New Veiled Chameleon

dave101

dave101

New Member
Hey guys i just bought a baby veiled chameleon andi have a few concerns, i bought it and im wondering if it is normal its hasnt been eatting and im not sure if it is drinking or not. I have a glass tank with Black construction paper covering the sides. with red bark / chopped wood and flooring. also a few fake twines and branches. I spray water heavily 3 times a day and put 3-4 crickets in and i havnt seen any gone yet. Also i have a light i bought sitting on the cage cover. any ideas of what changed i need to make? or if he is just scared? the temp is about 75-80 F
 
A whole new cage.

It needs to be screen, or well ventalted.
No Substrait

Do a search on the forums for some pics of enclosures.

But the whole thing needs to be redone
 
dave101 said:
Hey guys i just bought a baby veiled chameleon andi have a few concerns, i bought it and im wondering if it is normal its hasnt been eatting and im not sure if it is drinking or not. I have a glass tank with Black construction paper covering the sides. with red bark / chopped wood and flooring. also a few fake twines and branches. I spray water heavily 3 times a day and put 3-4 crickets in and i havnt seen any gone yet. Also i have a light i bought sitting on the cage cover. any ideas of what changed i need to make? or if he is just scared? the temp is about 75-80 F
Click to expand...

Baby meaning how old or small? They should not be in tanks. You should not have any wood chips or bark as they can cause fatal imapction. Are there any fake or live plants that he can drink the water droplets off of when you mist? Do you have a UVB light? What are you measuring your temps with as it is easy to cook (dehydrate) baby chams. Do you have the proper supplements? Are the crickets the right size and are you gutloading them? baby chams can eat 10-15 crickets a day.
 
The construction paper on the outside of glass causes high reflection of the cham and would be very stressfull. Remove it right away
 
sorry about this heh im new at taking care of chams. i can probably get a new tank, ill make it out of wood and screen. ill start putting more crickets in then. at the reptile store they had there chams in bark also thats why i did that. yes 3 fake plants. the tank is 10 by 20inchs., not gut-loading crickets, what should i feed them?
 
its to hard to keep dry when it gets wet realy bad for bacterias and just askin for respitory infection wich is the bigest reason most people stay far away from glass enclosures
 
will it be ok in there for another night until i can make one in the morning?, about 12 hours
 
Many woods used as substrates contain oils that are toxic to the chameleon...and with colored ones I would worry about dyes too. There is also the danger of the chameleon ingesting some of the substrate so its better IMHO not to use a substrate.

What brand and type (long linear tube or compact) UVB light do you have on the cage? There should be no glass or plastic between the light and the chameleon. Exposure to UVB allows the chameleon to produce D3 which allows it to use the calcium in its diet.

Its important to dust the insects at most feedings before feeding them to the chameleon with a phos.-free calcium powder at most feedings to make up for the poor ratio of calcium to phos. found in most feeder insects.

I also dust twice a month with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene source of vitamin A. Beta carotene won't build up in the system like preformed vitamin A will, but there is controversy as to whether any/all chameleons can convert the beta carotene so some people give a little preformed vitamin A once in a while. Excess preformed vitamin A can prevent the D3 from doing its job and lead to MBD...so don't overdo it.

I dust twice a month with a phos.-free Calcium/D3 powder too. D3 from supplements can build up in the system...so go easy on it.

Gutloading and feeding your insects a nutritious diet also helps your chameleon. Crickets can be fed a variety of greens (dandelion, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, celery leaves, etc.)

Appropriate basking temperature helps with digestion so it plays a part in nutrient absorption. A baby only needs a basking temperature in the low 80's F while an adult can take it into the high 80's or low 90's F.

I have always used glass cages with screen lids for baby veileds and have had no problem with the reflections or the ventilation. You do have to make sure that no water lays stagnant on the floor of the cage though.

If the temperatures are too low the chameleon might not eat. Some of them take a few days to settle in as well. Is it pooping? (I hope its not impacted from ingesting any of the substrate.)
 
so i can keep the glass tank? just remove the wood. and i have a screen top that the light is sitting on
 
If it is a small baby, as long as you remove the wood chips and watch your temps it will work fine for now. When he grows you will need a taller cage.
 
ok thanks,s hould i put black construction paper on the inside of the glass so there is no reflection? also what should i put as flooring?
 
The paper will get wet and you have no idea if the dyes will be dangerous for the chameleon....so I wouldn't do it.
 
Ok cool, thats what i did. I took the bark out and put in paper towels. Another question, im looking to put a live plant in my cage but i want the most common plant people use, any ideas of some non-toxic plants are very common for veiled chams?
 
Plants

Hey Dave, I'm going to use a pothos plant for my Jenny - female veiled. From what I have read here, you need to fill up a tub with soap and water and wash the plant at least 3x to get any pesticides off of it. Rinse it REALLY WELL. Then you'll need to re-pot the plant with organic soil.

That's what I've read here anyway. Anyone correct me, please, if I'm wrong!:p

Alison
 
hm ok,i was thinking about buying that type of plant also. My cham is a baby but im not sure his exact age, how can i tell? or can i put a pic up and see if anyone can get a close enough guess to how old he really is
 
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