New Veiled Cham owner needs help

[herbiesmom]

My daughter and I bought a baby veiled last week. He is male and as about as long as my little finger. We were told to hold him as often as possible but I see from these forums that this could kill him. My problem is that we were also told he could eat phoenix worms but he would not eat them so we bought crickets and dusted them but he seems to be choking on them and we bought the smallest we could find. Any ideas what we should do. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Julirs]

It seems that you were given alot of incorrect information. Please fill out the following and we will point you in the right direction. Welcome to the forums!

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
Location - Where are you geographically located?

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

 

[Carlton]

My daughter and I bought a baby veiled last week. He is male and as about as long as my little finger. We were told to hold him as often as possible but I see from these forums that this could kill him. My problem is that we were also told he could eat phoenix worms but he would not eat them so we bought crickets and dusted them but he seems to be choking on them and we bought the smallest we could find. Any ideas what we should do. Thanks in advance for any help.

Wow, the store really mislead you! Baby chams can feed on pinhead crickets, fruit flies, or very small roaches. Don't feed him anything larger than the distance between his eyes. Glad you found us! Please fill out the form and give us as much detail about your setup as you can so we can help you as quickly as possible. One suggestion...when you dust the insects don't dust too heavily. A light dusting is fine and he may have less trouble swallowing it.

 

[herbiesmom]

He is a veiled Chameleon, I know he is young but they did not give me an age, we have owned it for about 11 days.
We have been holding him about every other day.
We tried phoneix worms and small crickets. about 5 a day, about 4 hours after his uvb light comes on, I dust with vit,and calcium everyday the crickets are given the orange cubes from Flukers. Zoo Meds Reptivite and Fluker's phospherous free calcium with vit d3
We spray 2 times a day and I have an automatic drip system, we have seen him drinking.
Small black pellets and he has never been tested that I know of.
His cage is a combo ten gallon tank on bottom and a open cage top the dimensions are 10" wide 20" long and 22" tall. We have a double lamp with the uvb on one side that is on from 8 am to 8 pm and the other side has a 40 watt heat lamp on all the time.
No live plants but we have vines hanging all over the top of the cage with them hanging to the bottom and bamboo sticks from floor to top of cage. We also have some a small log and a aquarium stump with plants to climb on.
The cage is located in our front room no real traffic except when someone uses the restroom. No fans or vents really, the room is usually warmer than the rest of the house. The cage is on a table about 3 feet off the ground. We live in Indiana

 

[Julirs]

He is a veiled Chameleon, I know he is young but they did not give me an age, we have owned it for about 11 days.
We have been holding him about every other day.
We tried phoneix worms and small crickets. about 5 a day, about 4 hours after his uvb light comes on, I dust with vit,and calcium everyday the crickets are given the orange cubes from Flukers. Zoo Meds Reptivite and Fluker's phospherous free calcium with vit d3
We spray 2 times a day and I have an automatic drip system, we have seen him drinking.
Small black pellets and he has never been tested that I know of.
His cage is a combo ten gallon tank on bottom and a open cage top the dimensions are 10" wide 20" long and 22" tall. We have a double lamp with the uvb on one side that is on from 8 am to 8 pm and the other side has a 40 watt heat lamp on all the time.
No live plants but we have vines hanging all over the top of the cage with them hanging to the bottom and bamboo sticks from floor to top of cage. We also have some a small log and a aquarium stump with plants to climb on.
The cage is located in our front room no real traffic except when someone uses the restroom. No fans or vents really, the room is usually warmer than the rest of the house. The cage is on a table about 3 feet off the ground. We live in Indiana

He sounds pretty young. You want to make sure the crickets are not bigger than the space between his eyes. Babies can eat from 10-15 crickets a day as they are growing rapidly. You should be using calcium with no D3 to dust 5-6 times a week, a calcium with D3 to dust twice monthly, and a multivite-like Reptivite 2X month up until about 6 months of age, then drop down to once monthly. Is your UVB lamp a compact coil? Many of them are dangerous-so please let us know what brand/strength you have. You should have no heat or light on at night unless your temps are dropping below 60.
What part of Indiana?

 

[herbiesmom]

We live north of Indianapolis and it does get pretty colp right now. I will go out and get a thermostat and humidity gage now that I know its important. The light is a repti glo 5.0 coil. He has never eaten that many and today we could only get him to eat one.

 

[Julirs]

If your temps are off, it can cause them to not eat, so hydration and temperature are very important right now. I am a former Hoosier-from Valparaiso-born in Kokomo. Make sure you get a digital thermometer-the kind with a long cord and a probe on the end. Pet stores sell them for $10.00.

 

[herbiesmom]

Thank you for the help we will make sure to get one. My husband was born in Kokomo we live in Tipton so you know how cold it can get.

 

[Julirs]

Thank you for the help we will make sure to get one. My husband was born in Kokomo we live in Tipton so you know how cold it can get.

Absolutely cold-I love FL! Welcome to the forum and good luck with your little one. You may want to look at getting an all screen cage-it will be much easier to deal with, crickets cannot escape, cleaning is easier, etc...In the winter up there to help with temps and humidity, you can line 3 sides of the cage with plastic. Summers are brutally hot there so the screen cage with benefit you then too.

 

[herbiesmom]

Thanks when we go get the thermometer well pick up a new cage.

 

[kinyonga]

You said..."I dust with vit,and calcium everyday the crickets are given the orange cubes from Flukers. Zoo Meds Reptivite and Fluker's phospherous free calcium with vit d3"...Its important to dust at most feedings with a phosphorus-free calcium powder to help make up for the usually poor ratio of calcium to phos. found in most of the feeder insects.

I dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder so that the chameleon gets some D3 without overdoing it. I allow them to produce the rest of the D3 from their exposure to the UVB (Repti-sun 5.0 long linear fluorescent tube light).

I dust with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A. Although there is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert it, this will at least not lead to an overdose like prEformed vitamin A can and leaves the owner free to give a little prEformed vitamin A once in a while if they want/need to. Excess prEformed vitamin A may prevent the D3 from doing its job and lead to MBD.

What type and brand (compact, spiral, tube, etc.) UVB light do you use?

Gutloading/feeding the insects a nutritious diet is important too. For crickets, superworms, roaches you can use a wide variety of greens (dandelion, kale, collards, endive, escarole, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, celery leaves, etc.).

 

[Elizadolots]

She dropped the bulb info into a later post: "The light is a repti glo 5.0 coil."