Thinking of getting my first Chameleon!

Rippler9107

New Member
Hello everyone, I have been wanting to get my first Chameleon for a few years now and recently I have been offered the opportunity to provider care for a juvenile veiled recovering from MBD that was fully treated by my vet. Thankfully he has done amazingly well with treatment and now needs a home that will provide proper husbandry. I have had experience keeping other reptiles with MBD in a bioactive set up before so I know it gets costly.

So, before my husband and I take on this responsibility I thought it best to reach out to experienced keepers to seek advice to make sure we can provide the home the little guy needs.

We would like to do a custom, bioactive build with lots of live plants, lattice on the inside of the screen to provide stability for plants and vines. The back will most likely be solid. The structure would be sealed with reptile safe pond sealer to protect the integrity of the wood. UVB would probably be a Reptisun T5 linear and basking wattage will be at least 75-100 watts depending on readings for a 3x3x6 foot enclosure from the temp gun. I’m leaning towards a mistking for my water source.We already have all supplements (both vitamins and calcium with and without D3)and water treatments. We also have a good supply of feeder insects on hand.

Im sure I’m missing something but again before we commit to this chameleon I want to make sure that I can provide everything he needs properly. Any changes or recommendations are very much welcome!
 
Welcome to the forum!
It's so nice of you to be willing to take on a chameleon that has had MBD. Many/most can go on to have a good long life if their legs aren't too bad and not too much damage has been done.

Is it a make or female? Can you post some photos please?
What other have you kept?
 
He is male around 7-9 month old. I have kept mainly beardies but also have experience keeping snakes and geckos. My husband was military so when they deployed I would keep their reptiles until they returned from deployment.

As you see his MBD isn’t as bad as it could have been. There is damage to his legs but it’s not obvious. His previous owner surrendered him because he couldn’t provide proper care and couldn’t afford to make adjustments to his enclosure.
 

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Hi Rippler and welcome to the forums. If you don't mind my 2 cents. I think it's awesome that you're willing to take on this responsibility and take care of this Cham. It already seems by your post that he's going to be in great hands and will have a much better quality of life. So, thank you. :)
 
If you can keep beardies, you can do chameleons!
Good that it's a male....no egg issues to worry about.

For a basking light you can use a regular household incandescent bulb of a wattage that pits the basking area in the low 89's F.

Supplements...phos free calcium at all feedings but one a week...alternate that one day between phos free calcium/D3 and the vitamin powder. He can be fed every 2 or 3 days at this age. Feed him enough to keep him at a point where he's not obese and not skinny.

I would use a driper as well to provide water.

I'm sure others will chime in and add things that I may have missed.
 
Hello everyone, I have been wanting to get my first Chameleon for a few years now and recently I have been offered the opportunity to provider care for a juvenile veiled recovering from MBD that was fully treated by my vet. Thankfully he has done amazingly well with treatment and now needs a home that will provide proper husbandry. I have had experience keeping other reptiles with MBD in a bioactive set up before so I know it gets costly.

So, before my husband and I take on this responsibility I thought it best to reach out to experienced keepers to seek advice to make sure we can provide the home the little guy needs.

We would like to do a custom, bioactive build with lots of live plants, lattice on the inside of the screen to provide stability for plants and vines. The back will most likely be solid. The structure would be sealed with reptile safe pond sealer to protect the integrity of the wood. UVB would probably be a Reptisun T5 linear and basking wattage will be at least 75-100 watts depending on readings for a 3x3x6 foot enclosure from the temp gun. I’m leaning towards a mistking for my water source.We already have all supplements (both vitamins and calcium with and without D3)and water treatments. We also have a good supply of feeder insects on hand.

Im sure I’m missing something but again before we commit to this chameleon I want to make sure that I can provide everything he needs properly. Any changes or recommendations are very much welcome!
Welcome to the forum. This is an accurate link for compete husbandry and even proper set up. https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/
Look into flex seal paint on version for sealing the cabinet. :)
 
Hi Rippler and welcome to the forums. If you don't mind my 2 cents. I think it's awesome that you're willing to take on this responsibility and take care of this Cham. It already seems by your post that he's going to be in great hands and will have a much better quality of life. So, thank you. :)
Thank you! I’m a student veterinary technician so I take animal husbandry and welfare seriously.
 
Arcadia makes great UVB fixtures and bulbs. We also get great vitamins from them. The new Reptibreeze deluxe with clear door is great with dragon ledges.
 
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