llroberts43
New Member
Hello,
We recently bought a chameleon, I think it's a veiled chameleon and we were told it was male. We do not know how old he is, we bought him at Petco. We have had him about a week and as far as I can tell from all the research I've been doing, Petco knows nothing about Chameleons. I think pretty much everything they told us was wrong. Anyway, I've provided as much info as I know below:
Chameleon Info:
Cage Info:
Current Problem - So here is one of what I realize are many issues. The lighting. We are trying to improve this little guys living conditions as we learn more about his needs. I read that he needs UVA/UVB lighting and a basking light. My problem is that I can't tell the difference in the bulbs. They aren't really labeled UVA or UVB. We just bought this dual dome light that came with 2 light bulbs, neither of which is marked in anyway. I guess my question is, would one of these provide the UVA/UVB rays that he needs and the other would provide the heat? Each one is 75 watts. I probably sound like a complete idiot but I just don't understand what we are doing, but I'm trying to learn as quickly as possible.
Let me just wrap this up by saying that when we went to the pet store, this was something we were looking into doing. I wanted to find out what we needed and then go home and do some research on what we were getting ourselves into. Petco did such a high pressure sales job on my husband that he completely abandon our plan and bought everything right on the spot when they offered him a 20% discount on everything. And he fell in love with the chameleon, even though we went in to look at the bearded dragons or leopard geckos. Anyway, now we have him and we really want to do right by him but I feel completely overwhelmed, like we are doing everything wrong.
Thank you for your help.
Laura
We recently bought a chameleon, I think it's a veiled chameleon and we were told it was male. We do not know how old he is, we bought him at Petco. We have had him about a week and as far as I can tell from all the research I've been doing, Petco knows nothing about Chameleons. I think pretty much everything they told us was wrong. Anyway, I've provided as much info as I know below:
Chameleon Info:
- Your Chameleon - We think it's a veiled chameleon, we were told it is male and we do not know how old he is but I've provided a photo of him that might help. We have had him for 1 week.
- Handling - My husband tries to handle him for a few minutes each day but he just wants to be left alone. We were told that if we handle him 15 min each day, he will get used to us and want to interact. From what I've read, that's not really the case.
- Feeding - We feed him crickets and superworms. He eats about 3-4 crickets a day and the worms he isn't really interested in them anymore. The crickets are gut loaded with Flukers Orange Cube Complete Cricket Diet.
- Supplements - We haven't introduced any supplements as of yet.
- Watering - We are using the "Little Dripper", it's a terrible device if you ask me. We are looking for better alternatives. We mist currently 3-5 times a day for 10 -15 min at a time. We have not personally witnessed him drinking.
- Fecal Description - Color: light brown and dark brown. Solid and sticky. Has not been tested for anything to the best of our knowledge.
- History - No history. We've only had for 1 week.
Cage Info:
- Cage Type - The enclosure is glass with a screen top and vents in the front. The dimensions are 12x12x18.
- Lighting - Currently, we are using the little lamp that came with the cage. This was purchased as a "complete kit". What a joke!
- Temperature - We have 1 temp gauge that came with the cage, the temp hovers around 80 during the day and down to about 70 at night.
- Humidity - Humidity is kept between 50-70%. We just bought the Repti Zoo Digital Timing Humidifier. We use the gauge that came with the kit. Measures both temperature and humidity.
- Plants - No live plants. Petco did not inform us that it is better to use live plants, so we loaded up on the fake ones they sell there.
- Placement - The cage is located in our living room near the window. There is a vent above but we have closed it off so nothing comes out of it. The height from the floor is about 3-4 ft. off the floor.
- Location - We are located in the Pacific Northwest, State of Oregon.
Current Problem - So here is one of what I realize are many issues. The lighting. We are trying to improve this little guys living conditions as we learn more about his needs. I read that he needs UVA/UVB lighting and a basking light. My problem is that I can't tell the difference in the bulbs. They aren't really labeled UVA or UVB. We just bought this dual dome light that came with 2 light bulbs, neither of which is marked in anyway. I guess my question is, would one of these provide the UVA/UVB rays that he needs and the other would provide the heat? Each one is 75 watts. I probably sound like a complete idiot but I just don't understand what we are doing, but I'm trying to learn as quickly as possible.
Let me just wrap this up by saying that when we went to the pet store, this was something we were looking into doing. I wanted to find out what we needed and then go home and do some research on what we were getting ourselves into. Petco did such a high pressure sales job on my husband that he completely abandon our plan and bought everything right on the spot when they offered him a 20% discount on everything. And he fell in love with the chameleon, even though we went in to look at the bearded dragons or leopard geckos. Anyway, now we have him and we really want to do right by him but I feel completely overwhelmed, like we are doing everything wrong.
Thank you for your help.
Laura