Adopted Veiled - first timer

Wax worms are good with fat but they generally have no nutritional value otherwise. Which is why I like super worms as a fattier insect. At least they are gutloadable. Definitely look into ordering some silkworms or hornworms online, I strongly recommend hornworms but go for a smaller sized group and smaller worms in general because they grow FAST. But it's a wonderful way to get extra hydration when he won't drink more, and yet add some extra calories in. You will find the wonders of feeder varieties soon enough XD. I think I have like... 10 I feed regularly currently, and plan on adding another 5-8 soon.
 
Great. I did look up some hornworms last night so I will order them soon, and some better gut loading food. I picked up orange cube last night when I got crickets, but I'm guessing that's pretty worthless. At any rate, the super worms ate almost all of their orange cube, and the chameleon ate a couple super worms in front of me from a bowl before I left this morning. I put about 5 in there and another dozen crickets. Still need vitamins.
 
Yeah orange cubes are worthless, I recommend fruits and veggies over that crap XD. But only put as much as they will eat in a 12 hours span. Otherwise it is more likely to cause molding issues ^^
 
I figured. I got some kale for him, if he doesn't want to eat it, I guess that's not a big deal since I can give it to the super worms and crickets to eat, then he can just eat them. Another shower tonight when I get home.
 
When I got home.
IMG_2904.JPG

Supers immediately wanted the kale.
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Still hates the shower.
IMG_2907.JPG IMG_2910.JPG

Poop and urates that were in the cage
IMG_2909.JPG
 
Ugh that urate is definitely bad, but at least he's passing fecal and urates right now. The urate looks like it's going whiter and smoother now it's just keeping him headed that direction. Grumpy man for sure XD
 
I have a feeling the basking temp is probably higher than it needs to be. My thermometer battery died recently and I am ordering new ones. I am also ordering an infrared thermometer gun. But I was wondering, what's a general rule of thumb for the wattage of the basking light? The highest branch is only about 6 inches from the screen top. Happy I will get to work on his enclosure this weekend. Right now I'm worried about drying him out and cooking him.
 
Usually 60 watts is good for chams... depends on your current surrounding temps though etc. Do you currently have a dripper?
 
I wanted to do something bigger but couldn't find anything to set it on so the weight isn't on the screen. I looked around some more and found something, so now I can use the 1 gallon jug.
 
Had some technical difficulties with the gallon. It fell over and dumped about 1/2 a gallon on the floor this morning. Chameleon wasn't too happy about the commotion. His perch also needs to be secured, right now it can roll some when he's moving around on it. Sprayed him and the cage and he's still not a fan. Went to take a quick pic of him and he lunged at me a little with his mouth open, but I don't blame him haha. So he just wasn't happy over all when I left.

IMG_2920.JPG
 
When you switch to a screen enclosure, I just used flower wire to secure branches to the sides and to each other. I heard many people use zip-ties. My guy is a lot smaller, so we'll see if my handy-work holds up over the months as he grows..

He's very lucky to have you, and if it makes you feel any less guilty, when setting up a small drip cup for one of my girls, I had it on the screen top, filled with water, and it wouldn't drip. So I tried to poke/re-open the hole through the bottom of the screen and tipped it, practically drenching my little girl :( luckily a lot of it missed her, and it was only about 6oz, but I felt so terrible.
It's like at a restaurant when the server accidentally dumps someone's drink on you..
 
Thank you! I was not prepared at all for him and the adoption was totally unexpected... it was a true adoption, not a purchase. I am learning a lot, and my goal is to get everything set up better for him ASAP, but I work long hours and needed to wait for pay day (today, yay). This weekend I'm dedicating time to work on his stuff, so I've been running caging and misting ideas through my head.

I think I will try to attach some branches and/or vines together so that they have 3 ends that will touch the sides of the cage so they can't roll. They don't all have to be like this, but at least the highest one will be this way, so that I don't have to really attach it to the cage so I can take him out while he's on the perch. Also, I'm a vet tech so now I'm testing using an IV fluid bag and line as a drip instead of a large container... for now at least, so I don't have to worry about something heavy on the cage.

IMG_2922.JPG IMG_2923.JPG
 
That honestly is a pretty great idea. Use your resources! :D

For housing, I'm considering going along these lines once my guy grows:
https://www.diycages.com/collection...ducts/sc4-48x24x24-jumbo-vertical-screen-cage
or
https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-ReptiBreeze-Screen-48-Inches/dp/B001PHABI8
4x2x2

The price is honestly reasonable, at least compared to bearded dragon enclosures, but if you're handy and have the tools, I'm sure you could build one for a lot less. I'm sure there are many enclosure DIY pages on this board.

For misting, I just went ahead and went with the very recommended Mist King, and I absolutely love it.

Enclosure and misting is a lot of money to throw down at once, but if your credit is good or you at least have PayPal credit, I will honestly finance anything over $100 through them. Just pay it off over 6 months and there's no interest. $20/mo for 6mo to finance a mist king is more reasonable than slapping down $120 right then
 
Chamaniac said:
I just ordered this Reptibreeze XL last week. Not sure if it's a sale or if they are clearing out stock but definitely the best price I have come across, plus free shipping!

https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/zoo-med-reptibreeze-open-air-screen-cage
Click to expand...
I'm very tempted to order at that price! My little guy has a long way to go til he needs an upgrade, but that's the lowest I've seen on an enclosure that size, not taking into consideration making your own
 
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