okay thank you soo much. i will definitely get more plants.
thank you so much!!Hi again. I’m responding to your help form to the best of my ability. If I have anything wrong, I’m sure another member will correct me.
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - veiled chameleon. i’m not sure of the gender. i’ll attach some photos. i’m also not sure how old he is. i’ve had him for about 3 months. It looks like you have a female. I’m not good with determining age but she looks close to being an adult.
Handling - i handle capone just about everyday and let him climb freely in my room.
Feeding - i am feeding capone about 10-15 crickets a day. usually in the afternoon. idk how to gutload. Gut loading is important in passing nutrients on to your cham. Attaching sheet below. It’s also good to add more variety of feeders, like roaches, silkworms, BSFL, etc. Attaching sheet for that too.
Supplements - i always dust the cricket with repti calcium (without D3). and once every other week i’ll dust them in Tetrafauna ReptoCal (with D3). This is good, but you’ll also be needing to add a multivitamin supplement once every other week, alternating with the calcium with D3.
Watering - i have the little dripper with is at the top of the cage. i most two to three times a day and make sure all leaves and other decorations are wet. i do see him drink.
Fecal Description - capone’s waste is soft and dark brown in color. his urine is pure white. he has not been tested
History - he has only shed once since i got him.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - i have the zoo med repti-breeze chameleon kit, 16” L X 16” W X 30” H While adequate for a female, you may want to think about getting her a larger enclosure in the future. You need to add more plants, vines and sticks. Create more roads for her to travel. Chams like to have places to hide. Ideally, you want to have to search for her for a few minutes.
Lighting - i used both the white and blue light that i got from the kit. i would turn both on during the day and both off when it gets dark out. my blue light recently blew so right now i’m just using the white light as i normally would. both lightbulbs also came in the kit. You NEED to provide adequate uvb. A linear T5 HO is the best option with a 5.0 light. It needs to span the width of your enclosure and be placed on top. This needs to be your priority.
Temperature - the cage is about 80-85 during the day and 75-80 at night. Veileds can tolerate and should have a drop in temp at night. You also should have gradients of temps at different levels of your enclosure so your cham can choose what she wants.
Humidity - i am not sure how to check the humidity. i’ll be honest. but i most the cage frequently and will give him baths a few times a week to help him shed. You will need to get a hydrometer and measure/monitor the humidity. You want it to be around 40-50% during the day and can get higher at night.
You do not need to bathe your cham and it has absolutely no benefit. They are dry shedders and need no intervention from us. Bathing only causes undue stress.
Plants - i have plastic plants. one thing i’d like to note is that he will try to eat them. should i start feeding him lettuce or something? Pothos is an excellent plant and is safe. Will help maintain humidity, create little vining highways as it grows and provides better surface for drinking water collection.
Placement - my cage is in my room on the floor. it gets good air flow from the fan. Not sure about the fan...someone else will have to answer if good, bad or doesn’t matter.
Location - i am in illinois near the chicago area.
Current Problem - capone looks quit skinny and i want to know how to help him gain weight. i also don’t know how old he is. and if he is actually a she. She looks to be a healthy size. She’s very pretty btw.
Since you have a female, you are going to need to set up a lay bin. Like chickens, chams lay (infertile) eggs regardless of whether they’ve been mated or not. I’ll have to find the link for the post on how to set up the bin and will post it.
I hope this will help you. Feel free to ask any more questions.
how can i help to rehydrate her quickly? do u have any tips. i heard dehydration was the most common cause of death for chams
adding on to what @MissSkittles (good job hun) said.
@myrandamarie Ok now I will add in my two cents.
Feeding should be done in the morning so they have all day to digest. You will need to start curbing back her feeders. She looks to be a sub adult female. So the amount of food and temperatures you provide directly impact her clutch size. She will lay infertile eggs so you will need to provide a lay bin for her.
Please make sure you add in the multivitamin as suggested. OR you can replace all supplements with Repashy calicium plus LOD formula. THis would be the only supplement used at every feeding.
Please make sure to upgrade your lighting asap. You have to have the T5HO linear UVB fixture with a 5.0 UVB bulb. Your basking level (closest she can get to the lights above) would need to be 7-8 inches below. Or she is high risk for developing Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD) this is particularly dangerous for females due to egg laying. Make sure you are only running lighting including heat for 12 hours a day. Then total darkness at night.
You need a digital humidity gauge be sure to place this where it can no be directly sprayed for correct levels. 1 correction proper humidity for a Veiled during the day is 30-40% (50% is pushing it for daytime).
Additional links.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/
https://www.chameleonbreeder.com/podcast/ep-89-naturalistic-hydration-for-chameleons/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/egg-laying-and-the-laying-bin.345/
I am a new veiled Cham owner too. I bought a bunch of the faux plants that hang by a suction cup for glass aquariums and tied them to the screen with fishing line and it seems to work very well for coverage.
To my inexperienced eyes, she doesn’t look bad. For a hydrating treat you could give her 1-2 hornworms, which I hear are basically bags is water. Some chams (like mine) are private drinkers and won’t drink if being watched. Give a good long misting to her plants and then walk away. I think mine won’t drink in front of me because I think they’re cute when drinking and they hate me that much.
