Overwhelmed new owner

[lctron]

Ok...I went to a reptile show on Sunday and bought a young male velied from LLLReptile.He seems healthy. He's eating fine, his poop looks fine and I've been misting his cage alot, he drinks from the leaves occasionally and I've been dusting the crickets with reptocal. I bought the cage and basking light from LLL Reptile also.I have a basking light but no UVB. When I went to find a UVB light at the pet store they only came in super long tubes.Do they make small UVB bulbs for a small setup? and do I need a mister/dripper if I mist often? I move his cage in the sunlight during the day and he loves it....and he eats from my hand. I thought I did my research before getting him but now I just feel overwhelmed after reading through this forum. I've only had him for two days. I need help. I'm a first timer.

still need to get....UVB bulb
do they make an all in one UVA/UVB bulb?
The temp is in the high 70's....basking spot I'm not sure.
need to get a thermometer for inside cage.

How am I doing so far? what can I do to make his life better?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v145/spayciee/Photo58.jpg

(webcam pic, you can kinda see him in there) I'll post better pics soon.

-Lacey

 

[ChameleonsTree]

Yes...they make ones that are 18 inches i think.they run less than 25 for the light and the bulb...make sure its a reptisun 5.0

 

[ChameleonsTree]

Hey hes a good size. Put some kind of tray (kitty litter box...lid to rubbermaid container etc) to collect water and drill a hole in it with a bucket underneath to catch extra water so you dont ruin what the cage is sitting on. Personally i would put a real plant in there to keep humidity higher. Make sure you wash all the leaves since most plants have pesticide on them.

 

[lctron]

ok thankyou. I'll get a real plant.

 

[pedro92]

Hello and congratulations to getting your first chameleon be aware that lllreptiles has not had very good reputation for their chams health lately ive seen many cases about them. But if you stay on the ball and do some more research you will do just fine. Im gonna list what you need to have in your cage or might want to have
Dripper
Mister- spray bottle
Uvb Uva light mines a repti glo 8.0 has both together
Plants - pothos are good
Vines
water drain system ill add pics later if you send me a private message
A digital thermometer measuring both temps of basking and non basking.
basking should be about 10 - 15 f more than non basking or uv side. You want to mist the cage 2-3 times per day for about 3-5 mins or more but not sure max you can do it or if there is a max. What are you feeding your cham. How old is it. On the dripper let it drip every 10-15 seconds. I am going to be starting a dubia colony but im still getting stuff setup when your cham gets older this is supposed to be a great feeder for you cham. On dusting of feeders dust with calcium daily and with vitamins weekly to monthly. I would research that also. If you have your cham in sunlight that benefits him. If the chameleons poop/urine looks brown is the poop white is the urine if white part is orange or yellow that means he is most likely dehydrated also sunken in eyes mean dehydration to. I hope this works for what you need use this forum to the greatest extent. Search for threads. for example you want to know how to breed crickets then search breeding crickets. lol. but once again i hope you do good take alot of pics over time to show progression.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Can't stress the need for a UVB light enough!
Especially for a young chameleon.
Zoomed 5.0 is the overall recommended light.
Sunlight coming through glass will not help him as the glass blocks all the uvb.
You need rep-cal w/ D3
rep-cal w/out D3
herptivite
and yes ... live plants will be a great and necessary addition.
Congrats!

-Brad

 

[Scotty]

If you reasearch too much on the net about anything, you will find so much variation that it only confuses you more than when you first started!!!
I guess what Brad said is summing it up completely, although ther are differing opinions on supplementing etc... I've learnt over the years about keeping herps, is whatever works for you is the best advice and only experience will give you that knowledge.
Cheers
Scott.

 

[danielle609]

do they make an all in one UVA/UVB bulb?

Correct me if I am wrong, but I am pretty sure that most heat bulbs will provide the UVA. What type of heat light do you have? If you still have the box take a look at it and it should tell you if it emits UVA. I cant remember what kind I have even thought I should know by now because I have to buy new one like every week

 

[davemailcall]

There are heat bulbs out there that are supposedly combo heat/UVB lights. I wouldn't trust them. I'd just get one of the smaller UVBs if you can. One thing you could do is go to a office supply store or Lowes or Home Depot and get a florescent light fixture that is designed to attach under a cabinet or such. Then remove the bulb that it comes with and put in a reptile UVB. The fixture is a little cheaper. Whatever you buy, make sure there is no plastic covering the bulb, it filters UVB out.