PabloPicasso
New Member
My boyfriend and I have had reptiles in the past, so we went into buying Pablo, our veiled chameleon, with a decent idea of what we were doing. He's our first chameleon, however, and there's some fine details we aren't totally sure about in terms of his care - and the Petco lady tried her best, but they obviously weren't something she was very familiar with.
To our knowledge, he's about 4 months old. He's about 4 inches (tail not included) and looks healthy by all standards. He's in a twenty gallon vertical mesh cage (I forget the actual term), several artificial climbing vines and leafy things, with a UV and heat lamp up top, and he has a dripper in addition to the cage being misted at least twice a day. With that said, I have a few general questions to make sure everything is how it should be for maximum health and happiness.
1) Temperature and Moisture. The thermometer is in the middle of the cage, and it hovers around 80 degrees. His moisture is in the same spot, and it's 50-55%. He does have a basking spot near the top about 4 inches away and just off to the side of the heat lamp. The numbers seem right - but is this a good setup? I don't want him to get cold (I lost an iguana to an unnoticed draft many years ago), or burned by the basking light. If not, how should I rearrange?
2) Nighttime - As it stands right now, he gets twelve UV+heat, twelve with just the heat lamp. However, I have heard it's better to not have a light on at night at all. I've also heard that they are fine with temperature drops at night, but I've never seen anyone agree on how low the temperature can go. Should I use a nighttime heat lamp? Or would a heating pad (the ones designed for use in a cage, of course) with a thermometer control be better? How low can the temperature actually go, and for how long (our house is about 75)? Should I shut everything off and just cover 3/4 of his cage with a blanket? We've never had an animal where night light isn't recommended, so we're both at a loss.
3) Food - Do chameleons develop overeating disorders? If they do, I think Pablo has one - he eats considerably more in one sitting than I was told to expect. He was a little thin, and in a tank with another, much smaller and much thinner chameleon - and he seemed almost aggressive about getting the food first when they were fed together, so is that a thing? I make sure he gets the right foods - gut loaded crickets, appropriately dusted, as his main, plus a meal worm or waxworm for a treat. He's put on weight, so I don't think he has anything going on health wise (he's going to the vet for a checkup soon, anyway). But he will eat indefinitely if I let him, even when he clearly doesn't want to. I know that some animals just eat more than others, but has anyone had their chameleon do this? Is there a good average number to start from? Should he eat one time a day, two? Also, I will add hornworms ASAP - unfortunately, they aren't stocked in most stores near me, and the heatwave has messed with shipping for stores and for personal delivery. Beyond hornworms, is he missing anything in his diet?
4) Last question, and I really appreciate your help and reading this long post. Pablo has adored me since I held him in the store - he tried to get out of his tank when I saw him, and wouldn't let go for anything when we went to put him back. We've only had him a short while, but he will reach out and demand my hand to climb on me when I go in to clean. He is very skittish with my boyfriend and a relative we live with, however. Neither have ever done anything to hurt him or any other animals, but it does worry me, since I won't be able to do all his care because of work (we made sure between the three of us, it would be handled properly). Would it be helpful if they gave him a meal worm or wax worm after they go in the tank? Or should we just let them do his feeding more regularly? Until he acclimates, it's just me doing the care, but once he's settled, it's something we'd like to work on.
To our knowledge, he's about 4 months old. He's about 4 inches (tail not included) and looks healthy by all standards. He's in a twenty gallon vertical mesh cage (I forget the actual term), several artificial climbing vines and leafy things, with a UV and heat lamp up top, and he has a dripper in addition to the cage being misted at least twice a day. With that said, I have a few general questions to make sure everything is how it should be for maximum health and happiness.
1) Temperature and Moisture. The thermometer is in the middle of the cage, and it hovers around 80 degrees. His moisture is in the same spot, and it's 50-55%. He does have a basking spot near the top about 4 inches away and just off to the side of the heat lamp. The numbers seem right - but is this a good setup? I don't want him to get cold (I lost an iguana to an unnoticed draft many years ago), or burned by the basking light. If not, how should I rearrange?
2) Nighttime - As it stands right now, he gets twelve UV+heat, twelve with just the heat lamp. However, I have heard it's better to not have a light on at night at all. I've also heard that they are fine with temperature drops at night, but I've never seen anyone agree on how low the temperature can go. Should I use a nighttime heat lamp? Or would a heating pad (the ones designed for use in a cage, of course) with a thermometer control be better? How low can the temperature actually go, and for how long (our house is about 75)? Should I shut everything off and just cover 3/4 of his cage with a blanket? We've never had an animal where night light isn't recommended, so we're both at a loss.
3) Food - Do chameleons develop overeating disorders? If they do, I think Pablo has one - he eats considerably more in one sitting than I was told to expect. He was a little thin, and in a tank with another, much smaller and much thinner chameleon - and he seemed almost aggressive about getting the food first when they were fed together, so is that a thing? I make sure he gets the right foods - gut loaded crickets, appropriately dusted, as his main, plus a meal worm or waxworm for a treat. He's put on weight, so I don't think he has anything going on health wise (he's going to the vet for a checkup soon, anyway). But he will eat indefinitely if I let him, even when he clearly doesn't want to. I know that some animals just eat more than others, but has anyone had their chameleon do this? Is there a good average number to start from? Should he eat one time a day, two? Also, I will add hornworms ASAP - unfortunately, they aren't stocked in most stores near me, and the heatwave has messed with shipping for stores and for personal delivery. Beyond hornworms, is he missing anything in his diet?
4) Last question, and I really appreciate your help and reading this long post. Pablo has adored me since I held him in the store - he tried to get out of his tank when I saw him, and wouldn't let go for anything when we went to put him back. We've only had him a short while, but he will reach out and demand my hand to climb on me when I go in to clean. He is very skittish with my boyfriend and a relative we live with, however. Neither have ever done anything to hurt him or any other animals, but it does worry me, since I won't be able to do all his care because of work (we made sure between the three of us, it would be handled properly). Would it be helpful if they gave him a meal worm or wax worm after they go in the tank? Or should we just let them do his feeding more regularly? Until he acclimates, it's just me doing the care, but once he's settled, it's something we'd like to work on.