Slim the Graceful Chameleon

[Purp]

Hello fellow members,

I just purchased what I believe is a Graceful Chameleon from a local pet store. They were unable to tell me how old it was or the sex of the chameleon.I already had an enclosure that I had been working on for around a week or so, off and on to make sure my tempurture was good and the humidity was good. Anyways, I brought him home yesterday and placed him in the enclosure. He's doing what I believe to be is great. I've seen him eat a few times already today and he drinks water aswell. I get him out of the cage every now and then just for a few minutes then put him right back in. If you guys see anything that I may be doing wrong please let me know as I want to make this as perfect as possible.

Enclosure: 4'x2'x2' Custom built. Wooden frame with wire cage around the enclosure. I have a number of sticks and vines enclosed to make sure he has plenty of areas to climb around and some areas for shade. I am planning on getting a hibiscus plant in the near future.

Lighting: Reptisun 5.0 UVB light along with a basking lamp. Night time I insert a Red light lamp.

Watering: I've came up with a custom dripping system that works great and I also mist a number of times a day to ensure there is some water on many leaves (water builds up on these leaves)

Feeding: He/she seems to like mealworms at the moment, although, I have inserted a cricket holder in the cage where he/she usually feeds.

Tempurtures: The temp usually stays around 75-80 degrees during the day and around 65 degrees at night.

Humidity: Stays around 60-65.

Please let me know the sex and the actual species of Cham it really is. Thank you in advance!

 

[Thompson]

You need to take out those bark chips from the bottom of his cage, he could eat one and become impacted. You do not need a light bulb at night. Let him cool down at night. I'm not sure what's the basking temp for your chameleon is but I'm sure someone else will help with that. Don't feed to many mealworms, I'd actually go get some supers instead.

 

[Purp]

Thanks for the reply. I will work on getting those bark chips out of the bottom of the cage.

I don't use a lightbulb at night I do however use a nocturnal bulb (it's a red lamp). Not sure if this is needed or not.

 

[Thompson]

Nope the red light is not needed at night. It actually can keep your chameleon up at night since he can see the light. It needs to be completely dark at night for him.

 

[Purp]

Thanks for the suggestion Thompson. Even if I have the enclosure outside in a garage where it may get chilly, should I still not use a light source?

 

[pinocchiosmommy]

If you need a heating source at night use a ceramic heater. But chameleons need a decrease in temperature at night.

 

[Purp]

Sounds good. Thank you for the information.

Could I get an answer on the sex and age of the chameleon?

 

[kinyonga]

I think its a male. Does it have a tarsal spur? (Little bump on the back of the heel on the hind feet.)

I would bump the temperature up in the warmest area of the cage a couple of degrees.

 

[Purp]

I'll have to check up on that tarsal spur tomorrow when he awakens.

Thanks for the reply kinyonga!

 

[Eszzie]

It's a Chamaeleo gracilis and I think it's a male. If he has spurs it's a male for sure. Keep him well hydrated and give him a various diet of crickets, hoppers, silk worms, phoenix worms etc. There's plenty of good feeders available.