New veiled chameleon owner with some questions

[zelphos]

Hello everyone, I rescued a year old chameleon about 2 weeks ago, skinny and could feel his ribs and they had him in a 20 gallon glass tank with no way to even climb so I had to have the little guy. I've never owned a chameleon, I knew it would be tough, I've only got a bearded dragon, I've never cared for any reptiles but I browsed on here and built him an enclosure, its 4 1/2 ft tall then 3ft wide all the way around, I have a 36 inch reptisun 5.0 going across along with a 90 watt basking bulb. I built the enclosure with hardware cloth, and read it could cause cancer which I am very worried about, would it be harmful to the cham and my family? I heard it can only be cancerous if your obviously licking it and trying to eat it or poke your eye out. here are a few pictures of him and his enclosure to make sure I have everything correct and that he looks healthy? Also any advice would be great on how to care for this little guy. The picture below of him on my arm you can tell how skinny, they had brought him to a Christmas party passing him around for everyone to hold like he was a toy so I offered up $125 and he was mine, I kept him under my hoodie that night and sat with him in a quiet room and he slept, as you can see below he's looking better.

 

[Sinfulintent]

Enclosure looks good to me, I'm not sure about the cancer part though and I'm interested to read into it

 

[Decadancin]

Here's a good source of information about caring for veiled chams. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/chameleonsinmyhouse/395-veiled-chameleon-care-sheet.html
Careful not to overfeed him to "make up for lost meals". He doesn't look too bad and I'm glad you saved him from someone who didn't care enough. Make sure to use a quality gutload for the feeders, and this will do wonders. Here is a link to a very informative blog on gutloading. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/food-diary/

Here is a form to fill out to help us identify any areas that you may want to focus on.https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/ It will also bring some of the important things to your attention and help you to ask the correct questions about your little one's care.

I would suggest you look for a vet that specializes in reptiles (preferably chameleons) just in case you have the need, and it is a good idea to have a fecal test done at least once a year! Hope this helps .

Best of luck with your new rescue!

 

[dom1959]

good job by you, i think he looks fab in his cage!

i here they have cancer warning signs at disneyland now

i am sure someone that has experience with hardware cloth will ring in soon.

 

[Carlton]

If I remember correctly the idea about hardware cloth and cancer has to do with the galvanizing dip the wire mesh is coated with so it doesn't rust as fast. It is a concern for water pipes if you have very acidic water. The zinc itself isn't the issue, its the potential for lead, cadmium or other heavy metals that could be present along with the zinc. If the coating is constantly exposed to weather it oxidizes, gets crumbly and flakes off. If you used new mesh to build the cage it should be pretty safe for a long time. If you start welding with it, scouring old mesh with corrosive cleaners or a wire brush you could scrape the coating off into fine powder, but again I don't think you would need to do that anyway. I think the risk is extremely low unless you are someone who works with the raw zinc/metal itself or the galvanization process repeatedly over time.

BTW, he doesn't look skinny to me. You should be able to see and feel their ribs slightly as they move around. Normal.

 

[jaggybask]

i dont know much about the whole cancer side of things but i do know you have done a great job taking him on and away from someone who has not put the correct care and attention into him.
Good luck with him he looks good and very settled in his new enclosure
well done!!

 

[PantherEnvy]

You have done a well job providing your cham with a new home. It looks like you may have some wire/paperclip ends exposed inside your cage. (I think) This can injure your little buddy.

 

[tony19]

Ya he is looking a litle thin.. glad you saved him...theres alot to know about chams. You might want to get cousy with the forum cause your gonna need it.....your gonna need lots of different types of feeders you might want to learn about gut loading...it will help your beardie to....your gonna want to get a hand mister or an automatic mister prefured saves time and makes life easier. your find out what kind of temps you need. and the enclouser looks fine to me your gonna want a k6500 for your plants to grow. ill try and think of more things to help you with....and im sure others will chim in an help you out.... oh ya welcome to the forum....you deinatly came to the right place for advise this forum is a life saver

 

[ChameleonMom]

Bless you for saving him from a horrible existence! Your cage looks great! I would say your guy (does he have a name?) if anything, looks a bit dehydrated. His casque should be plumper than that and more convex. Otherwise he's beautiful and I'm certain, very thankful you have rescued him!