Question about our new juvenile veiled chameleon

[Jess88]

So we bought my daughter a juvenile veiled chameleon for Christmas my daughter is 17 she’s been wanting for years I don’t all the research they didn’t have the enclosure we needed at petsmart so we had to order one it came two days ago so we moved her into it last night after it was all set up and she started eating her new pothos plant we got but she hasn’t eaten any bugs in two days we stopped giving her hornworms we only gave her a couple of really small ones that’s all we bought and ever since she won’t eat but she’s drinking her water her poop seems normal should I be worried about her not eating I know they can go in hunger strikes but she’s been fine the last three weeks we’ve had her eating and happy I just wanna make sure we give her the best life possible. Any advice is very much appreciated this is the first time owning a chameleon I’ve had iguanas and bearded dragons but that’s it so I’m new to the whole chameleon thing and we got her from petsmart she had only been there for three weeks and she looked sad in that little bitty enclosure so we had to rescue her.

 

[Jess88]

So we bought my daughter a juvenile veiled chameleon for Christmas my daughter is 17 she’s been wanting for years I don’t all the research they didn’t have the enclosure we needed at petsmart so we had to order one it came two days ago so we moved her into it last night after it was all set up and she started eating her new pothos plant we got but she hasn’t eaten any bugs in two days we stopped giving her hornworms we only gave her a couple of really small ones that’s all we bought and ever since she won’t eat but she’s drinking her water her poop seems normal should I be worried about her not eating I know they can go in hunger strikes but she’s been fine the last three weeks we’ve had her eating and happy I just wanna make sure we give her the best life possible. Any advice is very much appreciated this is the first time owning a chameleon I’ve had iguanas and bearded dragons but that’s it so I’m new to the whole chameleon thing and we got her from petsmart she had only been there for three weeks and she looked sad in that little bitty enclosure so we had to rescue her.

Pictures of our girl

 

[elizaann2]

Hello and welcome! The best way for us to help you is to have you fill out the husbandry review below. Will you please also include pics of your little ones enclosure with the lights on top?

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with, and what is the schedule?
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long do you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
• Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high-traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
• Location - Where are you geographically located?

Current Problem -

 

[Gloriawood]

I just want to say hi and welcome! she is a doll!!!

 

[Jess88]

Hello and welcome! The best way for us to help you is to have you fill out the husbandry review below. Will you please also include pics of your little ones enclosure with the lights on top?

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with, and what is the schedule?
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long do you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
• Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high-traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
• Location - Where are you geographically located?

Current Problem -

She’s a veiled chameleon I’m not sure how old petsmart didn’t say I’d say about 3 or 4 months old, she’s been with for three weeks now almost four.
We don’t handle her very much at all only when I’m putting new plants in the cage or fixing a branch cuz it stresses her out when I move stuff around when she’s in there. We feed her dubia roaches, waxworms, black soldier fly larvae, and crickets. We Pangea calcium without d3 and calcium with d3 twice a month, I gutload with collard greens, carrots, and apples, I have a jug ontop of her enclosure for water I mist her two to four minutes in the morning and two to four minutes at night after lights out her lights come on at 9am and go off at 9pm I see her drinking all the time eating her pothos plant we only have one plant in there right now we’re getting more Wednesday. Her droppings are normal color no red or orange in there she has not been tested for parasites yet.

Her cage is 18by18by36 it’s a screen enclosure we’re putting plastic around it for the winter cuz it gets cold in my house her cage is 80 during the day and 60 at night it doesn’t get any lower or higher right now we’re using just a small uvb light that came with the first enclosure which was smaller we just moved her last night into the bigger one we’re getting the Arcadia t5 on Wednesday so she has better uvb lighting the humidity levels in the glass enclosure were perfect but now we have a screen cage so we have plastic on it to control the humidity better we have a thermometer/hydrometer in the cage we’re also ordering a hand held one as well we have it on the way. We are using live plants right now I have a pothos in there we’re getting a philodendron this week and a snake plant. Her cage is in my daughter’s room sitting on top of an end table so she’s up high. We are located in Ohio.

 

[Jess88]

She’s a veiled chameleon I’m not sure how old petsmart didn’t say I’d say about 3 or 4 months old, she’s been with for three weeks now almost four.
We don’t handle her very much at all only when I’m putting new plants in the cage or fixing a branch cuz it stresses her out when I move stuff around when she’s in there. We feed her dubia roaches, waxworms, black soldier fly larvae, and crickets. We Pangea calcium without d3 and calcium with d3 twice a month, I gutload with collard greens, carrots, and apples, I have a jug ontop of her enclosure for water I mist her two to four minutes in the morning and two to four minutes at night after lights out her lights come on at 9am and go off at 9pm I see her drinking all the time eating her pothos plant we only have one plant in there right now we’re getting more Wednesday. Her droppings are normal color no red or orange in there she has not been tested for parasites yet.

Her cage is 18by18by36 it’s a screen enclosure we’re putting plastic around it for the winter cuz it gets cold in my house her cage is 80 during the day and 60 at night it doesn’t get any lower or higher right now we’re using just a small uvb light that came with the first enclosure which was smaller we just moved her last night into the bigger one we’re getting the Arcadia t5 on Wednesday so she has better uvb lighting the humidity levels in the glass enclosure were perfect but now we have a screen cage so we have plastic on it to control the humidity better we have a thermometer/hydrometer in the cage we’re also ordering a hand held one as well we have it on the way. We are using live plants right now I have a pothos in there we’re getting a philodendron this week and a snake plant. Her cage is in my daughter’s room sitting on top of an end table so she’s up high. We are located in Ohio.

This is her and her enclosure I know there’s not a lot but as I said we’re getting more plants I took all the fake ones out except one that she can’t eat.

 

[Jess88]

I just want to say hi and welcome! she is a doll!!!

Thank you we love her to death she loves to come out but we chose not to hold her often cuz I know it’s not good for her

 

[elizaann2]

Hello! Thank yo for the information, see my answers below in bold. I am also going to plug your answers into our form so I can make sure I don't miss anything.

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? She’s a veiled chameleon I’m not sure how old petsmart didn’t say I’d say about 3 or 4 months old, she’s been with for three weeks now almost four. Excellent. My girl veiled is from Petsmart as well She does seem to be about 2-3 months old to me as well. Because she is from Petsmart, I would strongly recommend getting her tested for parasites asap.
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? We don’t handle her very much at all only when I’m putting new plants in the cage or fixing a branch cuz it stresses her out when I move stuff around when she’s in there. Very good, chameleons are very shy lizards and handling them often is stressful. View her similar to a pet fish, she is a really cool pet that you observe but don't hold. I personally only handle my chameleons when I need to remove them from their enclosure for deep cleaning, when I'm doing a physical check and when I'm taking them to the vet or handling them for a minute to get them some supervised outside time for natural sunlight is ok too
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? We feed her dubia roaches, waxworms, black soldier fly larvae, and crickets. Perfect! That is an excellent variety of bugs. Because she is growing you'll want to feed her smaller feeders, nothing bigger than the distance between her eyes and you'll want to feed her 15-20 feeders daily. I'll attach a document for you that gives you other ideas on feeders in case you ever want to try other bugs. Just a heads-up, wax worms are very fatty and should be considered a 'treat' bug. I feed my chameleons their 'treat bugs' on Saturday, for a chameleon that still eats 15-20 bugs a day, I'd suggest only giving her like 3 treat bugs and the remaining amount the healthier bugs Veiled chameleons grow quickly due to the area they come from, once the rainy season is over the species quickly dies off and is only represented in eggs under the ground. Since they only have 9 months or so to live they mature quickly and do not have an 'off' switch for being full. When she reaches specific age you will need to cut back her feedings to only 3 small feeders 3-4 times a week. If our girls are feed too much once they are mature, their bodies overcharge and they end up producing more eggs than they should which is quite dangerous for them. @Beman @MissSkittles I am horrible at remembering the age to start cutting back feeding for a female veiled - can you advise?
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with, and what is the schedule? We Pangea calcium without d3 and calcium with d3 twice a month, I gutload with collard greens, carrots, and apples. You feed her the Pangea calcium W/O D3 daily correct? If not, she needs the calcium daily. Does your calcium supplement include any multivitamins? If not, she will need these 2x a week as well. You can get this: https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Reptivite-without-Vitamin/dp/B00167S5GC/ref=sr_1_9?crid=653LUA6NS0B2&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.fFVUBiprLKprqVzRBWy0aqNSLCMEHeIGP3vdqQp2rI0zclcRFKnzj-84w8iE6p7oGyeSTKBD9JTQHpz5sUUgLAQKl7i8hz3vJllA5y4uDwtEN6fsYTvlSW9ylKnocIMdwuNc6T4xSC6800FQi0qWYg.5-Fr8JriEvf6yLF3ZV6iTYjwH1UQE5WLCopi7ZXJAiw&dib_tag=se&keywords=multivitamins+for+reptiles&qid=1705242743&sprefix=multivitamins+for+reptiles%2Caps%2C139&sr=8-9. And your supplement schedule should be:
• Calcium W/O D3 daily
• Calcium with D3 1st &3rd Saturday of each moth
• Multivitamin W/O D3 2nd & 4th Saturday of each month
• Great job with the gut load! I'll attach a document that gives you more options to feed your buggies as well
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long do you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? I have a jug ontop of her enclosure for water I mist her two to four minutes in the morning and two to four minutes at night after lights out her lights come on at 9am and go off at 9pm I see her drinking all the time eating her pothos plant we only have one plant in there right now we’re getting more Wednesday. Thats a great start, I would also include a dripper that you install at least once a day in the middle of the day. Here is a video on a homemade one you can do https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZ5CE3Xn29I. I would also consider fogging her at night. Chameleons get their hydration in the wild from the fog banks that roll in in the early morning. If you can achieve temperatures as low as 68 degrees at night in her enclosure than fogging is an excellent way to keep your girl hydrated. You would fog ON TOP of your two misting sessions and the dripper in the afternoon. If this is something you are interested in let me know and I can help you get your hydration method adjusted and help you find a decent fogger.
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? Her droppings are normal color no red or orange in there she has not been tested for parasites yet. Great, keep an eye on her poops, it helps give you an idea on how she is doing and how hydrated she is. As mentioned before, I'd strongly suggest getting her tested for parasites.
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

 

[elizaann2]

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? Her cage is 18by18by36 it’s a screen enclosure we’re putting plastic around it for the winter cuz it gets cold in my house. Ok so unfortunately this enclosure is too small for her. The minimum recommended size is 24x24x48 or bigger if you can. Here is an example of what you need https://www.chewy.com/zoo-med-reptibreeze-reptile-cage/dp/344873. If you have the ability, some nicer enclosures are by DragonStrand, and Tamura Designs. It sounds like based on your environment you may want to consider a hybrid enclosure or at least adjusting your enclosure so it is a hybrid. You can do this by getting the corrugated plastic sheets at Home Depot and cutting them to fit 2 or 3 sides of your enclosure. This will also protect your walls from all the water too . You can attach the plastic with command strips, or I used screws on mine.
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? right now we’re using just a small uvb light that came with the first enclosure which was smaller we just moved her last night into the bigger one we’re getting the Arcadia t5 on Wednesday so she has better uvb lighting. Ok great, the T5HO UVB is what is recommended. Do you know what kind of Arcadia UVB you purchased for her? She should have the 6%, which should say 'Forest' on the box. Now where you place the UVB on the top of her enclosure is also important. Chameleons need a UV index reading of 3-4 at the top branch. In order to do this her top branches will need to be about 6 inches below her UVB light. You will need to make sure you have at least 1 branch running linear with the light so she has the option to choose what temp she wants to be in AND still get proper UVB. Your light schedule should be on a 12 hours on, 12 hours off. You can get the count down timers found at WalMart to achieve this or if you want something that hooks to your phone so you can make adjustments from anywhere if needed I use the Govee smart plugs found here https://www.amazon.com/Govee-Bluetooth-Assistant-Remotely-Certified/dp/B095K1QX53/ref=sr_1_3_sspa?crid=1W67BQRA6IFHT&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.3s_5aVzcbroiWjalR14PtVFqI4lype-tnPGyU1Hwf6RToHZj-LQmtVKtmXYlan_cIjcMdC7ZbblHlEjRyk_EZfINnnByFP-29HwO2P9y_NUQvwhB0Ok8HtG2-a7inOOVfc0qHUvVQ-WWgo_t1XD00Q.wRC1C6njyJ6kk7HgM8TSoHNpOcVINZz7FYiIhRBHPoo&dib_tag=se&keywords=govee%2Bsmart%2Bplug&qid=1705244173&sprefix=Govee%2Bsmart%2B%2Caps%2C178&sr=8-3-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? her cage is 80 during the day and 60 at night it doesn’t get any lower or higher the humidity levels in the glass enclosure were perfect but now we have a screen cage so we have plastic on it to control the humidity better we have a thermometer/hydrometer in the cage we’re also ordering a hand held one as well we have it on the way. Reptiles are ectothermic, meaning they cannot control their body temperatures like we do and they require the temps in their environment to do this. Because of that the temps we have in our enclosures are super important. Veiled chameleons need an ambient temp in their enclosure of 78-72 degrees. Their basking branch (under their heat lamp) should be no hotter than 80 degrees. This is especially important for your veiled girl, high temps will speed up her metabolism and make her more hungry. For our veiled girls smaller food amounts and lower temps is very important for their reproductive health. That is freaking fantastic that you can get her temps down to 60 degrees at night. I would really consider fogging with temps that low . As far as checking temps and humidity levels I really like the Govee hygrometers, it gives me an accurate reading of temps and humidity levels 24/7 to my phone. I especially love this one because you can set alarms to go off if temps/humidty gets to high or too low. https://www.amazon.com/Govee-Hygrometer-Thermometer-H5151-Temperature/dp/B09BVLP9C5/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=19YIIB1VXEVRX&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.sK0uWs0Zt1aR5MMbaOE-E9OiaqMlgmtVlRftJ3QD3WhPQXP5vd-AX_LrwaT_MssO0nLskGfLroPqFfi0WfGt7CjXhe1SGkD220xFSwnOZx7n_TpwfeYpDPjrBWPIXTAWUa95OJGFj4QK9W0Jo3qcfQ.oEGqS8Z_yXczU34By46Q6USSBvkqiQ8LpMmxQjigih8&dib_tag=se&keywords=govee%2Bhygrometer&qid=1705244600&sprefix=govee%2Bhygro%2Caps%2C183&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? Humidity is equally as important as temperatures. You want low temps and high humidity at night and low humidity with higher temps at night. During the day her humidity levels should be anywhere from 30-40%, at night you want as close to 100% as you can get
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? We are using live plants right now I have a pothos in there we’re getting a philodendron this week and a snake plant. Perfect! You'll need LOTS of live plants, veiled chameleons have a tendency to eat the plants in their enclosure so you'll need to make sure that all the plants you put in her enclosure are safe for her to eat. Chameleons need LOTS of plant coverage, the general rule of thumb is if you can look at your enclousre and instantly spot your chameleon, you do not have enough coverage. You'll want a 'curtain' of plants in the middle/bottom area of the enclosure so baby has plenty of places to hide and feel secure. Keep the top open so she can get proper UVB and heat. I'll attach a couple documents for you to refer to when getting her more plants. As far as branches go, the bamboo sticks are not really recommended, they get slippery when wet and can splinter. Most of us on here just use tree branches that we get from outside. Make sure the branches are not from sap producing trees or have strong smells to them. Wash them in your bathtub with soap and hot water and rinse, rinse, rinse. You can attach branches with zip ties, just cut the extra ends off and melt the sharp edges with a lighter (with your baby out of her enclosure of course). I'm going to attach a couple photos of my enclosures to give you an idea of what you need for your girl.
• Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high-traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? Her cage is in my daughter’s room sitting on top of an end table so she’s up high. Perfect! Height also equals safety to chameleons. The top branches of all my enclosures go above my head. I'm assuming your daughter's room is also relatively low traffic?
• Location - Where are you geographically located? We are located in Ohio

 

[elizaann2]

Now...lets talk lay bin. If you do in fact have a girl, she will need a lay bin. First lets determine if you do have a boy or a girl. Can you send pictures of baby's back feet? If you see a tarsal spur, you have a boy, no tarsal spur is a girl.

Lets see what you have before I talk your ear/eyes off by going over lay bins

 

[Jess88]

Hello! Thank yo for the information, see my answers below in bold. I am also going to plug your answers into our form so I can make sure I don't miss anything.

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? She’s a veiled chameleon I’m not sure how old petsmart didn’t say I’d say about 3 or 4 months old, she’s been with for three weeks now almost four. Excellent. My girl veiled is from Petsmart as well She does seem to be about 2-3 months old to me as well. Because she is from Petsmart, I would strongly recommend getting her tested for parasites asap.
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? We don’t handle her very much at all only when I’m putting new plants in the cage or fixing a branch cuz it stresses her out when I move stuff around when she’s in there. Very good, chameleons are very shy lizards and handling them often is stressful. View her similar to a pet fish, she is a really cool pet that you observe but don't hold. I personally only handle my chameleons when I need to remove them from their enclosure for deep cleaning, when I'm doing a physical check and when I'm taking them to the vet or handling them for a minute to get them some supervised outside time for natural sunlight is ok too
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? We feed her dubia roaches, waxworms, black soldier fly larvae, and crickets. Perfect! That is an excellent variety of bugs. Because she is growing you'll want to feed her smaller feeders, nothing bigger than the distance between her eyes and you'll want to feed her 15-20 feeders daily. I'll attach a document for you that gives you other ideas on feeders in case you ever want to try other bugs. Just a heads-up, wax worms are very fatty and should be considered a 'treat' bug. I feed my chameleons their 'treat bugs' on Saturday, for a chameleon that still eats 15-20 bugs a day, I'd suggest only giving her like 3 treat bugs and the remaining amount the healthier bugs Veiled chameleons grow quickly due to the area they come from, once the rainy season is over the species quickly dies off and is only represented in eggs under the ground. Since they only have 9 months or so to live they mature quickly and do not have an 'off' switch for being full. When she reaches specific age you will need to cut back her feedings to only 3 small feeders 3-4 times a week. If our girls are feed too much once they are mature, their bodies overcharge and they end up producing more eggs than they should which is quite dangerous for them. @Beman @MissSkittles I am horrible at remembering the age to start cutting back feeding for a female veiled - can you advise?
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with, and what is the schedule? We Pangea calcium without d3 and calcium with d3 twice a month, I gutload with collard greens, carrots, and apples. You feed her the Pangea calcium W/O D3 daily correct? If not, she needs the calcium daily. Does your calcium supplement include any multivitamins? If not, she will need these 2x a week as well. You can get this: https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Reptivite-without-Vitamin/dp/B00167S5GC/ref=sr_1_9?crid=653LUA6NS0B2&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.fFVUBiprLKprqVzRBWy0aqNSLCMEHeIGP3vdqQp2rI0zclcRFKnzj-84w8iE6p7oGyeSTKBD9JTQHpz5sUUgLAQKl7i8hz3vJllA5y4uDwtEN6fsYTvlSW9ylKnocIMdwuNc6T4xSC6800FQi0qWYg.5-Fr8JriEvf6yLF3ZV6iTYjwH1UQE5WLCopi7ZXJAiw&dib_tag=se&keywords=multivitamins+for+reptiles&qid=1705242743&sprefix=multivitamins+for+reptiles%2Caps%2C139&sr=8-9. And your supplement schedule should be:
• Calcium W/O D3 daily
• Calcium with D3 1st &3rd Saturday of each moth
• Multivitamin W/O D3 2nd & 4th Saturday of each month
• Great job with the gut load! I'll attach a document that gives you more options to feed your buggies as well
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long do you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? I have a jug ontop of her enclosure for water I mist her two to four minutes in the morning and two to four minutes at night after lights out her lights come on at 9am and go off at 9pm I see her drinking all the time eating her pothos plant we only have one plant in there right now we’re getting more Wednesday. Thats a great start, I would also include a dripper that you install at least once a day in the middle of the day. Here is a video on a homemade one you can do https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZ5CE3Xn29I. I would also consider fogging her at night. Chameleons get their hydration in the wild from the fog banks that roll in in the early morning. If you can achieve temperatures as low as 68 degrees at night in her enclosure than fogging is an excellent way to keep your girl hydrated. You would fog ON TOP of your two misting sessions and the dripper in the afternoon. If this is something you are interested in let me know and I can help you get your hydration method adjusted and help you find a decent fogger.
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? Her droppings are normal color no red or orange in there she has not been tested for parasites yet. Great, keep an eye on her poops, it helps give you an idea on how she is doing and how hydrated she is. As mentioned before, I'd strongly suggest getting her tested for parasites.
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Thank you I will definitely be getting her tested for parasites asap I do give her all the supplements as their suppose to be given I made a schedule on when I give them to her so I can keep track I’ve also been keeping an eye on her I had my alarm set every couple hours so I could make sure she was ok my daughter has a little battery powered string of lights that have covers on her head board so I turn them on to check her their not bright they barely put any light out at all so they work perfectly

 

[Jess88]

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? Her cage is 18by18by36 it’s a screen enclosure we’re putting plastic around it for the winter cuz it gets cold in my house. Ok so unfortunately this enclosure is too small for her. The minimum recommended size is 24x24x48 or bigger if you can. Here is an example of what you need https://www.chewy.com/zoo-med-reptibreeze-reptile-cage/dp/344873. If you have the ability, some nicer enclosures are by DragonStrand, and Tamura Designs. It sounds like based on your environment you may want to consider a hybrid enclosure or at least adjusting your enclosure so it is a hybrid. You can do this by getting the corrugated plastic sheets at Home Depot and cutting them to fit 2 or 3 sides of your enclosure. This will also protect your walls from all the water too . You can attach the plastic with command strips, or I used screws on mine.
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? right now we’re using just a small uvb light that came with the first enclosure which was smaller we just moved her last night into the bigger one we’re getting the Arcadia t5 on Wednesday so she has better uvb lighting. Ok great, the T5HO UVB is what is recommended. Do you know what kind of Arcadia UVB you purchased for her? She should have the 6%, which should say 'Forest' on the box. Now where you place the UVB on the top of her enclosure is also important. Chameleons need a UV index reading of 3-4 at the top branch. In order to do this her top branches will need to be about 6 inches below her UVB light. You will need to make sure you have at least 1 branch running linear with the light so she has the option to choose what temp she wants to be in AND still get proper UVB. Your light schedule should be on a 12 hours on, 12 hours off. You can get the count down timers found at WalMart to achieve this or if you want something that hooks to your phone so you can make adjustments from anywhere if needed I use the Govee smart plugs found here https://www.amazon.com/Govee-Bluetooth-Assistant-Remotely-Certified/dp/B095K1QX53/ref=sr_1_3_sspa?crid=1W67BQRA6IFHT&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.3s_5aVzcbroiWjalR14PtVFqI4lype-tnPGyU1Hwf6RToHZj-LQmtVKtmXYlan_cIjcMdC7ZbblHlEjRyk_EZfINnnByFP-29HwO2P9y_NUQvwhB0Ok8HtG2-a7inOOVfc0qHUvVQ-WWgo_t1XD00Q.wRC1C6njyJ6kk7HgM8TSoHNpOcVINZz7FYiIhRBHPoo&dib_tag=se&keywords=govee%2Bsmart%2Bplug&qid=1705244173&sprefix=Govee%2Bsmart%2B%2Caps%2C178&sr=8-3-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? her cage is 80 during the day and 60 at night it doesn’t get any lower or higher the humidity levels in the glass enclosure were perfect but now we have a screen cage so we have plastic on it to control the humidity better we have a thermometer/hydrometer in the cage we’re also ordering a hand held one as well we have it on the way. Reptiles are ectothermic, meaning they cannot control their body temperatures like we do and they require the temps in their environment to do this. Because of that the temps we have in our enclosures are super important. Veiled chameleons need an ambient temp in their enclosure of 78-72 degrees. Their basking branch (under their heat lamp) should be no hotter than 80 degrees. This is especially important for your veiled girl, high temps will speed up her metabolism and make her more hungry. For our veiled girls smaller food amounts and lower temps is very important for their reproductive health. That is freaking fantastic that you can get her temps down to 60 degrees at night. I would really consider fogging with temps that low . As far as checking temps and humidity levels I really like the Govee hygrometers, it gives me an accurate reading of temps and humidity levels 24/7 to my phone. I especially love this one because you can set alarms to go off if temps/humidty gets to high or too low. https://www.amazon.com/Govee-Hygrometer-Thermometer-H5151-Temperature/dp/B09BVLP9C5/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=19YIIB1VXEVRX&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.sK0uWs0Zt1aR5MMbaOE-E9OiaqMlgmtVlRftJ3QD3WhPQXP5vd-AX_LrwaT_MssO0nLskGfLroPqFfi0WfGt7CjXhe1SGkD220xFSwnOZx7n_TpwfeYpDPjrBWPIXTAWUa95OJGFj4QK9W0Jo3qcfQ.oEGqS8Z_yXczU34By46Q6USSBvkqiQ8LpMmxQjigih8&dib_tag=se&keywords=govee%2Bhygrometer&qid=1705244600&sprefix=govee%2Bhygro%2Caps%2C183&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? Humidity is equally as important as temperatures. You want low temps and high humidity at night and low humidity with higher temps at night. During the day her humidity levels should be anywhere from 30-40%, at night you want as close to 100% as you can get
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? We are using live plants right now I have a pothos in there we’re getting a philodendron this week and a snake plant. Perfect! You'll need LOTS of live plants, veiled chameleons have a tendency to eat the plants in their enclosure so you'll need to make sure that all the plants you put in her enclosure are safe for her to eat. Chameleons need LOTS of plant coverage, the general rule of thumb is if you can look at your enclousre and instantly spot your chameleon, you do not have enough coverage. You'll want a 'curtain' of plants in the middle/bottom area of the enclosure so baby has plenty of places to hide and feel secure. Keep the top open so she can get proper UVB and heat. I'll attach a couple documents for you to refer to when getting her more plants. As far as branches go, the bamboo sticks are not really recommended, they get slippery when wet and can splinter. Most of us on here just use tree branches that we get from outside. Make sure the branches are not from sap producing trees or have strong smells to them. Wash them in your bathtub with soap and hot water and rinse, rinse, rinse. You can attach branches with zip ties, just cut the extra ends off and melt the sharp edges with a lighter (with your baby out of her enclosure of course). I'm going to attach a couple photos of my enclosures to give you an idea of what you need for your girl.
• Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high-traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? Her cage is in my daughter’s room sitting on top of an end table so she’s up high. Perfect! Height also equals safety to chameleons. The top branches of all my enclosures go above my head. I'm assuming your daughter's room is also relatively low traffic?
• Location - Where are you geographically located? We are located in Ohio

We don’t use bamboo at all we have wooden dowels it’s been cold a rainy here so we haven’t been able to go in the woods for sticks so we just bought wooden dowels we’re adding more plants this week we’re gonna fill her cage with plants the petsmart I got her from didn’t know anything about her at least the person who helped me didn’t we still have so much to get for her but we will have everything this week that she needs I put plastic around her cage we’re getting better plastic that sticks with a hair dryer I ordered it last night it’ll be here Monday I still wanna be able to see her but the plastic I have on there right now will be fine til tomorrow I just takes it to the metal to control her humidity and temps

 

[MissSkittles]

I am horrible at remembering the age to start cutting back feeding for a female veiled - can you advise?

Here you go. This goes over that and everything else.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/veiled-chameleon-laying-101.2488/

 

[elizaann2]

That all sounds great!
I forgot to include some great resources for you as well:

Chameleon Academy Website and YouTube
Neptune the Chameleon Website and YouTube

This is the care sheet I use for my veiled