New Veiled Chameleon Owner, would like helpful advice on anything I should fix?

[Rae21]

• Your Chameleon - Vieled chameleon, not sure how old (about 3in long not including tail, not sure if that’ll help). He was really pale green with I think was slight sunken eyes. During the day he’s a light brown- mixed green color. Looks like he’s starting to shed
• Handling - Once or twice, had him for 2 days so far
• Feeding - 5-6 crickets twice daily (morning and night). I have only seen him eat 2 crickets so far. I’m not sure if the crickets managed to get out of the cage or if he ate them. but there aren’t any in there when i get home (before feeding him for the night)
• Supplements - I use a repti-calcium once a day without D3. I have reptivite with d3. I will dust feeders with the d3 calcium twice a month, use the regular stuff for the rest of the feedings.
• Watering - I hand mist him twice a day for maybe like 30 seconds-1 minute. He has a fogger at the top of his cage that goes off in the early hours, and he also has a waterfall drinking fountain at the moment (seated at the bottom of the cage, thinking of moving it up high for him). I haven’t seen him drink yet.
• Fecal Description - Urine Im not sure about, haven’t seen him urinate. His fecal looks normal I think. Hes never been tested for parasites
• History - I got him from a pet store couple days ago

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Enclosure is 2’x2’x4' high, idk the depth but my arm doesn't reach to the back fully extended. It's full metal frame with screen on all sides.
• Lighting - I use Zoo-med deep dome lamp fixture , the bulb is a 75W, for basking. UVB is T5 HO UVB lighting combo kit 5.0 39W by AIICOÒ. His lights are on 12hrs a day, and off 12hrs at night.
• Temperature - At the top I think it's like 85°f, 90° at highest basking point. and the bottom is 65°-70°. At night, the lowest the temp drops is 72°. i have my A/C in my room running at all times on setting: eco temp: 76-77 on low fan
• Humidity - 40% during the day i think, (usually at work) and usually 60-70% at night. I use a fogger at night 1-6am then again at 8-8:30am right before the lights come on and then 10-10:15pm after the lights have been off for a few hours, I hand mist in the morning when i wake up and at night before the lights go off to help with the humidity. saving up to get a misting system. I also have a digital humidity gauge
• Plants - Devil’s ivy, snake plant, philodendron, and guzmania lingulata. I have a few branches and a vine, along with a rope bridge, I’m replacing the rope bridge with a branch and adding more sticks in so he has more levels to perch on, I’m hoping to add a 3’-4’ tree in there soon so he can have a sturdier climbing plant along with more trailing/wall cover plants. I use coconut fiber as the substrate at the bottom of my cage.
• Placement - His cage is next to my bedroom door and window with curtains closed at all times. There are no fans or vents near him. His enclosure is just on the floor but I’m getting him a 2’ stand.
• Location - Central Florida (between Tampa and Orlando)

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi and welcome. I’ll go thru your husbandry and hopefully won’t get called away by work. I would like to see some pics if your little one please. If you have pics of the back of the back feet, that will help confirm gender.

 

[MissSkittles]

• Your Chameleon - Vieled chameleon, not sure how old (about 3in long not including tail, not sure if that’ll help). He was really pale green with I think was slight sunken eyes. During the day he’s a light brown- mixed green color. Looks like he’s starting to shed From this description, it sounds like he’s just a few months old. Unless a pic can provide a clearer idea of age, I’m going to go by a presumed age of 3 months.
• Handling - Once or twice, had him for 2 days so far It’s best to let him settle in and become accustomed to his new home before handling. He needs to feel safe.
• Feeding - 5-6 crickets twice daily (morning and night). Twice a day is good for a little one, but he really needs much more food than that. He should be getting at least 20+ feeders daily. Often they don’t eat well because the feeders are too large for them. Anything larger than the space between his eyes, is too big. You may need to order the right size feeders online. Check the forum sponsors for some great venders. I have only seen him eat 2 crickets so far. I’m not sure if the crickets managed to get out of the cage or if he ate them. You don’t want to keep loose crickets in his enclosure. At night, they will get hungry and will bite him. You can try putting a small piece of vegetable or greens on the bottom for them. Using a good escape proof feeding station is also advised. I like the shooting gallery style https://www.rainbowmealworms.net/shooting-gallery-chameleon-feeder-1/ and if you look around, there are variations on it in different places. It’s also important that he knows where to find his food every day. My chameleons always go to their feeding station almost as soon as they see me. but there aren’t any in there when i get home (before feeding him for the night) As you are able, you want to provide a variety of feeders. I’m including a couple of graphics below to help guide you. Just as important as everything else, is that you need to take good care of your feeder bugs. Healthy well fed bugs are more nutritious.
• Supplements - I use a repti-calcium once a day without D3. I have reptivite with d3. I will dust feeders with the d3 calcium twice a month, use the regular stuff for the rest of the feedings. Perfect! Just make sure to dust lightly. You don’t want your feeders to look like powdered donuts.
• Watering - I hand mist him twice a day for maybe like 30 seconds-1 minute. Two minutes would be ideal - right before lights go on and off. He has a fogger at the top of his cage that goes off in the early hours I do hope you mean early as in like 2-3 AM. , and he also has a waterfall drinking fountain at the moment (seated at the bottom of the cage, thinking of moving it up high for him). It would be much better to completely remove the fountain. While the idea is ok, the reality of it is not. No matter how well you clean it, they build up and grow bacteria and are just not good sourcea of clean water. Think - loose cricket walks in poos and then drowns in fountain. I haven’t seen him drink yet. Many if not most chameleons are secret about drinking. We go by the color of urate (urine, which is a solid and usually attached to the poo). All white or with a little bit of yellow or light orange on one end is good. All or mostly dark orange/yellow is not and your chameleon needs more fluids.
• Fecal Description - Urine Im not sure about, haven’t seen him urinate. See above about urate His fecal looks normal I think. Hes never been tested for parasites It’s always best to get a fecal check. We are very fortunate here in central Florida to have Dr Bogoslavsky https://myavho.com/staff/Bruce-Bogoslavsky-DVM He may be a little bit of a drive, but he is well worth it. He is very experienced with chameleons and his prices are very reasonable. The other decent vet in Orlando is https://www.orlandoexoticveterinari...e&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=gbp_orlando However, I’m not as keen to recommend them as they told me to soak my chameleon in heated water to hydrate her. So much is wrong with doing that, but whatever.
• History - I got him from a pet store couple days ago

To be continued….

 

[MissSkittles]

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Enclosure is 2’x2’x4' high, idk the depth but my arm doesn't reach to the back fully extended. It's full metal frame with screen on all sides. It’s the standard and minimum size needed. Some have concerns about putting small/young chameleons in their full adult-sized enclosure. I think as long as they know where to find their food consistently it’s fine.
• Lighting - I use Zoo-med deep dome lamp fixture , the bulb is a 75W, for basking. UVB is T5 HO UVB lighting combo kit 5.0 39W by AIICOÒ. I’m not familiar with this brand or their quality. I do see more and more of these brands in Amazon though. Do know that you’ll need to change the uvb bulb every six months, especially when using the off brands. If for whatever reason you need to replace the fixture, opt for Arcadia Pro T5 with the 6% uvb bulb. The fixtures are quality and the bulbs are good for a year. His lights are on 12hrs a day, and off 12hrs at night. Perfect
• Temperature - At the top I think it's like 85°f, 90° at highest basking point Too hot! .and the bottom is 65°-70°. Try a 60 watt bulb and you’ll need to elevate your lights a few inches above the screen top. Little chameleons like to walk upside down on the top and won’t even know when they are getting burned. Too hot and your little one is going to not only bake, but become dehydrated much faster. At night, the lowest the temp drops is 72°.This is a bit too warm to really boost your humidity much. Unless your night temp is consistently below at least 68, don’t use a humidifier. Heat plus high humidity increases risks for respiratory infection. I have the same issue and don’t fog at night…it’s ok. i have my A/C in my room running at all times on setting: eco temp: 76-77 on low fan
• Humidity - 40% during the day i think, (usually at work) and usually 60-70% at night. You may want to get one of the smart hygrometer/thermometers like Govee or similar. Ideal daytime humidity is between 30-50%. Since you can’t get that ideal low temp at night, don’t fog. I have an automatic mist system (mist king) and have added a brief 15 second misting in the middle of the night for just a very subtle humidity boost. I use a fogger at night 1-6am then again at 8-8:30am right before the lights come on and then 10-10:15pm after the lights have been off for a few hours, I hand mist in the morning when i wake up and at night before the lights go off to help with the humidity. saving up to get a misting system. Mist King! I also have a digital humidity gauge
• Plants - Devil’s ivy, snake plant, philodendron, and guzmania lingulata. Very good! I had to look up the last one…is a bromeliad. Not so sure about the snake plant…it’s not on the list and I don’t think it will even do well in an enclosure. Instead, look for maybe a weeping fig tree or schefflera (umbrella plant) that is taller and can fill some of the higher area. Great list is here. https://chameleonacademy.com/plants/ I have a few branches and a vine, along with a rope bridge, I’m replacing the rope bridge with a branch and adding more sticks in so he has more levels to perch on, I’m hoping to add a 3’-4’ tree in there soon so he can have a sturdier climbing plant along with more trailing/wall cover plants. Yes! No bridges or ropes. Little claws tend to get trapped in them and then pulled out. Ouch! It is a challenge to hang branches and things in all screen enclosures. The key is to use the frame to bear all of the weight. Just a few ideas…Dragon Ledges are better than sliced bread! https://dragonstrand.com/dragon-ledges/ In my first pic below, you can see how I’ve used them. My second pic I didn’t have Dragon Ledges and couldn’t wait, so I improvised with scrap trellis I had. I drilled some tiny holes in the trellis where needed and attached to the frame with thin wire. I will be doing this again and will be making sure to attach the wire to either the screws of the enclosure of drill some tiny holes in the frame so that the trellis won’t slide down. It is sturdy enough to hold all of the branches I wanted plus some plants. *note that this was a temporary quarantine enclosure and I was out of branches, so I used dowels. These do not hold up well to moisture. Also, this pic was taken early in setting up just to show how attached. My third pic is using just branches attached directly to the frame with thin wire to create a scaffold. It too was temporary and was not sturdy enough to hold plants. use coconut fiber as the substrate at the bottom of my cage. Bare floor is best…easiest to keep clean and hygienic.
• Placement - His cage is next to my bedroom door and window with curtains closed at all times. There are no fans or vents near him. His enclosure is just on the floor but I’m getting him a 2’ stand. Excellent. Height is safety.
• Location - Central Florida (between Tampa and Orlando) I’m over in Brevard.
  …and work has called so off I go. Hope I’ve been of some help. Post any questions/comments and I’ll be back later.

 

[Rae21]

thank you so much for all the helpful information! with him only being a baby should i down size his terrarium then until he gets bigger.?

i added a veggie cup up in one of the branches so hopefully that might help attract the crickets for him to eat.

whats the difference between a fogger and humidifier.? and how would i set up the humidifier? im also going to make a homemade dripper (until i can get a better one) but im not sure where i should place it so he can actually have access to the water

when i get paid thursday im going to get the mistKing and some more plants, im also going to be adding more branches and better support tomorrow when im off work.

i added some pics that i was able to take just now! hopefully they r ok and u can help tell!

 

[MissSkittles]

Yes, he is a he. To me, he looks to be closer to 2 months old…very young and fragile. At this age, just let him eat as much as he wants/can in about a 15-20 minute period. You can keep him in the larger enclosure, but definitely place a feeding station and leave it in that same spot. You want it so he can easily see it from his basking area. Which I forgot to mention before. You need to add lots of branches and vines (of varied diameters to exercise little feet and leg muscles) and at various levels. The highest one should be the basking branch and should be a distance of 8-9” below the uvb light. If you are raising his lights 3” above the screen top, then you want to place a branch 5-6” down from the screen top. Do make it easy to remove. When he’s an adult, he’ll be too heavy to walk upside down on the top and you can place your lights on the top.
Foggers and humidifiers are basically the same thing to me. Neither should be used when the temps are above 68. Mist Kings can be a bit pricey and usually need to be ordered on line. They are well worth it. You’ll need the basic starter system, plus a screen wedge. The starter system comes with one single mist head. You may want to get a double mist head (use the single as a back up). They can be a bit of a pain in the butt to set up, but we are here and can help.

 

[elizaann2]

I just want to say hello and welcome! @MissSkittles has given you some great advice, you are in good hands with her

 

[Rae21]

Yes, he is a he. To me, he looks to be closer to 2 months old…very young and fragile. At this age, just let him eat as much as he wants/can in about a 15-20 minute period. You can keep him in the larger enclosure, but definitely place a feeding station and leave it in that same spot. You want it so he can easily see it from his basking area. Which I forgot to mention before. You need to add lots of branches and vines (of varied diameters to exercise little feet and leg muscles) and at various levels. The highest one should be the basking branch and should be a distance of 8-9” below the uvb light. If you are raising his lights 3” above the screen top, then you want to place a branch 5-6” down from the screen top. Do make it easy to remove. When he’s an adult, he’ll be too heavy to walk upside down on the top and you can place your lights on the top.
Foggers and humidifiers are basically the same thing to me. Neither should be used when the temps are above 68. Mist Kings can be a bit pricey and usually need to be ordered on line. They are well worth it. You’ll need the basic starter system, plus a screen wedge. The starter system comes with one single mist head. You may want to get a double mist head (use the single as a back up). They can be a bit of a pain in the butt to set up, but we are here and can help.

thank you so much!! i have a few branches that im waiting to dry and im going to get more plants this week! right now im hand misting for 2 minutes now until i can get a misting system!

 

[Beman]

Welcome to the forum. You already got great info. Only thing I would add is, get a feeder run for your insects... I like the ones by full throttle feeders and the shooting gallery from TK Chameleons. This will keep your insects more contained. You run the risk of crickets biting the chameleon if you free feed them. Also having a veggie cup is something I would do away with as you do not want the cham ingesting the veg.