Total Noob without a clue--Tear me apart!

P

PaintHorse

New Member
Okay, I have aboslutly no exprience with chams, i have been reading on this website and it is alarming everything that is wrong with her enclosure.

I bought this little girl (juvinile veiled) yesturday at a local pet store. She is in an exo-terra cage with repti-mulch or something like that. The cage was already set up and it was a pakage deal (Set-Up and cham for $149.99) I thought it was a good deal and after questioning the owners about it i decided to make the purchase--I know i should have done my research first, but there were others interested in her.

I was told that she needed no more foliage than what in there (fake) and needed to be misted a couple times a day to keep humidity up. Included in this sale was a UTH (is that needed in chams?). I will post a pic of her enclose, please feel free to tear me apart i will not be offended i just want the best for my newly accuired baby. Thank you all!
Chameleon
 
i don't own veileds so im not going to be alot of help but i do know that you

wont need that water bowl, chams generally don't drink from standing water.

that mister is going to end up giving you serious hand cramps during misting you might want to get one of the pump up varieties

and you will definately need more foliage, and a viv with better ventillation, like a screen viv.

But there are plenty of people on here who will give you a very specific idea of what you need in there, i just thought id set you on your way

Matt
 
Caging: That exoterra will be to small soon. And regardless if you go to a bigger Euro style or screen cage , the added ventilation is needed.

More foliage is better .

Substrate is not needed. Paper towel works well. If you prefer to use substrate, be sure it is of a type and size that the cham can digest if it is eaten, such as coco fibre.

Lights: you need a source of UVB light. A Zoomed Reptisun 5.0 tube is best . Try to avoid the coil CF lamps.

Also you need a source of heat. Ditch the UTH. Its for snakes and terrestrial lizards. You need a dome fixture with a basking light, such as a household 40 or 60 watt incandescent bulb.

Note: With that exoterra, it will be difficult to provide basking and UVB over top of the cage and not interfere with the ventilation. Check temperatures in your setup.

Food: Gutloaded crickets are the most available feeder. Gutload well with a variety of items.

Supplementation: supplement 2 times per week with straight calcium ( no D3), 1 time a week with calcium with D3, 1 time a month with a vitamin and 1 time a month with a mineral supplement.

Water: Mist at least twice a day. More often is better . Provide a drip source of water.

Search the web for care sheets. There are many . research and ask questions. Your on the right track by asking .

http://chameleonparadise.com/?page=care&title=Panther Chameleon Care Sheet
 
More proof that petstores are cluless! They did the same thing to me when I got my first. The really great news is that now you are trying to make sure things are right and you are open to advice-that shows you really care! One thing we will need is a picture of you chameleon. Depending on size, the exoterra might work for a very short while. The very first thing you need to be careful of in glass enclosures is the temperature. Make sure you have a digital thermometer, one with a cord and a probe on the end to check your temps. Assuming at this point you have a 2-3 month old Veiled, you don't want temps above 85 in there. Remove the substrate and the water dish. Go buy a live plant like a small schefflera or a pothos (wash the plant in soapy water, rinse well, and either repot in orgainc soil or cover the dirt with rocks of some sort that are too big too eat. That stick in there is too large for the chameleon to grip comfortable-so seek out a fake vine or find a stick in the yard that is a little thinner(wash and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes). Next-what type of lighting do you have on the exoterra? You will need a highly recommended Zoomed Reptisun 5.0 linear flourescent tube. This will be moveable to the screen cage that you need soon or now depending on the size of your chameleon. Also depending on size you will need a basking lamp. Now for gutloading and dusting feeders. Let me recommend Brad's site for great information!
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/
Good luck and ask away-we are happy to help!
 
Okay i snapped a few pictures of her. To me she looks underweight, you can kind of see the outline of her ribs. I will be going to the pet store tonight to pick up whatever else i need, as well as going to a garden center to get the plants i will need as well. I have read that they like Hibiscus, should i get one of those?

I will also be looking at drip systems. I was told that she should eat 12 crickets a day, is this correct for her size?

Thank you all very much for your support and help!

http://s65.photobucket.com/albums/h212/jockey_dream/Chameleon/?action=view&current=photos792.jpg

http://s65.photobucket.com/albums/h212/jockey_dream/Chameleon/?action=view&current=photos791.jpg
 
Juli ... you beat me to it.

One thing I would like to add is that I would not have a basking light at all on that enclosure with that animal.
And change that fluorescent fixture to one from Home Depot or Walmart and an 18" Repti-Sun 5.0 linear fluorescent tube from ZooMed.
I think the fixture you have now is the desertsun 7.0 or 8.0? ... those get really hot in my experience.
Where do you live?

-Brad
 
I live in Kansas City Missouri.

and yes i looked under the hood of my current light and it is a desert sun 7.0
can i change the bulb, but keep the fixture? I was going to pick up a heat emiter that you can put in a dome light (I have an extra dome from my leo's)
is this possible?

Once again i cannot thank you guys enough!
 
She looks OK, but I would mist her and feed her properly gutloaded crix, maybe get some silkworms, and get some correct UVB-petstores are notorius for being a great place to get started on MBD. The onlyu issue with Hibiscus is that they need full sun-so they don't do well in indoor enclosures. I would be thinking about ordering a screen cage ASAP. Misting should be fine-4-5X daily to start. Dripping in the exoterra will be a mess!
 
If the bulb fits that fixture you can certainly change it out. No heat emitters-a standard household bulb will work fine-but be careful to not overheat that cage. You might be able to get away with a 25W bulb. Chameleons reognize the light with basking heat.
 
PaintHorse said:
I live in Kansas City Missouri.

and yes i looked under the hood of my current light and it is a desert sun 7.0
can i change the bulb, but keep the fixture? I was going to pick up a heat emiter that you can put in a dome light (I have an extra dome from my leo's)
is this possible?

Once again i cannot thank you guys enough!
Click to expand...

I don't think a proper bulb will work in that fixture.
a new one is not expensive (unless you buy it from the pet store)
No heat emitter.
Don't think this animal needs to be kept at high temps .. she doesn't. You'll burn her up!
With that glass enclosure ... I would not use any heat source ... read the article on keeping females (and the rest of the articles for that matter)
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/

-Brad
 
ya, i posted earlier and had concerns with providing a basking spot with only minimal ventilation. I totally agree with Brad's concerns. Until you have replaced the cage, its adviseable NOT to provide heat. Kinda lesser of 2 evils here. Keep her too cool or cook her under a basking spot in a cage with insufficient ventilation.

And yes, your desert sun fixture should be fine with a reptisun 18" 5.0 uvb tube. Be sure to remove the plastic lens and leave it off.
 
Wow that was extremely helpful! Whan should i start feeding her? All of my crickets and mealies are gutloaded with -looks- Zilla cricket drink with calcium as well as potatoes, carrots, and apples. They are also dusted before going into the enclosure.

Can i use eco-earth as a substrate or will paper towels suffice? I am going to read every article you have in the blog--i find that most (in leopard geckos anyway) are usually out-dated.
 
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