New to Chams

[Courtney_H]

Hello About a week and a half ago I had the opportunity to adopt a little veiled chameleon from a friend of a friend.
To me he looks like a male, but I'd appreciate any suggestions as to what it is!
I have been keeping geckos for about 5 years and was looking into chameleons for a while, and this opportunity came up . To me he looks a bit thin, so any suggestions on how to get his weight up would also be helpful, he has been eating about 10 crickets twice a day. He came with an 18x18x28 terrarium, so when he gets bigger I definitely want to upgrade to a larger screen cage, and two lights one heat and one UVB, some vines and a branch, so I added some more branches and plants.
Any suggestions would be great, I'm also looking for a good drip system so he can get some water whenever he wants.
Thanks

 

[Graves923]

Color pattern looks male but I've been fooled before. Get a pic of the back of the hind feet. If there is a spur or small bump, it is male.

He definitely looks alitte on the thin side. If he continues eating 10 crickets twice daily and doesnt gain weight, Youll need to have a vet check him out for parasites.

In the mean time, fill the help form out here: https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/how-to-ask-for-help.66/

Post the form below so we can take a look at your cage setup, feeding/misting/ supplement schedule and so on so we can give the appropriate advice.

 

[Courtney_H]

• Your Chameleon -
• The species: Veiled Chameleon
• sex: male
• age: my guess is maybe 6-8 months
• How long in your care? A week and a half
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Have not handled yet, letting him get used to his new setup.
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? Crickets
• What amount? About 10 twice a day
• What is the schedule? Morning and evening
• How are you gut-loading your feeders? Lettuce, cricket gut load
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Repti-Calcium dusted crickets at least twice a week so far.
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? Misting morning and evening
• Do you see your chameleon drinking? Yes
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? Normal, solid brown with urate, no.
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
• He was kept with only one branch two small fake vine plants, and a stump fish tank decoration.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Glass, 18x18x28 exo terra
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? Exo Terra Sun glo 100 W, and Exo terra UVB 100 60HZ What is your daily lighting schedule? On at least 9 hours a day
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? 87* Lowest overnight temp? 70* How do you measure these temps? Digital thermometer
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? 60-70% How are you creating and maintaining these levels? Misting daily What do you use to measure humidity? Hydrometer
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
• Placement - Where is your cage located? In bedroom Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? No At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? About 5 feet
• Location - Where are you geographically located? Ohio

Current Problem - None

Here are his? feet

 

[Graves923]

You definitely have a male veiled chameleon.

There are a few things you need to get in line but overall you are on the right track.

Feeding: Try to feed him 10-15+ crickets during the first half of the day. Chams need to bask after eating to aid their digestion so feeding later in the day isnt the best but wont hurt them in the short term.

Gutload with dark leafy greens such as kale, escarole, dandelion greens and some veggies like carrots. Lettuce is only really good for keeping the feeders hydrated.

Also, switch things up a bit feeder wise. Try super worms, hornworms, silk worms to add a bit of variety.

Supplementation: You'll need plain calcium with NO D3, calcium with D3 and a multivitamin. There are plenty of brands to choose so its up to you to research what you want to use. I personally use Rep-Cal products (plain calcium, calcium with D3 and Herpevite).

A recommended supplement schedule is Calcium NO D3 with every feeding, D3 used twice per month and multivitamin used twice per month. Alternate using the D3 and vitamin. Example: I use D3 every other monday, and the vitamin on the mondays between D3 days. Hope My explaination wasnt confusing lol.

Watering: Misting is very important for chameleons. Not only does it allow the cham to hydrate but it also maintains humidity. Most keepers, me included, recommend a long misting (approx. 5+ mins) in the morning not long after lights come on and atleast 3 shorter ( 2-3 mins) mistings throughout the day. You may need to increase misting duration when the chameleon is shedding.

I know there is alot of information to process, so take your time to read what you can and don't be afraid to ask questions or search the forums here. There are alot of experienced keepers willing to help new keepers.

Here a few links to some helpful articles here on the forums in case you haven't checked them out already.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/

 

[Courtney_H]

Great, thank you for your help! I will definitely look through here, you guys have an awesome forum, it's set up so nice!
If I have any more questions I'll definitely ask!

 

[Courtney_H]

Figured I’d do a little update now that I have time. Pastel (which my friend has insisted I name him) has definitely improved and grown quite a bit, he has recently been moved to his new 24x24x48 screen enclosure. He loves all the space of his huge new home, which makes us both happy.
The only question I have is if anyone has created a BioActive Ecosystem with a screen enclosure? I’ve been reading a lot on springtails and isopods (woodlice?)

This picture was taken the week before he was moved to his new home.

 

[kinyonga]

Pretty colors!
Looks healthy!
I would suggest you add a dripper to his cage...run it long enough that he's stimulated to drink. It can be a deli cup with a small hole in the bottom so that it drips at the rate of one or two drips a second.

Make sure any plants you use have been well washed both sides if the leaves and are non toxic.

Good luck!

 

[Mitch77]

What a difference! He looks so much healthier, great job Courtney