Newbie & First Time Chameleon Owner

Supergirl · Jul 29, 2011

Hi! I am so glad I found this place! Am a brand new, first time Chameleon owner and would like to learn as much possible on how to raise happy healthy chameleons =) I've got 2 baby Veiled Chameleons (about 4 weeks old), boy & girl, purchased from a reptile show less than a week ago. My husband used to have a Panther Chameleon (when he was a bachelor) and he did not raise it, was already adult when the Chameleon was given to him, and it has been about 10 years since he had him. So since this is the first time having such young baby chams, I want to make sure we are doing everything possible to make them happy and healthy! At the reptile show we purchased a (large) starter kit which included screen cage, uva/uvb light, thermometer, vines, calcium & vitamin supplements. We put the babies together in the large cage, with live pothos plant inside. We also purchased pinhead crickets (dusted with vitamin & calcium supplements) which they both ate without a problem. But upon doing some reading online, I see that it is not a good idea to house babies in large enclosures, as it makes it harder for them to learn how to hunt for food and also makes it difficult to keep track of how much and how often they are eating. So as a temporary solution we separated them in 2 plastic storage type bins, with screen tops, and some vines from the pothos plant which we cut off, as well as some artificial vines for walking/climbing. The boy seems to LOVE being alone, he is eating 2-3 crickets twice a day. The girl on the other hand has only been eating 1-2 crickets a day. She also keeps trying to climb out, and actually managed to reach up to the screen and climb into his bin! we have since made sure that the leaves are all lower so that she can't climb up on the screen. I think she misses the boy! They are both active and curious, walking around examining their new places.. the girl doesnt eat as much as the boy, but she is also smaller, they are both also drinking (we mist 2-3 x's a day). Am wondering what is the normal range for them at this age as far as eating (crickets). Any tips or advice for new owners? Do's & Don'ts?? I want to make sure I do everything possible for these little guys grow into healthy and happy adults!

here are some pictures of the girl
http://www.flickr.com/photos/supergirlie/5988634632/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/supergirlie/5988634480/in/photostream/

original cage
http://www.flickr.com/photos/supergirlie/5988634558/in/photostream/

new temporary set up
http://www.flickr.com/photos/supergirlie/5988634822/in/photostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/supergirlie/5988071503/in/photostream/

camimom · Jul 29, 2011

OK, first, welcome to the forums!
Now, things you need to know.
babies can be housed together until about a couple months old, until they are about 2-3 months, or must be seperated earlier if they begin to fight. They must be housed seperately. NTM females can start laying eggs around 6 months, and that can be really stressful for most adult females, let alone a 6 month old. Females can lay eggs even when not mated, and they have been known to lay eggs in numbers of 20-100+ (though the higher numbers are rarer).
Females need laying bins, find the member named Jannb and look up her blogs on laying bins.
Now, theyt need supplements, plain calcium without d3 or phosphorus every feeding. calcium with d3 2 x amonth, and a multivitamin 2x amonth.
Babies can eat as many crickets that are the appropriate size as they can. normally anywhere from 10-20 pinheads a day
They need a basking temp around 80 deg, and uvb everyday, however if you can get them into natural sunlight its better.,
Dont handle them alot, give them time to relax.
it can take them a few days to relax enough to eat fully.
how long do oyu mist for?
What is the cage temp?
what type of uvb bulb do you have?

fill out the how to ask for help form, and we cna help with your husbandry from there https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

Carlton · Jul 29, 2011

camimom said:
OK, first, welcome to the forums!
Now, things you need to know.
babies can be housed together until about a couple months old, until they are about 2-3 months, or must be seperated earlier if they begin to fight. They must be housed seperately. NTM females can start laying eggs around 6 months, and that can be really stressful for most adult females, let alone a 6 month old. Females can lay eggs even when not mated, and they have been known to lay eggs in numbers of 20-100+ (though the higher numbers are rarer).
Females need laying bins, find the member named Jannb and look up her blogs on laying bins.
Now, theyt need supplements, plain calcium without d3 or phosphorus every feeding. calcium with d3 2 x amonth, and a multivitamin 2x amonth.
Babies can eat as many crickets that are the appropriate size as they can. normally anywhere from 10-20 pinheads a day
They need a basking temp around 80 deg, and uvb everyday, however if you can get them into natural sunlight its better.,
Dont handle them alot, give them time to relax.
it can take them a few days to relax enough to eat fully.
how long do oyu mist for?
What is the cage temp?
what type of uvb bulb do you have?

fill out the how to ask for help form, and we cna help with your husbandry from there https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

When the two are separated remember they should not even SEE each other. Chams communicate a lot using body language and color and they have extremely good vision. They can stress each other without contact from across a room.

sandrachameleon · Jul 29, 2011

camimom · Jul 29, 2011

Carlton said:
When the two are separated remember they should not even SEE each other. Chams communicate a lot using body language and color and they have extremely good vision. They can stress each other without contact from across a room.

I knew that. just forgot to type it.

kinyonga · Jul 29, 2011

Welcome to the forum!

Here's some information I hope will help you with things like supplements, gutloading, etc....
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.

A wide variety of insects that have been well fed and gutloaded should be fed to it. At that size you only need to feed it every two or three days. Feed it enough that it doesn't get fat (and, of course, doesn't get thin either).

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

If you also 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 as well 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 which has beta carotene.)

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 too...
http://chameleonnews.com/07FebWheelock.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200605020...Vitamin.A.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200406080...d.Calcium.html
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
http://web.archive.org/web/200601140...ww.adcham.com/
If you can't access the sites above that have the word "archive" in you can do it through the WayBackMachine.

Supergirl · Jul 30, 2011

How to ask for help info

Chameleon Info:

Your Chameleon-
The species - Veiled, sex - male & female,
age - 4-5 weeks old
How long has it been in your care? less than a week
Handling - only when necessary (to move them from large cage to smaller enclosure and to clean some dead crickets from their cage) so maybe three times this week (including bringing them home)

Feeding -
What are you feeding your cham? calcium dusted crickets, (pinhead for the first few days, just started 1/8" size 2 days ago)
What amount? male eats 2-3 crickets per meal, female eats 1-2 per meal (1/8" size)
What is the schedule? twice a day
How are you gut-loading your feeders? have not gut loaded yet.

Supplements -
What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
zoo med repti calcium with d3 (dusting crickets daily)
zoo med repti-vite with d3 (used once this week)

Watering -
What kind of watering technique do you use? hand misting
How often and how long to you mist? 2-3 x's a day
Do you see your chameleon drinking? yes
Fecal Description -
Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings - dark brown pellets with some white stuff.
Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? no
History - purchased from a reptile show.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) aluminum screen
What are the dimensions?
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? Exo-Terra Solar Glo 125w (UVA & UVB bulb)
What is your daily lighting schedule? 12 hours on/12 hours off

Temperature -
What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? 80-85F
Lowest overnight temp? 68/70
How do you measure these temps? digital thermometer

Humidity -
What are your humidity levels? do not have a humidity gauge yet.
How are you creating and maintaining these levels? misting 2-3 x a day, housing live plants
What do you use to measure humidity? n/a

Plants -
Are you using live plants? yes.
If so, what kind? pothos

Placement -
Where is your cage located? corner of dining room
Is it near any fans, no.
air vents, yes but closed the air vent so it is not blowing air directly on them.
high traffic areas? no.
At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? on top of a laptop cart at the moment.

Location -
Where are you geographically located? south carolina

Newbie & First Time Chameleon Owner

Supergirl

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camimom

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Carlton

Chameleon Enthusiast

sandrachameleon

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camimom

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kinyonga

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Supergirl

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