Newbie Questions - Plz Advise

[petparadisevt]

Your Chameleon - Veiled, Female, 2 months old
How long has it been in your care? 24 hours
Handling - Only to put her in her setup yesterday
Feeding - Gutloaded Crickets
What amount - I put 5 in her cage yesterday and again today
What is the schedule? Daily but if gone I add more
How are you gut-loading your feeders? They have access to gutload all the time
Supplements - Cal - Stron Calcium w/o D3 daily. I haven't given with D3 or multi yet only had 24 hours
Watering - Misting the past 24 hours. Will have a Dripper tomorrow afternoon. I mist for 1 min
Do you see your chameleon drinking? Havent yet
Fecal Description - Dark Brown/Black with White Urate.
Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? NO

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Glass Exo Terra 12x12x12
Lighting - Reptisun 5.0 Linear, 50 Watt Night Black Heat - UVB on from 8am - 7pm - Heat 24 hours a day
Temperature - (cage floor - 74, basking spot - 81)? Lowest overnight temp 72? How do you measure these temps? Digital probe
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? When I mist 80 and when dry 30-40How are you creating and maintaining these levels? Live Plants and Fake Plants - Misting
What do you use to measure humidity? Hygrometer
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? Potho
Placement - Where is your cage located? At my store
Is it near any fans, - NO
air vents, - NO
high traffic areas? Sometimes
At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? Eye Level
Location - Vermont

When I mist the temp goes down to 72 degrees and when the terrarium is dry it's 81 degrees. I saw her eat yesterday but haven't seen her today but doesn't mean she isn't eating. When I mist she goes as high as she can to get to the screen on top.

I have not seen her drink. She is moving around all the time. Should I be concerned that I haven't seen her drink and that when I mist the temp goes to 72?

 

[Itwas]

dont worry about not seeing her drink especially if youve only had her 24 hours. from what i gather some owners never see their chams drink. As long as there is a white uriate at the end of its poop then its fine.

What you do need to do is get rid of the black light bulb or at least turn it off when you turn the uvb bulb off. it may keep her awake at night even if it barely gives off light and your cham should have a temperature drop at night.

 

[petparadisevt]

OK super. Thanks for the advice. Should I cover her at night because she is in my pet store and all my reptiles have heat lights that put off a bit of light?

 

[carol5208]

I see that you are getting a dripper and that is good to have. I would mist longer than one minute, more like 3-5 so the humidity will stay up longer while the water evaporates. And it is true some chams are "Closet drinkers" lol and do not like to be watched drinking. I did not see my cham drink for about 3 months and it was driving me crazy but now he started again wher he drinks right in front of me. As long as the urates are white, then don't worry! If they are yellow, then there is slight dehydration and orange means very dehydrated. Agreed with the other member, night temps can be lower and you really don't need a heat bulb unless your temps are going to get in the low 60's I would say for a baby.

 

[carol5208]

if my cham sees any light at night he will just sit there with his eyes open, so if yours is being exposed to light while trying to sleep you could cover the cage. Mine sits next to my computer and I cover it every night with towels. They like it dark to sleep!

 

[carol5208]

Also, I would mist 3 times a day for 3-5 min. One is not enough and misting is the only thing that is going to bring your humidity up. The dripper will help once you get it. One more thing! A young chamleon needs lots to eat, 15-20 small crickets a day is good.

 

[Silkyslim]

Dang Carol is so fast, I was going to mention about feeding him probably 3x as much as you are now. Baby chams grow very fast so they require a constant AND VARIABLE source of quality nutrition.

It sounds like you are well on your way to being a successful keeper, it's nerve wracking constantly thinking weather or not you are doing something correctly. Once first time things pop up you'll for surely freak out but if you learn more and more about these crazy creatures you will be able to spot the real danger signs. It sounds like a gratifying and rewarding road, but full of hills and bad drivers and probably the occasional loose dog; I am only a few blocks into this journey so far and have a long way to go, but have no intention of turning back now that I have started.

 

[carol5208]

Dang Carol is so fast, I was going to mention about feeding him probably 3x as much as you are now. Baby chams grow very fast so they require a constant AND VARIABLE source of quality nutrition.

It sounds like you are well on your way to being a successful keeper, it's nerve wracking constantly thinking weather or not you are doing something correctly. Once first time things pop up you'll for surely freak out but if you learn more and more about these crazy creatures you will be able to spot the real danger signs. It sounds like a gratifying and rewarding road, but full of hills and bad drivers and probably the occasional loose dog; I am only a few blocks into this journey so far and have a long way to go, but have no intention of turning back now that I have started.

lol! quick on the trigger! I hate when I type something long and drawn out and then post it, only to find someone else beat me to it with the same info!!

 

[Silkyslim]

I challenge you to a WPM type off duel!

 

[carol5208]

I challenge you to a WPM type off duel!

haha! I don't even know how many words I can type...but I know it is mighty fast!!

 

[petparadisevt]

thanks everyone.....