New Veiled Chameleon Owner

[Travdee22]

Hello everybody!

I am excited to be part of this great community. Well I finally have my cage all set up and am ready to get me veiled chameleon. This is my first time owning a cham and I am really excited. I have been looking at this forum as well as researching online for the past month now. So im sure I will do okay! I just have a few questions if you would not mind answering.

First off is the basking temp for a baby. It is at about 88 degrees in my cage. I have seen a few reports that the basking light should not be as hot for young chams because they are not experienced thermoregulators.

Next, I am having troubles keeping humidity up my in my cage. When the cage is completely dry I am at 25 percent. I have two pothos in the cage, and of course I rinsed them if any one was wondering. When I mist humidty reaches to about 60 percent but it only stays like that for about an hour or so and decreases quite quickly. Is there anything else I can do to keep humidity up when Im at work? Or is a misting system the only way?

As of right now those are the only questions I have. If you are all curious on the specs of my cage here it is. I bought the cage from Twin City Reptiles. It is a 30 gallon tank with three screen sides and a flap door on the side for access in the cage. I have a Repti-Glo 5.0, 100 watt basking light as far as lights go. Digital thermometer, hygrometer, 2 pothos. i wanted to get bigger pothos but living in Minnesota sucks when trying to find plants during the winter! I have enclosed pics as well of the set up.

One more thing... When looking at my cage is that going to be high enough for a baby veiled or should i try to get branches reaching higher in the cage. I know young veileds can be clumsy so I was worrying about him falling

Any comments on my cage that could make it better would be well appreciated!

 

[AncientCritters]

To answer a coule of your questions.... you can add more plants to keep up the humidity and adding higher branches is ok as long as there not to close to the heat. Check the temp there to make sure its ok.

 

[beeze]

Welcome to the forums. Nice cage! That's a tube style UVB light, right? not compact? 88 is to hot for a baby. Use a 40 watt or 66 watt house bulb for basking.....anout 84 or 85 should be ok. You might have to buy a humidifier to get the humidity up. Your little guy would also probably like more branches to crawl around on. If you want to check out my cages in my cage albums under my profile for some ideas and also here's a good link to get info about veileds.
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/

 

[Lizardlover]

i agree with beese, your baby would probably enjoy more branches/vines to crawl on.

 

[Travdee22]

Yeah my UV light is a long one. Not a compact. Only way to go! I will go and get more branches and vines to throw in there. Thanks for the link. I will check it out.

 

[jannb]

Welcome! That will be a nice home for your little one with a few minor changes. Post pics when you get your cham. Where do you plan to purchase from? Have you checked the classifieds here? A couple of the members have some nice veileds. Jann

 

[Syreptyon]

Hey there! It's good to see another Minnesotan on this site. I actually just got my first little veiled about a week ago, so we're both probably in for the same situations! I know living in Minnesota can sure be problematic due to our ridiculous, weather, but it's plenty doable. If you're looking for plants, I would suggest going to Bachmann's if you know where any are. I got a great schefflera from them and my little guy loves it. I saw you mentioned Twin City Reptiles and they're a really good place for supplies, though a little expensive. Someone else already asked this, but where are you getting your cham from? I would not suggest TCR (just in case thats where you were thinking. I know they have some) because I know some fellow Minnesotans with some not-so-good experiences. I know one person got their first cham there and they sexed it wrong--they wanted a male but ended up with a female. I got mine from Mike at Flchams and wholeheartedly suggest you get one from a reputable breeder

Welcome to the forums and good luck!

 

[Travdee22]

I went and got my cham today! I ended up getting him from Twin city Reptiles. He is 4 months old. They got them at the beginning of September. I know Syreptyon said it is not a good idea. I got a male veiled since it is my first and they are easier to care for. I made sure he had that spur on his foot so I did not run into the sexing issue Syreptyon mentioned to me. Thanks for the advice! The chams there were very healthy and the people there were very knowledgeable. I talked to her for about a half an hour about the chams they have. They ended up getting these six babies from a reptile show. They had pictures of the parents as well. She said they have only been eating crickets and show no interest in any type of worm except hornworms.

Thank you for your input on my cage. I went ahead and got another hanging plant to put in his cage and got the little dripper which you can see in the pictures below. I am thinking about getting some more of those hanging plants to put on the other corner and the middle of the cage. I know they love plants in their cage so they feel at home. Would this be a good idea? Or is what I have in there enough?

I did not take a picture of my chameleon. He is trying to adjust to his home i think. He has been hiding since I brought him home. He started off by going up to the top left corner of my cage and hanging upside down and was there for a while. Then he went to the floor of the cage and hid behind the driftwood. As we speak he is hanging on the backside of the driftwood. I will take a picture of him soon when he out and about more.

Is this something that I should be concerned with? Him hiding? I think it is not an issue but I would like a second opinion on this. I remember reading somewhere it takes a few days for them to adjust so.

Thank you so much for all of your input. It is appreciated! This website rocks and can't wait to hear back from you all!

 

[blackbetty]

Congrats on your new baby...

 

[Travdee22]

Thanks Blackbetty!

One more question. A real newbie one ah hah hope you guys don't mind. With the little dripper... how long should it be on for in a day? Obviously when I go to work but primarily how much water should I be using in a day for my cham? Is the slowest drip all day too much?

 

[Travdee22]

Any advice from the pros? Any advice would be appreciated from my second posting with the new pics...

 

[Slofe]

Yeah it does take a while for them to get adjusted, anywhere from a week to a month. Just leave him be and he'll be fine, try not to stare too much into his cage and yes I know how diffcult it is not to look at him too much!

Personally I would ditch your cage and get a full size one. I got my veiled at 4 months old and put him straight into a big one, he's been absolutely fine. I put his food in a dish and attach it to the side of the cage, as long as you make sure he sees you put the food in he'll find it. Oh, check out how much he grows in a week, it's quite astounding how quick they grow.

You may or may not have noticed that there's an awful alot of guff about taking care of chameleons. Use this, do that, yada yada, as long as you've done your research and as long as he's healthy don't listen to any of it. Some people make out that chameleons are harder to look after than it is to learn Cantonese. They're really not, as long as you've researched, mist him twice a day, feed him and supplement accordingly you'll be fine. Enjoy your new little pal

 

[Brad Ramsey]

!
You may or may not have noticed that there's an awful alot of guff about taking care of chameleons. Use this, do that, yada yada, as long as you've done your research and as long as he's healthy don't listen to any of it.

Well, that's marvelous advice.
"Do your research" but don't listen to any advice from people with experience.
Why join a forum?

-Brad

 

[blackbetty]

I was curious about the dripper too. I just let mine go about drip every 2 seconds and just keep refilling the container (BTW have I mentioned how I LOATHE little drippers and their testy settings!?) I don't do it at night as I know he is sleeping.. I noticed this is the speed at which Betty was able to drink. Are younger ones slower? Ive never actually seen him drink from it although I have seen him move twards it when I fill it.. he is rather shy though and wont do anything if Im watching..Is there a better method? I mist often enough. And I dont think Slofe was trying to be rude, I think he is just saying us new people come on here and get trashed when we are just seeking friendly advice..and then you get people saying "NO THAT IS WRONG YOU ARE BAD OWNER!".. Not in those exact words, but thats what it feels like...Remember, you guys were all first time cham owners once too.

 

[Drone]

Yeah it does take a while for them to get adjusted, anywhere from a week to a month. Just leave him be and he'll be fine, try not to stare too much into his cage and yes I know how diffcult it is not to look at him too much!

Personally I would ditch your cage and get a full size one. I got my veiled at 4 months old and put him straight into a big one, he's been absolutely fine. I put his food in a dish and attach it to the side of the cage, as long as you make sure he sees you put the food in he'll find it. Oh, check out how much he grows in a week, it's quite astounding how quick they grow.

You may or may not have noticed that there's an awful alot of guff about taking care of chameleons. Use this, do that, yada yada, as long as you've done your research and as long as he's healthy don't listen to any of it. Some people make out that chameleons are harder to look after than it is to learn Cantonese. They're really not, as long as you've researched, mist him twice a day, feed him and supplement accordingly you'll be fine. Enjoy your new little pal

took my Cham about a day to adjust. Not a week or a month. But then I had been a member of these forums and listened to what people told me and did what they told me to do.

and I agree with Brad. Join the forums to learn. Few people don't know what they are talking about. Others, you will see, have plenty of experience, and you will want to listen to them.

Not because they have 4,000+ posts and they have their own website and/or Chameleon business, but because they have been successful in taking care of these unique lizards and are kind enough to pass on what has worked for them. Hope that helps.

If it's your first veiled I would recommend Brad's site:
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/

Your cage size is fine. Eventually you may want to go to a larger enclosure

Typically you need to mist your chameleon more than twice a day. The dripper may help. Set it at whatever rate works for you. The idea is to have the water always dripping onto a plant so your Cham can drink whenever they feel like it.
This video is great on setting up a dripper: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mg9oz5kMLYY
Notice he has it drip onto the plant and leftover drips into a 2nd container below that you can empty out. This works really well for me as well. Some people prefer to drip onto fake plants or vines, I have no idea why, and admittedly I use 1 fake plant (along with the live ones atm) but will be getting rid of it soon cause I wouldnt want my guy accidentally eating a leaf or something (My panther is far less likely to eat any type of vegetation compared to your Veiled)

as for feedback on your cage, you have lots of foliage/sticks/branches down low, and your guy will want to be up very high in the enclosure. I feel you could improve it by adding biovines or sticks to the top or somehow raising all the ones you already have in there. I would remove a pothos and replace it with a Ficus or https://www.chameleonforums.com/pla...browse=scientific&view=photo&order=compatible in order to provide plants/branches up high where your little guy will want to spend most if not nearly all of its time as well to provide cover so he is comfortable

 

[Drone]

Also, your little cham is probably scared of you.... Yes, it is normal for it to hide. They change colors for a reason ;p

If you make any changes to the enclosure your cham may stop eating or go hide or become unadjusted for a bit, maybe a day or so.

 

[Slofe]

Well, that's marvelous advice.
"Do your research" but don't listen to any advice from people with experience.
Why join a forum?

-Brad

No that's not what I meant at all, Brad. Joining a forum is all part of the research and is the reason I joined it. I guess I was taking little bits of things i've read from people in other forums and on you tube and applying it to what I posted here.

I sometimes see people almost shouting at others not to buy chameleons because they're so difficult to look after. Some people are patronised and made to feel bad just because they're a first time chameleon owner, or plan to be but I haven't really seen that happen here, I wasn't talking about here and should've made that clearer. I just don't think chameleons are that hard to look after providing you're not a total numpty and have done your research, including reading a forum and I must say your blog has come in handy too.

Reading back on this post sounds like a real suck up LOL, nah, just making myself clear

 

[Slofe]

took my Cham about a day to adjust. Not a week or a month. But then I had been a member of these forums and listened to what people told me and did what they told me to do.

If i had it i'd bet you $100000 that your cham didn't adjust in a day. He may have appeared to have done so but I bet you he didn't. Adjusting means giving them space to be left alone, exploring new territory, finding a comfortable place to sleep, finding where their food is etc. This isn't achieved in a day.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

No that's not what I meant at all, Brad. Joining a forum is all part of the research and is the reason I joined it. I guess I was taking little bits of things i've read from people in other forums and on you tube and applying it to what I posted here.

I sometimes see people almost shouting at others not to buy chameleons because they're so difficult to look after. Some people are patronised and made to feel bad just because they're a first time chameleon owner, or plan to be but I haven't really seen that happen here, I wasn't talking about here and should've made that clearer. I just don't think chameleons are that hard to look after providing you're not a total numpty and have done your research, including reading a forum and I must say your blog has come in handy too.

Reading back on this post sounds like a real suck up LOL, nah, just making myself clear

Thank you for clearing up my misunderstanding.

-Brad

 

[Drone]

If i had it i'd bet you $100000 that your cham didn't adjust in a day. He may have appeared to have done so but I bet you he didn't. Adjusting means giving them space to be left alone, exploring new territory, finding a comfortable place to sleep, finding where their food is etc. This isn't achieved in a day.

meh nm

whatever you say

I don't think that chameleons are that hard to look after either and I rather enjoy taking care of Evo. That said, I'm off to Home Depot and I need to clean the crickets' cage, maybe i'll build a new one.
Laterz