Veiled Chameleon...male or female?
- Thread starter Alandbeth
- Start date
marcsman16
Established Member
I don't know to much about vields, but I would say that there are some things you're missing on your setup.
Could you fill out this form please?
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/how-to-ask-for-help.66/
And welcome to the community
Tiosk
Member
Tank setup looks ok but a standing water bowl is not gonna be used by your cham. You will need to get an auto mister or mist very often manually for best hydration results. You will also want more foliage towards the front of the cage (with a live plant) to hold more humidity. Good luck with your new girl!
Alandbeth
New Member
I don't know to much about vields, but I would say that there are some things you're missing on your setup.
Could you fill out this form please?
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/how-to-ask-for-help.66/
And welcome to the community
- Your Chameleon - Veiled Chameleon, about 6 months, female.
- Handling - Every day - about an hour a day. She always reaches for us when we are misting, or fixing her enclosure. She will even reach for us when we are just observing her. She loves to sit on our head!
- Feeding - We were told to feed her 5-10 large, gut filled crickets a day. But with research, it appears she should only be fed every other day. The crickets are covered in calcium powder. We alternate vitamins and D3 every Sunday (so she gets each twice a month. We use "Fluker's Orange Cube Complete Cricket Diet" to gut-load our crickets. We want to start giving veggies/fruits but wanted to research the best ones for her to eat. What are your suggestions?
- Supplements - "Repti Calcium - without D3", Fluker's Repta Calcium with Vitamin D3 and Phosphorus Free" and "Zoo Med's Retivite Vitamins". Calcium without D3 every feeding, Alternating Sundays for the D3 calcium powder and vitamins. She gets fed every morning about an hour or so after we wake up.
- Watering - We currently are manually misting the enclosure everytime the humidity starts to decline. We mist for about a minute. Currently looking for an automatic mister but unsure of the best kind for a screen enclosure. She drinks often throughout the day.
- Fecal Description - Brown, well-formed droppings with a small amount of white at the end. Unknown if tested for parasites.
- History - Not much history given. Purchased at Pet Supplies Plus and were told she was about six months old. Very social with easy going temperament.
Cage Info:
- Cage Type - Screen, 16x16x30
- Lighting - 12" terrarium hood with ReptiSun 5.0 UVB Compact Fluorescent Lamp. Combo Deep Dome Lamp fixture w/100W Repti Basking Spot Lampl and 100W Red Infrared Heat Lamp. UVB light is on for 12 hours during the day. Basking bulb on during the day. We have used the red light heat lamp at night but a lot of articles/forums we have read states for it to be completely dark so we have been keeping it off (while keeping an eye on the temperature so it does not dip too low). She has been sleeping well and active during the day.
- Temperature - 70 degrees near the floor and 80 under the basking lamp. Overnight temp stays around 70 degrees. We use a dual thermometer and humidity gauge.
- Humidity - Always keeps the humidity in the "tropical zone" on the gauge (between 60-75). We manually mist but after recommendations will get an automatic mister.
- Plants - Only artificial plants as of yet but will get live plants asap. What are the best live plants for her enclosure?
- Placement - Living room-inside wall. 5 ft away from the ceiling vent. Enclosure sits on a table that is 3 ft off the ground. Top of the enclosure is a little over 5 ft off the ground.
- Location - Chicago, IL
Current Problem - We have experience with bearded dragons, geckos, anols, and skinks but it has been a while. We first wanted to know male or female. But we need clarification on the feeding schedule. Also, we have read to keep handling at a minimum but if she is reaching for us and very social why is this not a good thing. We always wash our hands before and after. She loves to sit on our heads!
Alandbeth
New Member
We were told to put the water in the enclosure because they like to use it when they are shedding. We change the water everyday but will take it out. We got our girl at Pet Supplies Plus in a suburb outside of Chicago.
Alandbeth
New Member
Yes we just found out about the lay bin and will be getting that all together with a larger enclosure tomorrow. We just bought this one too ha ha.
Thehippie
Chameleon Enthusiast
you should make the lay bin a permanent part of her enclosure as it is easier on both her and you. i would also invest on a cheap baby monitor off of amazon so when she is gravid and showing receptive colors you can watch her without disturbing her.
dont handle her that often, it will stress her out chameleons are like fish, look dont touch, maybe once or twice a week would be good.
those cute orange cubes are no good try cricket crack or repashy diet. spinach, collard greens, carrots, sweet potatoes, apples and others are a good gutload
use reptivitamin only once every two weeks
misting, mist 2 mins every time and 5 mins once a day. i would recommend a drainage system
a 2'x2'x4' cage would be good for her.
red bulbs are no good, try a ceramic heat bulb they dont emit any light
live plants can be from pothos to dracanea to ficus it all depends on what you want.
dont handle her that often, it will stress her out chameleons are like fish, look dont touch, maybe once or twice a week would be good.
those cute orange cubes are no good try cricket crack or repashy diet. spinach, collard greens, carrots, sweet potatoes, apples and others are a good gutload
use reptivitamin only once every two weeks
misting, mist 2 mins every time and 5 mins once a day. i would recommend a drainage system
a 2'x2'x4' cage would be good for her.
red bulbs are no good, try a ceramic heat bulb they dont emit any light
live plants can be from pothos to dracanea to ficus it all depends on what you want.
King4Zerg
Member
Syreptyon
Chameleon Enthusiast
The MistKing system is the tried and true automatic misting option for chameleons. Can't go wrong!
Switch out your compact fluorescent bulb. The compact models are no good for dispersing UVB properly. You'll want to switch to a linear model ASAP.
Best live plants include ficus benjamina, ficus allii, schefflera arboricola, and pothos (though there are plenty more to choose from)
Definitely get rid of the water dish (bad news!). Definitely no lights of any kind on during the night time. Don't worry about overnight temperature drops unless it gets below 50 F.
And the biggest other suggestion I have for your setup is to add in several sturdy branches going horizontal from one side of the cage to the other. Chameleons like horizontal options the best and, as of now, you only have those flexible fake vines. You can secure branches using, push-pins, garden wire, zipties, etc. Hard wood branches also help keep their nails from getting too long! You're on the right track!
Switch out your compact fluorescent bulb. The compact models are no good for dispersing UVB properly. You'll want to switch to a linear model ASAP.
Best live plants include ficus benjamina, ficus allii, schefflera arboricola, and pothos (though there are plenty more to choose from)
Definitely get rid of the water dish (bad news!). Definitely no lights of any kind on during the night time. Don't worry about overnight temperature drops unless it gets below 50 F.
And the biggest other suggestion I have for your setup is to add in several sturdy branches going horizontal from one side of the cage to the other. Chameleons like horizontal options the best and, as of now, you only have those flexible fake vines. You can secure branches using, push-pins, garden wire, zipties, etc. Hard wood branches also help keep their nails from getting too long! You're on the right track!
April McGregor
Established Member
With regards to your comment on handling, this is a statement said to new owners to warn them off handling just incase the Chameleon is acutually getting stressed. This is actually a case by case judgement.
If the Chameleon is fine with being handled and is showing no signs of stress, daily handling should be fine. I would suggest however, just a couple of minutes a time.
KamaKamaChameleon!
Avid Member
Beautiful female keep giving us updates on your beautiful little girl.
Alandbeth
New Member
Thank you so much for all your helpful comments! She is doing great! It’s incredible to watch her hunt for the crickets and she LOVES collard greens! She now has a dripper along with a permanent lay bin. We will get a bigger enclosure soon!
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