Am I doing it right?

[Forestdellic]

Veiled Chameleons
3months old, day 4 of ownership

I have just gotten a pair of baby veiled chameleons from Napoli. They both measure at 13-15cm in length and are 3 months old. I have had them for 3 days now and I am not sure whether the symptoms they are showing right now are either a case of location stress or there is some other factor affecting them, in any case, I am concerned for their well being.

Concern:
The most I am concerned with is the female. When I bought her she had some shedding on her side already (refer to picture) I have been misting heavily with luke warm water, 2 mins in the morning, 2 mins after noon and 2mins 2hours before lights off.

The female has not been eating a lot either and she does look rather thin. Other opinions suggested that reptiles are skinny when young but I am sure they should not look like this. I have seen her drinking a lot especially when I start to mist, walks over to the leaves and starts to gulp water. She is also a little fatigue, I know chameleons don't generally move much but she's been in the same general spot for a while now.

The male is doing fine. Not eating very much but does eat something, at least 1 prey item a day. Yesterday I only managed to feed him 3 locusts and a meal worm. It is still strange, research showed they should be eating a lot nowadays.

He generally moves sometimes and basks a lot next to the female.

I don't believe he's been sexually harassing her. They bask together sometimes and stay generally out of each other's way. I am aware that they should be separated at 4months. I have ordered some wood and should be starting to build his permanent cage

I have been feeding Dubia roaches, locusts and meal worms dusting them every other day with rephasy calcium NoD.

I sometimes let a couple of dubias loose inside after being dusted. There is also a low glass jar with mealworms and some dubias as well

Temperature:
Temperature Basking; 86-87F
Temperature Ambient; 72-74F
Night Temperature: mid 60s; average 63.2F - 62.1F (peak hour 61.1F)

Lights:
UVB Arcadia 5.0 Forest Light
Zoomed 40W basking light

Humidity: 50-73% and when misting 80%-90%

Noticeable behaviours:

Female:
Eyes the food down but does not strike
Backs away when presented with food
Yawns
Keeps one eye open when basking and the other shut. She can fully open both eyes but she does this regularly while basking
Appears lethargic
Does poop (solid/liquid)

Male:
Yawns
Eyes down food, sometimes strikes, sometimes backs away
Does poop (solid/liquid)


Pictures

Setup




Eranikus male veiled



Ysera female veiled




I fear that maybe I have not done enough research and my care skills are inadequate. Wallowing in self pity will not solve it now, correction will.

I am in need of some guidance from experienced chameleon keepers please

 

[fester2226]

the one with skin problem is really thin and i think shes just starting a shed

 

[carol5208]

Hello and welcome to the forums. First, I would like to say they look older than three months. Are you confident who you bought them from for sure knows their exact age? With the size I am seeing, I would seperate them in different cages as soon as you can. They really should not be housed together and the male will cause undo stress to the female. I know you say he is not harassing her, but just being in the same cage can be stress enough. This might be some of your problem. Also, in looking at your set up, it looks nice, but you really need to add some branches and vines for walkways. Place them both horizontally and vertically and one good solid horizontal branch under the basking light about 10 inches down. I know you said they are about 6 inches long, but It is not just how long they are, but the size of their heads and bodies that leads me to believe they are older. Maybe I am wrong, as I know pics can be decieving and make animals looks larger than they are. If it were me, I would seperate them now. It is up to you.

 

[Forestdellic]

Hello and welcome to the forums. First, I would like to say they look older than three months. Are you confident who you bought them from for sure knows their exact age? With the size I am seeing, I would seperate them in different cages as soon as you can. They really should not be housed together and the male will cause undo stress to the female. I know you say he is not harassing her, but just being in the same cage can be stress enough. This might be some of your problem. Also, in looking at your set up, it looks nice, but you really need to add some branches and vines for walkways. Place them both horizontally and vertically and one good solid horizontal branch under the basking light about 10 inches down. I know you said they are about 6 inches long, but It is not just how long they are, but the size of their heads and bodies that leads me to believe they are older. Maybe I am wrong, as I know pics can be decieving and make animals looks larger than they are. If it were me, I would seperate them now. It is up to you.

This has been extremely helpful and very well constructed. To be completely honest, no, I am not all that confident on the age given to me, most stock that arrives the store owner is unlikely to know the exact hatching dates. I can separate them tomorrow when the stores open no problem and I'll make sure to pick on some bamboo walk ways.

Thank you so much for the help

 

[carol5208]

You are very welcome and I am so glad you are going to seperate them. It is the smart thing to do. If the cages are going to be close to one another and they will be able to see each other, it is also advised to put some type of barrier between them so they cannot see one another. I know it might sound a bit crazy, but just the sight of each other can cause problems. The same goes for if you have two of the same sex. They really are solitary creatures. In rare instances they can cohabitate, but it is not the norm. I hope you will see improvement in your female in the coming days. Keep in mind that both chameleons are very new to you and your environment and it can take several weeks or even longer for them to acclimate. Good luck and keep us updated and feel free to questions as there are many great and knowledgeable people on here to help.

 

[Forestdellic]

You are very welcome and I am so glad you are going to seperate them. It is the smart thing to do. If the cages are going to be close to one another and they will be able to see each other, it is also advised to put some type of barrier between them so they cannot see one another. I know it might sound a bit crazy, but just the sight of each other can cause problems. The same goes for if you have two of the same sex. They really are solitary creatures. In rare instances they can cohabitate, but it is not the norm. I hope you will see improvement in your female in the coming days. Keep in mind that both chameleons are very new to you and your environment and it can take several weeks or even longer for them to acclimate. Good luck and keep us updated and feel free to questions as there are many great and knowledgeable people on here to help.

I knew I should have from the start but I was foolishly led on into thinking group housing would work for a certain time. My plan is to put the cages next to each other and use a piece of thick cardboard to create a barrier. They can share the UVB that way.

Yes I know what you mean about how they get stressed so easily. I've had similar experience where two male beardies would literally flip from smelling each other. I had to keep vivs in separate rooms

 

[carol5208]

Hopefully you will see some positive changes in your female. Do you know about the females laying eggs even if they are not bred? You will need a laying bin in your cage. I do not keep Veilds, but have seen females on here laying eggs at 5-6 months.

 

[djfunkshowkid]

That would work for now...but if your going get another cage, may as well save your money and get a large one. Those small cages are ok while they are babies, but veileds need LOTS of room (specially height).

They look awesome though....and as mentioned before with adding more foliage, also keep in mind that some plants are poisonous to them. Can't ever do too much reading.

 

[Forestdellic]

Hopefully you will see some positive changes in your female. Do you know about the females laying eggs even if they are not bred? You will need a laying bin in your cage. I do not keep Veilds, but have seen females on here laying eggs at 5-6 months.

Yes I am aware of that and I have bags of peat moss, vermiculite, eco-earth and ice-cream tubs at the ready for when she is gravid.

That would work for now...but if your going get another cage, may as well save your money and get a large one. Those small cages are ok while they are babies, but veileds need LOTS of room (specially height).

They look awesome though....and as mentioned before with adding more foliage, also keep in mind that some plants are poisonous to them. Can't ever do too much reading.

That's exactly my frame of thinking hehe "For now". Already one step ahead of you, I ordered pieces of wood and next week I should be starting to build their perm-enclosure. The size of it I am aiming at 4ft tall, 2ft wide and 2 ft length. For the female an enclosure of 3ft tall, 18inches wide and 18inches length. Of course, I will take pictures of me building it, schematics and that all that nice DIY stuff

Buying these exoterra flexariums and screen cages seems a bit redundant. Their mesh is nylon and would melt away from UVB exposure and heat. I figured building one with wood and steel mesh would be a lot better and get the dimensions that I want for less money. I'm from Europe and most of the brands like exoterra and zoomed are expensive due to high shipping rates.

The safest plants I read where Ficus, Hibiscus, Schefflera and Pothos. What I have in the enclosure are ficus plants. I am aware their sap can cause some irritation so I am being careful with that.

 

[Forestdellic]

**UPDATE**

I bought a new cage (these Hailea screen cages are really useful!), some jungle vines and a box full of crickets! I've separated the two and they seem to be doing a lot better, the female actually ate one cricket! I'm really glad I am making some progress!

In my opinion it's not so bad. I realize I need some more foilage and more highways and I am just waiting for the super market to open up and buy some cocktail sticks.