Stress caused by redoing a newly-adopted veiled's cage?

[Professor Booty]

I just (on the 15th of April) adopted a male veiled cham that's about a year old. I really want to do right by this guy, and a habitat makeover is needed- he doesn't have any live plants, the fake plants he has could be better arranged, more and/or better climbing vines need to be set up for improved basking options, etc.

How much stress does a full habitat cleaning and rebuild cause? Is it a bad idea to do it so soon (2 days as of this post) after getting him? He seems to be acclimating to living with me quite well as he eats and drinks happily, though he's still plenty shy. Will he be psyched to have a totally new place to play, or should it be a more gradual process? Am I making a big deal out of nothing?

 

[Day Man]

I just (on the 15th of April) adopted a male veiled cham that's about a year old. I really want to do right by this guy, and a habitat makeover is needed- he doesn't have any live plants, the fake plants he has could be better arranged, more and/or better climbing vines need to be set up for improved basking options, etc.

How much stress does a full habitat cleaning and rebuild cause? Is it a bad idea to do it so soon (2 days as of this post) after getting him? He seems to be acclimating to living with me quite well as he eats and drinks happily, though he's still plenty shy. Will he be psyched to have a totally new place to play, or should it be a more gradual process? Am I making a big deal out of nothing?

I would do it as soon as possible. Yea he might get stressed, but i think its better than him getting use to his current environment and then changing it up on him. I usually let my chameleon walk around on a pile of clothes when I clean her cage. You could even stick him in the shower with a few crickets running around to preoccupy him. It might take a week or two before he's comfortable in the new environment. Hope this helps

 

[Justin Carl]

Well, if you would like to do it right I would start by filling this out.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - What kind of cage are you using? What is the size?
Lighting - What kind of lighting are you using? How long do you keep the lights on during the day?
Temperature - What temperature range have you created? Basking spot temp? What is the temperature at night?
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels?
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
Location - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas?

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon.
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What kind of schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Supplements - What are you dusting your feeders with and what kind of schedule do you use?
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings.
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
Current Problem - The current problem that you are concerned about.

Changing the cage can be stressfull, but it could be needed from the sounds of it.

 

[Nicodemayo]

I suggest you plan EXACTLY how you want things in the cage, take him out and put him somewhere safe, clean up and take out all the old crap, and then put in your new arrangement as planned. If you do this quickly you could have him back in the cage and im sure he'll be less stressed. Most chams hate being out of their cages and im sure when you put him in a cage full of new foliage to hide in, his stress levels will go down. It should be fine to redo his cage but don't hang around and delay the process when hes out.

 

[Professor Booty]

Cage Info:
Cage Type - He came with a 38 gallon reptarium. That is what I'll be redoing, but in the future he's going to get something bigger.

Lighting - A ZooMed 5.0 fluorescent bulb and a 75 watt incandescent for heat + basking. He gets 12 hours of light a day.

Temperature - The corner furthest from the heat bulb is about 75 degrees, his basking spot is about 90. At night the lights go out and it's in the low-to-mid 70s.

Humidity - 40-50%, a little on the low side. Hand misting and a dripper are what i use now, and i hope that the addition of a live plant or two will help.

Plants - No live plants yet, but they'll be added as part of the renovations.

Location - The cage is in my bedroom. It's a low traffic area, no fans or drafts.

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Veiled, male, about a year old.

Feeding - He gets crickets, 8-12 "large" a day, properly dusted. I'm using a commercial cricket feed/gut loader, and some fruit.

Supplements - The calcium and vitamin duster the person i adopted him from gave me. They get a thorough dusting right before they're fed.

Watering - Dripper and misting. I've only observed him drinking off the leaves the dripper falls on one of the three days i've had him, but I don't watch him 24/7.

Fecal Description - Some very dark, some white.

History - Adopted him from someone who could no longer care for him properly.

 

[dodolah]

wow, i am ashamed to say that i am very bad converting gallon to inches.

I was taught metric system ever since i was a kid.
Can you tell me how big exactly is 38 gallon in inches?

Also be more specific on supplement you use.
(what kind? what brand?)
The 12 large crickets/day is a bit excessive for a year old chameleon.
You don't want to make him obese.

I think you can start regulate his diet.
I think he's ready to be feed 5 to 6 crix every day
Within 13 months of age, he can eat 10 crix every other day.

Temp looked fine.
The only thing to get are live plants.

 

[Justin Carl]

A 16.5x16x5x30 cage is way to small!
You need to buy him a larger cage.

Live plants are a must and dodolah is right, we neeed specific dusting scheduel and brands too.

 

[Professor Booty]

A 16.5x16x5x30 cage is way to small!
You need to buy him a larger cage.

I'll make that a top priority then.

Live plants are a must and dodolah is right, we neeed specific dusting scheduel and brands too.

The powders i'm using are what were given to me with the cham. I want to get the supplementation dialed in, but I'm not quite sure how to do that. I've been sticking to the method his former owner used.

T-REX Chameleon Dust and Fluker's Repta-Calcium. I've been sprinkling them both on the crickets, shaking them, then feeding every day at about 1 pm. I also have ZooMed Reptivite, but i haven't used that- it's unopened.

 

[dodolah]

since your chameleon is reaching his adulthood, he does not need to be feed as much as you are feeding him when he's a baby.
12 large crix everyday is excessive plus the supplementation.

You might run the risk of over supplementing the cham.
Your supplementations contain D3 and Preformed vitA.
Supplementing vit D3 and A 7 days a week are too much.


He is a year old, right?
If you are sure of his age, then i advice cutting down on supplementing and the food.


like Justin said, you need a bigger cage.
try getting 24"X24"X48" or bigger.