baby willis (one month old) says hi!

[urbangeek]

just got him, this is my first reptile. i managed to get a really tiny 1 month old yemen, he is truly awesome, very playful.

thought i'd post a few pics, any tips and suggestions for food or what best to feed crickets, nice plants and things they like to play with would be much appreciated.

Cheers and i look forward to watching him grow!!

 

[Julirs]

Things they like to PLAY with? This is a very young chameleon, that will stress and could possibly die very easily from overhandleing. They are shy and solitary creatures and should not be "played" with.

I would do some research so that you can provide him with the best life possible. This forum is a good place to start and some good information can also be found at: http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/

 

[Julirs]

Also, if you will out this form others will help you with your setup, feeding, etc...

What part of the world are you located in?

Cage Info:
Cage Type - What kind of cage are you using? What is the size?
Lighting - What kind of lighting are you using? How long do you keep the lights on during the day?
Temperature - What temperature range have you created? Basking spot temp? What is the temperature at night?
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels?
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
Location - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas?

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon.
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What kind of schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Supplements - What are you dusting your feeders with and what kind of schedule do you use?
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings.
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

 

[SuperRad]

Chameleons 3 months and younger have a very high mortality rate. That's why most specialist chameleon breeders will only sell them at 3 months or older. Make sure you do some good research. Maybe buy some books off ebay.

Brads site specializes in veiled care
raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com

And my site with general care
keepingchameleons.com

 

[urbangeek]

hi,

my roomy has a bearded dragon so its not like i'm without help, i'm also very into specially grown plants and artificial environments so he is in good hands. He is a very sociable character, keen to explore and see whats going on, got more energy than me.
currently he is on very small crickets, coated in vit d power, roughly 10 or so a day. what else can a baby yemen eat beside small crickets? he has a costly repti glow 5.0 uvb lighting with a heat lamp. currently in a relatively small viv to keep a handle on the tiny crickets.

Things to play with as in, plants they really like, materials and such.

cheers

 

[Julirs]

Bearded dragons and Chameleons are on opposite ends of the spectrum in many ways! I can not stress enough about the overhandleing, especially at that very young age. Watch your temps in that glass enclosure. Babies will easily cook if you don't. It should be no higher than 80 degrees F in the basking area. Check out the supplement schedules-Vit D should be used far less than regular calcium without the Vit D. Other good feeders are silkworms.

 

[m1ndless]

Wow, mine is supposed to be 2 months old, and looks the same size/age as yours, maybe mine is younger than I thought!

 

[DrewNYC]

wow, if you thought the repti-glow was expensive?? you can get them online at about $20.00 i have seen them in the pet store for $40.00 plus. iw ould suggest a zoomed 10.0 or 5.0 instead.
anyway what i was getting to if you thought that bulb was expensive and you are looking for a 'playful' pet maybe you should rethink the chameleon thing, a beardie or other type??
good luck i would do some serious reading, i think you need the information. please do not take that as an insult!!


drew

 

[urbangeek]

ta for the concern, i think we'll manage just fine.

very welcoming here!

 

[SuperRad]

Wow, mine is supposed to be 2 months old, and looks the same size/age as yours, maybe mine is younger than I thought!

There size is not relevant to their age. They all grow at different rates.
So there is no way to know besides asking the breeder.

 

[m1ndless]

There size is not relevant to their age. They all grow at different rates.
So there is no way to know besides asking the breeder.

Ahh, I was told he was 2 months old when I ordered him 2-3 weeks ago, but he looks the same size of that chameleon.

Thanks for letting me know.

 

[SuperRad]

ta for the concern, i think we'll manage just fine.

very welcoming here!

No one is being mean, we are just very concerned about the welfare of these creatures. For example, if you bought that chameleon at petco or petsmart, you will see a huge bowl of water, mealworms, and 20-30 in a cage.
That's a huge false impression right from the start. Many people come to the forums with all the items that the petco employee suggested thinking they are set. Were in fact bowls of water are bad, mealworms are bad for chameleons, and housing multiples 3 months and older together are bad.

We do not know the history on your cham, just letting you know what your about to get into. Reading is necessary to successfully raise chameleons. And opinions from others who are knowledgeable about chams is beneficial to your cham and your wallet.

So once again, not being mean, but constructive criticism. No one knows everything

**edit - Pinhead crickets, PHX worms, and cultured fruit flies are suitable for a baby cham. All can be found on either reptilefood.com, lllreptile.com and other online sites for a fraction what you would pay at a local store.

The most common plants for a cham are on my site keepingchameleons.com/plants.html on the left hand side. Most people here use ficus benjamina, pothos, or schefllera.

 

[urbangeek]

i done a heap of reading and research before even considering a chameleon, i know meal worms are bad, and have no bowls of water in the tank as i have read they can very easily drown. when he is a little bigger i plan on putting himn in a bigger viv and installing a mini waterfall or perhaps a volcano with a fogger to help with humidity.

Currently i am misting the tank thouroughly 2 - 3 times a day and have been using ice cubes ontop of the viv to provide drips.

He is to small to feed anything other than tiny crickets at the moment, how big and how old is best before giving treats such as waxworms?

the tiny crickets are really fiddley, any other stuff i can feed my little fella along with the mini crickets?

cheers!

 

[Guardian]

Very cool!

 

[Brad Ramsey]

i done a heap of reading and research before even considering a chameleon, i know meal worms are bad, and have no bowls of water in the tank as i have read they can very easily drown. when he is a little bigger i plan on putting himn in a bigger viv and installing a mini waterfall or perhaps a volcano with a fogger to help with humidity.

Currently i am misting the tank thouroughly 2 - 3 times a day and have been using ice cubes ontop of the viv to provide drips.

He is to small to feed anything other than tiny crickets at the moment, how big and how old is best before giving treats such as waxworms?

the tiny crickets are really fiddley, any other stuff i can feed my little fella along with the mini crickets?

cheers!

You could offer him fruitflies, a culture is pretty easy to obtain.
They grow so fast at this age that you won't need to offer the "tiny" food for long.

How in all your research did you miss that:
Ice cubes are a bad idea
waterfalls are a REALLY bad idea and
Foggers are a waste of money

I'm sure you and your new chameleon will do great.
Stay on the forums, we are all continually learning together and trying to make the best situations possible for these amazing animals.

http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/

-Brad

 

[Treetop Chameleons]

waterfalls and ice droppers are not good. if you have been reading you would know this already, not to sound rude or disrespectful to you but i also have a bearded dragon and 4 chameleons and the care between the panthers and the veilds is deferent let alone the drastic difference in care for my bearded dragon just cuz your room mate has a bearded dragon dose not mean he has any idea how to take care of a chameleon. like it was said before we are not trying to bash you we are just trying to educate you in the proper care of these animals.they can be very sensitive to any change in there environment need a lot of attention, it is good that you are spraying them down 2-3 times a day that is good. and for a good feeder option for you try silk worms they are so good for your cham and they don't smell they are also much easier to handle they try to run away. if you have any questions you can pm me. please don't take offense to this it is just constructive criticism.

 

[Treetop Chameleons]

you beat me to it brad!!

 

[bucky]

ta for the concern, i think we'll manage just fine.

very welcoming here!

If your being sarcastic,they are just looking out for you,let your little buddy get used to his surroundings,give him id say a month or longer for such a young fella before handling him. Chameleons can litteraly die from stress

 

[bucky]

i done a heap of reading and research before even considering a chameleon, i know meal worms are bad, and have no bowls of water in the tank as i have read they can very easily drown. when he is a little bigger i plan on putting himn in a bigger viv and installing a mini waterfall or perhaps a volcano with a fogger to help with humidity.

Currently i am misting the tank thouroughly 2 - 3 times a day and have been using ice cubes ontop of the viv to provide drips.

He is to small to feed anything other than tiny crickets at the moment, how big and how old is best before giving treats such as waxworms?

the tiny crickets are really fiddley, any other stuff i can feed my little fella along with the mini crickets?

cheers!

Oh,dont mist him directly at such a young age,i heard the water could clog up their nose so they cant breathe,mist above him and let the mist fall down on him.

 

[Pru]

Id just like to say that he may well have done his reading ect, it depends what website/books he went to. There are ALOT of websites out there with incorrect information. Things like saying ice cubes and waterfalls are good. When i first started reading up i was under the impression a waterfall was what a chameleon needed, but after joining here i see that its not.

I had this problem when i first got my ferrets too, best solution for that was also just to join a forum where i can speak to experianced owners.