Quick question about new baby veiled

[Nicole1982]

I brought home a new baby veiled yesterday. Unsure about age. My best guess would be somewhere around 5 to 6 weeks. She's about 3 inches tail included. I'll post a picture soon. Her cage is all screen, 16.5 by 16.5 by 30. There's a live pothos as well as some fake vines and branches. I use a spray bottle for misting as well as a simple home made dripper. Basking temp is between 85 and 90, ambient temps between 70 and 80. Temp drops to 60 to 65 at night. Letting her get familiar with new home so no handling yet. She's feeding on flightless fruit flies at the moment..that's what was recommended by shop owner. She's eating and drinking. Have yet to see any poop..but I've only had her for 24 hours! My question is how many ff should I be offering and how often? When can I start adding some pinhead crickets? And I haven't noticed her basking at all...is this a problem? I'll update with photos tonight.

 

[nightanole]

id wait on the basking light, babies are not too smart when it comes to basking. Id give as many flies as wanted 2x a day. You can not over feed a growing lizard thats under 6 months old. Pin heads start at around 60 days. You dont want to feed a baby something bigger than their eye ball.

You can gut load fruit flies with powdered milk, bee pollen,and kelp powder.

 

[Kate]

Hi there . Welcome to the forum and chameleon keeping. You can feed your little one as many flys as he will take. You can also introduce pinheads. I feed crickets in a cup as you will not be able to remove them at night. If you put a small piece of banana in the viv it may stop the flys escaping. Your basking temps are a little high. Don't let them go above 85 for a little one. At such a young age they dont need a basking light but you may need one to maintain the temp.

 

[Nicole1982]

Thanks for the quick responses! I'll adjust the basking light. Here's a picture of her cage. I'm open to any suggestions. I'll post a pic of her/him as soon as I'm able. Little bugger likes to hide lol..

 

[Emy]

Hello, welcome. c: I also have a baby Veiled the same age and he's not smart about basking yet at all, lol. He will attempt to climb onto the top screen to be right under the light. [ I do not allow him to do this. ] He also tends to stay in the heat too long, till his mouth hangs open. I think in the beginning they're just silly and learning with basking, I turn his basking light on a few times a day just so he can get used to it. My little guy didn't eat for the first few days, but now after a week and a half he won't stop eating little crickets! I think the lack of basking is fine, maybe she's not used to the light or even her home yet. I think after two days mine finally went to explore the basking light.

 

[Monopoly9182]

Make sure he gets enough food a cage that size makes it harder for him to find food easily. You could cup feed him so you know he's eating well

 

[Kaianuanu]

That cage is way too barren. I strongly suggest you put a ficus in there that will fill the majority of the cage ASAP. And don't forget to repot it in organic soil and cover the soil with screen and rocks.

 

[Kate]

I would add a few vines for him to climb on also more foliage. As for being smart about basking, they don't really improve with age. Being cold blooded they don't feel how hot it is and move away. It's up to us as owners to make sure they can't burn themselves.. I learned the hard way and still feel guilty

 

[Emy]

I would add a few vines for him to climb on also more foliage. As for being smart about basking, they don't really improve with age. Being cold blooded they don't feel how hot it is and move away. It's up to us as owners to make sure they can't burn themselves.. I learned the hard way and still feel guilty

Oh no. :c It is very tricky to keep them safe from too much heat. I read that they can't sense when they're being burned? But your home looks nice, I agree maybe a little more for her to climb on. c:

 

[Nicole1982]

I'll be grabbing more vines/foliage tomorrow. I had ordered a full cage setup along with a few extras but I definitely over estimated the size of the vines etc.. I looked for a ficus at a few local stores and couldn't find one. Any suggestions on where to get one? I appreciate all the input. I wanna keep him/her happy and healthy!

 

[Kate]

Don't know where you are from but another name for ficus is weeping fig. You could also look at pothus also called devils ivy.

 

[Nicole1982]

I'm in New England. Maine to be precise. Hopefully I'll have some luck looking tomorrow.