Newbie here

[Cinnymon1969]

I after researching for awhile bought a male, veiled cham around a year old from a lady today. i thought she sounded very knowledgeable as most of what she told me lined up with what i had read. she told me the enclosure was the xl reptibreeze and said dimensions were 24 x 24 x 48 which when i got it home because i measured my space i found it was the large. she also told me he had never bit her and she could even put her finger in his mouth while he hissed and he never bit. her young daughter carried him to me. he was fine at first and even started himping me when he got on my arm which she said meant he already liked me? curious to hear what you guys say about that. he kept his nice green color while he was on me and on my way home. when i got him here he was on my back where i could barely reach him and he started hissing. i could not get him because i was worried about him biting. he came around to my shoulder and i used my sleeve over my finger to see if he would bite and he did, it was quite a pinch through the shirt.

My main question today...i went to petsmart to get the uv light bulb and heat lamp bulb. i thought the cage was the xl so employee told me i needed the 100 watt heat lamp and the 26 watt uv lamp, is that still okay for a 18 x 18 x 36 cage?

Also, can i use a ceramic infrared heating element for night instead of the night bulb?

Lastly, how close do they have to be to a mirror or metal to get upset and will they bite us if they get that close?

Thanks in advance

 

[Remkon]

"he already liked you" I think she said that to sell him to ya easily... It's more tolerating anyways.
Why would someone want to put their finger in a hissing chameleon's mouth? They threaten by hissing anf most likely do so out of fear/defense, putting your finger in it's mouth will just stress it more.

I would also nit try to handle him right now, he's stressed out from moving and in a new environment, give him a few days to settle.

Heat lamp wattage depends on your complete situation, not just on the size of the cage. You want the basking spot to reach a certain temperature, so you hang the heat lamp on a safe distance, wait.about am hour and measure the temperature on the basking spot. You can adjust from there on either by raising the lamp or lowering or increasing wattage. Don't use basking bulbs for this, just get them household bulbs at the hardware store.

At night lights out, they will also.be bothered by red light

You only.need to provide heat if temperatures fall below 50F inside the house.

 

[Cinnymon1969]

"he already liked you" I think she said that to sell him to ya easily... It's more tolerating anyways.
Why would someone want to put their finger in a hissing chameleon's mouth? They threaten by hissing anf most likely do so out of fear/defense, putting your finger in it's mouth will just stress it more.

I would also nit try to handle him right now, he's stressed out from moving and in a new environment, give him a few days to settle.

Heat lamp wattage depends on your complete situation, not just on the size of the cage. You want the basking spot to reach a certain temperature, so you hang the heat lamp on a safe distance, wait.about am hour and measure the temperature on the basking spot. You can adjust from there on either by raising the lamp or lowering or increasing wattage. Don't use basking bulbs for this, just get them household bulbs at the hardware store.

At night lights out, they will also.be bothered by red light

You only.need to provide heat if temperatures fall below 50F inside the house.

Thanks for the info...yeah i thought she may be full of it. so no night light is needed? what size watts on the household bulb? now that i have a heat bulb can i still use it or do i need to return it?

 

[brownie64]

Like he said your wattage depends on your need. You will need a basking spot of around 90 degrease, so I would start with at least a 75 watt, and move up from there. However if your 100 watt temp is too high all you have to do is raise it up. So to answer your question yes you can use your 100 watt basking bulb as long as you adjust it so it is not too hot. You will need to buy the larger cage as soon as possible your guy is too large for the smaller one. Good luck and welcome to the chameleon addiction.

 

[alphakenc]

Like brownie said,and also get a proper digital temperature gauge to test ur basking spot ,since ur cham will rely on that heat every day so be precise with the reading.