Newcomer to Chameleons

[Siskus]

Evening all.

Let me introduce myself. My name is James, I am 25 from the midlands of the UK.
I have been keeping exotic animals for over 10 years now, which includes:
Bearded Dragons, Leopard Geckos, Cornsnake, Green Cheek Conure, Dendrobate Leucomelas Dart Frogs.

Today, I decided to take the plunge and bought myself a baby Yemen Chameleon female who has been named Jorj (pro. George).

Here are some pics of my baby Jorj. I apologise for the quality. I need to get a new memory card for my Camera so these were taken on a rubbish phonecam.

Sleeping

Taken in the first few hours of her coming home

The tank she is in, is only temporary until she gets a little bigger. The one she is in, is my old Dartfrog Viv.

One question. What sort of live plants are suitable for putting in the tank that are not poisonous and harmful?

 

[InGoodHands]

Wat plants can you use?

Go to www.flchams.com they have a complete list of the (safe) plants that you can use for your viv. I use hibiscus and ficus.

 

[OntarioLizardman]

welcome welcome welcome! your little girl looks great! theres lots of great people on this forum who would love you help you out, so ask any questions. and take more pics!

have a good one!

 

[Miss Lily]

Hi and welcome to Chameleon Forums! I am also in the UK. I get most of my plants from good old B&Q. They have Schefflera (Umbrella plants), Ficus (Weeping Fig) and Pothosin various sizes. Hibiscus are really popular but I have only found them in local garden centres rather than B&Q. Wash the leaves first in soapy water and rinse well and either repot them in organic soil or cover the soil with large pebbles so that she cannot eat the soil. Yemen/Veiled chams are known plant eaters so it is really important to get safe plants. When Amy was a baby she was into eating her plants in a big way, but she doesn't eat them so much now she's a bit bigger.

 

[Siskus]

thanks for the many replies.

I just turned the lights off for the night. She was fast asleep anyway.

As for the plants. I will head on down to B&Q and buy a few plants to stick around my room and in the Viv for her.

I am planning in the long run, making a full self sustaining Viv for her. Much like I did with my dartfrogs. But for now, shes on the bare minimum, kitched roll flooring, fake grape vine and exo-terra vinework. Plenty of places to hide and bask.

 

[kinyonga]

Welcome to the world of chameleons (and eventually to chameleon addiction).

Females are more of a challenge in some ways to keep than males. They can lay eggs even without being mated so once they are sexually mature its important to provide a suitable place for them to dig in the cage so that they can let you know when they are ready to lay eggs.

Here are some sites with good information...
http://web.archive.org/web/20060421.../index.php?show=6.Vitamin.D3.and.Calcium.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20060502...rnals.com/vet/index.php?show=5.Vitamin.A.html
http://chameleonnews.com/?page=article&id=102
http://adcham.com/
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/2007/12/keeping-female-veiled.html
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/

 

[Siskus]

yeh I did hear about this. Which if fine for me. Eventually, I want a male aswell so I can get into breeding them.

One thing thats worrying me about little jorj is around 8pm last night she went to her basking spot and shut her eyes, even with the light on, then moved (Obviously to regulate) but then shut her eyes again.

Is this because a. she is tired? b. shes comfortable, c. she is nervous? or d. is there a problem because I read somewhere that if a cham shuts there eyes for a long time there is an issue?

She was fine in the reptile centre, I went in over three days about an hour a day to keep an eye on her and she was very active there, always coming to the front of the viv when people gave her attention.

 

[jojackson]

Possibly its simply that she was kept previously with lights on a timer that went out earlier, hence shes expected nightfall.
A timer will prove a handy convenience to you and better regular her photoperiod.


edit~ Welcome

 

[Siskus]

Ahh great thank you.

I am always in when the lights go on an off anyway. I found the timers I have tend to blow the bulbs quicker than expected. Your talking a week of a bulb and it gets blown on a timer.

 

[Siskus]

Just a quick update. Her lights have been on since 8am this morning. Its now been 2 hours.

She woke up to feed, had about 4 crickets. Then shes now gone onto a branch and shut her eyes again.

Is it because she is so small, she uses alot of energy so has to rest more? Or is the viv too cold?

 

[bradley]

what light are you using it may because the light is to bright also what basking light have you got as well as uv

 

[Siskus]

I am using a small 40watt incandescent bulb in a reflector.

The UV is a repti-glo 5.0 26watt.

 

[pssh]

Is it coiled and compact? Or long and linear? Some compact bulbs cause eye problems.

However chameleons close their eyes whenever there is something wrong so it would be helpful if you filled out the 'how to ask for help' form in the health clinic section and posted it here.

 

[Siskus]

its a coiled bulb.

I think I check that part out.

 

[pssh]

It's usually best to use a linear bulb, so turn off that light and get a new one asap. If you want/can try taking her out side for and hour or two and see if that helps. Make sure you watch her the whole time, don't leave her alone. Also don't leave her in direct sun light, let her have some shade.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

 

[Siskus]

your in the US, here it is freezing cold. Not suitable to take her out. Plus she is only a few inches big.

I have read that article, not convinced. Never have I ever had problems with Repti-glo 5.0 with any of my Reptiles.

She seems fine now, shes been highly active for 2 and a half hours now, shes happily hunting little escaped crickets at the bottom. She is a nice shade of green and he eyes are really bright and nothing is blocking them. I think for safety I will keep a close eye on the situation and if needs be go buy the strip lighting. Although I would have wasted £50 in doing so.

 

[pssh]

Well that's good! I know some bulbs are okay, but others aren't. If she gets sicker or closes her eyes again, come back with that how to ask for help form filled out.

Good luck!

 

[Siskus]

Yeh I will pay close attention to her from now on. Really starting to worry me. Never had a sick lizard before.