New to the chameleon life

[breauxaustin]

I'm new to the chameleon life, just got my male veiled chameleon about 3 weeks ago. I believe he was already about a month old. I joined this forum because of my lack of knowledge basically. Just looking for help, opinions, and tips/tricks. Appreciate any responses, not just for me but for my little guy! I want him to feel as safe as possible and be as healthy as possible Unfortunately these are the best pictures I have of my setup and chameleon. He doesn't seem to like human interaction AT ALL; he turns brown when I hold him (if that can even happen), he has to be in a perfectly open spot and he FREAKS out when i try to catch him just to hang out. All plants are on the safe list from flchams.com, I have a monsoon misting system hooked up, and of course the basic lights needed (heat, uvb), also have a night light because my house tends to get cold at night thanks to the mother. He seems happy to me but like i said i don't have much knowledge other than what I've read online which I don't trust fully at all so Id love to know from experienced owners

 

[xephyr17]

Looks pretty good! You'll definitely want a larger enclosure when he gets bigger, which you may or may not already know. And also check into supplement schedules to make sure you've got that down right

I would suggest removing the night light unless it gets anywhere below 55 at night. Anything above that I would say should be alright. Chams love the dark at night more than anything.

 

[ChiefRedman]

Welcome you come to the right place!!!

https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html

Read this. I promise you will learn lots from it and being on here!

I'm going out on a limb and saying that you might have a female , I cant see spurs in the picture, but I MAY be wrong. Maybe some more members can give you another take on it

I would get rid of the night light , any kind of light at all can stress a cham, and keep it awake at night. If you are worried about heat at night I would get a ceramic heat emitter. If your temps drop in the 60s at night then thats fine, its actually good for a veileds digestion.

I would also get rid of the substrate at the bottom, if your cham eats it , it can cause serious digestion problems.

How is your supplementation going? I would make sure to dust everyday with calcium/ with out d3 and dust with d3, and a multivitamin twice a month. I would make sure I am feeding 10-14 right size crickets a day

I would leave your chameleon alone for maybe 3-4 weeks to let him get used to his new home, if you want him to get used to you I would suggest hand feeding. Read this link here to get a idea about things
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/psychobunny/

If you have any questions feel free to Direct message me , If I cant answer the question I will try my best to point in the direction of someone who can

 

[breauxaustin]

Yes Im aware he will need a larger cage, this was a exoterra terrarium i picked up at petco that was on sale. Ive read a lot that the substrate is bad so i plan on removing it for sure and keeping the live plants in pots. I haven't been able to find any sort of cage that seems to be large enough so i plan on building my own in a couple months by turning a old china cabinet or something along those lines into a cage so it also looks nice in the house. I dust the crickets i feed him with calcium, not sure about the d3 or not d3 thing. I free feed him and usually put about 5-6 crickets in his cage in the morning, if they are gone or down to just a couple i usually bring them back up to 5-6 around mid-day. The substrate at the bottom is coconut fiber dirt thats apparently "safe" it claims. For the multivitamin is there a type thats most beneficial for them and how are they fed to them? So far mine only eats crickets, I've provided fruits, mealworms, super worms, roaches, flies. He only eats the crickets... Also thanks for the responses Was siked to post for the first time to get some opinions and tips!

 

[ChiefRedman]

Yeah I built my cage too, so I understand where you are coming from
I actually made a splitter for my cage so I could control how big his cage was as he grew

I just use reptivite, its the same as calcium in terms of "dust"
I would still bumb up his feedings, and im glad you've done some research

If you decided to get real plants , I would make sure to use organic soil.

Maybe your cham is shy , so try putting some feeders in there leaving the room for a little while, you can also try small silk worm, small horn worms, and reptiworms! Thr reptiworms move alot so they help draw attention

 

[breauxaustin]

The soil is organic thats is currently in the cage. I will be getting some multivitamin for him at my next visit to the pet store and get him eating that as soon as possible. Pictures of chameleons with MBD or any other illness terrifies me so i want to make sure he's getting all the nutrition he needs. Whats the with and without d3 thing? He should or should not be getting D3?

 

[ChiefRedman]

The soil is organic thats is currently in the cage. I will be getting some multivitamin for him at my next visit to the pet store and get him eating that as soon as possible. Pictures of chameleons with MBD or any other illness terrifies me so i want to make sure he's getting all the nutrition he needs. Whats the with and without d3 thing? He should or should not be getting D3?

https://www.chameleonforums.com/supplementation-mbd-1-a-2451/
"If D3 becomes too high it 1) messes up PTH regulation and 2) will cause hypercalcemia"

http://www.chameleonnews.com/07FebWheelock.html
When you look at your calcium bottle, the front should say with d3 or without d3. D3 is a important role in the development of your cham. I use the reptical with and reptilcal without d3. You want to make sure your cham is getting the proper supplementation so you can prevent kidney failure,mbd, bad juju, etc...

Here is a schedule you can followMon. Cal w/o D3
Tues. Cal w/o D3
Wens. Cal w/o D3
Thurs. Cal w/o D3
Fri. Cal w/o D3
Sat. None
Sun. Cal w/ D3

Week Two:

Mon. Cal w/o D3
Tues. Cal w/o D3
Wens. Cal w/o D3
Thurs. Cal w/o D3
Fri. Cal w/o D3
Sat. None
Sun. Herptivite

Week Three:

Mon. Cal w/o D3
Tues. Cal w/o D3
Wens. Cal w/o D3
Thurs. Cal w/o D3
Fri. Cal w/o D3
Sat. None
Sun. Cal w/ D3

Week Four:

Mon. Cal w/o D3
Tues. Cal w/o D3
Wens. Cal w/o D3
Thurs. Cal w/o D3
Fri. Cal w/o D3
Sat. None
Sun. Herptivite

The real nutrients come from your gutload in your feeders.Make sure you are using dry and wet( fruits and veggies) gutloads for your feeders