Advice for new Veiled Chamelion owner please

[greenbirdlady]

So she arrived yesterday and I was all prepared to give her space to let her settle down. Was worried she would be stressed after her journey here. First thing she did was arrive at 5.30am and got us out of bed

So I carefully unpacked her and took the lid off her container. She climbed out straight onto my hand, really took me by surprise. I put her straight into her new home and once she had warmed up sprayed her enclosure. This she was really happy with and proceeded to lap up the drips. She wasn't bothered by me at all.

Then the real fun started. From the tip of her nose to the beginning of her tail she is about 4" when stretched out. So I got the tray of locusts she was sent with, they are classed as small hopper and they are tiny. So how does anyone manage to get a few out and dust them with calcium. I know I thought, I will lift the corner of lid up whilst on floor of enclosure, let a few loose, catch them and dunk them in pot of calcium which I also put on floor.

That's when chaos ensued. Whilst I was concentrating on not letting the whole lot out I didn't notice Tilly (as I have called her) swinging on her vines like Tarzan. Next thing I know she has her head in the container of locusts. In my panic not to get her head caught somehow the lid came right off. Locusts everywhere, one very happy Tilly and a pot of calcium knocked right over. So she actually managed to dust her own locusts with no help from me!!

I have no idea how many she ate but I did not have a lot left.

So after all that, my question is How many is too many? Will they stop eating when they have had enough or just keep eating? I was worried I had over fed her.

She has only had what was left today, plus one waxworm which I know is not good but I was worried she was still hungry. New supplies with much more variety arriving in the morning.

I was just not prepared for such a non stressed creature. I'm just waiting for my foodsafe bucket which is coming tomorrow to set up the Mist King. Meanwhile, as soon as I approach with the hand held mister she tries to climb on it, stretching out from her perch to climb on it and me.

But I am very happy

 

[Peachypink]

LOL, welcome to the fun. How old is she? As a baby, just let them eat what they want. She is growing and will be fine.

Have you read the care sheets on here yet? You will need to make sure to study up on setting up a laying bin for her.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/

 

[JacksJill]

Congratulations!

 

[Decadancin]

He he, trained to self-supplement on the first day. Now that's impressive .

 

[greenbirdlady]

Thank you all for the welcome

Would you believe I forgot to ask exactly how old she was, I did know she would be young and female. The locusts are tiny and would probably just cover the gap between her eyes. Now the wax worm looked small until I put it into her enclosure and then that darn thing stretched right out. Didn't have time to panic for long, she was straight down and grabbed it. She did give me a look as if to say "what the heck was that?"

I read over a hundred pages in this part of the forum before she arrived, also looked at the care sheets and printed them out. Far more interesting than the television!!

I've read up on the laying bin, that's the only bit I am nervous about.

 

[Peachypink]

Thank you all for the welcome

Would you believe I forgot to ask exactly how old she was, I did know she would be young and female. The locusts are tiny and would probably just cover the gap between her eyes. Now the wax worm looked small until I put it into her enclosure and then that darn thing stretched right out. Didn't have time to panic for long, she was straight down and grabbed it. She did give me a look as if to say "what the heck was that?"

I read over a hundred pages in this part of the forum before she arrived, also looked at the care sheets and printed them out. Far more interesting than the television!!

I've read up on the laying bin, that's the only bit I am nervous about.

You'll do fine, you're willing to learn and that's the important part. For soft feeders like wax worms, hornworms, silk worms and such its fine that they are longer. As long as they are not thicker than the space between the eyes they should be fine.

 

[ZacharyLeesWife]

Thank you all for the welcome

Would you believe I forgot to ask exactly how old she was, I did know she would be young and female. The locusts are tiny and would probably just cover the gap between her eyes. Now the wax worm looked small until I put it into her enclosure and then that darn thing stretched right out. Didn't have time to panic for long, she was straight down and grabbed it. She did give me a look as if to say "what the heck was that?"

I read over a hundred pages in this part of the forum before she arrived, also looked at the care sheets and printed them out. Far more interesting than the television!!

I've read up on the laying bin, that's the only bit I am nervous about.

Amazing job reading up as much as you can, the wealth of information here is an absolutely incredible resource! Laying is nerve wracking to say the least, but as long as you do your homework and trust her instincts you guys will be fine.