Semi-Newb, just my basic info and looking for any helpful suggestions

[Manda509]

Hello, My name is Amanda and I received Jango Fett, a 2 year old male vailed, for christmas. Jango is my 2nd Cham. A few years ago i got a 4 month old female Vailed, unfortunatly i was unable to get her to lay eggs and she passed. Jango has just come from a breeder but seems to be adapting well to single life. haha

Tank: 3ft long X 18'' wide X 17'' tall, glass, but getting a screened topper in about a week. Coconut shaving ground cover, i was told it was the best because it didnt mold but kept humidity up. he has alot of diff. sized branches to climb and loves to do so. I plan to put a large pothos and a large hibiscus plant in within the next 2 weeks. A screened lid with 2 infra red (1 100W and 1 75W) a 30W ceramic bulb, and an 18'' UVB bulb. We have a bubbler system set up with a small pool in the tank and a air hose creating movement.

Eating: currently he is eating just superworms coated with calcium+D3 (phosphorus free) suppliment and is drinking when he gets sprayed (3Xday). I plan to start varying his diet as much as possible but it is hard due to living in small town with only one pet store.
**I was wondering if anyone knew of any fruits or vegitables that vaileds might like to eat if chopped up small)**

Handling: The first couple days i held him atleast once a day, he would at first be upset, puffing up and hissing, but once out of the cage he would be fine and just want to go and explore everything. The last week i have been leaving him to relax due to him not getting a multiviatmin right now i did not want to add any stress.

Jango seems to be doing well and has adapted i think great to his new environment, like i said there is still some changes i am going to make in the next couple weeks. (screened tank topper, large hibiscus and pothos plants and a multivitiamin and more diverse diet) but i think he is doing ok. Please feel free to post any helpful suggestions
Thanks. -Amanda&Jango

 

[carol5208]

Hi Amanda and welcome to the forums! Can i ask what your cage temps are and if you are measuring them and if so with withwhat type of gauge? Also you really only need two lights: a basking(uva) and a uvb. Why do youhave the other two infrared lights? They are not necessary. You want your cage temps to be in the mid 70's degree range with a basking temp of about 85 or so for an adult male veild. Do you see your chameleon drink? Most of us use drippers or mist the cages. Waterfalls and the like are frowned upon as they need to be meticulously cleaned especiallyif you chameleon drinks out of it after he has pooped in it! You feeders should be dusted at every feeding with a calcium with NO d3. The one with d3 can be used bi weekly as well as a multi vitamin which you will need to get also. Can you tell us what kind of uvb light you are using? honestly that cage is also a bit small for an adult veild. The standard size is 24 X 24 X 48.

 

[camimom]

Welcome!
You really should have him a cage that is mesh, and is taller than it is wide.
You should remove that substrate too. he could ingest it and become impacted.
Also, you can order different types of feeders in bulk online, I order from mulberrfarms.com they are a site sponsor.
Please remove that bubbler and pool thing,
They dont drink standing water or moving water. only dripping water. it can grow bacteria and your cham can get sick.

Can you post a pic of your cham and set up please?

 

[K9Luvn]

Hi Amanda ans welcome!!! Is that a picture of Jango in your avatar picture?? Very nice Cham!!! There are alot of great people here with a lot of experience and knowledge that will be happy to help you set up and help you the best life possible with your new Jango!!

 

[Manda509]

Yes that is Jango in my picture and i love him dearly.
I am going to answer all of you in this one reply if thats ok.
I am well aware that glass is not ideal for Chams. like i said i am going to get a cage topper that is mesh and will double the size of his tank in about a week, trust me if i had the money to i would give him the ultimate set up. as far as the substrate goes i have talked to multiple people who say it is the best because of his habitat needing to be very humid and it will not mold, but i will keep a look out for him accidentally eating it, although he eats out of a food dish and refuses to do it any other way so i dont think that compaction is a huge worry. Thank you for letting me know about the website for ordering different feeders i will definatly look at it. I understand that they do not drink out of the standing water, it is in the tank for humidity perposes and i am very anal about everything in his tank being and staying very clean. I will post pics of his set up once it is finished in about a week. Day time temps right now range from 70 to 80 and humidity i have been keeping between 55-60% using a thermometer set at the middle of the tank and a hygrometer at the back. I know i really dont need the infra reds but it is winter and to save on money for us humans we dont keep the house that warm so in order to keep his tank at the ideal temp for the time being i have the extra bulbs and i dont think they will cause any harm? yes i see him drink, i spray him 3 times a day and i gentally drip water down his nose which he drinks every time. I am planning on getting a dripper system when i have the means. I am just starting to use the calcium dusting with d3 and was told once a week but thanks i will only do it once every 2 weeks. now do i need a calcium dusting with no d3 for everyday use? does it need to be phosphoruse free? I have already planned on getting the multivitamin when i get paid in a couple days. I am not sure what type of UVB light it is a long bulb, 18". And i know the cage is small like i said i am getting the mesh topper so it will double the size.

Thank you for all your advice, please let me know if you have any more questions or concerns i will post a pic of set up as soon as i am able.

 

[carol5208]

sounds like you are off to a great start! As far as the infareds at night there should not be any lights on in your chams cage. They really like the darkness to sleep and the lights can be distracting. Unless your temps are getting really cold and down into the 50's I would not worry about the heat. You can get a little ceramic heater if that is the case. Hopefully you have the correct kind of UVB light. Some of the lights can be a little too strong for chameleons and can hurt their eyes. If you do not notice any squinting, rubbing or irritation or closing, they you probably are ok with what you have. Yes get a phosphorous free calcium and dust all your feeders every time you feed your chameleon and alternate the other two bi weekly. Let us know if there is anything else we can help you with!

 

[wontbme]

wait you had a 4 month old veiled and tried having her mate? ofcourse she died... please clarify

 

[KarmaChameleon1337]

wait you had a 4 month old veiled and tried having her mate? ofcourse she died... please clarify

If you're talking about the first post, females lay eggs regardless of mating or not.

 

[wontbme]

If you're talking about the first post, females lay eggs regardless of mating or not.

she said she was unable to GET her to do it.

 

[KarmaChameleon1337]

she said she was unable to GET her to do it.

I'm assuming she meant her cham became eggbound, she never once mentioned breeding her.

 

[Elizadolots]

she said she was unable to GET her to do it.

I think that means she failed to lay and died eggbound. Not that she tried to get her to lay eggs.

Manda, I do think you want to rethink the substrate. Particularly with that much glass you aren't going to have a giant humidity problem. And what problem you do have is better solved by adding live plants.

 

[camimom]

I made a mistake on the website.
its www.mulberryfarms.com

(forgot the y)

also listen to elizadots please.
YOu cant watch your cham every second of everyday. and just because he will only eat out of the food bowl, does not mean he wont intentionally eat the substrate.

Pretty much the only people on this forum that use a substrate are for people who keep pygmy chameleons.

Veileds are known to eat non bug stuff. if he eats that substrate, he can become iimpacted.. and DIE.

as Elizadots said, with all that glass, humidity will not be an issue. Not to mention, if you get live plants, he will munch those, and you will keep your humidity up.

 

[Manda509]

NO, i never tried to breed her. She became eggbound and i tried everthing i could to make her comfortable enough to lay her infertles but she would not. As far as the infrareds go i will try to turn them off at night and watch the temp and see if that will work.

 

[camimom]

chams can handle a temp drop up to 60 deg F at night.

 

[carol5208]

chams can handle a temp drop up to 60 deg F at night.

It got down in the 20's in Florida last night. We rarely run our heat and last night we did not either. I checked my temp gauge this morning in my chams cage and it was 57. He was fine. I am not positive about the Veilds but I know that Panthers can take temps into the 50's. Their daytime ambient temp in certain parts of Madagascar is in the 50's so the night has gotta be colder than that. I of course, am just going by what I have read on the internet and I am trusting the info to be accurate.

 

[Manda509]

hey, just wondering what everyone would suggest as a different substrate? And i have one ceramic bulb i will keep on tonight and see how turning the infrareds off works out, i will let you know, maybe i will get another small ceramic bulb if temps are getting to low at night. Although i am going to keep atleast one infrared for day use, he likes to climb up to one spot in the corner and bask in it, i have tried to make him a basking area on the floor of the tank but he didnt seem to be into it.

 

[SonTigerPantherCham]

Hi Amanda, you changed your name!
Did you ever get any products for your skin?
Anne

 

[Manda509]

Hi Amanda, you changed your name!
Did you ever get any products for your skin?
Anne

Um, i think you are thinking i am someone i am not.

 

[SonTigerPantherCham]

And I apologize, we have an Amanda 509 as well. Thought she might have dropped the a in her name
Please forgive me, wasn't trying to be rude

 

[camimom]

hey, just wondering what everyone would suggest as a different substrate? And i have one ceramic bulb i will keep on tonight and see how turning the infrareds off works out, i will let you know, maybe i will get another small ceramic bulb if temps are getting to low at night. Although i am going to keep atleast one infrared for day use, he likes to climb up to one spot in the corner and bask in it, i have tried to make him a basking area on the floor of the tank but he didnt seem to be into it.

No substrate.
We dont use anything. If you want to put something down, a towel or reptile carpet works best.