Question about veiled chameleon

brandonrx7

New Member
Ok yall I just signed up to this forum. I am looking to purchase a veiled chameleon for my daughter. She just informed me after watching the movie tangled that she wanted a pascal. What cage should I get or should I build one. I really don't want to pay $100 for a 16x16x30 cage and I don't think it will be big enough. My daughter won't be playing with it until it gets bigger and out of the being stressed out stage. What do yall recommend? Yall can tell me about everything I will need please lol. Thanks.
 
Hello and welcome to the forum.

First off, you are doing the right thing coming here before purchasing the chameleon. You saved yourself many problems, and probably spared the little one's life.

That aside, read this post by Jann. She is very knowledgeable, and this will help plenty.


PS: Only purchase one if you are willing to devote A LOT of time to it, and will make sure it will be happy. Do tons of research about how to properly take care of it. It isn't like a dog which you can just let run around. Chameleons are high maintenance and delicate. They are Easily stressed and shouldn't be handled much. Possibly you can get lucky and get one which will allow you to handle him, but most are very asocial. They are not like Pascal from Tangled. They can be very agressive (Veileds are known to be very mean and are also the same species as Pascal). One bite from a fully grown Veiled will break the skin and most likely will need stitches.

Read a lot and learn a lot before deciding if a chameleon is the appropriate pet for you, and your daughter.
 
I have been doing so much research on these things. Is there a type of chameleon that doesn't bite or not as often I guess? I do understand they are alot of work. And my wife is a stay at home mom so that helps out on taking care of it. Also I am trying to find out if a mini fogger which is just a little led light encased in a metal housing that once put in water makes fog is something I need or not. I am going to get a zoomed reptibreeze 24x24x48 house for it so I don't know if I need the fogger/mister.
 
I have been doing so much research on these things. Is there a type of chameleon that doesn't bite or not as often I guess? I do understand they are alot of work. And my wife is a stay at home mom so that helps out on taking care of it. Also I am trying to find out if a mini fogger which is just a little led light encased in a metal housing that once put in water makes fog is something I need or not. I am going to get a zoomed reptibreeze 24x24x48 house for it so I don't know if I need the fogger/mister.

If you're getting a baby, that enlosure is too big for it. You can section it off though. If you use a 24X24 piece of wood or something that will make the height max 30" it'll be fine, and you wont have to buy any additional cages afterwards. Also, I bought a Walgreens humidifier and converted it into a fogger. Much cheaper and more effective. I keep it on 24/7 because of the A/C in my house. If you are able to build a drainage system, I'd recommend the MistKing. It'll do magic for you.

Look for one of my posts about my drainage system and my humidifier. They are cheap and easy to make, but are worth having. Most chameleons dont like to be handled. it depends on the individual's personality. You can have an aggressive one like mine, or an easy going one. The likelyhood of getting a nice one, though, is very slim.

Finally, if your wife is staying home, she should read too ;) lol
 
I think we are going to start out with a juvi and not a baby since this is our first time. So would the 18x18x30 or 36 and the 16x16x30 be big enough for an adult veiled? And I keep my ac on 70 in the summer and my heat on 72 in the winter. Do you think I would need a humidifier?
 
I bought the humidifier from walgreens. I got that plastic hose from home depot and a pvc adapter with the inside diameter equal to the outside diameter of the hose. I used hot glue to place the adapter in the hole where the vapor comes out. Then I attached the hose to the pvc adapter. I split it into 2 because i have 2 cages. Even so, it works like a charm. The hose goes on the back of the screen all the way to the top, where it is pointed down. Very simple to make. costs about $35 total. much better than the other foggers.
 
How old is your daughter? She will be very disappointed when she finds out that chameleons really don't change color with their surroundings and are not as loving as Pascal. Actually most chameleons are not very nice at all and hate people, you really don't know how a chameleon will be when it grows up unless you get an adult. They also should not be handled often so no playing with it. They are sort of a "look but don't touch" kind of pet. You also can't be squeamish with insects because that is what they eat and owning a chameleon will involve handling many insects and usually having escapees. Veileds are usually more aggressive, but are the easiest to care for. There are many nice veileds but you never know.
 
Here is a list of things you will need/ how you care for a veiled chameleon.

Chameleon Info:
Handling - As little as possible
Feeding - A chameleon should be fed a variety of insects if possible. Feeders include crickets, superworms(not as the staple), dubia cockroaches(very easy to breed), locus, silkworms, hornworms, butterworms, mantids. These are the safest feeders. Worms should not be staple since there is a lot of fat in them but have a lot of protein. All feeders should be well gutloaded with fresh fruits and veggies unless they eat a special diet like silkworms. Most worms come shipped with "chow" that they eat. An juvenile-adult veiled chameleon should be fed every other day, around 5 large feeders or 10 small ones. feeders should not be wider than the width between your chameleons eyes.
Supplements - Rep-cal is the brand most used by people here on the forums. You will need a plain calcium supplement for use at every feeding, a calcium supplement with vitamin D3 for use twice a month, and a multivitamin for use once a month. All of these are sprinkled on the feeders very lightly. You know you have dusted too much if they look like little white ghosts :p. Here is a picture of the supplements you will need: http://ecologieonline.com/file-storage/Product Photos/Vitamin stack copy.jpg

Watering - You will need to mist you chameleon's cage 3-5 times a day until the leaves are soaked and dripping. Chameleons don't drink standing water and you should not put a bowl of water in your chameleons cage because it harbors bacteria. No waterfalls either, they also harbor bacteria. Water should be treated with reptile water conditioner. You could also get a mistking if you would like to spend the money for less work. This system is very nice if you every have to go away for the day.
Fecal Description - Fecals should have pearly white urates and brown feces. If there is yellow or orange in the urates, you need to mist more because this is a sign of dehydration. It is recommended to also get a fecal check done once a year.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Veileds need plenty of ventilation, so a screened cage is mandatory, especially seeing where you live. Adult males should have a minimum cage size of 2x2x4 and females can have a little smaller but not much.
Lighting - You will need a regular soft white house bulb for heat, probably a 75watt with a light fixture like this:http://pet.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pPETS-3761289dt.jpg
You will also need a reptisun 5.0 long linear tube bulb for UVB as well as a fixture for that. You can get fixtures for both lights at a hardware store and pay less than at a pet store.
Temperature - You should have a temperature gradient of 70 F to close to 90F at the basking spot for an adult veiled. You should get a male because females are more difficult to care for with the clutches of eggs they have.
Humidity - You can create humidity by misting and using live plants. Humidity should be close to 100% after misting and go down to about 60% in between mistings. You can measure both temperature and humidity with a dual hygrometer. Use digital, they are most accurate.
Plants - Live plants are best to use for humidity reasons, there is a list of safe plants here on the forums if you search around. Keep them potted, do not use substrate because a chameleon could eat it and become impacted and die. Use either a bare floor or paper towels.
Placement - The higher the better, also don't put near a fan and don't put in a high traffic area of the house because it can cause your chameleon to become stressed.
Location - Location is aslo a factor even thought they cham is usually in your house. Different locations have different humidity levels and temperatures. Keep these factors in mind.
 
My daughter is 4. I have already let her know that she will not be able to handle the chameleon. Thats why I bought her two male rats that she can take out and play with. Bugs are not an issue with me, actually I kinda like them lol. I think I am going to buy the reptibreeze 18x18x36 cage. Most lickly we are going to get a female, if I need anything bigger in the future I will build one. I am pretty handy when it comes to building things. Thanks for all the info yall, and please feel free to add more comments on anything else you might think I need to know. I have done about a week worth of research so I think I am ready to do this. Thanks again.
 
Welcome to the world of chameleons!

One more thing to consider when getting a chameleon....if you get a female veiled or panther (and even some other species) you have to deal with reproductive issues because they can produce eggs even without having been mated.

Here is some information that I hope will help....
Appropriate cage temperatures aid in digestion and thus play a part indirectly in nutrient absorption. Temperatures needed can vary with the species and age. For hatchling panthers and veileds I keep the temperature in the warmest area in the low 80's. For older panthers and veileds I keep it in the mid to high 80's for the most part.

Exposure to UVB from either direct sunlight or a proper UVB light allows the chameleon to produce D3 so that it can use the calcium in its system to make/keep the bones strong and be used in other systems in the chameleon as well. The UVB should not pass through glass or plastic no matter whether its from the sun or the UVB light. The most often recommended UVB light is the long linear fluorescent Repti-sun 5.0 tube light. Some of the compacts, spirals and tube lights have caused health issues, but so far there have been no bad reports against this one.

Since many of the feeder insects have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorus in them, its important to dust the insects just before you feed them to the chameleon at most feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder to help make up for it. (I use Rep-cal phosphorus-free calcium).

If you also dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder it will ensure that your chameleon gets some D3 without overdoing it. It leaves the chameleon to produce the rest of what it needs through its exposure to the UVB light. D3 from supplements can build up in the system but D3 produced from exposure to UVB shouldn't as long as the chameleon can move in and out of it. (I use Rep-cal phos.-free calcium/D3).

Dusting twice a month as well with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A will ensure that the chameleon gets some vitamins without the danger of overdosing the vitamin A. PrEformed sources of vitamin A can build up in the system and may prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the chameleon towards MBD. However, there is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert the beta carotene and so some people give some prEformed vitamin A once in a while. (I use herptivite which has beta carotene.)

Gutloading/feeding the insects well helps to provide what the chameleon needs. I gutload crickets, roaches, locusts, superworms, etc. with an assortment of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.)

Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are important players in bone health and other systems in the chameleon (muscles, etc.) and they need to be in balance. When trying to balance them, you need to look at the supplements, what you feed the insects and what you feed the chameleon.

Here are some good sites for you to read...
http://chameleonnews.com/07FebWheelock.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200605020...Vitamin.A.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200406080...d.Calcium.html
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/
http://web.archive.org/web/200601140...ww.adcham.com/
http://chameleonnews.com/02NovHorgan.html
If you can't access the sites above that have the word "archive" in you can do it through the WayBackMachine.

Hope this helps!
 
My daughter is 4. I have already let her know that she will not be able to handle the chameleon. Thats why I bought her two male rats that she can take out and play with. Bugs are not an issue with me, actually I kinda like them lol. I think I am going to buy the reptibreeze 18x18x36 cage. Most lickly we are going to get a female, if I need anything bigger in the future I will build one. I am pretty handy when it comes to building things. Thanks for all the info yall, and please feel free to add more comments on anything else you might think I need to know. I have done about a week worth of research so I think I am ready to do this. Thanks again.

know that if you get a female that she can lay eggs without ever being mated. Therefore at about 6 months she can start laying eggs. you must have the proper laying bin in her cage to lay. If you do not, she will become eggbound and die if you do not get her to a vet to have her induced to lay or have them surgically removed. Just something to think about....
 
Kudos to you for doing your research first! Don't get it wrong chameleons are amazing and awesome, people here just want to make sure you go in with your eyes open.
make sure YOU want a chameleon, because really that is who will be caring for it.

If you do want one I think that would be great, your daughter can look at it and you can teach her about it, and who knows you might get lucky and get a friendly one, but if you're counting on that don't get one.
 
I really like my reptarium because it doesn't rust, the reptibreeze rusts fairly quickly. You should also probably get a male instead of a female. Health wise it would be much easier and color wise males have a wider variation of colors. If you do get a female, you would need to limit her food intake and lower temps.
An adult female should get about 5 feeders every other day and temps should be around 80-83 F at the basking spot. These factors will help decrease the chance of producing eggs, some female have even never produced a clutch on these restrictions.
 
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