New! (to just about everything)

Cberbs90

Member
Hello all!

My names Connor, I live in buffalo NY! Ive wanted a chameleon for about 5 years now and up until sunday i never had the courage to buy one. Just alot of research (hoping i dont get ripped apart here) and admiration for those who keep them!

Anyways we had a reptile expo here this weekend so i went with every intention of buying my first veiled cham. (despite desperately wanting a panther) I kept all the notes for healthy looking creatures handy and made my way there. The first vendor i approached had a nice looking one but he was really pressuring me (it was CB) so much soo that he picked the poor thing up by its back and started stroking it to make it express some color. It made me furious so i walked away and continued my venture. A bit later and a ton of poorly treated creatures later i came across a woman who was patient and willing to talk with me, answer all my questions and help me get set up. Although i ended up with a panther chameleon instead of a veiled ( i wanted a panther from the get go as mentioned ) i felt most comfortable with her as my option. Her chams were healthy looking, not dehydrated, had all their toes, they were mobile and walking right so i pulled the trigger buying a male that was born on July 2, 2018.

So here i am, a giant ball of stress wanting to absorb as much knowledge and guidance as possible. Its been 3 days. Day one i brought him home and got him into the bigger custom unit and then let him b to relieve stress. Woke up the next morning with his UVB coming on at 8am (ending at 10pm) and gave feeding him a chance. Put ten dusted (rapeshi calcium) small crickets (who are gut loaded with organic mustard greens and apple for this months feeding cycle) free range into the cage within an hour or so he had just about ate them all. His Basking light came on at 10am (shuts off at 930pm) which he made his way over too and after a few hours looks to have made a healthy bowel movement (white urates present). Hes moving around frequently and doesnt seem to stressed out unless im misting. I have an exo terra spray bottle (with an auto mister on the way), that i mist the cage with 3 to 4 times a day. Buffalos Humidity levels at the moment are at 81%. Today has been just about the same routine except i only placed 8 crickets in to the cage. With the night winding down it would appear he has gotten them all. Im sure i missed something but ive always kept saltwater fish(and corals SPS and LPS) and appreciated the hard work you had to put into them so i knew i could at least transfer the love for not being able to handle my guy as much as i would like too and giving him space.

Either way here is some photos and specs:
The cage is custom its 16 inches wide and 30 inches tall with a main door and a bottom door separated so i can slide the bottom out and clean without much stress on him.
Reptisun 5 UVB bulb
50 Watt Basking bulb
I added a vine to the custom built enclosure with a bear bottom
The auto mister is on its way as well as a proper digital humidity gauge.
Hes in my sun room (will be moved into the main house once our terrible winter starts) that has a ton of real plants in it as well.. i saw him trying to snag a little fly outside of the screen earlier which was funny.

I bought some pothos for him and used the proper cleaning method and re-potted it with natural organic soil that i plan to place into the cage tomorrow. I think the umbrella plant is to big for the cage.

He seems fine and although im scared to death hell die any moment i only have one real concern you will see on his nose. tiny white spot i uploaded into one of the photos.

I will have adequate Temp gauges within the week for you to all critique as well.

excuse the jimmy rig at the top with the rulers, The stand for the UVB bulb was not tall enough and i didn't want to clip it because it would not be facing completely down, so i am currently in the works of constructing something
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20180923_202332.jpg
    IMG_20180923_202332.jpg
    232.5 KB · Views: 171
  • IMG_20180924_195319 (2).jpg
    IMG_20180924_195319 (2).jpg
    309.3 KB · Views: 194
  • IMG_20180925_194119.jpg
    IMG_20180925_194119.jpg
    280.8 KB · Views: 162
  • IMG_20180925_123505.jpg
    IMG_20180925_123505.jpg
    232.1 KB · Views: 176
  • IMG_20180924_171139.jpg
    IMG_20180924_171139.jpg
    290.2 KB · Views: 178
  • IMG_20180925_124322.jpg
    IMG_20180925_124322.jpg
    218.7 KB · Views: 181
Last edited:
Congrats and welcome to the forums!

The white stuff of his nose is fine. They excret excess salt through there nasal passage.

It looks like you found and awesome breeder just by seeing the care she puts into making the certificate and even attaching the egg the baby hatched from.
 
You purchased from a serious breeder! Good thing you were patient, that birth certificate says it all! I would recommend adding more plants, and flourescent linear UVB bulbs are preferred, but other than that, good job! Thank you for doing your research!

Congrats and welcome to the forums!

The white stuff of his nose is fine. They excret excess salt through there nasal passage.

It looks like you found and awesome breeder just by seeing the care she puts into making the certificate and even attaching the egg the baby hatched from.

oh thank god! i have been stressing about that spot since i got him! The birth certificate definitely sealed the deal for me! Im glad i chose her, and ill take those pointers and apply them asap!
 
Love the birth certificate, never seen that before. Thank you for doing your homework, one of the best 1st attempts I’ve seen in a while, good job.

The only thing I can pick at a bit is as CJ said, upgrade to linear UVB and add more live plants and branches. In a viv empty space = wasted space. Welcome to the forum.
5F54A9D7-27EF-405D-92E8-9F9F33A80FB2.png
 
How exciting.... yeah, def do the linear uvb.. theyre better cause the compact ones only send uvb straight down from that 5 inch bulb housing. Also you should shorten the light span... 12 on 12 off is safe bet... i do 8am to 8pm. 10 sounds a bit late in my opinion.
 
I really like your custom cage construction. The wood looks very nice. I agree with all the comments above. In addition to those, I’d get started on a new larger enclosure. In a month or two he will be much larger and looking to explore. Look into bioactive substrate for the new enclosure, I can’t recommend it enough.
 
Thanks so much for all the responses! I will be purchasing the linear set up tomorrow, and getting that plant in there today! Im flattered you think of this as one of the better attempts, like i said ive been a ball of stress about it! I was thinking the same thing with the light cycle, he seems to find a nook right around 830ish anyways and then he stops moving, not sleeping but you can tell hes winding down, so ill change that as well. ill do 8 to 8 for the UVB and 9 to 8 for the basking bulb, i kind of prefer to have the basking bulb off an hour before the UVB, it seems more natural but should i?
 
I really like your custom cage construction. The wood looks very nice. I agree with all the comments above. In addition to those, I’d get started on a new larger enclosure. In a month or two he will be much larger and looking to explore. Look into bioactive substrate for the new enclosure, I can’t recommend it enough.

will do! and i cant take credit for the cage, the wonderful girl i bought him from made it herself!
 
Thanks so much for all the responses! I will be purchasing the linear set up tomorrow, and getting that plant in there today! Im flattered you think of this as one of the better attempts, like i said ive been a ball of stress about it! I was thinking the same thing with the light cycle, he seems to find a nook right around 830ish anyways and then he stops moving, not sleeping but you can tell hes winding down, so ill change that as well. ill do 8 to 8 for the UVB and 9 to 8 for the basking bulb, i kind of prefer to have the basking bulb off an hour before the UVB, it seems more natural but should i?
Sounds fine, have fun! Happy Chameleon Keeping!!!:p:D:):p:D:)
 
Hey so heres an update! i got a nice big healthy pothos in there as well as two other vinous plants ( i know they are safe but i cant think of the name i believe it starts with a p) they are all washed and re potted with organic soil... i dont have rocks over the soil though and ive noticed that alot in other enclosures... is this a must?

I also took everyone's lighting advise as well which you might have noticed in my other thread. Everything seems to be alright, he always eats, he has daily healthy bowel movements and hes moving. All im worried about now is these crickets finding a spot to hide, although they tend to make their way to the top near the lights every time. hope its all up to snuff for you now lol
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20180928_084338.jpg
    IMG_20180928_084338.jpg
    392.3 KB · Views: 142
The rocks to cover the soil is recommended to prevent the chameleon from eating the dirt (either accidentally or on purpose) which many say can lead to impaction or other issues. As for the feeders, they will sometimes get lost in there, but most will get hunted down the natural way which is actually nice. It gives your chameleon the ability to do what it is supposed to do! Biggest problem with the rocks is that it can be a bit harder to keep clean with poop and stuff :sick: .

Oh, and of course when the crickets get lost in the enclosure and start chirping during the middle of the night and your wife can't sleep and asks you to go find the cricket and you get a flashlight and start rummaging through leaves and try not to disturb your chameleon all the while you should be sleeping because you also have to get up for work soon and you wind up catching the cricket but trip over one of the four cats that want to play with the bug but it gets under the couch and now you have a bigger problem because who knows where it will be chirping next... o_O :unsure: :( Wait, am I the only one this happens to? :meh:
 
Yet another update (sorry if these are annoying) i received my Exo Terra Monsoon Solo Unit today in the mail, i plan to install it tomorrow and get it up and running tomorrow morning for the first misting at 9am.

My schedule will be:
9am
12pm
3pm
6pm

Unless this appears to be to much but i am assuming the mister will have much finer mist then my pump does so it wont be soaking the heck out of the cage
 
Last edited:
Hey so heres an update! i got a nice big healthy pothos in there as well as two other vinous plants ( i know they are safe but i cant think of the name i believe it starts with a p) they are all washed and re potted with organic soil... i dont have rocks over the soil though and ive noticed that alot in other enclosures... is this a must?

I also took everyone's lighting advise as well which you might have noticed in my other thread. Everything seems to be alright, he always eats, he has daily healthy bowel movements and hes moving. All im worried about now is these crickets finding a spot to hide, although they tend to make their way to the top near the lights every time. hope its all up to snuff for you now lol

Looks nice i like it! Obviously there will be a few hiders. But mostly theyll be covered in white powder the majority of the time so you may spot them easier but thats not too densely planted. I think your cham will be able to find em eventually.
 
Back
Top Bottom