Soon-To-Be Veiled Chameleon Owner - Few Questions!?

[Smitty]

I don't think that hunting will be a big problem in that size aquarium. Crix will typically migrate to the heat source just like the cham (visible light) so hopefully that will help. Just try and make sure that none are still in there at night to avoid the cham getting munched on (or leave something else in there for them like carrot or collard greens).

If this is a baby cham in a glass aquarium then I would drop that basking spot down to 82-84 or so. Even in a screen enclosure you can overheat a young cham quickly, so I would still drop the basking spot to 88-90 max if possible. Adults can handle more.

The 24" 5.0 is perfect! That is all you need, you only need one (at least at this age). I would NOT get a 10.0 until the cham is much older (like a year). You might not ever get a 10.0 but by then you will have enough experience and research under your hat to make the choice. I myself will stick with the 5.0 for life.

 

[m1ndless]

Awesome, thanks!

Has anyone here used the brown twine as fake vines? Is it okay to use?

I am hopefully getting my cham in about a week or two.

 

[summoner12]

Would you like me to post some picture of my cham's cages? You can get an idea of how I have my lights, mister, drainage, plants and vines?

 

[m1ndless]

That would really help, thanks!!

Is there a thread where people have posted pictures of their enclosures?

 

[SuperRad]

We're talking about different stuff then I'm talking about babies, which you can raise in aquariums. Not older animals that are cup trained.

my chams were 4 weeks old when i got em and all they have ever eaten out of was a cup

 

[Steven Reecy]

my chams were 4 weeks old when i got em and all they have ever eaten out of was a cup

Interesting stuff. I always assumed that the babies couldn't learn cup training. I never tried it. Might have to give it a whirl.

 

[dodolah]

Interesting stuff. I always assumed that the babies couldn't learn cup training. I never tried it. Might have to give it a whirl.

actually, mine start eating from a cup when he's 3 months old.
Although it took me a while to train him to do so.

This is how i train him: (no guarantee will work for your baby chams.. but, it seem work for me fine. It does requires a huge amount of patience though)

1. Always make your presence known to him during feeding time.

2. For starters, use clear plastic cup u say? i know i know... people here always suggest to use opaque cup for feeding.. but read the whole thing first and i hope i can prove to you why it works.

3. tease your baby by putting the clear cup filled with crawling crix in front of his line of sight. If it works, he'll focus his one eye to the cup. while the other eye will look at you.

4. Slowly move the cup so it is directly in front of his line sight of you (so he can focus at the insect and looking at you at the same time).. this will considerably boost your baby chameleon's courage to move forward and hopefully start shooting at the crix.

5. repeat step 1-4 until he get used to the plastic cup. So, when he saw you hold one, he'll automatically come to you.

if the step 5 has become his cognitive behavior then:
6. Instead of holding the cup, put the cup in the enclosure.. wherever you want to put it. Make sure that it is ALWAYS the same spot.

He will learn to come at the same spot every feeding time.. (it helps if you stay true to schedule. Always feed him at the same time and at the same spot).

7. This is where the clear plastic cup becomes a problem... Unfortunately, chameleon is not smart enough to know there is a clear barrier between him and the crix. He will start shooting at the side.

If you don't have the patience and the time to train him,
Some people remedy this problem by changing the cup to an opaque one and put some tiny branch so some crix can climb out (thus attracts your chameleon to investigate)..

Although this is fine.. to me it kind of beat the purpose of cup feeding as the crix still able to escape.

This is how I remedy the situation (if you have the time to do it):

8. everytime he came, he will almost always shoot the side of the cup instead of going to the top.
During feeding time, LET HIM shoot at the side of the cup and FAIL to get the crix. After 2 or 3 futile shots, slowly tilt the cup. so your chameleon can see the top circle rim. He will start going forward and get inside of the cup.. mostly he will hold on to the rim.
If he does that, slowly put the cup to the original position.
Now your chameleon will be on top of the cup and shooting away.

Repeat this over and over every time you see him try to shoot at the side of the cup...

It is imperative to let him experience the futile shootings..
After 2 weeks or so, my cham finally gets it...
Now, every 8 am, he's always perch on the cup waiting for me to come and bring him crickets.

He no longer shoot at the side of the clear cup.
Whenever he see the cup, he immediately climb on top while looking at me
as if saying "pour the crix into the bowl please"

This is VERY handy too when i need to take him out for cage cleaning session.
Literally, I just hold a cup with some silkies (i don't put crix for the reason it might jump out of the cup).
He immediately came to me and climb the cup. i just take him out. put him on a spare cage.

and start cleaning his cage.

he is now 4 months old.
hope that helps..

 

[m1ndless]

Is cup feeding necessary? I would much rather watch him hunt if possible.

 

[dodolah]

Is cup feeding necessary? I would much rather watch him hunt if possible.

it's not necessary but here are the pros and cons:

Free roam feeder:
Pros:
a. Keep your chameleon active by nurturing its instinct to hunt.
b. A good exercise for him, as he is forced to 'work' for his food.
c. Can be a wonderful experience to see (although some chameleons tend to
be shy to hunt in the presence of his owner).

cons:
a. There is no way to accurately know how much insects that he eat/day.
b. Depending on the feeder, some of them can wander into the soil or the
bottom of the cage, get lost there, and die. With many dead insects in the
bottom of the cage, the dirtier the cage. Some might rot and emit odors.
and become bacteria and mold haven. And Some can even manage to
get OUT of the cage and wonder into your rooms. I have some instances
where tiny crickets (1/8") manage to slip thru the inbetweening of the
cage structures.
c. If u put an insect that can bite (e.g: crickets), there is a chance that they
might bite and bother your chameleon during the night.
Cricket bites sometimes can develop into an infection.

Feeding cup:
Pros:
a. With cup, you can exactly monitor and control how much he will eat/ day.
It become easier to know if your cham actually eating enough or not.
b. Chance for insects to escape is minimal to none (make sure you use a tall
enough cup). Thus, eliminating possibility of insect bites.
c. Cleaner cage. And u can take out any of the remainder crickets from the
cage.

Cons:
a. Chameleons can become a bit lazy and spoiled as they no longer need to
'exercise' to get their food.
b. might not be too interesting to see chameleon eating from a cup.
c. Training your chameleon to eat from the cup requires huge amount
patience and time

----------
Personally, i LOVE using cup for crickets.
I sometimes let loose my feeder in the cage. But only the kind that cannot bite my cham such as silkies and flies.

You can decide which to use

 

[summoner12]

The cages.

The lighting for the little cage.

The little cage, this is a 38 gallon cage. I have more leaves and things hanging in this cag currently.

Here is the little guy.

 

[fliver]

my boyfriend and i ordered our veiled chameleon from reptile depot
we've had him since august 1st
and hes as healthy as ever!
i would order another chameleon from there

 

[m1ndless]

it's not necessary but here are the pros and cons:

Free roam feeder:
Pros:
a. Keep your chameleon active by nurturing its instinct to hunt.
b. A good exercise for him, as he is forced to 'work' for his food.
c. Can be a wonderful experience to see (although some chameleons tend to
be shy to hunt in the presence of his owner).

cons:
a. There is no way to accurately know how much insects that he eat/day.
b. Depending on the feeder, some of them can wander into the soil or the
bottom of the cage, get lost there, and die. With many dead insects in the
bottom of the cage, the dirtier the cage. Some might rot and emit odors.
and become bacteria and mold haven. And Some can even manage to
get OUT of the cage and wonder into your rooms. I have some instances
where tiny crickets (1/8") manage to slip thru the inbetweening of the
cage structures.
c. If u put an insect that can bite (e.g: crickets), there is a chance that they
might bite and bother your chameleon during the night.
Cricket bites sometimes can develop into an infection.

Feeding cup:
Pros:
a. With cup, you can exactly monitor and control how much he will eat/ day.
It become easier to know if your cham actually eating enough or not.
b. Chance for insects to escape is minimal to none (make sure you use a tall
enough cup). Thus, eliminating possibility of insect bites.
c. Cleaner cage. And u can take out any of the remainder crickets from the
cage.

Cons:
a. Chameleons can become a bit lazy and spoiled as they no longer need to
'exercise' to get their food.
b. might not be too interesting to see chameleon eating from a cup.
c. Training your chameleon to eat from the cup requires huge amount
patience and time

----------
Personally, i LOVE using cup for crickets.
I sometimes let loose my feeder in the cage. But only the kind that cannot bite my cham such as silkies and flies.

You can decide which to use

Can I do a little of both? Is that possible?

I thought only the black cricks bit?

I might just do cup feeding, and occasionally just throw some in there so he will hunt.

 

[dectr6]

It's fine to do both. I usually switch to cup feeding when my veiled goes on a hunger strike or gets picky with his food so I can monitor what he's eating. I didn't have any trouble cup training mine. Put the cup at a lower level so he could see them. That's it! He took right to it. Good luck

 

[dodolah]

Can I do a little of both? Is that possible?

I thought only the black cricks bit?

I might just do cup feeding, and occasionally just throw some in there so he will hunt.

yes. in fact i recommend to do so to get the best result.
trust me all crix bite.
i got one bite me twice be4 i throw that sucker into my cham's bottomless pit

 

[m1ndless]

yes. in fact i recommend to do so to get the best result.
trust me all crix bite.
i got one bite me twice be4 i throw that sucker into my cham's bottomless pit

How long do crix stay alive for typically? If I buy 250 at a time for when he is eating 18/day, 250 should last me 2 weeks, will they even stay alive that long, or should I just buy them weekly?

The store by my house has crix for $13 for $250, or $9 for 125.

 

[summoner12]

How long do crix stay alive for typically? If I buy 250 at a time for when he is eating 18/day, 250 should last me 2 weeks, will they even stay alive that long, or should I just buy them weekly?

The store by my house has crix for $13 for $250, or $9 for 125.

LLL Reptile has 500 for $15 shipped. I was happy with my order once it was sorted out. Don't rely on the numbers... they will die.. and fast if you have too small of a keeper. I purchased 1000 and I am about 1/2 way through them after about a week. But I am feeding 2 chams and a few crickets showed up dead.

Here is a Link to the cricket page.

 

[summoner12]

Also.. if you do the math, your local guy is selling you crix at 7-8 cents per cricket.... another way to look at it... buying bulk by mail brings the price down to $0.03 each

 

[m1ndless]

Damn, 500 for $15 shipped? That is not a bad price! Even if alot of them die, its worth the extra $1 to get 500 instead of 250.. I think I will just order 500 at a time, how long does it take to ship them?

 

[summoner12]

Damn, 500 for $15 shipped? That is not a bad price! Even if alot of them die, its worth the extra $1 to get 500 instead of 250.. I think I will just order 500 at a time, how long does it take to ship them?

I guess it depends on where you are... I've done overnight shipping (which is really two day......) and ground shipping I would imagine take a couple of days.

Make sure you place the order by midnight monday.

 

[dodolah]

i found a local reptile store that sells about 15 bucks for 500 crix.
You want the cheapest crickets? buy a 1000 online..
No physical store can beat that price.