new veiled chameleon onwer

[redevo9sy]

hey everyone i just got a new male veiled chameleon. couldnt be happier. but i have a few questions.

my cage is a 16 x 16 x 30 inch Aluminum screen cage, 100 watt Powersun UVB heat bulb for the day, Zoo Med 75 watt infrared bulb for at night, i have 6 Feet Tropical Vines, Green Moss at the bottom of the cage, and a Large Ficus Tree. does all of that sound good to you? thank you for looking and the info

 

[jannb]

Congrats on your new veiled. You're going to need to made a few corrections to keep him healthy. I'm attaching my blog for new keepers below. You are going to need to change your lighting ASAP or you will cook him. The power Sun put out way too much heat and allot of UVB for a 30 inch cage. I would never use one on a cage. You wouldn't need a basking light at all with a power sun. No light at all for night time. How old is your new cham? What are you using to check the temps?
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html

 

[sdheli420]

i use a 100watt powersun for a HUGE free range..that bulb will need to be at least 1 foot above the cage..and i would put a flat piece of cardboard over 1/3 of the top of the cage so there is a cooler shady section..ditch the night bulb, they are usless for chams, they do need light at night and dont need heat at night unless it gets colder that 60 degrees where you are..

 

[carol5208]

also, get rid of the moss at the bottom of the cage!! Bare floor cage is best. no substrate. Substrate= hiding places for feeders, bacteria breeding ground, and last but not least and most important, something for your chameleon to injest.

 

[MATT2504]

Show us a pic or 2!

 

[sdheli420]

Show us a pic or 2!

just what i was thinking!!! lol

 

[allencg101]

if its a baby thats a good starter cage veileds grow up fast in my experience faster then panthers hope you enjoy the additude it gets when it reaches the teen years lol. they are awesome chams any questions just ask and read jannb's blog post pics so we can see the set up and cham.

 

[wontbme]

yeah watch the 4-6 month transition, mine just hit 6 months and she's pretty damn friendly, after being a REAL pain. honestly it put me in a deppressed state when she did it the first time.
dont let it get to you! it'll blow over if you show her your not a threat

 

[kinyonga]

Welcome to the forum and to the world of chameleons!

Here's some information I hope will help....
Appropriate cage temperatures aid in digestion and thus play a part indirectly in nutrient absorption.

Exposure to UVB from either direct sunlight or a proper UVB light allows the chameleon to produce D3 so that it can use the calcium in its system to make/keep the bones strong and be used in other systems in the chameleon as well. The UVB should not pass through glass or plastic no matter whether its from the sun or the UVB light. The most often recommended UVB light is the long linear fluorescent Repti-sun 5.0 tube light. Some of the compacts, spirals and tube lights have caused health issues, but so far there have been no bad reports against this one.

A wide variety of insects that have been well fed and gutloaded should be fed to it. At that size you only need to feed it every two or three days. Feed it enough that it doesn't get fat (and, of course, doesn't get thin either).

Since many of the feeder insects we use in captivity have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorus in them, its important to dust the insects just before you feed them to the chameleon at most feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder to help make up for it. (I use Rep-cal phosphorus-free calcium). Not sure how to tell you to dust WC insects if that is what you will be doing.

If you also dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder it will ensure that your chameleon gets some D3 without overdoing it. It leaves the chameleon to produce the rest of what it needs through its exposure to the UVB light. D3 from supplements can build up in the system but D3 produced from exposure to UVB shouldn't as long as the chameleon can move in and out of it. (I use Rep-cal phos.-free calcium/D3).

Dusting twice a month as well with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A will ensure that the chameleon gets some vitamins without the danger of overdosing the vitamin A. PrEformed sources of vitamin A can build up in the system and may prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the chameleon towards MBD. However, there is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert the beta carotene and so some people give some prEformed vitamin A once in a while. (I use herptivite which has beta carotene.)

Gutloading/feeding the insects well helps to provide what the chameleon needs. I gutload crickets, roaches, locusts, superworms, etc. with an assortment of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.)

Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are important players in bone health and other systems in the chameleon (muscles, etc.) and they need to be in balance. When trying to balance them, you need to look at the supplements, what you feed the insects and what you feed the chameleon.

Here are some good sites for you to read too...
http://chameleonnews.com/07FebWheelock.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200605020...Vitamin.A.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200406080...d.Calcium.html
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
http://web.archive.org/web/200601140...ww.adcham.com/
If you can't access the sites above that have the word "archive" in you can do it through the WayBackMachine.

 

[redevo9sy]

here are a few pics but i am used Rep Cal Bulk Ultrafine Calcium with D3 that is phosphorous free. i am using a temperature guage and in the middle of the cage is right around 72-80 degrees. is that right??

 

[kinyonga]

Dusting should be done at most feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder as said in my thread above...."D3 from supplements can build up in the system but D3 produced from exposure to UVB shouldn't as long as the chameleon can move in and out of it."

 

[carol5208]

If I could make one suggestion to you it would be to raise the cage up off the floor. Put it on some type of table or stand. He will probably feel more comfortable higher up.

 

[msgizmo]

Everyone here is giving you fantastic advice. Please believe what they tell you, they know! We are pretty new also. Ours is about 6 mos old and we have her in a round 19" x 24" that I built. It is just now appearing that she would like more room so I am building a new 24X24X36". We hang ours' from the ceiling by planter chains and she loves being up high. She comes down and looks at us some times but mostly stays up near the top. Don't need the basking light at all. Other people recommend using a 60w house bulb only. We have a 50w basking light that hangs around 10" over the highest climbing point and the temp stays around 80-85 at that point but we will convert to the 60w bulb when it quits. Just added a live impatience flowering plant and love all the advice everyone shares. Keep us posted. We love to hear how everyone is doing.

 

[jannb]

Everyone here is giving you fantastic advice. Please believe what they tell you, they know! We are pretty new also. Ours is about 6 mos old and we have her in a round 19" x 24" that I built. It is just now appearing that she would like more room so I am building a new 24X24X36". We hang ours' from the ceiling by planter chains and she loves being up high. She comes down and looks at us some times but mostly stays up near the top. Don't need the basking light at all. Other people recommend using a 60w house bulb only. We have a 50w basking light that hangs around 10" over the highest climbing point and the temp stays around 80-85 at that point but we will convert to the 60w bulb when it quits. Just added a live impatience flowering plant and love all the advice everyone shares. Keep us posted. We love to hear how everyone is doing.

Females normally don't need a basking light if you want to prevent her from laying eggs or have a small clutch. This is how you should keep your female unless you are planning to breed. http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/2007/12/keeping-female-veiled.html

 

[pssh]

While females do not need the heat like males, I always have a basking light for them so they can bask as they normally would. I just keep the temperature down around 80-83 at the basking spot.