i love chameleons and so does my father. i had them as a child, didnt work out so well.. this was before internet and i did many things wrong. Im older and wanting to try it agian... a little more informed this time. I am building a PVC pipe, mesh screen enclosure (for my veiled chameleon that i have not yet purchased). it is 48x36x24. plenty big for an adult, i plan on getting a live plant for inside with other fake vines and what not. i plan on also using ice on top of the enclosure for drips of water and of course misting too, not sure what kind of lights i need. ive got heat lamps with snake bulbs, im assuming i will need to get a flourecent and some sort of heat one. is heat at night nessecary?? my house stays at around 70 degrees at night. during the winter maybe around 68. is 12 on 12 off good?? im gonna get a timer for it. feeding schedules? misting schedules?? overall tips for the baby and future adult veiled chameleon. (crossed fingers) i heard that females will get egg bound with out a substrate so i will not buy anything but a male... besides they have more colors also. males have a barb between the toes on the back correct??...
Wanting to buy a veiled chameleon.
- Thread starter mrose2010
- Start date
carol5208
Chameleon Enthusiast
correct. They call is a spur but yes, that is a tell tale sign of a male. No heat at night unless your temps are gonna dip in the low 50's or below. No light at night either, they like it dark. you will need a reptisun 5.o tube for your UVB. You can use a 40 watt for regular housebulb for basking. How old is the Veild going to be you plan on getting? Also, you are better off buying a dripper for the cage. They are not expensive and you can run the water for quite some time. Ice cubes are cold and they run out in no time. In the winter you can run your lights 12/12 or 10/10 because it is getting darker earlier. Don't forget to get three supplements to dust your feeders with. Calcium w/o d3 every feeding, calcium w/d3 twice a month and a multi vitamin twice a month. I would start off with crickets and you can feed 12-15 a day if they are small. Mist like 3 times a day for 3-5 minutes to raise the humidity and to give an extra chance to drink. Also, welcome to the forums and best of luck to you!
You asked about feeding schedules...if its a hatchling you get, then I would feed it as much as it can eat in a couple of minutes at each feeding. You can feed it fruit flies and crickets of an appropriate size (what fits between the width of the eyes is generally what people say) and other insects (silkworms, superworms, etc.) as long as they are of the right size. I'm careful not to overfeed them all the time...it can lead to problems sometimes. See below for information on supplements and gutloading insects. For an adult, you can feed it every second day...about 15 crickets for a male.
For misting...I mist the babies a couple of times every day and the same can be done for the adults, but I don't use a dripper until they are about 3 or 4 months old. Its easy for a baby to aspirate it.
I don't usually use a basking light for the hatchlings but rather a long linear fluorescent double tube fixture with one UVB light in it and one regular white fluorescent tube. I like to keep the temperature for the hatchlings in the low 80's in the warmest area of the cage and just a little cooler in some areas. For adult males, I keep the basking temperature in the mid to high 80's....adult females slightly cooler.
You said..."i heard that females will get egg bound with out a substrate so i will not buy anything but a male"...female veileds can produce eggs without having been mated, so its important to provide them with a place to dig to show you that they need to lay them. However, I use an opaque container (minimum size 12" deep x 12" x 8") filled about 3/4 full of washed playsand...and no substrate in the cage. Some substrates can cause impactions.
Here's some information I often post for newbies but since you've been away from it for a while and said it didn't work out so well when you did have them, this should help you too...
Exposure to proper UVB, appropriate temperatures, supplements, a supply of well-fed/gutloaded insects, water and an appropriate cage set-up are all important for the well-being of your chameleon.
Appropriate cage temperatures aid in digestion and thus play a part indirectly in nutrient absorption.
Exposure to UVB from either direct sunlight or a proper UVB light allows the chameleon to produce D3 so that it can use the calcium in its system to make/keep the bones strong and be used in other systems in the chameleon as well. The UVB should not pass through glass or plastic no matter whether its from the sun or the UVB light.
Since many of the feeder insects have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorus in them, its important to dust the insects before you feed them to the chameleon with a phos.-free calcium powder to help make up for it.
If you dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder it will ensure that your chameleon gets some D3 without overdoing it. It leaves the chameleon to produce the rest of what it needs through its exposure to the UVB light. (Some UVB lights have been known to cause health issues, so the most often recommended one is the long linear fluorescent Repti-sun 5.0 tube light.) D3 from supplements can build up in the system but D3 produced from exposure to UVB shouldn't as long as the chameleon can move in and out of it.
Dusting twice a month with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A will ensure that the chameleon gets some vitamins without the danger of overdosing the vitamin A. PrEformed sources of vitamin A can build up in the system and may prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the chameleon towards MBD. However, there is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert the beta carotene and so some people give some prEformed vitamin A once in a while.
Gutloading/feeding the insects well helps to provide what the chameleon needs....so its important too. I gutload crickets, roaches, locusts, superworms, etc. with an assortment of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.)
Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are important players in bone health and other systems in the chameleon (muscles, etc.) and they need to be in balance. When trying to balance them, you need to look at the supplements, what you feed the insects and what you feed the chameleon.
Here are some good sites for you to read...
http://chameleonnews.com/07FebWheelock.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200605020...Vitamin.A.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200604210...d.Calcium.html
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/
http://web.archive.org/web/200601140...ww.adcham.com/
I can only advise you to read lots before you get another one. There's a lot to learn if you want to keep one in a healthy state that will live a long life!
For misting...I mist the babies a couple of times every day and the same can be done for the adults, but I don't use a dripper until they are about 3 or 4 months old. Its easy for a baby to aspirate it.
I don't usually use a basking light for the hatchlings but rather a long linear fluorescent double tube fixture with one UVB light in it and one regular white fluorescent tube. I like to keep the temperature for the hatchlings in the low 80's in the warmest area of the cage and just a little cooler in some areas. For adult males, I keep the basking temperature in the mid to high 80's....adult females slightly cooler.
You said..."i heard that females will get egg bound with out a substrate so i will not buy anything but a male"...female veileds can produce eggs without having been mated, so its important to provide them with a place to dig to show you that they need to lay them. However, I use an opaque container (minimum size 12" deep x 12" x 8") filled about 3/4 full of washed playsand...and no substrate in the cage. Some substrates can cause impactions.
Here's some information I often post for newbies but since you've been away from it for a while and said it didn't work out so well when you did have them, this should help you too...
Exposure to proper UVB, appropriate temperatures, supplements, a supply of well-fed/gutloaded insects, water and an appropriate cage set-up are all important for the well-being of your chameleon.
Appropriate cage temperatures aid in digestion and thus play a part indirectly in nutrient absorption.
Exposure to UVB from either direct sunlight or a proper UVB light allows the chameleon to produce D3 so that it can use the calcium in its system to make/keep the bones strong and be used in other systems in the chameleon as well. The UVB should not pass through glass or plastic no matter whether its from the sun or the UVB light.
Since many of the feeder insects have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorus in them, its important to dust the insects before you feed them to the chameleon with a phos.-free calcium powder to help make up for it.
If you dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder it will ensure that your chameleon gets some D3 without overdoing it. It leaves the chameleon to produce the rest of what it needs through its exposure to the UVB light. (Some UVB lights have been known to cause health issues, so the most often recommended one is the long linear fluorescent Repti-sun 5.0 tube light.) D3 from supplements can build up in the system but D3 produced from exposure to UVB shouldn't as long as the chameleon can move in and out of it.
Dusting twice a month with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A will ensure that the chameleon gets some vitamins without the danger of overdosing the vitamin A. PrEformed sources of vitamin A can build up in the system and may prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the chameleon towards MBD. However, there is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert the beta carotene and so some people give some prEformed vitamin A once in a while.
Gutloading/feeding the insects well helps to provide what the chameleon needs....so its important too. I gutload crickets, roaches, locusts, superworms, etc. with an assortment of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.)
Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are important players in bone health and other systems in the chameleon (muscles, etc.) and they need to be in balance. When trying to balance them, you need to look at the supplements, what you feed the insects and what you feed the chameleon.
Here are some good sites for you to read...
http://chameleonnews.com/07FebWheelock.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200605020...Vitamin.A.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200604210...d.Calcium.html
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/
http://web.archive.org/web/200601140...ww.adcham.com/
I can only advise you to read lots before you get another one. There's a lot to learn if you want to keep one in a healthy state that will live a long life!
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thanks for all the info!! the petstore has one that looks a few months old. i havent asked about it yet. they;ve had it for at least a month now. 130 for a veiled sounds like a good deal??? ill be sure to look into the drip system and get all the vitamins and calcium. 12-15 crickets a day?? just let them loose in the cage all at once?? and do i do all the other extra insects later or when he is a baby also? and do i do a bowl of fresh veggies and replace it every day.
Tarsal spurs....
http://web.archive.org/web/20060819051951/www.adcham.com/html/husbandry/glossary/tarsalspur.html
You can offer it the same greens and veggies used to gutload the insects as well as a small amount of fruit (apple, pear, melon, berries, etc.).
For babies I release a few insects and if they eat them then a few more, etc. until they are full. For adults I release them all at once in the cage and they will almost always eat them all. (They do slow down a bit in the cooler weather sometimes though.)
http://web.archive.org/web/20060819051951/www.adcham.com/html/husbandry/glossary/tarsalspur.html
You can offer it the same greens and veggies used to gutload the insects as well as a small amount of fruit (apple, pear, melon, berries, etc.).
For babies I release a few insects and if they eat them then a few more, etc. until they are full. For adults I release them all at once in the cage and they will almost always eat them all. (They do slow down a bit in the cooler weather sometimes though.)
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yeah dont worry ill get the terminology down soon, ive got a saltwater tank with a DSB, ATS, SPS, LPS, and HOCF lights. Its just a matter of time before i get this new obsession down. But i went to the petshop real fast and noticed that the vines are like 20 bucks for one.. not that im cheap.. but id rather not buy 3 of those for my tank or enclosure rather... with the plant in there (any suggestions on the type),can i fill the rest of the space with sticks from the tree. ill be sure to bake it and dry it out. trust me when i say im not buyin the chameleon till everything is ready. but would that be a problem?? ill find platic leaves or whatever to drape all along the sides...
