Veiled Chameleon

[surfbeam]

Hello, This is my first post!.. I am going to get a veiled chameleon soon... My supplies list is :

-Humidity & Temperature Digital
-Vine Habitat Decor
-Terrarium Plant - Amapallo (x3)
Mandarin (x2)
-Repti Breeze Aluminum Screen Cage - 24 in. x 24 in. x 48 in.
-Exo Terra Solar-Glo Self Ballasted Mercury Vapor Lamp - 160W
-Incandescent Night Red Bulb - 100W
-Light Reflector Dome - Ceramic Socket - Silver - 8.5 in. (x2)
-Eco Earth - 3 Brick Value Pack
- Mister

Do I need anything else?

Thanks

 

[stacy76]

what is the night red bulb intended for?and most dont use any bedding,it can cause your cham to get impacted and harbor bacteria...im sure others will chime in and help ya more..

 

[vgaines]

Welcome...This forum is a great place for good care information as well as great advice from very knowledgeable people. Don't be afraid to ask any questions you may have. There are great care sheets under the Resource tab at the top of the page.
Chams need complete dark at night. No night light needed... Like the other person said, no bedding.. The light you are planning on using may be a little strong. I don't know if it provides UVB as well as heat but you need both.

Hope this helps

PS..We all love pictures. Be sure and post some when you get your chameleon...

 

[Tyaeda]

Sounds pretty good so far! Great cage size, there's so many people out there who make the mistake of putting them in fish tanks, or cages that are just too small, or not tall enough.

Chameleons DO NOT need light in the night time. They are capable of seeing colours, so the night light will bother him/her. Also, the temperature in your enclosure should drop around 10 degrees at night too, so unless you live somewhere where it gets really really cold at night, there is no need for a night-time heat source.
I have a 50 WATT heat bulb, that I don't even use is the room temp goes above 80 degrees.

Ditch the substrate/bedding. Chameleons can accidently eat it, and they could die. It also harbors bacteria and mold, which is also harmful. Just go with a plain bottom, it's so much easier to clean. Instead, get a live plant, like a Schefflera, Ficus, or Pothos. It helps with humidity, looks great, and your cham will love to climb it!

Also, he's going to need 3 kinds of vitamins. You'll need plain calcium (without vitamin d3 in it), a multivitamin, and one that has calcium and d3 in it. You'll need to dust your feeder insects with these, at different intervals, before you feed your chameleon. This is VERY important!

Don't forget about keeping your feeders too, which you will have to do in order to gutload them with the right food.


You came to the right place for advice though! Welcome to the forums!

 

[surfbeam]

Ok thanks you all for the help, so what I am understanding From all of you is that I should have no substrate, and no red bulb!! So for lighting all I need is the UV light I have on my list? Also is this a good size enclosure, anyway I can go smaller?
Thanks

 

[Video Master]

You need a basking light, but for that you can use a standard household incandescent bulb in a dome with a ceramic base.

 

[deadhd5]

Welcome

There are a few corrections you need to make:

-Exo Terra Solar-Glo Self Ballasted Mercury Vapor Lamp - 160W - This is not recommended. Get a fluorescent tube light like Reptisun 5.0 or Arcadia T5HO for UVB. This is too strong, even for an adult. For basking, just use a regular house incandescent bulb.

-Incandescent Night Red Bulb - 100W - No need for this at all, chams need total darkness at night. Just use the incandescent bulb for basking as advised above.

-Eco Earth - 3 Brick Value Pack - No substrate is advised. Can cause impaction and promote bacteria growth.

Also, you need calcium and supplements, which you should research further. You will need a plain calcium (no D3), calcium w/d3 2x a month, and a multivitamin (like herptivite) 2x a month.

 

[surfbeam]

Thank you all again... so for my corrections I should have a

~24L x 24W x 24H Reptarium
~Deep Dome Fixture
~Ceramic Fixture
~Repti-Sun 5.0 Compact Fluorescent Bulb
~Vines, Plants, & Climbing Décor
~Mister
~Dripper
~Hygrometer
~Thermometer

-(Still Don't get the Basking yet)? What Wattage, & Like A Normal House Light Bulb

-Do Veileds eat MealWorms

-Do They Bite A lot

 

[surfbeam]

SORRY I MEANT 24x24x48 Reptarium

 

[deadhd5]

Thank you all again... so for my corrections I should have a

~24L x 24W x 24H Reptarium
~Deep Dome Fixture
~Ceramic Fixture
~Repti-Sun 5.0 Compact Fluorescent Bulb
~Vines, Plants, & Climbing Décor
~Mister
~Dripper
~Hygrometer
~Thermometer

-(Still Don't get the Basking yet)? What Wattage, & Like A Normal House Light Bulb

-Do Veileds eat MealWorms

-Do They Bite A lot

Yes, like a household bulb. Try 60 watts. The key is to measure the temperature of the basking spot. Choose the least powerful bulb that can achieve the correct temperature (basking temps vary by chameleon species, sex, and age).

Veileds will eat mealworms, but they should just be an occasional snack as they are full of fat and shell (chitin). Roaches, crickets, silworms, hornworms, flies, snails are all good choices. Variety is key and what the bugs eat is very important (gutloading). Forum member Sandrachameleon has great blogs about nutrition and gutloading, you should check them out.

Good luck!

 

[surfbeam]

Thank you all again! My cousin is staying with me for a bit and heres his question:

hello i was wondering if anyone knew how to take care of pygmy chameleons

 

[Tyaeda]

Thank you all again! My cousin is staying with me for a bit and heres his question:

hello i was wondering if anyone knew how to take care of pygmy chameleons

Pygmy chameleons are much different than veileds, because you can (depending on how big the cage is) put more than one pygmy in the same enclosure. They also have smaller glass cages, instead of big screened ones.

Here's a good place to start: https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/pygmy/

And here you can find a bunch of different pygmy enclosures people have made:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/pygmy-enclosures/