New to Chameleons!

[Coliosis]

Hello! So normally I'm a bearded dragon person but someone offered me their 1.5yr old female veiled chameleon for two of my beardie babies and I've always wanted one so I may be getting my very first chameleon soon! I could use any tips, suggestions, info etc. that you have! Here are some pics that he sent me of her and the set-up (I hope this works...):

The UVB bulb is a brand new Reptisun 5.0

Let me know what you think!

 

[froggielog]

Here are some helpful links for you to read, but first off she needs more foliage and I think she might need a laying bin soon...IMO she looks gravid

https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/ryan-jarosek/119-new-arrival-bringing-home-new-chameleon.html
(this is good info on what to feed your bugs)
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/75-feeder-nutrition-gutloading.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/laying-bin-set-up-educational-video-77225/
http://muchadoaboutchameleons.blogspot.com/2012/05/on-specific-care-of-females.html
(Also some supplement info)
http://muchadoaboutchameleons.blogspot.com/2012/03/chameleon-physiology-supplements.html

(last two links are credit to Olimpa,first one to ryan, second to sandra and third to dez)

also what is the second light fixture for? not the basking or UVB one.
Good luck!

 

[laurie]

Hello and welcome to our group. Your girl looks healthy & that is how you want to start. I think I have that same cage and I use it for babies. I would put you girl in no less than a 24 x 24 x 36 cage. You can get one fairly cheap from some of our sponsors. She will need a lot more live plants, like ficus or umbrella trees. Add some branches for highways so she can go everywhere. Add a tempature and hudimity cage. That takes care of the inside.on the outside you need 1 basking light ( regular household bulb, a UVB light and a dripper that will drip most of the day. You will also need a hand mister and mist her couple times a day.
This will get you going and them we will discuss food and how to feed the feeders.

 

[Coliosis]

So we just got Lily last night! She is such a sweetie.
Thank you so much for the links, they were very helpful! Do you happen to have a good general one? I swear every site I go to has different information on their basic care. The one link you sent me said to keep the basking temp for females no higher than 83*F, is that what everyone here follows? Lily's currently reaches 92*F near the top. I have a laying bin I use for my bearded dragons so I will get some more soil/sand and see if she's interested. She is pretty active but hasn't been on the bottom of the tank yet that I've seen. She'll go near the bottom, but hasn't actually walked on the ground of her tank. Does the laying bin HAVE to be in her cage? Because that isn't possible atm...lol As for that third light, I'm not sure what the guy was using that for, looks like a red light :s but she does not have that now.

Yay good to hear she looks healthy, I can see her ribs though (sometimes), is that normal? She ate 12+ crickets today and pooped so that's good! Yeah I figured this cage was tiny for her, I asked the guy I got her from it it was suitable for an adult chameleon and he said yes...we're looking into a bigger one though! She currently only has fake plants, are there any links/sites with information on safe vs toxic plants and how to plant them? Like do you keep the plants in a small pot or should I have dirt or some type of substrate on the bottom of the tank? We got some more fake plants today and some bamboo sticks for her to climb on. The temp gauge is in now, 92*F at the top but I just turned the light off and am switching it for a 60watt bulb to lower it a bit, let me know if this is right lol and we have a hygrometer I just need to replace the battery so I will grab one today! What does everyone use for a dripper? I've been spraying her and the tank with a spray bottle for now but I know I need something better.

I normally gut-load my crickets with collard greens, dandelion greens, spring mix (sometimes, and I remove any spinach), butternut squash, mixed frozen veg (carrots, peas, green beans, lima beans, corn) and sometimes bearded dragon pellets. Would this be okay? Oh and I dusted a few of her crickets today with Rep-Cal Herptivite and I have Rep-Cal phosphorous free calcium+D3, good?

Sorry so many questions! I appreciate all the help guys!!

 

[Hoj]

Hello and welcome, you arnt that far from me..
as for your questions.
92 is a bit hot for a female in my opinion, keppeping the feeding low say 6 crickets a day on average and the temps down a bit will help her to not produce large clutches of eggs.
The laying bin should be in the cage but some members provide a whole different enclosure for female that are carrying eggs. Such as a large tank or trash can filled with about 8-12" of laying medium.
As for the live plants, the most popular are fiscus, pothos, umbrella, and hibiscus, I perfer the pothos and umrbrellas.
You sound like you have a great gut loading routine for your crickets.
Oh and for a dripper you can take a large pop bottle rinse it out and poke a few small holes in the bottom to get a decent drip going, say 1 drop every 3 seconds or so.
Hope that helps.
If you ever need anything just PM me as i sad we are only about 40min from each other.
Hoj

 

[jannb]

Congrats!

Congrats on your new girl. She looks very pretty from the picture. I love female veileds. They hold a very special place in my heart.

The gut load sounds pretty good except I don't know about the beareded dragon pellets. I wouldn't use those on you veileds gut load.

For temps keep her basking in the low 80's. IMO 92 is too hot. I'd recommend a small laying bin in the cage and if you see her scratching around in it you can move her to a large bin. I'd recommend feeding her 6 feeders or so depending on the size every 2 to 3 days. You'll need to dust her feeders with calcium without d3 at every feeding, calcium with d3 twice a month an a multivitamin with some A in it once to twice a month. Dust lightly and don't make the feeders look like ghost.

I have a couple of my blogs attached for you below. I hope you will find them helpful. Jann
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html

https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/jannb/345-egg-laying-laying-bin.html#comment1399

 

[Coliosis]

Oh jeez okay. Soo 6 a day or every 2-3 days? Do they eat any greens (I found some sites that said they do)? She ate probably close to 20 crickets today alone and was still looking for more (but I'm assuming that could be because how hot it is and therefore her metabolism is working faster?). I just turned the light off for now, I figure our room is probably mid 80's anyways lol I'll check the thermometer in a min.
So the calcium has to be without d3? I'll have to get some of that too I guess. Do you recommend a specific brand?
Thanks for the dripper, plant and lay box info! Good to know there is someone on here close to me.

What does everyone use for the bottom of the tank, just paper towel? Do chameleons get impaction from loose substrates too like bearded dragons?

 

[jannb]

Oh jeez okay. Soo 6 a day or every 2-3 days? Do they eat any greens (I found some sites that said they do)? She ate probably close to 20 crickets today alone and was still looking for more (but I'm assuming that could be because how hot it is and therefore her metabolism is working faster?). I just turned the light off for now, I figure our room is probably mid 80's anyways lol I'll check the thermometer in a min.
So the calcium has to be without d3? I'll have to get some of that too I guess. Do you recommend a specific brand?
Thanks for the dripper, plant and lay box info! Good to know there is someone on here close to me.

What does everyone use for the bottom of the tank, just paper towel? Do chameleons get impaction from loose substrates too like bearded dragons?

Yes, 6 to 8 feeders. I feed on Tues, Thursdays and Sundays and feed a tad more on Thursdays and Sundays and just a light snack on Tuesdays. There's one thing you should know about female veileds....they are always starving and could eat every cricket in the bin if you allowed them. I feed mine fruits and veggies once or twice a week. They like greens such as mustard, kale and turnip. Mine also like bananas, apple, strawberry and blueberries. Just cut them into very small slivers she she doesn't choke. I use Rep Cal calcium. I have a link to it in my blog. Most leave the bottom bear but you can use paper towels if you wish. Veileds are bad to eat substrates and can become impacted.

Has Lily ever laid eggs before?

 

[Coliosis]

Okay we will probably follow that same schedule then. Is it normal to see their ribs when they're moving around? Good to know! So will they eat until they are sick if you let them? I will try giving her some veggies/fruit tomorrow and see what she thinks. The bottom of the enclosure is just bare at the moment and I will probably leave it that way. So with real plants I would just put a potted plant in the enclosure? With the pot? (No chemicals/fertilizers of course). Will they eat the dirt? Also with a dripper won't the bottom become completely soaked and make a huge mess?? I use Rep-Cal atm but it has D3, I'll have to find some without. I asked the guy I got her from if she has laid any eggs while he's had her but he said no. He only had her a few months though and she's a year and a half so I assume she could have before?

So we are picking up a bigger version of the cage we currently have on Tuesday, it's 48x24x24 and can't you also attach the Zilla fresh air screen habitats or w.e they're called together?

Does anyone recommend getting a fogger or something to raise humidity? I'll be getting the battery tomorrow for the hygrometer so I'll have a better idea of how humid it is in here.

For now here are some more pics! Is that good for foliage? We'll need more soon anyways with the bigger cage...and we'll look into real plants as well. Oh and we haven't added the bamboo sticks yet either. I got a close up of her belly, does she look gravid?

 

[Coliosis]

Anyone??

Also I'm looking into real plants for when we get our bigger enclosure tonight or tomorrow, and the lists of safe plants just say "Ficus." But that includes 850 plant species...are they all safe?

 

[allencg101]

Anyone??

Also I'm looking into real plants for when we get our bigger enclosure tonight or tomorrow, and the lists of safe plants just say "Ficus." But that includes 850 plant species...are they all safe?

the benjaminin is the one that most use like me also an unbrella tree plant is another good one or a pothos plant too. best of luck dude!!!

 

[absolutbill]

Congrats on your new girl - Lily is a cutie! I've never had females before, so I'm only going to answer your other questions - I'll leave the gravid questions to those more knowledgeable.

Yes, you place the plants in their pots directly in the cage. Before you do that, though, you should rinse the leaves with warm soapy water and wash all the residue off, just in case they have anything from the nursery. The easiest way is to grab a large bucket, fill it with soap and water (I always use Dawn since that's what they use to clean up oil spill animals, I guess I just feel it's safer) and dunk the plant in, leaves first and swish it around. Then, you repot the plant with organic soil, so that if any is ingested it's "healthier" for the cham. I buy small bags of river rocks, and sprinkle them over the soil so that even if the cham is shooting a cricket and misses, they will hit the rock and not get a mouthful of dirt. So far that's worked for me.

You also asked about drainage. A lot of people on here just put papertowels down, but I do things a little bit differently. I went to Home Depot and bought a plastic utility sink - it's the same width as the cage you will be getting. I leave the bottom of the cage open, and place a 5 gallon jug/carboy under the drain hole of the sink, with a PVC pipe attached to the hole, leading into the jug. Then, I attach the cage to the sink using plastic zip ties, so that it doesn't accidentally get knocked over. Bear in mind that I also use an automatic mister, and have another 5 gallon carboy with fresh water. Therefore I don't have to worry about the mister running dry, and I can use the water that's run through the cage and collected in the jug at the bottom to water my plants outside, etc.

With your larger cage you'll have more room for live plants and that's what's going to up your humidity. Definitely monitor it, and I know that I have more humidity down here in Florida than I'm sure you have up there, but I think the plants might just be enough for you. Remember you want to mist your cham, but also to let the cage dry out in between mistings so that Lily doesn't get a URI. I run my mister 3 times a day for 10 minutes each time. I run it at 10AM, 2PM, and 4 PM, with lights on and off at 6AM/PM. Since Hoj is a lot closer to you geographically, than I am, you might want to ask how he mists his chams. Best of luck with Lily and I know she's going to have a great life with you!

 

[Carlton]

Anyone??

Also I'm looking into real plants for when we get our bigger enclosure tonight or tomorrow, and the lists of safe plants just say "Ficus." But that includes 850 plant species...are they all safe?

There are usually only two or three different Ficus species available for houseplants so you don't have to worry about the other 847! Ficus alli is a nice sturdy one often found in home improvement stores or houseplant nurseries. It grows larger, has thicker branches, has lance shaped leathery leaves and you'll often see them with their trunks braided. Ficus benjamina or "weeping fig" is very common. It's a more slender tree with smaller leaves. I find it much fussier than F. alli.

Hawaiian schefflera is very common in houseware stores too. AKA umbrella plant I think.

 

[Coliosis]

I run my mister 3 times a day for 10 minutes each time. I run it at 10AM, 2PM, and 4 PM, with lights on and off at 6AM/PM.

Jw, what mister do you use? Thanks for all the other info too! Much appreciated! I'm about to go wash the Hibiscus I bought yesterday but it is huge...would spraying it with hot soapy water really well and then rinsing it off suffice? There's honestly no container I could fit it in lol I also took your idea and got some river rocks that I will put on top of the soil.

Thanks Carlton! Do you think a regular fig tree would be okay, like one that produces figs, a "common fig" tree I think? I'm also looking into getting a schefflera arboricola, I found a schefflera actinophylla which would have been perfect, until I found out from this site that they are too toxic

Lily seems to be loving her new 2'x2'x4' enclosure, now she just needs some live plants!!! Oh and my bf is currently picking up the battery for the hygrometer.

I'll post some more pictures tonight after work once I have her plant in there! I'll also post a pic I took of her belly last night when she was sleeping, she looks like a sack of marbles hanging from a vine...so unless that's how they normally look (I doubt it), she is probably gravid with infertile eggs. SO I need more info on gravid chameleons!! When should I become worried of egg-binding?? She doesn't seem to go anywhere need the bottom of the tank that I've noticed, but maybe she's just too shy to because I'm in the room? She has a container of dirt down there for now, but it is way too small for a lay box. Would the potted hibiscus plant work as a lay spot? If I don't put the river rocks over the soil obviously lol Or better to just put a different but bigger container of just soil?? OR better to take her out of the enclosure into a separate lay box altogether and see what she does? Ah help lol

 

[absolutbill]

Sounds like you are well on your way. My mister is a Pro Mist, and I love it. I've used it for 4 years, and the only trouble I had was my well water clogging up the misters with all the natural minerals in it. I switched to buying purified water in gallon jugs and that seems to have done the trick. Your hibiscus will need a LOT of strong light. I've never had luck with them inside the cages, but I do use them on my lanai when I want to take my little ones out to play.

I love cane trees (I'm pretty sure that's what they're called). They are one solid trunk and the branch out towards the top with leaves that look like banana leaves. They are great for collecting water and holding humidity. Ficus are also very good, but when you put them in your cage and they acclimate to the new "climate", they have a tendency to drop their leaves and re-grow them. It's a mess, so I also keep my ficus on the lanai. Pothos are a great choice as well, as a hanging plant. I actually have one that came planted in with my cane tree, and I've trained the vines upwards around the tree.

It also does sound like your girl is gravid. JannB has a great blog about setting up laying bins. Again, I've never owned a female, so I can't give you much advice on it. I do know that keepers on here use trash cans and also put a stick coming out so that the cham can climb out when she's done laying. They use play sand and I think soil, but I don't know specifically the % of each, and they dampen it, so that a tunnel/hole can be formed and hold it's shape. Some will also drape a sheet around the cage so that she will have more privacy and feel more secure. Good luck and we always look forward to pictures!

 

[Coliosis]

Sorry I took so long to reply and add photos! Been pretty busy here. But Lily seems to be loving her new enclosure I'll definitely be looking into a mister, right now my humidity is staying between 50-60%, what should it be at?? Oh and the temperature right up at the top closest to the heat lamp is at 89.6*F at the moment, but she is never up there so should that be good? I only have a 40watt bulb in the lamp.
I'm also looking into getting a pothos because I've heard those are really easy to care for and I may look into getting a ficus or schefflera if/when the hibiscus dies lol

I've got a blue bin in the back corner with some damp soil in it to see if she's interested, I realize it isn't quite big enough and I don't have enough soil in there (I ran out, getting more).

Here are some pics of the new enclosure! Let me know what you think! Too crowded? Not enough? Suggestions welcome!

Side view:

Also some photos of Lily's belly while she was sleeping (sorry bad quality photos).

 

[Coliosis]

What do you think?!?!

My hibiscus seems to be dying quite quickly, so I'll have to look into a ficus or pothos or something...do these do well with no/low light?

Also, if you look at the pics where Lily is in the top left corner, you can see her ribs, is that normal?? She's all dark because I was freaking her out with the camera I think.

 

[Coliosis]

Anyone?????