Second day with new chameleon

[womanrgreat]

I got my chameleon from petco yesterday nite. Need a second opinion on the sex of mine. As always the man that helped me didn't know. The other two there were moth size. Smallest I ever seen a chameleon. Said they just got them and just hatched. Posted a photo of his behind leg. I know with chameleons both sex have different care and needs. I will post full pic of the new little one. And front view of the cage. Didn't eat today but drank water off the leaves. Any advice and cage tips would be appreciated. Not 100% sure on the care everything varys even with what I read on here.

 

[womanrgreat]

Full body pic

 

[womanrgreat]

Photo of cage

 

[SocialNumb]

I'm new at all this but males have a little nub on the back of their back feet. From what I can see it looks like she doesn't.

I'm sure someone else will come along that knows better than I.

 

[Andee]

Definitely looks like a female to me ^^ which means when she's old enough you need to get a laying bin, but for now don't worry too much about that.

Don't worry about her not eating too much the first few days. She's got weight on her and is probably ridiculously stressed. I wouldn't handle her the first week or so as she settles in. Fill out the How To Ask for Help form. It will give us insight on how you are taking care of her and if you need to improve on anything ^^

But one things for certain, I would definitely get more greenery, whether plastic or live, to fill in the center. I would also put in more vines, she just needs to make the most use of the area she has and will be a super busy girl once she settles in and the more she has to hide and destress in, the faster she will relax and settle in.

 

[womanrgreat]

Exactly what I thought with being a female but thought it could be a male possibly. Egg bin like a tunnel I read about. Have to look into that and see. I may even return her now. Females with everything I read always have a issue with egg binding. I only handled put her in cage and take these photos. Been hiding out most of the day. Where do I find ask help checklist?

Will do didn't realize how big this cage was when I got few fake plants. Chameleons wouldn't eat fake plants right?
Petco didn't have really any good vines. Exo terra one they had. Looked best for chameleons. I'll have to search for some more.

Definitely looks like a female to me ^^ which means when she's old enough you need to get a laying bin, but for now don't worry too much about that.

Don't worry about her not eating too much the first few days. She's got weight on her and is probably ridiculously stressed. I wouldn't handle her the first week or so as she settles in. Fill out the How To Ask for Help form. It will give us insight on how you are taking care of her and if you need to improve on anything ^^

But one things for certain, I would definitely get more greenery, whether plastic or live, to fill in the center. I would also put in more vines, she just needs to make the most use of the area she has and will be a super busy girl once she settles in and the more she has to hide and destress in, the faster she will relax and settle in.

 

[Andee]

No chameleons don't eat fake plants. Usually the only way to get a male veiled chameleon is from a breeder. Petco usually only has females and they usually aren't well taken care of.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/ fill this out!

 

[Kayroxyoursox]

I got my male veiled from petco. He has had obvious Spurs since the day I got him. I also have seen him try to eat the fake plants in his cage that's why I started offering him collard and mustard greens

 

[Andee]

Well all veileds should be offered fruits and veggies... I didn't mean they shouldn't offer that...

 

[norcalsteel]

Don't return her. She may turn out to be a great pet. My female just laid 49 eggs with no problem. As long as she is well cared for she will do what is natural.

 

[Kayroxyoursox]

Well all veileds should be offered fruits and veggies... I didn't mean they shouldn't offer that...

I was just saying, mine has tried to eat the fake plants before. He wouldn't even try veggies until I saw him doing that and tried to offer them again. He still won't eat fruit.:-(

 

[womanrgreat]

No chameleons don't eat fake plants. Usually the only way to get a male veiled chameleon is from a breeder. Petco usually only has females and they usually aren't well taken care of.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/ fill this out!

Good to hear they don't eat them. Breeders like online stay away from there. Shipping price and friend had a reptile red iguana. Shipped to him in a box. Don't like that idea am sure they do sleep during flight. But has to be rough I wouldn't want to be in a box for a day. Agree and true most of the reptiles I seen. In pet stores look ill but bearded dragons always look so friendly.

Your Chameleon - The species is veiled. sex is female. and age of your chameleon is few weeks old. How long has it been in your care? Day or two
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Not very often.
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? Crickets and small superworms. What amount? 10-12 crickets and small superworms in a tray. What is the schedule? Everyday. How are you gut-loading your feeders? I use water crystals, greens like collard and oat meal.
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? I use repcal calcium with d3 twice a week. Repcal herpivite once a week. Calcium without d3 every feeding when am not using the d3 formula.
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? I hand mist the foliage couple times per day. How often and how long to you mist? For about a minute long and when it looks dry again. Do you see your chameleon drinking? Yes mainly in the afternoon.
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Big brown turds with yellowish white color urines. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? Never petco never said if it was seen by a vet or not.
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. Mainly been hiding from above.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? Screen and by 18" 18" 36"
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? I use reptisun 10 because of the fine mesh filters most of the Rays. I use a dish mini dome with a 75 watt bulb no dimmer. What is your daily lighting schedule? 10am to 10pm
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Not sure Lowest overnight temp? 69 degrees How do you measure these temps? Temperature gun
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? Not sure How are you creating and maintaining these levels? Misting when everything drys up. What do you use to measure humidity? Nothing
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? None don't know what's safe and house plants always die.
Placement - Where is your cage located? Near the living room. Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? High traffic area sort of. At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? 36" from floor the height of the cage.
Location - Where are you geographically located? Illinois

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about. Being that it is a female and want to learn and do exactly what's needed keep her healthy. Not going mess around with her cage. Needs start eating and lower her stress levels. Make improvements when I figure out what is best to do.

 

[womanrgreat]

I got my male veiled from petco. He has had obvious Spurs since the day I got him. I also have seen him try to eat the fake plants in his cage that's why I started offering him collard and mustard greens

They eat fruits and greens too. I thought it was just crickets and silk/horn worms. Would they eat greens from hand or in a feeder dish.

I don't want to return her. But seeing a female ready to lay in distress. Just don't like that idea. Just don't know if am cut out for all this. There's so much involved and if one thing isn't right. Can make things a lot worse. When I got her the other two were very very small. Couldn't sell them yet and no way even tell by there sex with the spur.

 

[Kayroxyoursox]

Yes they will eat some fruits and vegetables. Mine won't eat fruits but will take greens from my hand or from a dish. This site is really helpful so if you have questions you can come on here and there are people with a lot of experience that can help you.

 

[Andee]

Everything sounds good except the dusting schedule and the UVB bulb. The dusting schedule for a veiled is Calcium w/o d3 every feeding except when you use the other two dusts which is, Calcium w/d3 twice a month and a multivitamin twice a month.

I would definitely figure out your temps, if the temps are too high for a female it can cause more egg production and sometimes 75 watts are too strong. I would mist three times a day, for about a minute to a minute and a half each time. She sounds a little dehydrated from the description of her urates.

The UVB bulb is too powerful. Reptisun 10's are for desert dwelling reptiles. They can hurt the eyes of chameleons.

She probably won't be too interested in greens and fruit until she's a little bit older but if you want to try and get her started now people often it in the feeder dish and let them snag it with the insects so they get recognize it as food.

You need to gutload your feeders with better things, they will get enough moisture from the veggies so there is no need for the water crystals but they need a better dry gutload than just oatmeal. So I would either start making your own following some of the recipes on here... or buy something like cricket crack or repashy bug burger.

 

[womanrgreat]

Yes they will eat some fruits and vegetables. Mine won't eat fruits but will take greens from my hand or from a dish. This site is really helpful so if you have questions you can come on here and there are people with a lot of experience that can help you.

Oh cool I thought it mainly was crickets for a staple food. I have tons of questions.

 

[womanrgreat]

Finally started to eat 3-4 crickets still bunch I can see at the top. Hard keep the fake plants wet. dry so fast. Like every 25 minutes needs get sprayed again. Bearded dragon I have to scratching at the glass. Must be thinking lunch. When the chameleon is in site.

 

[womanrgreat]

I think tomorrow after work. Am take her back to petco. Just don't think I have it in me. Give her the care she needs. This weekend looked up a lot of care needs. That can't be avoided and is very needed. Misting system while am at work. Laying bin with a tunnel. A lot of plants like pothos. More vines been watching her most of the day. Always climbing the screen mesh.
As any pet owner I want to do the right thing. Misting systems and much more that is needed is very costly. Would take two months pay checks get her everything she needs. That's not even considering a vet cost yet. Plus finding a chameleon vet with what I seen. Closes is a hour away on express road.
Am just reconsidering my thoughts. Guy at the petco made it sound so easy. Laying bin was never even mentioned. That and humidity needs.

 

[NvC Dex]

My experience at pet stores is that they are not educated enough. I got my chams from my neighbor and before I even got them a lot of reading to understand what I am getting into. Been to a petsmart and their cham look so unhealthy that I feel like I should buy it and nurse it back to health.Poor little thing.

 

[Kayroxyoursox]

I got my veiled at petco because I didn't know anything. I did research before about the difference between the male and females so I was sure to get a male. This forum is where I have learned the most about him. I found a mist system on Amazon for 50.00 and just put a clear shower curtain around 2 sides of his cage to help with humidity.