Hi, there! My feedback will be in red, and I've attached helpful links and images at the end!
blue veiled chameleon, I got him in March 2021 when he was about 2 inches long, maybe a month old? They didn’t specify. Male, he’s been in my care for about 3 months.
- only handle him if needed, Max once a month
-I gut load my insects, I feed him Dubia roaches and BSF larvae, about 10 once a day now. I recently started feeding him less, I used to feed him about 6-10 once a day. Occasionally I’ll slip in a wax worm/moth or a hornworm as a treat once in a while. I feed him two hours after he wakes up
What do you gutload with?
-I dust everyday with Calcium no D3 (Rep-Cal ultrafine), i take feeding tongs and pinch with the tip and then mix the bugs around so they are lightly dusted. Then every Saturday I dust with calcium with D3 (Reptivite) or a Multivitamin (Rep-Cal Herptivite)
If you have Zoo Med Reptivite With D3, you'll use only that as your multivitamin and D3, no Rep-Cal Herptivite. You'll use it once every two weeks, with plain calcium without D3 on all other feedings
-I have an automatic mister, it goes off every two hours for 15 seconds, and then a dripper above one of the plants that is always dripping. I have never seen him drink but I don’t monitor him much to avoid stressing him out. I use water from a gallon, not from tap.
You want your misting to be a minimum of 2-5+ minutes long each time, preferably only around lights off and lights on, with maybe a late afternoon session if needed.
- he has healthy poops, brown and white parts, not runny but not dry either. He poops usually once a day or so but he hasn’t been tested for parasites
-I don’t know much of his history. When I got him he was tiny and seemed healthy but he was dehydrated and he seems better but I’m just worried he’s stressed or sick because he’s never any other color aside from brown
-home made screen cage, 20x20x35 inches
He'll need a cage size of minimum 2'x2'x4' tall, but preferably 4'x2'x'4' tall or bigger. Bigger is always better!
- T5 HO UVB from Reptisun and 100W EXO TERRA basking bulb placed 7 inches above his basking spot over the screen, his temperature at its warmest point gets to about 87 degrees, his lowest point/coolest reaches about 75 degrees, at night I turn on a ceramic heater (60W from Zoomed) if temperatures are going to drop below 50-60, but I was told he didn’t need a night heater, and my room remains 75 degrees throughout the day usually. I measure his temps with a heat gun, and a hygrometer. His humidity ranges between 70-80 throughout the day. I recently added plexiglass on two sides to try to keep the humidity stable last month
What is the strength, age, and distance of the UVB bulb from his basking branch? You want his basking temperature to be between 80-85*F, preferably around 80-83*F. It should be measured with a digital thermometer with a probe, with the probe placed where the top of his back is when he's on his basking branch. If his nighttime temps aren't going into the 40*Fs, there's no need for a ceramic heat emitter at night. Is his hygrometer digital? His humidity needs to be between 30-50% during the day, preferably on the lower end of that. At night, if there is proper airflow and it's at or under 65*F, you can take his humidity all the way up to 100% with a cool-mist fogger (make sure to replace the crinkly tubes with either PVC pipe or vinyl tubing and to thoroughly clean everything at least once a week). would take off the plexiglasss
- I have two live plants, a golden pothos and a spider plant and some fake plants hanging to give him a place to hide as well as vines and branches for climbing
He needs veiled-tested live plants only, as fake plants and fake vines with leaves on them are an impaction risk, which can lead to death. Make sure all live plants are properly cleaned beforehand, repotted in organic soil without perlite or chemical fertilizers, and have stones too big for him to eat covering the soil in the pots. Get rid of the moss vines, as well. They're a health hazard.
-his cage is next to the sliding glass door that leads to my yard, I recently read that this may be stressful. I have five dogs that come in and out, I’ve closed the curtain and have him elevated so the middle of his cage is about at the height of my head (I’m 5’2)
He needs to be in a low traffic room where the dogs can't get to him and away from any windows, vents, and drafts
-I am in Southern California.
-I’m concerned because my chameleon remains dark brown all day, he never becomes and bright colors, he has some green strips and white spots, a hint of orange on his spine part but he is always brown no matter what
He's probably stressed by all of the commotion near his cage
Here's the links:
https://www.chameleons.info/en/
http://www.muchadoaboutchameleons.com/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/external-resources/
https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/
https://chameleonacademy.com/veiled-chameleon-care/
https://chameleonacademy.com/plants/
https://chameleonacademy.com/setting-up-a-chameleon-cage/
http://www.muchadoaboutchameleons.com/2012/04/how-to-set-up-proper-chameleon.html
