Veiled chameleon setup and new arrival

[artgecko]

Hello all,

I got my veiled chameleon in the mail on Tuesday... I managed to find an ~6 month-old male fro ma small breeder and have been very happy with the little guy. He has been stressed out and has just shown his normal coloration today... Probably helped by me adding coroplast to 3 sides of his cage, upping his basking lamp temp a little, and adding some more fake foliage to the very top of his cage. So far, he is terrified of us and runs to hide if he thinks we are looking at him.. The breeder said he had been handled when living with her, so I'm hoping to start that in a week or two when I get his outdoor cage setup and need to move him to it each day.

He has taken dubia and superworms from me in a plastic cup so far and seems to be eating well out of a hanging feeder. I have not seen him drink yet, but he has a dripper almost 24/7 and I spray him 3-4 times a day (planning on getting an auto mister soon). He is in an xl reptibreeze, but I raised the floor due to the short height of the hibiscus plant. His bulb is a Reptisun t5HO5.0 and there is a 6500kt5HO as well as an LED 6500k spot for the plants and a basking bulb all on timers.

I will attach some pics of my setup and him from today. Thanks to everyone that helped me with my questions over the last couple months... I'm sure there will be more. So far he is the most reactive herp I own and is the most aware of his surroundings. I'm just hoping that I get lucky and he will accept handling. I will be putting in an order for some other feeders next week, so maybe offering him some hornworms will win him over.

 

[Vicar Laurence]

Congrats on your new little buddy! As far as handling goes take this VERY slow. Veiled Chameleons especially can be very skittish, and generally, don't like to be handled. Trust is the name of the game. I promise it's going to be a lot easier to work with him now then if you rush things and betray his trust. Give him a solid two weeks to just settle in. Don't interact with him outside of putting food into his enclosure and misting him. Feel free to hang around his enclosure during this time. Read a book, browse the internet, whatever you want to do as long as he can see you. Don't make eye contact with him if avoidable, but just try and keep a presence around him. After that initial two weeks works on hand feeding him or tong feeding him. This is the easiest way to earn trust and will help them to realize that you are not a threat. After he's successfully been eating from your hand/tongs for a few days then you can try to coax him out onto a branch. Do NOT grab him or try to take him out, this will ruin everything you've been working for. Ideally, you should just use a branch to move him between his enclosure and his free roam area for a while. Over time he will understand that you don't mean him any harm, and if you take things slow then he'll eventually start to venture towards you whenever you're around. He'll associate you with food, and with time should even walk right onto your arm when you offer it. It's a very long process when done correctly, but it is incredibly rewarding when they finally start to trust you.

 

[artgecko]

Congrats on your new little buddy! As far as handling goes take this VERY slow. Veiled Chameleons especially can be very skittish, and generally, don't like to be handled. Trust is the name of the game. I promise it's going to be a lot easier to work with him now then if you rush things and betray his trust. Give him a solid two weeks to just settle in. Don't interact with him outside of putting food into his enclosure and misting him. Feel free to hang around his enclosure during this time. Read a book, browse the internet, whatever you want to do as long as he can see you. Don't make eye contact with him if avoidable, but just try and keep a presence around him. After that initial two weeks works on hand feeding him or tong feeding him. This is the easiest way to earn trust and will help them to realize that you are not a threat. After he's successfully been eating from your hand/tongs for a few days then you can try to coax him out onto a branch. Do NOT grab him or try to take him out, this will ruin everything you've been working for. Ideally, you should just use a branch to move him between his enclosure and his free roam area for a while. Over time he will understand that you don't mean him any harm, and if you take things slow then he'll eventually start to venture towards you whenever you're around. He'll associate you with food, and with time should even walk right onto your arm when you offer it. It's a very long process when done correctly, but it is incredibly rewarding when they finally start to trust you.

Thank you! He seems to be eating well and moving around his enclosure, but is still terrified of me (will hide if I look at him, etc.). I am setting up his outdoor enclosure this weekend and am hoping to start moving him into it next week. I am also getting in an order of hornworms and BSFL this weekend, so can use those as "bribes".

How would you recommend I get him to move onto a branch to transport him to his outdoor cage without stressing him too much? I know he will run from my hands in the cage, so am unsure how well this will work.
Thank you again for your time and help!

 

[Stone Marshall]

I have two female veiled chameleons who are as different as night and day. Liza (my profile pic) is very skittish and runs whenever you mist. Stevie, on the other hand, always moves into the mist and drinks. I see Liza drinking from the leaves about mid level in her enclosure. Liza will eat crickets from my hand and will even sometimes come out of her cage to eat. Stevie will eat out of my hand sometimes. Neither one likes to be removed from the cages but calm down once we go outside and get some real sun. They are both a year and a half to two years old. They lay eggs about a month apart.

Too make a long story short...every chameleon is different....even sisters!