Nice Forum

[PCD]

enclosure looks great! Don't worry about the clutter... like Fleetwood said, it will thin out when he gets his new enclosure. When you do get the linear uvb you should think about getting the 10.0. 5.0 will be almost completely filtered out once it gets through that screen. Horn worms are great for hydration, if that is what most of his diet consists of don't be surprised if his BM's get runny. Do you gut load them? I've always used worms as snacks or "treats" but to each his own Do be careful, hornworms get huge and chameleons do not care if they can choke. They will try and eat it no matter how big. Your humidity sound great to me! Having nice peaks, as well as drops is perfect He is stunning! Wait until you get him out into some real sun light! he is going to blow your mind. I didn't catch his name. Does he have on?

Thank You

His name is "Neo" which came about because our Leopard Gecko is "Leo" and also he looks like a NEOn sign when he lights up

No time to gut load em yet (don't last long enough) but I do get a chunk of "meal" from the pet store with every 10 I buy.

I am going to try the big 3/4" crickets next and see if he does well with them.

Its only 10 or 15 bucks a week to feed everything so far, including the scorpion, and I can live with that

I would love to get him out in the sun, however we have had a miserable winter so far and its still darn cold out. I could put him in a window, but its still chilly near the glass.

@ Lisa: Thanks for the info, and yes, I am very glad we decided to go for the chameleon....he is also a "taster" and randomly checks out stuff with his tongue. Today I caught him just as he chomped the end of a fake branch...he just grabbed it and bit down hard, then twisted his head like he was trying to break the branch.

The certainly have personality, no doubt about it.

 

[Juliaf3]

I understand the cold! We have only had two days of nice enough weather to take the boys out this year. They really enjoyed it. Im not sure, but that trying to eat the branch could be a sign of something. Seems like I read somewhere it was, don't take my word for it though. Could be completely harmless.

 

[PCD]

I did a forum search and it seems fairly common. Funny enough I was approaching the cage at the time, but too fast I think, and maybe he got nervous.

He's got some quirks though, like if you move your face in too close he will get VERY aggressive and try to look menacing by opening his mouth and rearing back .

Move away and he returns to normal instantly.

 

[sandrachameleon]

welcome to the forum. Im glad you are finding it useful.
your cham is adorable!
(his reaction to your being close up isnt abnormal)

 

[teejayteej]

welcome. you seem to be doing a great job so far....great looking guy.

 

[Cait0420]

Hello and welcome to the forums, I just joined a few weeks back and it's great everyone's so friendly and helpful! I noticed u live in Toronto, Are u going to the Toronto reptile expo Sunday?

 

[jamjam]

Hello and welcome to the forums, I just joined a few weeks back and it's great everyone's so friendly and helpful! I noticed u live in Toronto, Are u going to the Toronto reptile expo Sunday?

the word continues to spread about the expo, he's from keswick, but ya were you aware of upcoming expo this weekend PCD?

 

[PCD]

I will if I can, although I usually work Saturdays and Sundays, at least for a few hours.
Its the life of a Sysadmin, no better time to work on the servers than when all the users are gone, and it affords ample time to recover if an update breaks something. NEVER go near a server during the week unless absolutely necessary

I have 9 in house servers, a colo web server, a colo app server, 47 workstations, 60 tablets, and a dozen laptops, along with 4 Enterprise multi functions, and of course....the users. Havent mentioned Enterprise level software yet

Anyway, it sounds like a lot, but its about right for a good Sysadmin, just have to keep on top of things.

 

[melble68]

Thank you

The enclosure is a little too full for my liking, however keep in mind I'm going to a larger size shortly and it will be a little less cluttered. I think I'll buy 2 of the 24x24x36 size and modify them, one on top of the other. Should be very simple to do and that will do for the foreseeable future. Ebay has a nice solid looking aluminium model for around a hundred bucks.

Any issues feeding him primarily Hornworms? He loves them and doesn't seem to be bothered by them. His poops are good looking and he can hork a big one down in just a few seconds. He does get the odd Butterworm, but doesn't seem to care for crickets or beetles too much. That could be my fault though since I'm pretty much hand feeding him, or putting the worm on a branch about a foot away (they only last a few seconds). Why should he hunt right?

He gets lots of exercise though, patrols his territory quite a bit.

Well, so far so good!

Welcome to the forum, you've come to the right place to get the info you are looking for. Remember that Neo's enclosure is really for his liking, and not your's. Lots of plants, and lots of places to hide is a good thing. Being able to get out of the direct line of site is a good thing for chams at times. Being able to hide will keep him calm and feel safe and secure. You also want to mix up his feeders. Just feeding worms isn't going to be a good thing in the long term. Mix it up. Crickets and roaches with a good and healthy gut load is a must in my opinion. Giving assorted worms (horns, phoenix, wax, supers, etc) should be thought of as treats. You also want to get a good supplement regiment established. There are numerous thought processes on supplementation. I'm a daily calcium w/ ZERO D3, and then I rotate w/ a calcium w/ d3 one monday, and then a multivitamin on the alternative monday. "Mineral Mondays". Here in a few weeks, my Nosy Be will be outside for the summer. At that point I will use ZERO D3. He'll get his needed D3 via the sun.

 

[PCD]

Welcome to the forum, you've come to the right place to get the info you are looking for. Remember that Neo's enclosure is really for his liking, and not your's. Lots of plants, and lots of places to hide is a good thing. Being able to get out of the direct line of site is a good thing for chams at times. Being able to hide will keep him calm and feel safe and secure. You also want to mix up his feeders. Just feeding worms isn't going to be a good thing in the long term. Mix it up. Crickets and roaches with a good and healthy gut load is a must in my opinion. Giving assorted worms (horns, phoenix, wax, supers, etc) should be thought of as treats. You also want to get a good supplement regiment established. There are numerous thought processes on supplementation. I'm a daily calcium w/ ZERO D3, and then I rotate w/ a calcium w/ d3 one monday, and then a multivitamin on the alternative monday. "Mineral Mondays". Here in a few weeks, my Nosy Be will be outside for the summer. At that point I will use ZERO D3. He'll get his needed D3 via the sun.

Whoah there ....when I say "my liking" of course I have Neo in mind. I research the balls off anything I decide to get into, then spend a boat load of coin to get it right.
I've held 2 family dogs in my arms as the needle went in, because it was the right thing to do, no matter how much I wanted to keep them going for ME, it would have been inhumane to carry on when they cannot control their bowels, nor eat, and yelp in pain from hip dysplasia or arthritis.
I would kill for another dog, but at 56 I have to think of the future, and a chameleon is 5 to 7 years give or take. I expect to be here that long, but 14 or 15 (for a dog) I doubt it.

I have 2 calcium supplements. One with D3, one without. Neo will get the D3 every 2 weeks.

I don't want him to pass away from renal failure from overworked kidneys trying to process the overdose of D3 over the years.

As for food, well, he will get a variety, but I've not seen any empirical data that says worms should be "treats". Perhaps you can provide a link?

I'm picking up the larger size crickets tomorrow, if he likes them , great.

Thank you for your information.

 

[melble68]

OMG, you just brought tears to my eyes. I put a very special 16 yr old cat down a few years ago. He suffered FIV for a few years, and started having complications due to not being able to recover from a URI. I'm right with you, and I was right there looking into his eyes. I am just like you. I lurked and researched for probably a year before getting my most recent Nosy Be. I had a few chams over 20 yrs ago, and there was ZERO info out there like there is now. Thank God for the Chameleon Forum and all its incredible members.

I'm right w/ you on the D3 every two weeks. I alternate Mondays w/ a multi vitamin one monday, and other calcium w/ D3. Once we go outside for the summer, no D3 will be used at all.

Worms contain lots of fat and water. Great for hydration. Chams definitely love um, but I also love pizza and burgers. Here's just a quick google search i just did. I've always known worms should only be 20% of a regular diet. BTW, my Luke will do cartwheels when he sees hornworms.

http://thereptilecenter.com/resources/insect-feeders/goliath-horn-worm/goliath-horn-worm.html

https://www.chameleonforums.com/horn-worms-staple-92840/
Look right at this post, specifically post #4. Sandrachameleon is a incredibly respected member.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/74-feeders.html

 

[melble68]

Oh also, I think its great for chams to hunt free range feeders. I primarily feed crickets mid morning. Luke will get a few right off the bat, but then he's continually cruzing around "hunting" some down for the next few hours.

 

[PCD]

Perhaps I reacted a little strongly. I tend to take umbrage when I suspect someone is admonishing me.

I have read a little on your links and although I believe most of it is still opinion, I do agree that worms only would be like us eating shrimp and scallops for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Very nice, but not the best diet.

As I mentioned, I will be trying the larger crickets tomorrow.

Neo is getting huge....We've only had him for a week or so and he's at least 20% bigger. I think this guy is going to be a monster. I got very lucky that the fellow I purchased him from was an experienced person and breeder (I suspect), and pet store worker.

I've found that many of the pet store people only work there to advance their hobby, or for the in store discount, but can be incredibly knowledgeable.

I'm not happy with the Reptirain thing I purchased, so will drop another 2 bills on the MistKing tomorrow when I get the crickets.

Cheers

Pete

 

[melble68]

Nah nutting to worry about. Sarcasm is hard to read in an email or forum context sometimes. I was just razzing ya. You'll find out there is tons and tons of "opinions" about chams. One thing works for one person, and something else works for others. You have to just take it all in and figure out what best suits you.

I would say continue to do your research on your misting kit. I don't own anything for my indoor enclosure. I mist w/ a pump sprayer. From what "others" has said numerous times in numerous threads, MistKing isn't worth it. Apparently AquaZamp are very popular. Do a search here on the Forum and see what everyone says. Get creative and see what you come up with.

 

[PCD]

Nah nutting to worry about. Sarcasm is hard to read in an email or forum context sometimes. I was just razzing ya. You'll find out there is tons and tons of "opinions" about chams. One thing works for one person, and something else works for others. You have to just take it all in and figure out what best suits you.

I would say continue to do your research on your misting kit. I don't own anything for my indoor enclosure. I mist w/ a pump sprayer. From what "others" has said numerous times in numerous threads, MistKing isn't worth it. Apparently AquaZamp are very popular. Do a search here on the Forum and see what everyone says. Get creative and see what you come up with.

The nozzles on the reptirain suck. The entire thing is chintzy for a hundred bucks. The nozzles have poor adjustability, its like OFF or a solid stream.

Should have gone with the best to begin with, as usual.

I caught him eating a leaf earlier today. I hope to God it was one from the plant. I do see one torn in half (from the live plant), but it could have been a plastic one as well. He was horking it down when I spotted it or else I would have grabbed him and ripped it out of his mouth.

He seems OK, I spotted a large fresh dropping.

Speaking of dropping, he fell off a branch the other day.

That's the sole reason I had the bedding stuff on the bottom of the enclosure, to cushion his fall if he flipped off.

He wasn't interested in the crickets by the way. Still 2 of them jumping around the enclosure. We'll give it some time and see what happens.

 

[PCD]

He came around on the crickets

Had 11 of them so far, mostly out of my hand. Thank goodness.

I also purchased another dual lamp setup. A fresh UVB (makes 2 now) and one of those reptivision things.

He likes them and I have much better UVB coverage now with 2 bulbs. I wanted to replace everything with fluorescent fixtures, but they were sold out of the 24" size, so did the next best thing. $27.00 per bulb lol.

 

[Deevo]

Reptillia in Vaughan has some great prices on branches and cage accessories. I went there for the first time since I was a kid and was very impressed. They even had a panther chameleon for only 150$

 

[PCD]

Reptillia in Vaughan has some great prices on branches and cage accessories. I went there for the first time since I was a kid and was very impressed. They even had a panther chameleon for only 150$

Thanks for the tip!

 

[PCD]

Just an update, he loves the crickets and he gets the odd horn worm and super worm as treats now and again, thought I'd add a new picture to show the growth rate in just a week and a half. He's 15" long now from snout to tail.



EDIT: He is 4.5 months old

 

[PCD]

So I just realized why he looked dull this morning

Having a major shed! All 4 legs went white first, now its spreading