Cham Confusion

[KCham]

Hello--I'm new to all things Cham and have a number of questions and only hope I'm posting them in the right place! My confusion stems from reading and hearing contradictory bits of info and am hoping to get the most accurate or "final" answer on some of these issues. Here are my basic noob questions:
1) Handling. I've heard do and don't. At the pet store, I did and he seemed curious and friendly. Once home, I let him acclimate for a week or so. Then, tried to offer my hand for him to come out and he hissed and hissed and has every time I've been near him. He will eat crickets off of a spoon I offer him. But I've now had him about a month and a half and wonder if it's too late to try to tame him-or if I even should.
2) Coconut fiber substrate or no substrate? I have the former now.
3) All mesh or partial mesh/partial PVC like Dragonstrand, etc... I have all mesh now, mist often and have the Nat Geo fogging log, but cannot keep the humidity at a decent level since I switched to a ceramic heat lamp so that when I cut off the UV lamp he could have actual dark but still have the basking heat. Is the ceramic heat the issue or the type of cage?
4) How many crickets and how often should they be dusted for a several month old Juvy?
I'll also be grateful for any and all other advice. I want Marcel to be the happiest, healthiest little Cham he can be! Thanks!
P.s. I only think I spotted spurs. For all I know, he could be Marcella.

 

[Roger.bowen]

I will try to answer most of you questions, but I am not an expert so don't take my word to trust.

1. Some chameleons are just friendlier than other, unfortunately in this case he seems to not trust you. Your best choice is to keep hand feeding him and try and gain his trust. Remember chameleons are not like other pets and don't generally like being handled

2.I used coconut fibre when I first got my chameleon, I have since taken it out because it is a pain to clean. Just simply use some paper towel, it will make your life 1000 times easier. Also you eliminate the chance of any impaction.

3. If you are finding it difficult to maintain humidity you can cover up some of the sides of the cage with some plastic. Try and stay away from glass cages as stagnant air can form, which is not good for chameleons. Using live plants also help to maintain higher humidity levels with misting

4. I feed my young chameleon about 15 crickets daily.
You should dust them with
Calcium daily
Calcium with d3 2-3 times a month
Multivitamins 2-3 times a month

 

[FlChamMom]

Your avatar is a veiled cham so I'll answer from that... Veiled chameleons can be feisty and territorial, you may find that you have better luck if you have a free range setup for handling. As to humidity, veiled or Yemen chameleons aren't from a jungle environment. Average humidity in Yemen today is 34%. Let the humidity spike by misting, but let the cage completely dry out between mistings. I don't keep constant high humidity in my veiled's cage.

 

[KCham]

Thank you so much for your responses. And, FLChamMom, I have definitely found him to be feisty and territorial! I'm now updating cages and have asked whether another screen is preferable or if a hybrid's the way to go. There's so much to learn with these guys!

 

[Andee]

What are you Temps at night? Why is it so cold that you switched to a ceramic heat bulb for even you basking bulb? That's not a good choice. Veiled chameleons can go down to 55 f at night and be totally fine and benefit from a ten degrees drop in temp.

 

[KCham]

What are you Temps at night? Why is it so cold that you switched to a ceramic heat bulb for even you basking bulb? That's not a good choice. Veiled chameleons can go down to 55 f at night and be totally fine and benefit from a ten degrees drop in temp.

They were dropping down to anywhere from 70 degrees to maybe 60 in the basking area and it was recommended to me by someone at a pet store to do that. Luckily, I saved the initial bulb for heating that I can switch back to. Actually, my humidity was better before I switched over to that ceramic bulb. I can switch back to the original bulb and just turn it off at night. It will start to get pretty cold in here at night, but not below 55 or 60. Thank you for the advice; much appreciated.

 

[ZacharyLeesWife]

My girl is feisty too, but only until she leaves her cage. I think it's a territory thing! I would definitely ixnay the substrate, I use the green washable sheet substrate in my enclosure but paper towels would work just as well. As for the humidity, even with a drip system and regular mists I struggled to maintain 40 until I used a towel on the back of the cage. It was a happy accident, the towel was meant to be a temporary block for a nearby mirror until I got a vinyl backing but humidity has stayed a steady 60 since and 3 sides are open screen so there's no loss of ventilation.

 

[JGspecial]

i would say marcel judging by the coloring in the only pic you provided. ive never seen a female those colors. also, i see a spur.

 

[ZacharyLeesWife]

i would say marcel judging by the coloring in the only pic you provided. ive never seen a female those colors. also, i see a spur.

The strong bands say Marcel to me, too. And it's hard to say for sure but I think I see a spur.

 

[Weebo]

I have a 6 month old charm who isn't really mean but definitely hides from me. I started getting her trust with superworms. Holding it in an open palm and waiting for her to climb out of her cage onto my other hand to get to the worm.

 

[KCham]

I have a 6 month old charm who isn't really mean but definitely hides from me. I started getting her trust with superworms. Holding it in an open palm and waiting for her to climb out of her cage onto my other hand to get to the worm.

Marcel and I have a thing where I offer him a cricket, worm, etc., on a little plastic spoon. He eats out the spoon, but even my hand getting that close to him makes him hiss at me. He'll hiss even as he's going for a cricket. I'm pretty sure he'd take an opportunity to literally bite the hand that feeds him. He vaguely tolerates me, but that's really about it, the little stinker.

 

[ZacharyLeesWife]

Marcel and I have a thing where I offer him a cricket, worm, etc., on a little plastic spoon. He eats out the spoon, but even my hand getting that close to him makes him hiss at me. He'll hiss even as he's going for a cricket. I'm pretty sure he'd take an opportunity to literally bite the hand that feeds him. He vaguely tolerates me, but that's really about it, the little stinker.

She wasn't fond of me until she saw which treat I had to offer.

 

[KCham]

My girl is feisty too, but only until she leaves her cage. I think it's a territory thing! I would definitely ixnay the substrate, I use the green washable sheet substrate in my enclosure but paper towels would work just as well. As for the humidity, even with a drip system and regular mists I struggled to maintain 40 until I used a towel on the back of the cage. It was a happy accident, the towel was meant to be a temporary block for a nearby mirror until I got a vinyl backing but humidity has stayed a steady 60 since and 3 sides are open screen so there's no loss of ventilation.

I'm with you on the substrate thing. I'm definitely going to ditch that when I get his new home. I've fallen in love with the Dragon Strand cages and love the idea of the ledges, etc., and I'll find it much more affordable if I don't have to go with the Clear Side version since that adds on a good bit more money to the overall total. That's great about the towel discovery; how do you keep it attached? I considered doing something similar with just some plastic sheeting affixed to one side and will probably give that a try, since it couldn't really hurt. I'm just a little worried as to how to attach with such hot lamps just overhead. Don't want to melt the plastic or create a fire hazard.

 

[ZacharyLeesWife]

I'm with you on the substrate thing. I'm definitely going to ditch that when I get his new home. I've fallen in love with the Dragon Strand cages and love the idea of the ledges, etc., and I'll find it much more affordable if I don't have to go with the Clear Side version since that adds on a good bit more money to the overall total. That's great about the towel discovery; how do you keep it attached? I considered doing something similar with just some plastic sheeting affixed to one side and will probably give that a try, since it couldn't really hurt. I'm just a little worried as to how to attach with such hot lamps just overhead. Don't want to melt the plastic or create a fire hazard.

I have grand intentions of building cages for my 2 someday, but right now I'm up to my elbows in a vivarium project for day geckos. The towels are just held up by the container of water in their drip systems. I have a reptisun 5.0 and a blue daylight bulb in a mini double dome fixture on the lids of the cage but the opposite sides, and I've never seen any heat problems.

 

[KCham]

She wasn't fond of me until she saw which treat I had to offer.

Hungry girl! What kind of worm was that? I've only tried mealworms, so far, because I was advised that other types of worms were too hard for them to digest. Any advice on that? Also, that flower in the foreground looks great!

 

[ZacharyLeesWife]

Hungry girl! What kind of worm was that? I've only tried mealworms, so far, because I was advised that other types of worms were too hard for them to digest. Any advice on that? Also, that flower in the foreground looks great!

That's a hornworm! They are like lizard crack around here, but they're mostly water so not a primary feeder. And I'm not entirely in agreement with the meal worm advice. I use them in rotation but they have one of the highest chitin contents so they're actually really difficult to digest. Superworms have less shell but more fat. Crickets are a safe staple but the healthiness of them as a feeder relies almost totally on the type of gutload they eat. I use dubias quite a bit to my cham's dismay, they don't move much so my guys aren't terribly fond of them. The best thing is different types of bugs! I use a rough 65 percent hard shell and 35 percent soft body ratio and just rotate out which types. Oh, and welcome to the wonderful world of Chameleons! A few months ago, I felt guilty for 2 pathetic little guys at Petco... With quite a bit of money and time invested, now I have a bug farm in my closet and I literally lose sleep over them. They grow on you so fast!

 

[KCham]

That's a hornworm! They are like lizard crack around here, but they're mostly water so not a primary feeder. And I'm not entirely in agreement with the meal worm advice. I use them in rotation but they have one of the highest chitin contents so they're actually really difficult to digest. Superworms have less shell but more fat. Crickets are a safe staple but the healthiness of them as a feeder relies almost totally on the type of gutload they eat. I use dubias quite a bit to my cham's dismay, they don't move much so my guys aren't terribly fond of them. The best thing is different types of bugs! I use a rough 65 percent hard shell and 35 percent soft body ratio and just rotate out which types. Oh, and welcome to the wonderful world of Chameleons! A few months ago, I felt guilty for 2 pathetic little guys at Petco... With quite a bit of money and time invested, now I have a bug farm in my closet and I literally lose sleep over them. They grow on you so fast!

Ah-I'll have to get some for Marcel! Thanks for the dietary advice-I wondered about the worm thing. That's pretty much the same way I came upon Marcel. He seemed pitiful in a Petsmart. I'm pretty obsessed with the little guy--he really has grown on me!

 

[ZacharyLeesWife]

Ah-I'll have to get some for Marcel! Thanks for the dietary advice-I wondered about the worm thing. That's pretty much the same way I came upon Marcel. He seemed pitiful in a Petsmart. I'm pretty obsessed with the little guy--he really has grown on me!

My best advice is read and research! These forums are great, especially because misinformation doesn't spread too far before someone who knows better says something. I'm always here asking relatively stupid questions, always getting great advice! As for the feeders, definitely look online. They are ridiculously cheap compared to in a chain store and much better cared for so they're healthier too. I'm finding that some of them are so easy to colonize, so that's what I've been working on lately.

 

[Andee]

A lot of pet store feeders such as crickets can carry lots of parasites, they can even carry parasites even if we'll cared for in a breeders or you control everything, a lot of feeders do... however the worse they are cared for, the more likely they are to carry them, especially with no nutritional value to add to the meal. So I tend to raise all my feeders and do regular fecal tests.

 

[Carlton]

Hungry girl! What kind of worm was that? I've only tried mealworms, so far, because I was advised that other types of worms were too hard for them to digest. Any advice on that? Also, that flower in the foreground looks great!

Ironically, the mealworm IS one that is harder to digest because they have more chitin per body weight than larger softer bodied insects do. Mealworms should not be a dietary staple.