New to the forum

J

Jimmy Filth

New Member
Hey everyone.

Got my first cham about two weeks ago and thought a forum would be a good place to speak to people about her as I don't actually know anyone who has had one before.

She's a baby female veiled chameleon that is around 3 months old. I swear she has got a lot bigger in the last two weeks, but when i first got her she would easily fit on my finger.

she's in a 24x24x18 viv atm, but i'm going to be upgrading to a 36x36x24 in a few months.

She's my first one, and seems friendly enough. She'll happily walk onto my hands most days, and will take food from my hand.

If I ever have cause to go into her 'home' she seems interested in whatever I'm doing. I'll try and get some pics up soon.
 
Hi Jimmy and welcome to the forum. We have cham keepers all over the world on this forum. Several are in UK You will have lots of freinds from all over.

As long as you hand or cup feed the little one you will be fine. In a cage that size it could be difficult for the little cham to find food. Tell us all about your set up. Fill out the "how to ask for help" in the health section of the forum and we can offer any ideas for set up changes.

Chameleons are very addictive. In the begining I had one and now.......... well now I have more than one:D
 
she's a gorgeous little thing, but i may be biased... haha

in the viv i have a medium sized waterfall with fake plants hanging down both sides of the viv. I have a cork/bark 'thing' (technical term) running from the bottom left front corner to the top right back corner and a vine that runs from that to the left hand side, with a basking lamp above that, which is temperature controlled by a habistat dimming thermostat.

I also have a few fake plants on the bottom and a substrate of large wood chippings. I cnanot remember what ones, but the reptile keeper I bought from assured me it was good for my cham.

I spray in the viv several times a day.


Her name is Woody by the way.
 
Take out the water fall, the cork thing and the substrate. All bad for chameleons and get some live plants.
 
ok, i'll do that.

I plan to get another larger vine and some branches that have been rubbed down and disinfected, would that be better than the bark thing??


What should I use for the bottom of the cage???

And I assume that spraying twice a day will be better for the cham???
 
Jimmy Filth said:
ok, i'll do that.

I plan to get another larger vine and some branches that have been rubbed down and disinfected, would that be better than the bark thing??

Yes

What should I use for the bottom of the cage???

paper towels... or nothing

And I assume that spraying twice a day will be better for the cham???

spray 4-6 times a day, for 3-5 min. each time
Click to expand...

..........................

-Steve
 
Hi jimmy you will find alot of what you are told by UK pet shop's will be a little incorrect. Like you i was told waterfall's were a must have to be honest if you take the thing apart and see how much slime is on it you will be shocked, also most uk reptile shops use some kind of bark at the bottom i found that my guy did used to get this stuck to his tounge when feeding so now i use nothing and just wipe it out each morning. Also might be worth checking on how much calcium powder you are giving and broccoli is a no no (i have been told it's a great veg by 3 diffrent pet shops!) im in epsom about 45 mins away from you.
 
I use tap water which I boil first and allow to cool. I mist with it while it is still quite warm though. Chams prefer to be misted with warm mist. Test it on your wrist and adjust the temp of the water in the bottle so that it feels tepid when you let the spray fall onto your arm.
 
Miss Lily said:
I use tap water which I boil first and allow to cool. I mist with it while it is still quite warm though. Chams prefer to be misted with warm mist. Test it on your wrist and adjust the temp of the water in the bottle so that it feels tepid when you let the spray fall onto your arm.
Click to expand...

now that's dedication lol. is there any disadvantage to using spring water (I use Zephyrhills)?
 
thanks for that, i'll sort his viv out then.

When using real plants, are they to be left in pots on the bottoms???

Is a wooden viv with a glass front any good??? I saw one today, but now, reading some peoples set ups, i'm not so sure. When it comes to upgrading, what is the best type????
 
incidentally, i have had to wash the waterfall every couple of days to get the crap out of it. I'm just slightly worried as due to my job i work irregular hours and don't want to miss a misting. Are there any automated systems???
 
What sort of Wooden Viv have you seen? you will find most people in the US use mesh set ups as they are very lucky people with very nice weather most of the UK people (not all) use VIV's as we are used to the crappy british weather. I have tried used a flexauiram in the house but just couldnt keep the temps or the humidity up so at the moment my guy is in a exoterra and i am currently working on converting a peice of furniture for his new home so that will be glass wood and one side and top mesh im hoping that will give enough ventilation plus keep the temps right.
 
The one i've seen is 36x36x24. It has wooden sides, top, back and bottom. The front is glass and it has 5 spherical mesh holes in the back, each at around 5" diameter.

The guy in the shop says that is what he uses, but just leaves one of the doors open for an hour or two in the daytime to help ventilate it, but as it turns out, that may not be totally correct.

I'll attach two UV tubes to the top, and put a basking lamp in it, with nothing in the bottom and vines/branches inside.

Want to try and jerry-rig an automatic mister if possible.
 
maybe think about a home made job there are lots of people on here with great advise. or look on ebay for vivexotic the largest one looks ok and probably half the price of the pet shop around £100!
 
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