New to Chameleon's

[loki2902]

Hello,

I recently got out of the reef hobby and now I need something to sink my time in. So I did some research and today I went and got a veiled chameleon. He is about 6 months old and my wife named him Colton. The enclosure that I have him in is a 29 gallon tank with a screen on it to make it 11 inches taller. The skin around his face and front upper arms is shedding. I have a few pictures of him and I will try to post them.

This is his home until he gets larger.

just a few shots of him. I do apologize for the pics

 

[laurie]

Hello and welcome to the forum. I also keep veileds, my 6 month old veiled is in a 2ft by 2 ft by 3ft cage. Soon he will to go to same size but 4 ft. These are all screen cages. they are available on line from LLL reptile, one of our sponsors. Also the need several large real plants, such as unbrellas and ficus. Bith are available at Lowes & Home depot. I very major concern for a veiled is lighting. They must have a UVB light. Again availble at LLL ( lll has best prices) I use a reptsun 5.0 tube light do NOT get the compact(spiral type) no matter what the pet store tells you, it can cause blindness in chameleons.

These are just a couple of basic things, you keep to look up "rasingkittytheveiledchameleon" this is the best source for the details is setting up a velied and and long term care.

 

[loki2902]

As far as lighting I have the repti sun 5.0 light with a repti sun red 60w light and a 150w basking spot light. The plants are going in the enclosure today and they are wandering jew and purple passion, both will grow rapidly. I was told this setup will work as a temporary enclosure (but I guess not). the store I got him from a had him in a 10 gal tank so I assumed that having a tank 3 times the size would be much better. Although it is better it is apparent that it is not the best. As soon as possible I will get an upgrade to the all screen terrarium, if I wanted to make one what kind of screen would I use and what kind of frame? Is this discouraged? I have made room for him to be in an enclosure that will be 2ft x2ft x4ft high. I have a drip system and a mister today I am going to get more fake plants for terrarium to give immediate cover. I appreciate any help as I fully intend to give Colton the best life possible!!

Thanks

Also: Is there anything that I need to do as far as helping him shed?

 

[Goggles]

Hello and welcome to the forum.
Laurie already gave you some sound advise regarding bulbs and enclosures.
You should check out the blog Laurie told you about.
As far as building your own enclosure, tons of people have done this on here.
On the top of the page is a search button if you check in there you will find lots of answers to your questions as they pop up. If the answers are to hard to find by searching there are very knowledgeable keepers on here to help.

You should not pull on any shedding skin but what you can do is up his mistings to help him. Just be careful with the amount of water because you are using glass you don't want it to pool too much, you want it to dry out between mistings.

 

[laurie]

Just misting him will help with his shedding. Other than that he will take care of it.
Building a cage of great, lots of people do it. PVC and screen are the cheapest way to go. Wood frames are nice and look great but to have to stain and seal them, then seal them another time or two as the water is really hard on them. Look at cages on line with some of the sponsors and you will get great ideas. I am happy to hear you are working toward a good home for Colton. Also you don't need to sweat the cage he will be fine for a while, a lot better than he was at the pet store.

 

[loki2902]

I have noticed that there are many different kinds of Gut loads for crickets. Is there one kind that is best or is it best to alternate between them? Also is there any cheeper way to get them? The local pet store sells 30 for $5. I know that a boat dock sells them for fishing for a tube (50-100ish) for $3. I have a calcium dust but it has EXPIRED!! I will definitely check that the next time I buy it. I have put a superworm in coltons cage and he watched where it landed and didnt move a muscle. The guy at the pet store said he eats about a dozen crickets. I really really appreciate the help that you guys are giving me. As far as the misting I have misted him 3 good times since he has been in my care. I have not seen him drink any of it, I have misted the outside of the cage to where droplets have formed and he ran his face across them but never opened his mouth. Is this something that I should be alarmed by? I know it will take time for him to get used to the new cage and the new environment but I just dont want to discount any obvious things to him "settling." Again I am thankful for your guys responses!!

I like the easiness of the PVC but I think I would have to go with something really pretty because of the wife! With that said I have some time to look at the cages here and get some really good ideas!!

 

[loki2902]

I have not seen my Colton eat or drink in the short time that I have had him. Is this normal when moving to a new home? I have offered crickets and superworms. I also try to mist at least 3 times a day. Are there any tricks to get him to eat? he looks healthy and is currently shedding.

I am using RO water for misting and dripping. I would appreciate any help.

Thanks in advance!!

 

[pssh]

How long jave you had him? Chameleons take a couple days to get used to their new surroundings and often wont eat in that time. Also, most veileds tend to be closet drinkers and do it when we aren't looking.

You have already stated a lot of info, but if you want you can fill out the form below and we/i can tell you what can be improved. It probably isn't a medical problem so exclude the top.


Here is some recommended information to include when asking for help in the health clinic forum. By providing this information, you will receive more accurate and beneficial responses. It might not be necessary to answer all these questions, but the more you provide the better. Please remember that even the most knowledgeable person can only guess at what your problem may be. Only an experienced reptile veterinarian who can directly examine your animal can give a true diagnosis of your chameleon's health.


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?


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.
* Current Problem - The current problem that you are concerned about.


Pictures are helpful

 

[loki2902]

COLTON’S INFO

Cage Info:
Cage Type – 29 gallon tank with an extension on top makes it 11 inches taller, top is cage. Dimensions of tank are 30 long x12 ½ wide x 18 ¾ tall, with the 11 inch extension the total height of the enclosure is 29 ¾
Lighting – Repti Sun 5.0 for UVB, Repti Sun red 60w for night, and 150w spot basking light. 150w and Repti sun are on between 10 – 12 hours per day red light is always on.
Temperature - I am unsure the exact basking temp but I do know the daytime ambient temp is 80ish and at night it is 72. I have one thermometer mounted on the glass at the far end of the tank on the opposite side from the basking light
Humidity - Humidity is 95% - 60% Maintained by misting and dripping,
Plants – Live plants include impatient, ice plant, purple passion, and wondering jew.
Placement – The cage is in our bedroom we use a fan at night so to restrict the chance of flow we have a screen in front of the cage. It is in a nook and is sitting on an old desk. The desk is about 3 feet tall which puts the top of the cage at eye level for me which is about 5 ft 10 inches or so, and 2 – 21/2 feet away from ceiling.
Location – I am in Mountain Home, Arkansas, north central Arkansas.

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon – Veiled Chameleon, bought 10/28/09 was told about 6 months old at time of purchase
Handling – so far it has been daily
Feeding - Crickets, have gutloaded with store bought gutload
Supplements - none as of yet. But I do have chameleon dust? I dont have the bottle in front of me. If this is relevant and you need the brand I will get it.
Watering – I have a drip system and a mister. Drip is always going at about 15-40 drips a minute. Mist for about 3-5 minutes. I have not seen him drinking.
Fecal Description - He has pooped both days that I have had him if coloration is important I will let you know all about it lol
History - Has been in care of local pet store since a few weeks old.


Current Problem - Chameleon not eating or drinking

Pictures are helpful
Any time I can post pic I will gladly do so!!

I have added more plants and cover. Also you may notice that I took the driftwood out and replaced it with twigs and branches. That was because I noticed that the water coming off of the driftwood was becoming discolored.

 

[pssh]

So you already know all about the screen cage thing right? 4x2x2 tall, all screen, 80 bucks at lllreptile.com or diycages.com. Its important to not have a red light on while he sleeps because they can see in color and would be disturbed by it while trying to sleep. if your house drops below 60 at night use a ceramic heater or heat the whole room to about 65. That 150w sounds intense. Its important that you know the basking spot temp because they can get burns if its too hot. Ambient could be lower, like 75-ish.

Just make sure that the cage dries out after each mist before the next. Also, I'm not sure if those plants are cham safe, but they deifinately aren't big enough. He should be able to hide in them. There is a safe plant list on http://flchams.com/safe_plant_list.asp. Its important that they are safe and non toxic because veileds are known to eat plant matter.

Raise the cage so he is looking down at you, it makes them more comfy. Try not to handle him for a week or two except if you need to clean so he can get settled in. Handling can also be detrimental to their health because some chameleons get easily stressed by it and stress leads to death. So make sure you aren't over stressing him.

You should use three different dusts. I use a plain calcium powder w/o d3 4-5 times a week, a calcium powder w/ d3 2-3 times a month, and a multi vitamin powder 1-2 times a month. Its generally a good schedule to follow for most chameleons. Gut load with the store bought stuff and fresh greens like kale and collards, some fruit like apples and oranges, and if you want you can use the store bought hydrating crystals for water, but fruit should be enough.

Coloration is important It'd be great if you could describe it. Also just make sure that the new branches are clean. Use a 1 part bleach solution to 9 parts water and/or bake them.

 

[loki2902]

Wow Thanks for all of the info!! I was more concerned about him getting too cold, our room gets kinda chili at night but I know it doesn't get below 60 but I did notice that with the red light the tank was at 70 at the coldest point of the night. I will turn the red light off at night now, I was told it wouldn't bother him... is there any need for me to have the red light? Coloration there was one that was yellow but the rest have all been dark and rather wet, not runny though. I checked to make sure all of the plants are on the safe list before I got them. I will go and get larger ones next week. Do you see anything that needs to be changed immediately in the tank? if not I will not do anything other than cleaning for a week or so and then redo the tank once he has calmed down and is settled. I heard that hibiscus is a good plant to put in the tank I will head back to the local nursery and get more plants. What do you guys keep the plants in with not having any substrate? I would have to assume that they are kept in pots or something. I do apologize about not knowing this stuff, but if any of you guys want to know anything about keeping a reef tank you can ask me .

Again, thanks for all of the help!!!

What do you mean by baking the limbs? like in the oven? what would the correct way to do this be? I have a 125 gallon tank that I can do the bleach wash if that is a more preferred way of cleaning the limbs.

 

[pssh]

Haha, I had fish... Low and behold PARASITES! Their bellies exploded

Anyways, I used my red light (stupid pet stores!) on my crickets to keep them warm. Less deaths that ways it seems. The only thing I would try to do soon is get a plant within the next couple days. I use a hibiscus and a ficus in pots with clean large river rocks on the soil so that my little Pan can't eat any of the soil. Make sure the plant is washed with soapy water and rinsed completely. Also a new cage as soon as you can would benefit him greatly.

As for his droppings, the brown part is the normal waste, and the white part is the solid urine called urates. When the urates are yellow it usually indicates a slight dehydration, so just make sure that improves over the next couple days. If it remains yellow, bump up the dripper/ misting. Its usually only serious when it turns a yellow color.

 

[loki2902]

Solid urine huh? well that is all ready back to white I just didn't know what the white stuff was. I believe he has eaten two crickets in the time we have been talking, or maybe I am just not seeing them. The yellow "pee" was the same day I got him from the pet store and I have been misting him 3 or 4 times each day. How often do you completely clean out your cage? I will go tomorrow and see about getting a hibiscus.

I had a 75 gallon saltwater reef tank with many different kinds of coral and fish. I got rid of it because of a job opportunity that fell threw .

I made an edit that you might not have seen in the previous post about the limbs. which is the best way? I can do both. What is the correct way to bake the limbs?

 

[pssh]

Most members completely clean out the cage about once a month with spot cleaning every day or two. I dont personally use branches or twigs from outside, so I can only tell you what others have said. The bleach solution cleans them pretty well, but you have to make sure to really rinse it afterwards. Some members bake them in the oven to sterilize them, and other members do both. I wouldn't know the temp to bake them at however... You can try starting a new thread or searching the forums. The latter being prefered.

 

[loki2902]

Thank you! I think I have what I need for now. Any more and I might not beable to retain it all. Oh wait, one more. you say that you dont use branches from outside. would it be acceptable to get many live plants and only have them? I guess now that I think about it that would be the absolute best thing to do. well there we go. I have answered my own question. If I am wrong please tell me but if not I would like to bask in the glory of learning!! lol.

 

[pssh]

If the plant is sturdy enough then yes, but a lot of members use wooden rods in their enclosures or the bendy vines at the pet stores. I use mine (bendy vines) mainly for a basking spot and a place to perch on when he feeds from his feeder cup.

 

[loki2902]

Okay I thought I was done but what is a feeder cup? I have seen some enclosures that had a tupperware container in them with crickets is this the best way to feed them or should I keep the seperatly and then drop some in the tank?

 

[pssh]

I use a half gal milk jug that has layered screen on the bottom so that the water can drain. I use it to monitor the feeder intake and to ensure that crickets never nibble on my cham at night. I just throw a few lightly dusted crickets/ other feeders in when its normally feeding time.

 

[loki2902]

Thank you for all of the information there will be great changes over the next week or so!!

 

[pssh]

I'm glad to hear it! Good luck.