New Veiled Chameleon owner

[BertieGirl]

Hi All,
I got my first Veiled Chameleon back in March (we already own geckos). She was estimated to be 9 months old when I got her and has now grown to measure about 12inches from nose to end of tail (about 7inches in the body). I have her in an Exo-Terra cage with glass sides and mesh top that is 18"x18"x36" . She has UVA/UVB lights and a 50watt heat lamp. I have questions about watering - I currently use a drip cup system with ice cubes and filtered water which I change twice a day. The water drops run down over the artificial plants into a catching container. Is this sufficient or should I have an automatic mister? I manually mist her cage also. Any thoughts? Thanks.

 

[DavidBuchan]

An automatic mister would save time and effort. If you are happy misting with warm water twice a day and theres not running cold water from the ice cubes then all seems fine. Welcome to the forum as well...

 

[carol5208]

If you feel she is hydrated enough and you are satisified with that, then I don't see the need for the misiting system. If you don't mind hand misting and you are around enough hours in the day to mist then why get one? It is really a matter of convenience for some and necessity for others who are away all day with their jobs. I mean it is a personal preference I think. One other thing, just make sure your catch container is something that is not too deep, where if she fell in, she could not get out.

 

[BertieGirl]

Hi thanks for the welcome and replies! Bertie seems hydrated enough. I am thinking she is fast out growing her cage, (measurements in my last post were wrong, it's only 24"high) so I am thinking she needs a taller one pretty soon. I would go for an all screened cage next time - but how tall should I go?

 

[VeiledKarma]

At least 48". But the bigger the better.

 

[jannb]

Welcome to the forums. I keep veileds and they are such a pleasure to care for. Hand misting is fine but I would get a little dripper and not use ice cubes. What temps are you keeping her at and how much are you feeding? I doubt that she needs a heat bulb in a glass enclosure. I have a couple of my blogs attached for you below. The first is for new keepers and the second is about egg laying and the laying bin. At nine months you should be providing her with a laying bin. Jann

https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/jannb/345-egg-laying-laying-bin.html#comment656

 

[Stanly]

Hi thanks for the welcome and replies! Bertie seems hydrated enough. I am thinking she is fast out growing her cage, (measurements in my last post were wrong, it's only 24"high) so I am thinking she needs a taller one pretty soon. I would go for an all screened cage next time - but how tall should I go?

yeah she is looking rather large for that cage, I'd probably go for 48"
What kind of uvb bulb do you have? I only ask because some of the compacts and some "cheap" brands have seemingly caused eye issues in chameleons, I'd steer clear of the "zilla" brand, to be on the safe side most recommend the long tube style repti-sun 5.0 bulbs, I've also used repti-glo 5.0 bulbs without issue.

If it's a new compact bulb it's probably safe (new as in manufacture date not purchase date) but just keep a eye out for any eye issues, also as a reminder change your uvb bulbs every 6-9 months

 

[BertieGirl]

Hi, Thanks guys, there is so much good info here I need time to digest it all. I'm thinking I need to revisit my lighting set up and check with you all on temperatures. FYI, she does have a sandbox in her cage, I added that after reading on this forum although she hasn't shown any interest in it yet.