watering / misting ?

[Momma Lauren]

I bought my very first chameleon yesterday. Upon purchasing him I did a little research on them but I relied mostly on the pet store to educate me.
I have read some about owners misting their chameleons, however, the pet store guided me to a water dripper, which we purchased. The dripper drips water throughout the day, the water then trickles down on the vines/leaves we have in the cage and is caught in a bowl at the bottom of the cage.
Is this sufficient enough? or should I mist as well? and how / how often should I mist?

 

[jannb]

Welcome to the forums and congrats on your new veiled. Do you have a male or female? I keep veileds and love them dearly. I also live in FL. Where are you located in FL?

You will need to mist twice a day and depending on the age and size of your veiled you make need a dripper also. I don't use a dripper until the are pretty good size. I have a blog for new keep that you should check out to make sure you are doing everything correct to keep you new cham healthy.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html

 

[k9monkey]

A couple of items to note...

1. Get rid of the bowl. You don't want standing water in the enclosure if you don't have to. There is not anything good that comes from standing water for chameleons.

2. Yes,you should still mist the enclosure. The dripping is fine for providing drinking water, however the misting is good for the humidity in the area, cleaning off your leaves from droppings and your chameleon might enjoy the shower. Some do, some don't.

Welcome to the chameleon owner family.

 

[Momma Lauren]

Welcome to the forums and congrats on your new veiled. Do you have a male or female? I keep veileds and love them dearly. I also live in FL. Where are you located in FL?

You will need to mist twice a day and depending on the age and size of your veiled you make need a dripper also. I don't use a dripper until the are pretty good size. I have a blog for new keep that you should check out to make sure you are doing everything correct to keep you new cham healthy.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html

Thank you for the information. I have a male veiled and I'm not sure how old he is. I planned to call the pet store I purchased him from today to get an idea. He is still very young, I'm sure b/c he's quite small.

I live in Gainesville.

How exactly do I mist?

 

[Momma Lauren]

A couple of items to note...

1. Get rid of the bowl. You don't want standing water in the enclosure if you don't have to. There is not anything good that comes from standing water for chameleons.

2. Yes,you should still mist the enclosure. The dripping is fine for providing drinking water, however the misting is good for the humidity in the area, cleaning off your leaves from droppings and your chameleon might enjoy the shower. Some do, some don't.

Welcome to the chameleon owner family.

Correct me if I'm wrong, if I'm using a dripper I will need a bowl at the bottom of the cage to catch the water. If not, I'll have a huge mess on my hands.

 

[fluxlizard]

Get rid of the bowl. You don't want standing water in the enclosure if you don't have to. There is not anything good that comes from standing water for chameleons.

I'm gonna disagree with that.

A catch bowl for your dripper is fine, as long as the chameleon can climb out of it and as long as you dump and clean the bowl daily.

Way back when I used to use drippers (I use a mist system now), I would use catch bowls and never had a single problem from it. Many chams learned to drink directly from the bowl when drips were going into it splashing the water, and a few learned to drink even when the drip wasn't going. Standing water is no more a health problem for chams than for other lizards- just keep the bowl clean and make sure the cham can crawl out of it if it happens to fall in.

As for misting- just coat your plant leaves with the mist 1x or 2x per day and you will be fine. It's mainly for humidity for your type of setup- serious drinking will happen at the dripper. You can use a simple spray bottle to do the job. If you want to give more, you can use other things like a gallon spray pump from the hardware store, or an actual misting system with mist nozzles.

 

[Momma Lauren]

I'm gonna disagree with that.

A catch bowl for your dripper is fine, as long as the chameleon can climb out of it and as long as you dump and clean the bowl daily.

Way back when I used to use drippers (I use a mist system now), I would use catch bowls and never had a single problem from it. Many chams learned to drink directly from the bowl when drips were going into it splashing the water, and a few learned to drink even when the drip wasn't going. Standing water is no more a health problem for chams than for other lizards- just keep the bowl clean and make sure the cham can crawl out of it if it happens to fall in.

As for misting- just coat your plant leaves with the mist 1x or 2x per day and you will be fine. It's mainly for humidity for your type of setup- serious drinking will happen at the dripper. You can use a simple spray bottle to do the job. If you want to give more, you can use other things like a gallon spray pump from the hardware store, or an actual misting system with mist nozzles.

Thank you for clarifying that. I have a spray bottle that I could use for misting. Does it matter if my plants are fake? I currently do not have any real plants in my cage. The pet store said real plants weren't necessary.

If it sounds any better, the dish I use isn't very deep at all. It's more wide than deep and I do change out the water everyday.

 

[Texas Ranger]

I dont use Live plants either. But a lot of people do. It can help with Humitiy. And others just like the look. I find it is more trouble than its worth. But with live or fake you mist the same way.

 

[Momma Lauren]

I dont use Live plants either. But a lot of people do. It can help with Humitiy. And others just like the look. I find it is more trouble than its worth. But with live or fake you mist the same way.

I'm worried about keeping the right amount of humidty. They didn't mention this in the pet store I purchased him from. Without live plants how do you get the humidity you need?

 

[Momma Lauren]

anyone on humidity?

 

[Texas Ranger]

Well misting and drying out creates humitiy. I have a mistking on my panthers. And it makes the right humitiy. And the average home has 30% humitiy naturaly. So I dont worry about that.

And pretty much most of what the petstore told you is going to be not right. We can help you here with any problems/questions you have.

 

[EvilLost]

@Momma: just a general note: pet stores almost always are misinformed about chameleons and other exotics that have become more mainstream. I would honestly take anything they tell you with a grain of a salt. This forum on the other hand is more knowledgeable than most vets


With that said....

Chameleons can not swim and although they can support their body weight, they can not move so in water. The catch bowl is fine but make SURE that it is shallow enough that the chameleon will not be able to drown in it even if he is standing on all fours.

fake plants are fine, and a soil bottom is generally bad....I have heard of veileds eating their leaves/branches though so that is something to keep an eye out for (or sometimes they eat soil and become compacted). Also, I personally much prefer live plants as they hold humidity much better and you do not need the "catch cup" since the water just drips into the plants....if you do use these make sure to cover the soil with either large enough rocks that he cannot eat or I personally use "mood moss" also known as "pillow moss" (its the stuff thats pretty much permanently green) to cover up any possible dirt.
**if you do get live plants make sure they are cham safe, esp with veileds who might eat them.....the most common and easy to get (home depot/lowes has them) are HIBISCUS, POTHOS, FICUS, SCHEFFLERA, and the "money tree" (i dont know the proper name). Some people avoid FICUS because it emits a sap that sometimes causes eye irritation in some chameleons (i have personally experienced this) but it can be easily treated with some terramycin (availble from a vendor on the classifieds if you need it)


DID THE PET STORE MENTION THESE THINGS? YOU NEED THEM ALL!!
-do you have UVB?
-basking lamp? temp depends on age/species of your cham, but 85F is a rough fair basking spot to aim for
-supplementation? I can almost guarantee the pet store said nothing on this matter!!
-get a temperature and humidity guage (i highly recommend the "temp gun" point and shoot thermoter, but it does not measure humidity...if you don't have many reptiles you may prefer getting a 2-in-1 guage) DO NOT GET THOSE ANALOG / STICK ON / DIAL guages. They *DO NOT* work (they are far too inaccurate for any useful reading). If the pet store sold you or told you to buy those, I would vehemently take them back and exchange it for a good DIGITAL gauge (esp if they ripped you of $10+ on them like they do most beginners)

 

[carol5208]

you are much better off with live plants as they are like natural humidifiers. They release moisture through their leaves in a process called transpiration (atleast I think that's what it is called) which in turn produces humidity.. They can also help clean the air.

 

[Momma Lauren]

@Momma: just a general note: pet stores almost always are misinformed about chameleons and other exotics that have become more mainstream. I would honestly take anything they tell you with a grain of a salt. This forum on the other hand is more knowledgeable than most vets


With that said....

Chameleons can not swim and although they can support their body weight, they can not move so in water. The catch bowl is fine but make SURE that it is shallow enough that the chameleon will not be able to drown in it even if he is standing on all fours.

fake plants are fine, and a soil bottom is generally bad....I have heard of veileds eating their leaves/branches though so that is something to keep an eye out for (or sometimes they eat soil and become compacted). Also, I personally much prefer live plants as they hold humidity much better and you do not need the "catch cup" since the water just drips into the plants....if you do use these make sure to cover the soil with either large enough rocks that he cannot eat or I personally use "mood moss" also known as "pillow moss" (its the stuff thats pretty much permanently green) to cover up any possible dirt.
**if you do get live plants make sure they are cham safe, esp with veileds who might eat them.....the most common and easy to get (home depot/lowes has them) are HIBISCUS, POTHOS, FICUS, SCHEFFLERA, and the "money tree" (i dont know the proper name). Some people avoid FICUS because it emits a sap that sometimes causes eye irritation in some chameleons (i have personally experienced this) but it can be easily treated with some terramycin (availble from a vendor on the classifieds if you need it)


DID THE PET STORE MENTION THESE THINGS? YOU NEED THEM ALL!!
-do you have UVB?
-basking lamp? temp depends on age/species of your cham, but 85F is a rough fair basking spot to aim for
-supplementation? I can almost guarantee the pet store said nothing on this matter!!
-get a temperature and humidity guage (i highly recommend the "temp gun" point and shoot thermoter, but it does not measure humidity...if you don't have many reptiles you may prefer getting a 2-in-1 guage) DO NOT GET THOSE ANALOG / STICK ON / DIAL guages. They *DO NOT* work (they are far too inaccurate for any useful reading). If the pet store sold you or told you to buy those, I would vehemently take them back and exchange it for a good DIGITAL gauge (esp if they ripped you of $10+ on them like they do most beginners)

My catch dish is very shallow. I'm not at all worried about that.

I had a huntch that the pet store wasn't fully educated on the chameleons which lead me here. (I appreciate all the help and input)

The pet store did sell me a basking spot bulb (50w) and a UVB bulb (13 w). Both bulbs are in a lamp which sets directly on top of the cage. The highest branch where my male veiled likes to bask is roughly 12-14 inches from the top (and the lamp itself). I do not know the exact temperature. I am heading to the pet store shortly to find something to measure the temp.

As far as nutrition I am feeding my male veiled 10 crickets a day and he is consuming close to all of them. Prior to placing them in his cage we are dusting them with 'Chemeleon Calcium Plus' made by T-Rex products. I am feeding the crickets 'Total Bites all-in-one diet with spirulina vitamins and minerals' made by Nature Zone. Just today I have put hibiscus leaves and carrots in with the crickets also. I planned to go to the grocery store tomorrow to get them some more food.

With all that said.. is there something I'm missing? Any suggestions?

We are trying to make it to the pet store before they close. When I return I'll post a picture of our set-up. All reccomendations and advices is greatly appreciated.

 

[Momma Lauren]

Included are five photos.
The first one shows the set-up.
The second one shows the vines/brush inside.
The third shows the length between the highest branch and the light at the top.
The fourth shows the light fixture and the dripper.
The fifth shows all the stuff I bought when purchasing my male veiled.

 

[carol5208]

A couple of things...Although the bark or mulch substrate might look somewhat eye appealing it is really not a healthy environment for your chameleon for a few reasons. The biggest being your chameleon may injest intentionally or accidentally which can lead to an impaction which can lead to death. I know the pet stores always use this in their set ups and once again, they are wrong. Secondly, if you are misting and dripping(even though you have a catch bowl) the mulch is going to eventually get wet and could breed bacteria. Third, it is a place for escaped feeders to burrow and hide out. Just leave the cage floor bare. It is the healthiest way to go. Most of use the 5.0 linear tube bulbs, not the compacts. I would suggest if you notice your chameleon having eye issues, such as closing, squinting, etc. then I would remove the bulb. Get a digital thermometer/hygrometer to measure the temps and humidity. Much more accurate than the analogs. Can pick one up at home depot for about $10 and they work well. You need three supplements: Calcium with d3, calcium without d3 and a multivitamin. Use the plain calcium every feeding, the cal/d3 twice a month and the multi twice a month. Welcome to the forums and glad you found us! You are not the first person to be misled by pet store personnel and unfortunately will not be the last.

 

[Momma Lauren]

I greatly appreciate your input and will work on making the needed changes.

We misted the cage for the first time this morning our cham got misted in the process which I didn't think would harm him, however, he didn't seem to like it at all. He hurried to the top branch closest to the light as if he were cold. He turned a really pretty blue color and we noticed to white spots on his shoulders that were hopefully just the color change. I plan to keep an eye on those spots, as they were not visable until we misted him.
I will mist again this afternoon and I will do my best to keep him dry.
Any suggestions or input on this matter?

As for our light source. Forgive me for being so uneducated on this topic. So the light fixture I have right now is called a compact which includes a basking light and a UVB light. Are both necessary? My cham isn't showing any signs of eye closing or squinting but I ultimately want whats best for him. What is the most appropriate type of light/fixture?? Where can I get the 5.0 linear tube bulbs? Would it be too much to ask for someone to post a picture of it? Will they fit in the fixture I already have?

Thanks again for all the information. I guess I should have researched a little more prior to purchasing him rather than relying on the petstore. Who would have thought they only thought they knew what they were talking about

 

[Momma Lauren]

Oh and another thing. I found out that our cham is approx. 3-4 months old. Is there anything I should be doing different being that he is so young?

At what age do they start shedding?

 

[NennytheCham]

I used to mist my chameleon (she died two days ago), snd she adored it. I usually misted her for about 3-4 times a day. The dripper is okay too, but I recommend misting.

 

[Momma Lauren]

I used to mist my chameleon (she died two days ago), snd she adored it. I usually misted her for about 3-4 times a day. The dripper is okay too, but I recommend misting.

Is it something she didn't like at first but grew to love it?
It was almost as if he were cold this morning after we misted him. I'm afraid to do it again in fear of hurting him.