Veiled Cham

[bg77]

I am new to all of this. I have owned an Iguana in the past but, I have lately been very interested in Chameleons. After spending endless hours on the net and reading a couple of books, I have decided to make my purchase very soon, once I get all setup. My questions is has anyone had any experience with having both a male and female(very young) together in 1 cage right at the start? I have read that the males are aggressive with other males but they have been known to tollerate being with 1 or 2 females? Also, is it recomended to have black light on at night for heat?

Thanks for any help you can give, there will probably many more questions.

 

[Campy]

welcome to the forum

I dont know much about all of this yet myself... but i do kno u can't have 2 males in the same cage.

As for the black light. You dont need any heat at night as long as ur house is warm that is fine.

 

[Scrappy]

Hi bg welcome to the forum. If you are considering purchasing two chams they need to be housed separately. Chams are very much loners and should only be together for mating purposes. As for your question about a black light....that is not necessary, and actually chams need a temp drop and dark/quiet at night.
Make sure when you purchase your cham you find a reputable breed. I personally wouldn't recommend purchasing from a pet store. Ther are several breeders on this forum and others that can point you to reputable breeders as well.

 

[Stuey!]

Well scrappy, i bought my cham from a local pet store and he is doing great.

As long as the cham is active and doesnt apear harmed, stuff like that it should be ok.

but of course, the breeders here have excelent chams.

 

[kinyonga]

Welcome to the forum! I'm glad that you are asking questions and learning about chameleons before you buy one! There is lots to learn.

You asked about keeping them together...
If you keep a male and a female together from the beginning they will mate as soon as the female becomes old enough and it will likely be before she is finished growing herself. That means that you will be making her use calcium and other nutrients to produce the eggs that should be being used for her own development.

Unless you hand feed them in order to know which one eats what, you can't control the amount of food the female will get. If she gets too little she won't finish her own growth or grow the eggs properly...and if she gets too much, she will produce a large clutch which will further drain nutrients from her body. If you don't replace all these extra nutrients then what do you think is going to happen to a female??

In addition to this, the female will be constantly having to show the male that she is gravid (once she is) and that level of stress on her will undoubtedly cause her health issues and kill her. The male will be constantly having to deal with an upset female...so his health will also be compromised. In the wild, a chameleon has the choice of moving away from another....even in a room-sized cage they will still likely be able to see each other. (BTW, its recommended that they should not be able to see each other.)

Here are some sites with good information about chameleons...
http://adcham.com/
http://www.chameleonnews.com/

 

[bg77]

Great info.....I plan on buying my cham online. Nothing against pet stores, but would feel more comfortable from someone that specializes in them, not just the local mom and pop shop. Glad to hear that the black light is not recommended(1-less item to buy) Should the light and heat source be on a timer, or does consistancy no really matter?

 

[Stuey!]

There should be a schedule for light and dark, feeding. whatever you do, make sure your cham gets UVB tho.

 

[Campy]

What I do is 2-4 times a day i mist his cage with a spray bottle, soaking everything . (though he doesn't usually like to get wet , he gets a nice lil shower neway ... heheh) . my lights are on a timer . for 12 hour days... Im thinking about shortening it as he usually goes and gets in his corner that he sleeps everynight about a hour b4 the lights go off... so I am thinking about adjusting that.

crickets . i just throw about 15 in at a time... when it starts to look like he needs more... i just throw a bunch more in... crickets usually get thrown in at the evening and in the morning...

Im just a beginner at this... so . ask around... and if u get better information than what im doing... enlighten me .

 

[Scrappy]

UVA and UVB consistency is very important. Everyone has their own opinion on this, but your best bet is to have them on separate timers so they come on and go off about a half hour apart. I have mine set so the heat light is on longer, but I've read others say the opposite.

In response to campy...if you are just throwing crickets in on a "as needed" basis, how are you sure that the cham is eating them? Are you gutloading your crickets? Remember the saying you are what you eat and if you want a happy healthy cham then make sure his/her food is healthy too.

 

[bg77]

So I need a UVB light, and a UVA light? Can I have them on at the same time? How many hours of each does the cham need?

 

[Jordan]

I think what Scrappy was refering to was the basking bulb. A standard flourescent designed for reptiles will give off both UVA and UVB. I personally like my flourescent to come on 30 minutes before the heat lamp. The heat lamp goes off close to an hour before the flourescent does. Why? Well it is really just preferance. I do not like when someone just turns the lights on when I am asleep and in the wild it would be pretty gradual. The flourescent bulbs are pretty soft lighting and not quite the jolt of a 100w incandescent going off in your face. The heat lamp going off earlier starts to drop the cage temperature in which case mine go and seek out their sleeping spots. There are quite a few owners that do similar to what I do there are quite a that just let all the lighting go on and off together. It is really up to you.

Most species of chameleon would experience day time between 11-14 hours a day depending on seasons. 12 hours on and off is a nice middle ground in my opinion.

As with Iguanas exposure to UVB is critical. The flourescent lights will have to be changed every six months as they deteriorate over time. The reason they need UVB exposure is quit complex. The easy answer is quite simple, it helps them metabolise calcium properly. When the skin is exposed to UVB it begins to synthesis 7-dehyrocholesterol, cholecalciferol (D3). This is bound with a serum protien and transported to the liver. In the liver it is transformed into 25-hydroxycholecaliferol and then into 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol. This allows for calcium to be absorbed threw the duodenum. Without this it can still be absorb through the small intestine which is not nearly as effect a method of fusion absorbtion. This will not meet the demands of their body. On form or another of metabolic bone disease is bound to follow or complications from it. Metabolic bone disease is only found in captivity. The best way to prevent it is knowledge, proper husbandry, and proper diet. Lighting is just one answer. You will still have to supplement calcium and D3. As said above the body does naturally produces D3 but with substandard lighting it is doubtfull that they would ever be able to produce enough. No inside light can match the sun in the intensity. This is why a supplement of a phosphorus-free powder with calcium and D3 needs to be given. How much will really depend on the species. The reason phosphorus should be left out is because most insects are high in this. The ideal ratio for a chameleons diet should be 2:1 (calciumhosphorus). Most feeders fall into 1:3 or 1:2 catagory. If phosphorus levels get to high it will lead to insoluble calcium phosphate rendering it useless. Calcium phosphate is what bones are made of, you can see the importance. This will cause a form of metabolic bone diesease called hypocalcemia. Because I am rambling a bit and that is a lot to take in I will stop there. Sorry for the long post it reread good so I will not delete any of it. I hope it is helpful.

 

[Campy]

In response to campy...if you are just throwing crickets in on a "as needed" basis, how are you sure that the cham is eating them? Are you gutloading your crickets? Remember the saying you are what you eat and if you want a happy healthy cham then make sure his/her food is healthy too.

I am sure mine is eating as I watch him eat all the time... usually eats like 3-4 in a row... hungry lil fella...

After reading about a topic I posted b4... i have been gutloading with potatoes, carrots, lettuce... and dusting every day with Miner-all.... he seems pretty happy..... probably wouldn't mind a bit mroe greenery in the encagement... but im on a tight budget right now and can't afford too :-(... soon Snipe... Soon you will get the cage u have dreamed about...