Can someone please help me?
- Thread starter mr.green
- Start date
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
Hi and welcome. 
Those are her ribs and the bumps hopefully go away as she changes position. If not, then it would be a good idea to go thru some of your care, such as what supplements are you using and how often for each one? Can you post some pics of your enclosure, including the lights?
Those are her ribs and the bumps hopefully go away as she changes position. If not, then it would be a good idea to go thru some of your care, such as what supplements are you using and how often for each one? Can you post some pics of your enclosure, including the lights?So it is a male and I've been using mealworms,crickets,and roachesHi and welcome.
I also use them daily
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
Oh dear. I’m really not sure where to begin. First, I want you to know that I completely understand and appreciate that you love your chameleon and are doing the absolute best to care for him that you know to do. Then I want you to know that I really am wanting to help you. With that being said and with much kindness and compassion I need to tell you that what you have set up is not appropriate for a chameleon. Give me a few minutes to gather my thoughts.
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
May I start by asking if you are an adult? It makes a big difference to know if you have to rely upon parents or not and if those parents are involved in caring for your chameleon.
I am 13 and this is my first pet that I have to take care of and my dad is thebone who helps me.
bbyoda
Chameleon Enthusiast
You came to the right place! I'm so glad you care about your chameleon and have your dad helping you. @MissSkittles is going to share proper husbandry and things to adjust to make sure the chameleon is healthy. It might help for your dad to read her advice too, so he understands how to help.
Ok thanks
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
Ok. Thank you.
Let me start by saying that chameleons are not only challenging reptiles to take care of, but quite expensive to get set up properly. For just the minimum, you will be looking at needing to spend at least $300 if not more. Here’s a list with approx prices for what is needed:
XL screen enclosure $140 https://www.diycages.com/collection...ducts/sc4-48x24x24-jumbo-vertical-screen-cage
T5HO 5.0 UVB light $55 https://www.pangeareptile.com/colle...rcury-vapor/products/zoo-med-reptisun-t5-hood
Basking light $11 https://www.pangeareptile.com/colle...med-basking-spot-bulbs?variant=26907331264612
Supplements calcium without D $7 https://www.amazon.com/Rep-Cal-SRP0...675384000&sprefix=ReptiCalcium,aps,214&sr=8-7 Repashy calcium plus LoD $14
Vines $5 each https://www.amazon.com/Fluker-Labs-...1-1-5985efba-8948-4f09-9122-d605505c9d1e&th=1
Thermometer/hygrometer $12 https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Digi...261&sprefix=Reptile+therm,aps,186&sr=8-9&th=1
Safe live plants will depend on what you get from where, but usually a single pothos runs for $15-20. You’ll need a few.
You’ll need a mister/sprayer if you don’t already have one. Drippers are optional and is usually easiest to just use a solo cup with a pin hole in the bottom.
You’ll need some way to manage the excess water drainage and a table or something to place the enclosure on top of.
Your chameleon is a young one and will need a proper set up immediately. They have no resources in their little baby bodies to fall back on if they aren’t getting everything that they need. I’m not trying to talk you out of keeping your chameleon, but if you aren’t able to get everything he needs within the next week or two, you will be headed towards having your heart broken in a horrible way. I want to help you to succeed, so please talk to your dad, show him this post and see if you can manage these things this soon. I’ll be on and off here tonight, so do let me know.
Let me start by saying that chameleons are not only challenging reptiles to take care of, but quite expensive to get set up properly. For just the minimum, you will be looking at needing to spend at least $300 if not more. Here’s a list with approx prices for what is needed:
XL screen enclosure $140 https://www.diycages.com/collection...ducts/sc4-48x24x24-jumbo-vertical-screen-cage
T5HO 5.0 UVB light $55 https://www.pangeareptile.com/colle...rcury-vapor/products/zoo-med-reptisun-t5-hood
Basking light $11 https://www.pangeareptile.com/colle...med-basking-spot-bulbs?variant=26907331264612
Supplements calcium without D $7 https://www.amazon.com/Rep-Cal-SRP0...675384000&sprefix=ReptiCalcium,aps,214&sr=8-7 Repashy calcium plus LoD $14
Vines $5 each https://www.amazon.com/Fluker-Labs-...1-1-5985efba-8948-4f09-9122-d605505c9d1e&th=1
Thermometer/hygrometer $12 https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Digi...261&sprefix=Reptile+therm,aps,186&sr=8-9&th=1
Safe live plants will depend on what you get from where, but usually a single pothos runs for $15-20. You’ll need a few.
You’ll need a mister/sprayer if you don’t already have one. Drippers are optional and is usually easiest to just use a solo cup with a pin hole in the bottom.
You’ll need some way to manage the excess water drainage and a table or something to place the enclosure on top of.
Your chameleon is a young one and will need a proper set up immediately. They have no resources in their little baby bodies to fall back on if they aren’t getting everything that they need. I’m not trying to talk you out of keeping your chameleon, but if you aren’t able to get everything he needs within the next week or two, you will be headed towards having your heart broken in a horrible way. I want to help you to succeed, so please talk to your dad, show him this post and see if you can manage these things this soon. I’ll be on and off here tonight, so do let me know.
Ok thanks for the advice
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
I and others here are more than willing to give you all of the help we can to get everything just perfect for your little guy. Unfortunately there’s few short cuts or ways to do things cheaper.
bruce the cham
Avid Member
heloo there i spent about 500 hundo on my cham and set up so yay not the cheapest but def listen to what they have to say im 14 and feel that it can be hard but yay hope u can get everthing figured out
What’s the substrate? I think it needs to be removed asap. It might cause an impaction if your chameleon ingests it. The proper UVB light is important to get asap as well or your chameleon will likely develop MBD.
I would replace the red light asap too…you can use a regular incandescent (not LED) household bulb instead.
you know to turn the lights off at night…right?
I would replace the red light asap too…you can use a regular incandescent (not LED) household bulb instead.
you know to turn the lights off at night…right?
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
I’ve given you as complete of a list of things that you’ll need for your chameleon. While it’s all important to have asap, some is more important and can’t wait at all. Some costs nothing to change.
The first thing to change is lights. Colored lights are bad for sensitive little chameleon eyes. You’ll need two different lights - a basking light and a linear T5HO uvb light. There is little to no way to avoid getting the correct uvb light. I’ve already given links above for one. This is a priority! You already have the fixture for the basking light and just need a bulb. You can use an old fashioned incandescent light bulb (if you can find them), a halogen bulb or a special reptile basking light. Here’s just one option. https://www.amazon.com/Flukers-Bask...1-1-270ce31b-afa8-499f-878b-3bb461a9a5a6&th=1 It’s possible (depending on your temperatures) that you may not even need a basking light right now.
Next priority is the correct supplements. Your chameleon needs to have a calcium without D3 lightly dusted on all of its feeder bugs at every feeding. One feeding every other week you’ll want to use a combination multivitamin/D3 - see the ones I linked above.
Without correct uvb and supplements, your chameleon will very quickly become sick and can pass away. Unfortunately we see it happen all too often.
The first thing to change is lights. Colored lights are bad for sensitive little chameleon eyes. You’ll need two different lights - a basking light and a linear T5HO uvb light. There is little to no way to avoid getting the correct uvb light. I’ve already given links above for one. This is a priority! You already have the fixture for the basking light and just need a bulb. You can use an old fashioned incandescent light bulb (if you can find them), a halogen bulb or a special reptile basking light. Here’s just one option. https://www.amazon.com/Flukers-Bask...1-1-270ce31b-afa8-499f-878b-3bb461a9a5a6&th=1 It’s possible (depending on your temperatures) that you may not even need a basking light right now.
Next priority is the correct supplements. Your chameleon needs to have a calcium without D3 lightly dusted on all of its feeder bugs at every feeding. One feeding every other week you’ll want to use a combination multivitamin/D3 - see the ones I linked above.
Without correct uvb and supplements, your chameleon will very quickly become sick and can pass away. Unfortunately we see it happen all too often.
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
I wanted to keep the priority items separate. These next things are next in importance.
The problems with using an aquarium tank is there isn’t good enough air ventilation and it isn’t tall enough. Chameleons live in trees - think about how they are up high and get all those lovely breezes (which help keep things like respiratory infections away). For a new keeper, I‘m of the belief that a screen enclosure is best. You can always cover up the back and sides if needed to contain humidity.
It’s important to know what your temperatures and humidity levels are so that you can adjust them to the right ranges. Your chameleon will do just fine with a basking temp of about 80. Humidity during the day needs to be between 30-50%, which is dryer than we think. At night, you want it to get cool and unless it gets below 60, no additional heat is needed. No lights at night either.
Veiled chams like to nibble/eat their plants for reasons no one has figured out yet. This is why it’s so important to use only safe live and washed plants. They have been known to eat a fake leaf which can cause a bowel obstruction which is pretty serious. While we all want exotic plants, the very best ones are the humble pothos. It’s nice to have a schefflera (umbrella plant) as a center plant, but that will need a special plant light. Pothos is a very common houseplant and is very easy to start from clippings - sit in a glass of water until roots grow. Places like Home Depot and Lowe’s sell some beautiful big busy pothos plants that you can split up into at least 2 or more separate plants.
You want to make sure to give your chameleon lots of branches or vines to travel on. Empty space can’t be used and is a waste. Fluker’s foam vines that I linked above are nice. I prefer to use branches I’ve collected from outside. No pine or anything with sap or smell. I give a little scrub with dish soap, rinse very well and dry in the sun. No need to remove bark, bleach, bake or any of that. Just wash, rinse and dry before use. I even leave lichen on my branches for a natural look.
The goal is to create a small forest edge for your chameleon. If you have to search the enclosure for a minute to find your chameleon, it’s perfect. Here’s one that I set up to give you an idea.
The problems with using an aquarium tank is there isn’t good enough air ventilation and it isn’t tall enough. Chameleons live in trees - think about how they are up high and get all those lovely breezes (which help keep things like respiratory infections away). For a new keeper, I‘m of the belief that a screen enclosure is best. You can always cover up the back and sides if needed to contain humidity.
It’s important to know what your temperatures and humidity levels are so that you can adjust them to the right ranges. Your chameleon will do just fine with a basking temp of about 80. Humidity during the day needs to be between 30-50%, which is dryer than we think. At night, you want it to get cool and unless it gets below 60, no additional heat is needed. No lights at night either.
Veiled chams like to nibble/eat their plants for reasons no one has figured out yet. This is why it’s so important to use only safe live and washed plants. They have been known to eat a fake leaf which can cause a bowel obstruction which is pretty serious. While we all want exotic plants, the very best ones are the humble pothos. It’s nice to have a schefflera (umbrella plant) as a center plant, but that will need a special plant light. Pothos is a very common houseplant and is very easy to start from clippings - sit in a glass of water until roots grow. Places like Home Depot and Lowe’s sell some beautiful big busy pothos plants that you can split up into at least 2 or more separate plants.
You want to make sure to give your chameleon lots of branches or vines to travel on. Empty space can’t be used and is a waste. Fluker’s foam vines that I linked above are nice. I prefer to use branches I’ve collected from outside. No pine or anything with sap or smell. I give a little scrub with dish soap, rinse very well and dry in the sun. No need to remove bark, bleach, bake or any of that. Just wash, rinse and dry before use. I even leave lichen on my branches for a natural look.
The goal is to create a small forest edge for your chameleon. If you have to search the enclosure for a minute to find your chameleon, it’s perfect. Here’s one that I set up to give you an idea.
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
Here is an awesome place to learn at. https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/ Also check out Neptune the chameleon on YouTube.
I’ve only given you a bit of info to get started and get what is most important. Please, ask as many questions as you need. Also, please share your progress. We all start at the beginning and so know how wonderful it is to share our success.
I’ve only given you a bit of info to get started and get what is most important. Please, ask as many questions as you need. Also, please share your progress. We all start at the beginning and so know how wonderful it is to share our success.
You will want to make the upgrades suggested by @MissSkittles really quickly. Especially the UVB lighting and cage. And get a white incandesent light bulb to replace the red one. The red heat bulb is really bad on their eyes.
I would go to the link above that @MissSkittles gave you with your dad. Let him read it too. Chameleons are a harder reptile to keep so you want to have your dad helping you to get all the right stuff.
https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/
I would go to the link above that @MissSkittles gave you with your dad. Let him read it too. Chameleons are a harder reptile to keep so you want to have your dad helping you to get all the right stuff.
https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/
