New Vield owner..

[rockysmom]

Hi, I just stumbled on this web site and thought I would sign up. However I do not have internet at home so am at the library doing some online research. I have been going online at work all day today and reading as much as I can off this site. It all has been VERY helpful and reassuing to know I have been doing things right. I do have some questions though that I cant seem to find out the answers to. Please forgive me in advance I am a terrible speller and not great computer user.

I just got a baby Vield Chameleon on 12-31-10 from a pet store. I know it is a juvenile, but they did not tell me how old he was. he is about (body not tail) 3-4 in long. I know its a boy because he has spurs on his heals.
I have a screen enclosure with a live pothos plant( I work for a indoor plant nursery), climbing vines, uvb heat lamp, night glow lamp(although might start turning this off after reading on here..) thermomiters in 3 places, hydromiter,
water dripper, misting bottle, repti-water safe stuff, calcium powder with vite d, mealy worms, crickets for feeders..also gut loading stuff for the feeders..

So my question is how much am I supposed to be feeding my little guy? I started with 8 small krickets in am and 8 small krickets in pm..he is so snatching them up so fast that i think he needs more..am I right? I dust them with the powder every time. Well then I moved up to med sized krickets 4-5 in am and 4-5 in pm..I dont want to OVER/UNDER feed him. There is not much info as to exactly how many krickets to give. Please help. Also every other day I give a 3-4 small mealy worms from a can in fridge. also have given a small bowl with greens in it.

Thanks for your help. I love Rocky so much he is so cute..I want to make sure he is healthy. He does drink and poop normaly every day and poop is solid,brown,with white on it. (sorry this is not wrong to add in is it?)

 

[kinyonga]

Welcome to the world of chameleons!

Being that its a young male, you can feed him as much as he will eat in a couple of minutes every day or every other day. You should be able to see if he is getting fat and cut back if needed.

Regarding your set-up...you shouldn't need any heat at night unless the temperature drops below the mid 60'sF at night.

The most often recommended UVB light is the long linear fluorescent Rtpei-sun 5.0 UVB tube light. Some of the compacts, spirals and even some of the other tube lights have caused eye issues...but no bad reports have shown up for this light.

Here's some information you might find helpful......
Exposure to proper UVB, appropriate temperatures, supplements, a supply of well-fed/gutloaded insects, water and an appropriate cage set-up are all important for the well-being of your chameleon.

Appropriate cage temperatures aid in digestion and thus play a part indirectly in nutrient absorption.

Exposure to UVB from either direct sunlight or a proper UVB light allows the chameleon to produce D3 so that it can use the calcium in its system to make/keep the bones strong and be used in other systems in the chameleon as well. The UVB should not pass through glass or plastic no matter whether its from the sun or the UVB light. The most often recommended UVB light is the long linear fluorescent Repti-sun 5.0 tube light. Some of the compacts, spirals and tube lights have caused health issues, but so far there have been no bad reports against this one.

Since many of the feeder insects have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorus in them, its important to dust the insects before you feed them to the chameleon with a phos.-free calcium powder to help make up for it. (I use Rep-cal phosphorus-free calcium).

If you dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder it will ensure that your chameleon gets some D3 without overdoing it. It leaves the chameleon to produce the rest of what it needs through its exposure to the UVB light. D3 from supplements can build up in the system but D3 produced from exposure to UVB shouldn't as long as the chameleon can move in and out of it. (I use Rep-cal phos.-free calcium/D3).

Dusting twice a month with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A will ensure that the chameleon gets some vitamins without the danger of overdosing the vitamin A. PrEformed sources of vitamin A can build up in the system and may prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the chameleon towards MBD. However, there is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert the beta carotene and so some people give some prEformed vitamin A once in a while. (I use herptivite.)

Gutloading/feeding the insects well helps to provide what the chameleon needs. I gutload crickets, roaches, locusts, superworms, etc. with an assortment of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.)

Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are important players in bone health and other systems in the chameleon (muscles, etc.) and they need to be in balance. When trying to balance them, you need to look at the supplements, what you feed the insects and what you feed the chameleon.

Here are some good sites for you to read...
http://chameleonnews.com/07FebWheelock.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200605020...Vitamin.A.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200604210...d.Calcium.html
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/
http://web.archive.org/web/200601140...ww.adcham.com/