feeders for most things, and I’m looking into trying to breed superworms so I can have some smaller ones my leos could have, but for sure I’ll look into those sites! Even the local shops around here don’t have much in the way of bugs beyond crickets and larger dubias.

 

[MissSkittles]

I actually have no idea how old he is, I know obviously still pretty young, he’s maybe three or four inches long not counting his tail. I had a 60w bulb on him for the first couple days but he seemed to be lingering around the heat source a good bit and was staying dark.

Swapped him to the 100w he has now and he’s a bit more active but still staying dark a majority of the time. His resting color is this really gorgeous pale green so I know he’s not just naturally dark, but still can’t seem to figure out why he’s dark brown most of the time. Even when he was first brought to our store (before the other people bought him and returned him) he’s always stayed dark. I’m hoping once I get his setup better that maybe he’ll lighten up.

With the new uvb bulb I’ll lower the basking spot so that should lower the actual basking spot temp some, if not I’ll swap him back to the 60w or try and find a bulb in between those, currently all I have on hand are basking bulbs for my beardie and leos, those might be a bit much for this little guy

As for humidity I’ll set the mister for shorter sessions, currently have it at about 30 seconds every 6 hours, which I only even set it that high since I don’t have a dripper at the moment. The last one I tried to make kept either stopping randomly or dripping faster and faster until I had a stream going vs drops, so I couldn’t rely on it very well. If you know of anyone with a good tutorial to get a nice steady drip rate I would very much appreciate it!

Also yeah I’ve been meaning to look into the variety boxes, I’ve got quite a few bug eaters here, a bearded dragon (who thankfully is older so he eats more veggies than bugs), two leopard geckos, a white’s tree frog, and now this little guy! I have a small mealworm farm going as sort of an emergency backup since I know they aren’t the best feeders for most things, and I’m looking into trying to breed superworms so I can have some smaller ones my leos could have, but for sure I’ll look into those sites! Even the local shops around here don’t have much in the way of bugs beyond crickets and larger dubias.

Chameleons will usually darken in order to better absorb heat and uvb. Once you provide some uvb he should lighten a little.
I don’t use drippers and instead mist for 2 minutes right before lights go on and off and for 1 minute in the afternoon. I can’t achieve a decent night temp drop to boost humidity very much, but do have the mister go for a couple of 15 second sessions for a small boost. When I’ve needed to add a dripper, I’ve been frustrated by the same thing. It might be easiest to just poke a pin hole in a plastic drinking cup.
I had bred supers and surprisingly my leopard geckos didn’t seem to like them. I would suggest instead to set up a breeding colony of dubia (or discoid) roaches. I keep mine bioactively with springtails and dwarf white isopods and not only does it cut down on cleaning, but they do so much better in the soil. For a fun challenge, get some silkworm eggs to hatch out. Make sure to have plenty of chow on hand for them though.

 

[Beman]

100 watt for this baby is going to be far too hot. He will dehydrate. Also high risk of a thermal burn. Start reading everything in this husbandry program. https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/ Then ask us questions here.

Per the UVB. This you have to change asap if you want him to get better from his prior ordeal. Your Coil is useless and he will develop mbd with it. Their bodies shut down with this type of bulb because they just do not get the uvb they need. Their bodies start pulling calcium from their bones and they gradually fail to thrive.

 

[imchives]

100 watt for this baby is going to be far too hot. He will dehydrate. Also high risk of a thermal burn. Start reading everything in this husbandry program. https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/ Then ask us questions here.

Per the UVB. This you have to change asap if you want him to get better from his prior ordeal. Your Coil is useless and he will develop mbd with it. Their bodies shut down with this type of bulb because they just do not get the uvb they need. Their bodies start pulling calcium from their bones and they gradually fail to thrive.

Literally changed the uvb to a T8 last night after getting home from work, and put the 60w back in.

Like I said in one of my previous replies, he was acting cold so I upped the wattage to see if it helped. The temps were still only reaching a max of 85 at his basking spot, which I keep seeing conflicting info on whether that’s too hot for a juvie or not, and even chameleon academy says a basking spot of 85 for veileds, granted it doesn’t specify differences for age.

I can understand him getting burnt from touching the screen, but if the basking spot is topping out at 85 where the top of his casque would be, is there still that high of a risk of burns? He would have to literally crawl on the top mesh, and even a 60w would burn him that close. Even if I lifted the dome off of the screen, the basking spot would then either be too cold, or I’d have to move it too close to the uvb. The 60w only gets his basking spot up to about 75-77 when placed directly on the screen with the new basking spot height (about 6” from the uvb). I haven’t re tested the 100w but it only got his basking spot up to 85 when it was like 3” away. These aren’t basking spot bulbs meant for desert species, they’re just normal incandescents or the blue ‘daylight’ version marketed for reptiles.

Beyond a bit of stuck shed on his face, his tail is actually healed up quite well already, and beyond being extremely shy he’s eating and acting like any other chameleon I’ve interacted with. Good appetite, normal looking poo with nice white urates. Even the stuck shed is slowly starting to fall off, when he first got returned to the store it was nearly covering his entire face, now its just around the edges of his casque. I’d try to help but just opening the door of his tank stresses him out pretty bad so I’m trying to not mess with him too much.

 

[imchives]

Chameleons will usually darken in order to better absorb heat and uvb. Once you provide some uvb he should lighten a little.
I don’t use drippers and instead mist for 2 minutes right before lights go on and off and for 1 minute in the afternoon. I can’t achieve a decent night temp drop to boost humidity very much, but do have the mister go for a couple of 15 second sessions for a small boost. When I’ve needed to add a dripper, I’ve been frustrated by the same thing. It might be easiest to just poke a pin hole in a plastic drinking cup.
I had bred supers and surprisingly my leopard geckos didn’t seem to like them. I would suggest instead to set up a breeding colony of dubia (or discoid) roaches. I keep mine bioactively with springtails and dwarf white isopods and not only does it cut down on cleaning, but they do so much better in the soil. For a fun challenge, get some silkworm eggs to hatch out. Make sure to have plenty of chow on hand for them though.

I tried breeding dubias before and didn’t have much luck, or maybe I just got too impatient… Or they might’ve been a bit too cold to actually grow very quickly. Either way it was a very short experiment lol. I had them on a soil mix but I didn’t even think about adding isos and springtails, I may have to make another attempt on that one! I’m so used to mealworms and their tendency to eat each other that I kind of assumed that dubias would eat other bugs in with them.

My leos thankfully don’t seem to care too much about what I give them so long as it moves

 

[MissSkittles]

Literally changed the uvb to a T8 last night after getting home from work, and put the 60w back in.

Like I said in one of my previous replies, he was acting cold so I upped the wattage to see if it helped. The temps were still only reaching a max of 85 at his basking spot, which I keep seeing conflicting info on whether that’s too hot for a juvie or not, and even chameleon academy says a basking spot of 85 for veileds, granted it doesn’t specify differences for age.

I can understand him getting burnt from touching the screen, but if the basking spot is topping out at 85 where the top of his casque would be, is there still that high of a risk of burns? He would have to literally crawl on the top mesh, and even a 60w would burn him that close. Even if I lifted the dome off of the screen, the basking spot would then either be too cold, or I’d have to move it too close to the uvb. The 60w only gets his basking spot up to about 75-77 when placed directly on the screen with the new basking spot height (about 6” from the uvb). I haven’t re tested the 100w but it only got his basking spot up to 85 when it was like 3” away. These aren’t basking spot bulbs meant for desert species, they’re just normal incandescents or the blue ‘daylight’ version marketed for reptiles.

Beyond a bit of stuck shed on his face, his tail is actually healed up quite well already, and beyond being extremely shy he’s eating and acting like any other chameleon I’ve interacted with. Good appetite, normal looking poo with nice white urates. Even the stuck shed is slowly starting to fall off, when he first got returned to the store it was nearly covering his entire face, now its just around the edges of his casque. I’d try to help but just opening the door of his tank stresses him out pretty bad so I’m trying to not mess with him too much.

The basking temp of 85 is for an adult male. We keep the little ones and the girls at a cooler 80. Yes, there is still a high risk for burns because until they are fully grown/too heavy to continue it, the little ones can and will walk upside down on the screen top. By the time they feel the heat, they will already have suffered a burn. How are you measuring the basking temp? Maybe try another method with another device. I use 60w bulbs for my girls and 75w for my boys - keep my house temp around 74 with ac running almost year round (Florida).
Keep your daytime humidity between 30-50% and that, along with correct lighting, supplements and everything will help the old shed come off and prevent future shedding problems.

 

[imchives]

The basking temp of 85 is for an adult male. We keep the little ones and the girls at a cooler 80. Yes, there is still a high risk for burns because until they are fully grown/too heavy to continue it, the little ones can and will walk upside down on the screen top. By the time they feel the heat, they will already have suffered a burn. How are you measuring the basking temp? Maybe try another method with another device. I use 60w bulbs for my girls and 75w for my boys - keep my house temp around 74 with ac running almost year round (Florida).
Keep your daytime humidity between 30-50% and that, along with correct lighting, supplements and everything will help the old shed come off and prevent future shedding problems.

I’ve been measuring it with another of the digital therm/hygro combos I have, sitting right at the spot where he basks. It’s about as tall as he is at the moment so I just sit it there for a while and wait to see what it peaks at. I forgot to look for the digital probe thermometer I have, so that’ll be a project for today.

I live in western NC where currently our temps outside are in the 50s and 60s if not a good but lower, and unfortunately our furnace isn’t very good at keeping a consistent temp around the house, so I’d say the average temp is about 65 ish. Once our summer hits though its the perfect temps for veileds

I’ll try a different thermometer here in a bit to see if it comes up any different with the 60w but I’m just really worried its not going to be warm enough

 

[imchives]

Ok, new probe installed and it seems to be teetering between 78 and 79 on the branch itself, so I would think a little bit higher/closer aka about the level he would actually be sitting would be pretty much perfect right?

Good to know the other one is a few degrees off on average. I wonder if its off on humidity too… now I’m gonna have to redo everyone’s thermometers and hygrometers, I’ve been using these for everyone for a while

 

[Beman]

Ok, new probe installed and it seems to be teetering between 78 and 79 on the branch itself, so I would think a little bit higher/closer aka about the level he would actually be sitting would be pretty much perfect right?

Good to know the other one is a few degrees off on average. I wonder if its off on humidity too… now I’m gonna have to redo everyone’s thermometers and hygrometers, I’ve been using these for everyone for a while

Yes where the cham rises up off the branch the temps would be spot on.

 

[MissSkittles]

Ok, new probe installed and it seems to be teetering between 78 and 79 on the branch itself, so I would think a little bit higher/closer aka about the level he would actually be sitting would be pretty much perfect right?

Good to know the other one is a few degrees off on average. I wonder if its off on humidity too… now I’m gonna have to redo everyone’s thermometers and hygrometers, I’ve been using these for everyone for a while

Perfect temp! Sometimes after checking parameters so frequently and for so long, I think we can become too relaxed about it. I’m just as guilty and have to remind myself to keep an eye on everything for all of my guys and gals.

 

[elizaann2]

Just wanted to jump in here and say hello and warmest welcomes to you and your new Cham