k2lloydindesert
New Member
Hello all,
I have a very scared baby veiled. He has been with us for 6 days. I got him from FLchams so I know he was well cared for during his infancy.
our set-up:
- screened cage, 18x18x30, near sliding glass door.
- basking light and uv light that came with chameleon start-up kit
- Mostly live plants, pothos, schefflera, bamboo
- no substrate
- 3 temp/humidity gages...basking temp is 85, ambient is 70-ish. Humidity is low as I live in the desert. I'm hand misting him regularly and have a mist king waiting to be set up but he is scared of misting. He isn't showing signs of dehydration (no sunken eyes) and he shed for the first time (with us) 4 days after he arrived. It took 7 hours for him to shed his skin. We sprayed his cage often to help the process.
- His cage is in a high-traffic area. Not ideal, I know, but we really don't have an option for a different location. I have husband, 2 tween boys and a dog (who is the king of mellow...not barky) House isn't quiet but it's not chaos either.
Food
- Only crickets so far. He eats 8-12 every day. (Except shedding day. I didn't see him eat after 11:00am) I have dusted crickets with calcium w/o D3 4 days, so far. I will give him his first vitamin suppliment tomorrow.
- Crickets are gut-loaded with greens, apples, oranges, carrots. (I bought some mustard greens when I read on this forum that spinach wasn't the best choice.) I intend to suppliment with vitamins twice a month and Calcium w/ D3 twice a month.
- I will vary his diet more but we are still working the cricket husbandry and chami husbandry.
What things are going well:
- He is eating and drinking.
- Poops are dark brown.
- He is basking regularly.
- He is exploring his cage
My concerns:
- He seems stressed. His color is often dark. He may be cold (see section on basking) but I worry it's stress. Do I need to just relax and give him time to adjust?
- His basking makes me worried. I checked his temp one day and saw that it was 90degrees. I put space between the dual light and the cage which brought basking temp down to 85 but then he climbed the last couple of inches in cage to get closer to light. I brought light back down and he went back to enjoy his heat on the vine. I moved it back up and, again, he followed the heat. There are 2 different gages near his basking spot and they read the same temp so I don't think it's a gage issue. Why is he trying to crawl into the fire? Does he know something I don't? Or do I need to keep him from going over 85?
- He is so scared of me! I haven't tried to handle him at all. I want him to get comfortable in his cage before I try anything. Every time he sees a person, he turns dark and leaves basking spot to hide at bottom of cage. He is even scared of the misting! Cringes and hides from mist. I'm not looking for a cuddle-bug, I have 2 kids and a dog for that. However, I would like to establish a base-line trust where he can tolerate seeing people and could perhaps, be moved to an outside habitat occasionally. Right now, he hates it when I get close to his cage.
- Is it normal for a baby cham to climb the sides of the cage more than his vines? It makes me think he wants to go someplace else that feels safer.
Am I suffering from new mom worries or do I need to be concerned?
Thank you in advance for your thoughts and advice!
I have a very scared baby veiled. He has been with us for 6 days. I got him from FLchams so I know he was well cared for during his infancy.
our set-up:
- screened cage, 18x18x30, near sliding glass door.
- basking light and uv light that came with chameleon start-up kit
- Mostly live plants, pothos, schefflera, bamboo
- no substrate
- 3 temp/humidity gages...basking temp is 85, ambient is 70-ish. Humidity is low as I live in the desert. I'm hand misting him regularly and have a mist king waiting to be set up but he is scared of misting. He isn't showing signs of dehydration (no sunken eyes) and he shed for the first time (with us) 4 days after he arrived. It took 7 hours for him to shed his skin. We sprayed his cage often to help the process.
- His cage is in a high-traffic area. Not ideal, I know, but we really don't have an option for a different location. I have husband, 2 tween boys and a dog (who is the king of mellow...not barky) House isn't quiet but it's not chaos either.
Food
- Only crickets so far. He eats 8-12 every day. (Except shedding day. I didn't see him eat after 11:00am) I have dusted crickets with calcium w/o D3 4 days, so far. I will give him his first vitamin suppliment tomorrow.
- Crickets are gut-loaded with greens, apples, oranges, carrots. (I bought some mustard greens when I read on this forum that spinach wasn't the best choice.) I intend to suppliment with vitamins twice a month and Calcium w/ D3 twice a month.
- I will vary his diet more but we are still working the cricket husbandry and chami husbandry.
What things are going well:
- He is eating and drinking.
- Poops are dark brown.
- He is basking regularly.
- He is exploring his cage
My concerns:
- He seems stressed. His color is often dark. He may be cold (see section on basking) but I worry it's stress. Do I need to just relax and give him time to adjust?
- His basking makes me worried. I checked his temp one day and saw that it was 90degrees. I put space between the dual light and the cage which brought basking temp down to 85 but then he climbed the last couple of inches in cage to get closer to light. I brought light back down and he went back to enjoy his heat on the vine. I moved it back up and, again, he followed the heat. There are 2 different gages near his basking spot and they read the same temp so I don't think it's a gage issue. Why is he trying to crawl into the fire? Does he know something I don't? Or do I need to keep him from going over 85?
- He is so scared of me! I haven't tried to handle him at all. I want him to get comfortable in his cage before I try anything. Every time he sees a person, he turns dark and leaves basking spot to hide at bottom of cage. He is even scared of the misting! Cringes and hides from mist. I'm not looking for a cuddle-bug, I have 2 kids and a dog for that. However, I would like to establish a base-line trust where he can tolerate seeing people and could perhaps, be moved to an outside habitat occasionally. Right now, he hates it when I get close to his cage.
- Is it normal for a baby cham to climb the sides of the cage more than his vines? It makes me think he wants to go someplace else that feels safer.
Am I suffering from new mom worries or do I need to be concerned?
Thank you in advance for your thoughts and advice!
