Picked up my baby veiled today and got his enclosure ready. Advice welcome!

[Jonah S]

I got a pretty good sized plastic bin and drilled some holes in it, put a pothos plant and some bendy sticks as well as a water dish in there. He seems to be enjoying it pretty decently although it seems that he would rather be on me than in the enclosure. I am very new to the forum so I'm not sure if I am able to link to some pictures so please correct me if I'm wrong.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v679/boomer123/Chameleon/cham1.jpg
He is just kinda hangin on his leaf while I'm gettin his home ready.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v679/boomer123/Chameleon/cham2.jpg
The lid and screen attached (I circled him in red)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v679/boomer123/Chameleon/cham3.jpg
This is the UVB light coil. It's 26 watts and 5.0 UVB. The lid of the lamp is about four inches from the top of the screen.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v679/boomer123/Chameleon/cham4.jpg
Here is the heat lamp. It's 60 watts and is a daylight blue reptile bulb by zoo med. The lamp lid is about 2 inches away from the top of the screen.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v679/boomer123/Chameleon/cham5.jpg
He seems to hang out in this general area (about 7 inches from the heat lamp lid). He could go a little bit higher which would place him about 5 inches from the lid.

I also stuck a little thermometer on one of the long walls (it can be seen in the last picture). It is reading about 78-80 degrees and I'm thinking I may need to move it to the shorter wall near the lamp so it gives a better reading.


Since I am pretty new to all of this I will gladly take any kind of advice given. I was curious if I should rest the lamps on the cage or if I should keep them where they are. I don't want to over (or under) expose my little dude so thoughts are certainly welcome.


And finally, the name. I am very particular about names and there are a handful of names that I wanted to give him but after seeing him and being around him, I think I'm going to have to name him Larry. He just screams it to me.

Thanks for the help guys and gals

 

[draetish]

You're off to a good start but the coil bulbs are suspected to cause eye issues. You're better off with a ReptiSun 5.0 linear (tube light). LLL Reptile, one of our sponsers is having a sale on them. You can buy a regular stripe light fixture from Lowes or Home Depot. I would not place the basking light directly on the top. Little ones are known to climb up there and could get burned.

 

[Jonah S]

The woman at the reptile place suggested I get the coil one, I will certainly switch it out for a tube one though. Think the coil one if I pull it back a bit will be alright for a few days until the tube light ships in?

 

[draetish]

The woman at the reptile place suggested I get the coil one, I will certainly switch it out for a tube one though. Think the coil one if I pull it back a bit will be alright for a few days until the tube light ships in?

It happens all the time that the pet store recommends inappropiate housing. I think if you leave it on for now but get the tube light asap, it should be okay. You don't want to deprive him of any UVB at his age. How are you supplementing? If you go to the Health Forum and copy and paste the "how to ask for help" questions and fill it in, then members can help you tweak anything.

 

[Jonah S]

I will get the tube light ordered and once it gets here switch it out, I would be really uncomfortable taking it away completely until the tube light gets here. I got a supplement for it, the name is escaping me at the moment but I will write it down when I go back tomorrow for some food.

 

[draetish]

I will get the tube light ordered and once it gets here switch it out, I would be really uncomfortable taking it away completely until the tube light gets here. I got a supplement for it, the name is escaping me at the moment but I will write it down when I go back tomorrow for some food.

Supplements are one of the most important and the easiest to screw up on. Be specific on the brand name and what it is.

 

[Julirs]

Those guys (petstore)are such Morons! Lose the water dish and coiled light. Get a digital thermometer pronto. You need 3 supplements -Repcal with no D3, Repcal with D3, and Reptivite. Use Repcal with no D3 5 X weekly, with D3 2 X monthly, and Reptivite once monthly and don't use any of them together. Congrats on your new baby, I know you were excited about it.

 

[louwillie]

Those guys (petstore)are such Morons! Lose the water dish and coiled light. Get a digital thermometer pronto. You need 3 supplements -Repcal with no D3, Repcal with D3, and Reptivite. Use Repcal with no D3 5 X weekly, with D3 2 X monthly, and Reptivite once monthly and don't use any of them together. Congrats on your new baby, I know you were excited about it.

Agreed. I was recently at PetSmart because my local reptile store didn't have any crickets and I over heard an employee selling a woman an adult male veiled chameleon. He recommend a large Exo Terra! It makes me so angry that they can't get their facts straight!!

 

[Jonah S]

The supplement I got yesterday was the blue label repcal http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...cage-cleaners/-/repcal-herptivite-supplement/

I will order the Repcal with D3 http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...cleaners/-/repcal-ultra-fine-calcium-with-d3/ (this one right?)

The Reptivite I saw came with D3 and there is one without D3. Does it matter which one I should get?

 

[draetish]

You really don't need Reptivite and Herptivite just get one or the other W/D3 (these are supplements you use 2x a month). You also need plain calcium with no phosphorus like the RepCal brand and use every other day for young chams until adulthood. Then you can use like every 3-4 days since the majority of their growing has stopped but adults still need calcium too just not as much as a rapidly growing baby. Remember good gut loaded feeders are essential in having a healthy cham too along with proper lighting and temps.

 

[aspirin54]

Agreed. I was recently at PetSmart because my local reptile store didn't have any crickets and I over heard an employee selling a woman an adult male veiled chameleon. He recommend a large Exo Terra! It makes me so angry that they can't get their facts straight!!

You know, it is frustrating. I just got my first veiled on the 1st and they said the same thing. Come the 1st of July, Pocket will be in a screen enclosure and I have to get the tube light to replace the coil.