Brand new Veiled owner!! :)

Amerritt413

New Member
My husband and I got a Veiled Chameleon today and I am soooooooo excited!! I have always wanted one!! But, now that I have my new baby, I want to decorate his house and make sure I'm doing everything right so he's happy and healthy. My question is, what plants do ya'll recommend for his new digs? And please someone say orchids! ;) hehe Thank you in advance!!!
 
Congrats on the new baby!

Real plants are awesome in chameleon cages. Most people go with plants that are good to climb on, and grow well in the humid / low sunlight conditions. Most common would probably be the pothos, schefflera, and ficus.

One of the site sponsors has an awesome list of chameleon safe (non-toxic) plants.
http://flchams.com/safe_plant_list.asp Keep in mind that although they are safe, their care requirements may not suit the conditions in chameleon cages.


Here's a really good thread about Orchids in chameleon cages:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/orchids-ok-124002/


You got pics of the new little one and his new digs? :cool:
 
Yeah sure! [email protected] Thank you!

Tyaeda, thank you for those lists! Just what I needed!! I didn't know half of those could be used! I was looking for different plants last night before I posted this and your list is definitely better than the one I found! lol The set up he's in now was just a quick thing to give him stuff to climb on over night. We got him really late last night, so we didn't have a chance to get it set up properly. I'll get pics when everything is set up pretty. :)

Jann, thank you for the link to your blog! It's very detailed! And it will definitely help me keep him happy and healthy! My little guy actually came from a breeder in FL (Not important to anything, just a random bit of info lol)

Random question though, being new to chameleons I don't know much, but when he's climbing he kinds wobbles and his legs look really unstable and shaky...is that normal? It had me a little worried, but my husband said I was being too over protective and worrying too much. lol
 
Yeah sure! [email protected] Thank you!

Tyaeda, thank you for those lists! Just what I needed!! I didn't know half of those could be used! I was looking for different plants last night before I posted this and your list is definitely better than the one I found! lol The set up he's in now was just a quick thing to give him stuff to climb on over night. We got him really late last night, so we didn't have a chance to get it set up properly. I'll get pics when everything is set up pretty. :)

Jann, thank you for the link to your blog! It's very detailed! And it will definitely help me keep him happy and healthy! My little guy actually came from a breeder in FL (Not important to anything, just a random bit of info lol)

Random question though, being new to chameleons I don't know much, but when he's climbing he kinds wobbles and his legs look really unstable and shaky...is that normal? It had me a little worried, but my husband said I was being too over protective and worrying too much. lol

I'm from FL. If you don't mind me asking, who did you get him from? It sounds like he's doing what's called the leaf walk. Young chams do it quite often and if that's what he's doing it's nothing to be worried about. When you can post a picture of him.https://www.chameleonforums.com/why-do-chameleons-do-46487/
 
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Orchids can be absolutely grown in chameleon cages! They require different amounts of lighting. The most common, the phalaenopsis, or moth orchid, requires 'reading light'.

Go to lowes and find you one and give it a try. Key to a nice healthy orchid in the store is thick, firm feeling leaves that have strength to hold themselves up. If they look droopy, feel thin, or have 'ribs' on the leaves, look around the plant for any white fuzzies, black spots, or any bugs... If the plant has any of this, avoid it. When you finally find one that looks healthy, buy it!

When you get home with it, my advice though is to get it out of the pot that it'll come in. It'll be planted in either soil, very fine bark like material, or sphagnum moss. If it's planted in moss, it's packed very tightly in it. Slowly work the moss under luke warm water and slowly work the moss away from the roots. Then check the roots, and with some scissors, snip off the brown mushy or black colored roots, and give it a good rinse.

A happy way to keep your new orchid in a chameleon cage is mounted to to something, a piece of wood, check out http://www.repotme.com/orchid-care/Mounted-Orchid-Care.html for ideas. I always use cheap panty hose from the dollar store to attach my orchids to something. Panty hose is softer for delicate roots, and as they grow, the panty hose won't 'cut' into roots like fishing line can. Why mounted? Because the constant misting/watering a in the cage can drown an orchids roots. Mounting them exposes the roots to the air, giving them the chance to dry out I between mistings.

Place your mounted orchid in the cage where it'll receive some lighting and some mistings and it should be a happy grower for you!

I hope this helps :) I'm starting my orchid blogs up, so let me know what you all think.
 
IMG_2016.jpg
Please excuse the poor quality, I took it on my phone.

We found him on Craigslist. A family had just moved up here from the West Palm Beach area, he was their oldest daughter's. They're a very nice family, and took very good care of him. Their daughter decided since she was so busy with school and everything she didn't have time to take care of him the way she should, so she decided to give him up. They called him Chris, I'm still trying to come up with a new name, but I'm drawing blanks! I didn't get their names though, and I feel bad for that because they were all so nice.
 
Orchids can be absolutely grown in chameleon cages! They require different amounts of lighting. The most common, the phalaenopsis, or moth orchid, requires 'reading light'.

Go to lowes and find you one and give it a try. Key to a nice healthy orchid in the store is thick, firm feeling leaves that have strength to hold themselves up. If they look droopy, feel thin, or have 'ribs' on the leaves, avoid it. When you finally find one that looks healthy, buy it!

When you get home with it, my advice though is to get it out of the pot that it'll come in. It'll be planted in either soil, very fine bark like material, or sphagnum moss. If it's planted in moss, it's packed very tightly in it. Slowly work the moss under luke warm water and slowly work the moss away from the roots. Then check the roots, and with some scissors, snip off the brown mushy or black colored roots, and give it a good rinse. Look around the plant for any white fuzzies, black spots, or any bugs.

A happy way to keep your new orchid in a chameleon cage is mounted to to something, a piece of wood, check out http://www.repotme.com/orchid-care/Mounted-Orchid-Care.html for ideas. I always use cheap panty hose from the dollar store to attach my orchids to something. Panty hose is softer for delicate roots, and as they grow, the panty hose won't 'cut' into roots like fishing line can. Why mounted? Because the constant misting/watering a in the cage can drown an orchids roots. Mounting them exposes the roots to the air, giving them the chance to dry out I between mistings.

Place your mounted orchid in the cage where it'll receive some lighting and some mistings and it should be a happy grower for you!

I hope this helps :) I'm starting my orchid blogs up, so let me know what you all think.

AWESOME!!! Thank you!! All y'all have been so helpful!! Other reptile forums I've been on I always feel like people are talking down to me when I ask questions, but everyone here has been so cool!:)
 
View attachment 92521
Please excuse the poor quality, I took it on my phone.

We found him on Craigslist. A family had just moved up here from the West Palm Beach area, he was their oldest daughter's. They're a very nice family, and took very good care of him. Their daughter decided since she was so busy with school and everything she didn't have time to take care of him the way she should, so she decided to give him up. They called him Chris, I'm still trying to come up with a new name, but I'm drawing blanks! I didn't get their names though, and I feel bad for that because they were all so nice.

I hate to say it, but your little guy has a bad case of MBD, metabolic bone disease. Do you know if his previous family provided him UVB lighting, as well as calcium supplements?
 
What? How can you tell?

They gave us the lights they used on him. I don't think they had a UVB, they also gave us the calcium dust they used as well.
 
Chameleons need UVB lighting, they may have provided it for him, but the bulbs have to be replaced every 6 months - 1 year, depending on the brand it is. Calcium supplementing is key too. It varies slightly with different species, but veilds need calcium without D3 at every feeding, calcium WITH D3 twice a month, and a multivitamin twice a month too. You can tell by his 'bowed' looking elbows. Their elbows are like ours, straight arms, with a definite elbow bend. His casque also shows the signs on it as well by being short and misshaped.

I hate to see him like that, but with your love and care, he can live a happy life with you. I'm on my ipad, and I don't know how to link to other threads, but there are some AWESOME threads on here explaining MBD better than I can, and tips to help you with it.

The senior members will pop in and help you out. They are the best people to talk with on how to provide treatment with your little guy.
 
Chameleons need UVB lighting, they may have provided it for him, but the bulbs have to be replaced every 6 months - 1 year, depending on the brand it is. Calcium supplementing is key too. It varies slightly with different species, but veilds need calcium without D3 at every feeding, calcium WITH D3 twice a month, and a multivitamin twice a month too. You can tell by his 'bowed' looking elbows. Their elbows are like ours, straight arms, with a definite elbow bend. His casque also shows the signs on it as well by being short and misshaped.

I hate to see him like that, but with your love and care, he can live a happy life with you. I'm on my ipad, and I don't know how to link to other threads, but there are some AWESOME threads on here explaining MBD better than I can, and tips to help you with it.

The senior members will pop in and help you out. They are the best people to talk with on how to provide treatment with your little guy.

I noticed the bowing thing last night when we were bringing him home, they said he was healthy. But he was their first cham too, so I guess they didn't know. I'll go get a UVB bulb today. Thank you!
 
See if any of these folks are close to you
Taken from http://www.arav.org/find-a-vet/#NorthCarolina

North Carolina:

Lee Bolt
Sweeten CreekAnimal Hospital
www.sweetencreekvet.com
3131 Sweeten Creek Rd
Asheville, NC 28803-2115
(828)684-8875

Kenneth Crawford
LawndaleVeterinary Hospital
www.lawndalevets.vetsuite.com
4314 Lawndale Dr
Greensboro, NC 27455
(336)288-3233

Lauren Powers
Avian And Exotic Pet Service
Carolina Veterinary Specialists
http://www.carolinavet.com
Huntersville, NC 28078
(704)949-1100

Chris Griffin
Griffin Avian and Exotic Veterinary Hospital
www.griffinexotics.com
2100 Lane St.
Kannapolis, NC 28083
(704)932-8111
[email protected]

Christine Eckermann-Ross
Avian and Exotic Animal Care
http://avianandexotic.com
8711 Fidelity Blvd.
Raleigh, NC 27617-4805
(919)844-9166

Daniel Johnson
Avian and Exotic Animal Care
www.avianandexotic.com
8711 Fidelity Blvd.
Raleigh, NC 27617-4805
(919)844-9166
[email protected]

Stacey Leonatti
Avian & Exotic Animal Care
www.avianandexotic.com
8711 Fidelity Blvd.
Raleigh, NC 27617
(919)844-9166

Gregory Lewbart
NC State University, CVM
http://cvm.ncsu.edu/docs/personnel/lewbart_greg.html
1060 William Moore Dr.
Raleigh, NC 27607
(919)513-6999

Meghan Ellis
FamilyVeterinary Hospital
www.familyvetsanford.com
303 S. Horner Blvd
Sanford, NC 27330
(919)630-4307

Deborah Cowan
AnimalHospital of Walnut Cove
www.animalhospitalwalnutcove.com
1020 Alamo Dr
Walnut Cove, NC 27052
(336)591-8250
 
I was looking at everything they gave us that they used. They weren't using a UVB bulb or calcium, just a multi vitamin. But he's getting both now! I'm calling the vet on Monday, and I'll update you guys on changes! Thank you all so very much for all of your help! s
 
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