I use coconut substrate. I'm a huge fan of bsf and bsfl! The larvae are naturally high in calcium and can be gutloaded as well. My panther eagerly eats both stages of development.
Have you weighed him? Why do you think he's overweight? They generally slow down on their food intake around 7-8 months or so. 7 crickets every other day isn't that much IMO.
Well for starters, you should never grab your chameleon! Veileds are known to be 'grumpy' and some will never appreciate their owners wanting to hold them. How long have you owned him? If he's new to you, he'll need time to adjust.
All I can add is my experience with my two year old panther.. he refuses to deficate in the enclosure but will have a nice BM minutes after coming out of his enclosure. He can and generally holds it for weeks. I have a similar misting schedule like you and he seems overall healthy. Variety of...
So sorry for your loss. There are some companies out there that will cremate and then you can choose the type of wood box for the ashes to rest in. When I worked in animal welfare, I knew a guy whose business was this and they were primarily dogs.. I would personally find a spot in my yard but I...
It seems flchams.com has nice veileds with a variety of bloodlines to choose from. Like mentioned above, try to avoid a pet store chain where husbandry is usually sub-par.
I've used them in my enclosure for two years with no issues. They hold up well and you can bend them to your liking. Although I noticed that too much bending will make the black stuff come off so I try not to move them around.