Do I have everything I need to be a great cham mama?

S

stringbean

New Member
Hi there everyone! I am a new member to this forum, although I've been obsessively reading every post I can for the last few months to do as much research as I can before getting my new little baby. I am planning on getting a juvenile (6-7 weeks) male veiled chameleon (translucent-because let's be real the pink feet are adorable). I have kept snakes, bearded dragons, and geckos before but I've always wanted a cham so i decided it was time to do my research and branch out. Anyways, I have slowly been gathering everything I think I might need for the little guy and was hoping everyone on here can give me some feedback before i get him within the next week or so.

For enclosure: I have a 24x24x48' screen cage from diycages.com, my boyfriend installed plexi-glass on the outside of two of the screen sides to help keep the humidity/heat in because my room gets cold from the a/c (that California life) , I have two live pothos plants in there (cleaned with large river rocks covering the soil-replanted), a fake branch/tree for him to climb around with fake leaves rapped around it so he can hide from me, I have a few jungle vines towards the top of the enclosure going horizontal, I have a mistking set up for 2 mins every 4 hours and a drip system available as well. I have the feeder cup from full throttle in there as well, closer towards where I think his basking spot will be. I have three thermometers in there, one a the basking spot (92F), one at the bottom of the cage (72F) and one in the middle(80F). I also have a humidity gauge in there (30-50%). I currently have the bottom lined with paper towels (which I don't think looks very nice but I am no where near ready for that bio-active life. Any other recommendations would be great!). I have it all set up on a nightstand in my bedroom, away from windows, traffic and vents.

For lighting: I have a zoo med T5HO- 24' hood, with a 10.0 22' bulb in there (I've read mixed things about 10.0 vs. 5.0 for juveniles so I was hoping someone could clarify). Plus I have the flunkers 8.5' cramic clamp lamp raised above the cage about 6/7 inches from the top of the screen cage using the exo-terra lamp stand, it has a 75 W zilla reptile bulb in it. I know to only run the lights for 12 hours a day and to keep it completely dark at night and allow for a temp drop.

For supplements I have the repashy calcium plus LoD (which I'm confused if I give 2x a month or with every meal-I've read mixed things about that). I have the reptivitive with D3 and I know to only give that 2x a month (alternative weeks of the multivitamin) and I have the repti-calcium without D3 which I give with every meal. I feel pretty confident in my gut loading knowledge and I've been following those cheat sheets that I've seen on this forum.

I didn't fill out the help forum because I don't have my little guy yet but can if you guys think it'll help! I was just hoping everyone could tell me what I can improve on before I get him. I can post pictures of the enclosure later when I get home too but just wanted some feedback now so I can buy things/improve things today :)

Thanks in advance and I'm really excited to be apart of this awesome forum!
 
Hi Hun. Welcome to the forum. Great job doing your research.

Hi there everyone! I am a new member to this forum, although I've been obsessively reading every post I can for the last few months to do as much research as I can before getting my new little baby. I am planning on getting a juvenile (6-7 weeks) male veiled chameleon (translucent-because let's be real the pink feet are adorable). I have kept snakes, bearded dragons, and geckos before but I've always wanted a cham so i decided it was time to do my research and branch out. Anyways, I have slowly been gathering everything I think I might need for the little guy and was hoping everyone on here can give me some feedback before i get him within the next week or so.

For enclosure: I have a 24x24x48' screen cage from diycages.com, my boyfriend installed plexi-glass on the outside of two of the screen sides to help keep the humidity/heat in because my room gets cold from the a/c (that California life) , I have two live pothos plants in there (cleaned with large river rocks covering the soil-replanted), a fake branch/tree for him to climb around with fake leaves rapped around it so he can hide from me, I have a few jungle vines towards the top of the enclosure going horizontal, I have a mistking set up for 2 mins every 4 hours and a drip system available as well. I have the feeder cup from full throttle in there as well, closer towards where I think his basking spot will be. I have three thermometers in there, one a the basking spot (92F)Too Hot needs to be 80-82 for a baby that young. how far is basking level from the top screen of the cage. , one at the bottom of the cage (72F) and one in the middle(80F). I also have a humidity gauge in there (30-50%). I currently have the bottom lined with paper towels Easy fix... Get a dragon strand drip pan. www.dragonstrand.com. either a gravity drain or a wet vac to get the water out. (which I don't think looks very nice but I am no where near ready for that bio-active life. Any other recommendations would be great!). I have it all set up on a nightstand in my bedroom, away from windows, traffic and vents.


For lighting: I have a zoo med T5HO- 24' hood, with a 10.0 22' bulb in there (I've read mixed things about 10.0 vs. 5.0 for juveniles so I was hoping someone could clarify) depends on how close your top branches are to the top screen and if you have multiple lower ones so they can retreat with plant cover.. Plus I have the flunkers 8.5' cramic clamp lamp raised above the cage about 6/7 inches from the top of the screen cage using the exo-terra lamp stand, it has a 75 W zilla reptile bulb in it. I know to only run the lights for 12 hours a day and to keep it completely dark at night and allow for a temp drop.

For supplements I have the repashy calcium plus LoD (which I'm confused if I give 2x a month or with every meal-I've read mixed things about that). I have the reptivitive with D3 and I know to only give that 2x a month (alternative weeks of the multivitamin) and I have the repti-calcium without D3 which I give with every meal. I feel pretty confident in my gut loading knowledge and I've been following those cheat sheets that I've seen on this forum.
So the repashy calcium plus loD is an all in 1 supplement. You can use this and only this to dust on all feeders.

I didn't fill out the help forum because I don't have my little guy yet but can if you guys think it'll help! I was just hoping everyone could tell me what I can improve on before I get him. I can post pictures of the enclosure later when I get home too but just wanted some feedback now so I can buy things/improve things today :)

Thanks in advance and I'm really excited to be apart of this awesome forum!

Nothing else stands out at me hun. Honestly looks like you are off to a good start. You have taken the steps to find info. Post pics when you can. It will be easier to see how the enclosure is laid out. Always ask questions we love helping out new keepers. :)

Great resources...
www.chameleonbreeder.com is a fantastic podcast dedicated to chams.
www.dragonstrand.com They have dragon ledges to pull pots up off the floor and universal drip pans that will fit a 24x24x48 DIY cage.
 
Hello and welcome so far your at a great start! Might I suggest a heat gun, they are very helpful and a kitchen scale to track your little ones weight. Find a vet that has chameleon experience not all exotic vets have experience with them. With the the Repashy calcium lod it’s every feeding, I as well use that one
 
Beman said:
Hi Hun. Welcome to the forum. Great job doing your research.

Hi there everyone! I am a new member to this forum, although I've been obsessively reading every post I can for the last few months to do as much research as I can before getting my new little baby. I am planning on getting a juvenile (6-7 weeks) male veiled chameleon (translucent-because let's be real the pink feet are adorable). I have kept snakes, bearded dragons, and geckos before but I've always wanted a cham so i decided it was time to do my research and branch out. Anyways, I have slowly been gathering everything I think I might need for the little guy and was hoping everyone on here can give me some feedback before i get him within the next week or so.

For enclosure: I have a 24x24x48' screen cage from diycages.com, my boyfriend installed plexi-glass on the outside of two of the screen sides to help keep the humidity/heat in because my room gets cold from the a/c (that California life) , I have two live pothos plants in there (cleaned with large river rocks covering the soil-replanted), a fake branch/tree for him to climb around with fake leaves rapped around it so he can hide from me, I have a few jungle vines towards the top of the enclosure going horizontal, I have a mistking set up for 2 mins every 4 hours and a drip system available as well. I have the feeder cup from full throttle in there as well, closer towards where I think his basking spot will be. I have three thermometers in there, one a the basking spot (92F)Too Hot needs to be 80-82 for a baby that young. how far is basking level from the top screen of the cage. , one at the bottom of the cage (72F) and one in the middle(80F). I also have a humidity gauge in there (30-50%). I currently have the bottom lined with paper towels Easy fix... Get a dragon strand drip pan. www.dragonstrand.com. either a gravity drain or a wet vac to get the water out. (which I don't think looks very nice but I am no where near ready for that bio-active life. Any other recommendations would be great!). I have it all set up on a nightstand in my bedroom, away from windows, traffic and vents.


For lighting: I have a zoo med T5HO- 24' hood, with a 10.0 22' bulb in there (I've read mixed things about 10.0 vs. 5.0 for juveniles so I was hoping someone could clarify) depends on how close your top branches are to the top screen and if you have multiple lower ones so they can retreat with plant cover.. Plus I have the flunkers 8.5' cramic clamp lamp raised above the cage about 6/7 inches from the top of the screen cage using the exo-terra lamp stand, it has a 75 W zilla reptile bulb in it. I know to only run the lights for 12 hours a day and to keep it completely dark at night and allow for a temp drop.

For supplements I have the repashy calcium plus LoD (which I'm confused if I give 2x a month or with every meal-I've read mixed things about that). I have the reptivitive with D3 and I know to only give that 2x a month (alternative weeks of the multivitamin) and I have the repti-calcium without D3 which I give with every meal. I feel pretty confident in my gut loading knowledge and I've been following those cheat sheets that I've seen on this forum.
So the repashy calcium plus loD is an all in 1 supplement. You can use this and only this to dust on all feeders.

I didn't fill out the help forum because I don't have my little guy yet but can if you guys think it'll help! I was just hoping everyone could tell me what I can improve on before I get him. I can post pictures of the enclosure later when I get home too but just wanted some feedback now so I can buy things/improve things today :)

Thanks in advance and I'm really excited to be apart of this awesome forum!

Nothing else stands out at me hun. Honestly looks like you are off to a good start. You have taken the steps to find info. Post pics when you can. It will be easier to see how the enclosure is laid out. Always ask questions we love helping out new keepers. :)

Great resources...
www.chameleonbreeder.com is a fantastic podcast dedicated to chams.
www.dragonstrand.com They have dragon ledges to pull pots up off the floor and universal drip pans that will fit a 24x24x48 DIY cage.
Click to expand...
The not lazy member lol
 
JoXie411 said:
Hello and welcome so far your at a great start! Might I suggest a heat gun, they are very helpful and a kitchen scale to track your little ones weight. Find a vet that has chameleon experience not all exotic vets have experience with them. With the the Repashy calcium lod it’s every feeding, I as well use that one
Click to expand...
Okay great! Thanks for much, I will definitely get both a heat gun and a scale! I am actually a veterinary technician and work for an animal hospital with an amazing reptile doctor so as soon as I get the little guy I'm gonna get him looked at get his stool tested for parasites!
 
Beman said:
Hi Hun. Welcome to the forum. Great job doing your research.

Hi there everyone! I am a new member to this forum, although I've been obsessively reading every post I can for the last few months to do as much research as I can before getting my new little baby. I am planning on getting a juvenile (6-7 weeks) male veiled chameleon (translucent-because let's be real the pink feet are adorable). I have kept snakes, bearded dragons, and geckos before but I've always wanted a cham so i decided it was time to do my research and branch out. Anyways, I have slowly been gathering everything I think I might need for the little guy and was hoping everyone on here can give me some feedback before i get him within the next week or so.

For enclosure: I have a 24x24x48' screen cage from diycages.com, my boyfriend installed plexi-glass on the outside of two of the screen sides to help keep the humidity/heat in because my room gets cold from the a/c (that California life) , I have two live pothos plants in there (cleaned with large river rocks covering the soil-replanted), a fake branch/tree for him to climb around with fake leaves rapped around it so he can hide from me, I have a few jungle vines towards the top of the enclosure going horizontal, I have a mistking set up for 2 mins every 4 hours and a drip system available as well. I have the feeder cup from full throttle in there as well, closer towards where I think his basking spot will be. I have three thermometers in there, one a the basking spot (92F)Too Hot needs to be 80-82 for a baby that young. how far is basking level from the top screen of the cage. , one at the bottom of the cage (72F) and one in the middle(80F). I also have a humidity gauge in there (30-50%). I currently have the bottom lined with paper towels Easy fix... Get a dragon strand drip pan. www.dragonstrand.com. either a gravity drain or a wet vac to get the water out. (which I don't think looks very nice but I am no where near ready for that bio-active life. Any other recommendations would be great!). I have it all set up on a nightstand in my bedroom, away from windows, traffic and vents.


For lighting: I have a zoo med T5HO- 24' hood, with a 10.0 22' bulb in there (I've read mixed things about 10.0 vs. 5.0 for juveniles so I was hoping someone could clarify) depends on how close your top branches are to the top screen and if you have multiple lower ones so they can retreat with plant cover.. Plus I have the flunkers 8.5' cramic clamp lamp raised above the cage about 6/7 inches from the top of the screen cage using the exo-terra lamp stand, it has a 75 W zilla reptile bulb in it. I know to only run the lights for 12 hours a day and to keep it completely dark at night and allow for a temp drop.

For supplements I have the repashy calcium plus LoD (which I'm confused if I give 2x a month or with every meal-I've read mixed things about that). I have the reptivitive with D3 and I know to only give that 2x a month (alternative weeks of the multivitamin) and I have the repti-calcium without D3 which I give with every meal. I feel pretty confident in my gut loading knowledge and I've been following those cheat sheets that I've seen on this forum.
So the repashy calcium plus loD is an all in 1 supplement. You can use this and only this to dust on all feeders.

I didn't fill out the help forum because I don't have my little guy yet but can if you guys think it'll help! I was just hoping everyone could tell me what I can improve on before I get him. I can post pictures of the enclosure later when I get home too but just wanted some feedback now so I can buy things/improve things today :)

Thanks in advance and I'm really excited to be apart of this awesome forum!

Nothing else stands out at me hun. Honestly looks like you are off to a good start. You have taken the steps to find info. Post pics when you can. It will be easier to see how the enclosure is laid out. Always ask questions we love helping out new keepers. :)

Great resources...
www.chameleonbreeder.com is a fantastic podcast dedicated to chams.
www.dragonstrand.com They have dragon ledges to pull pots up off the floor and universal drip pans that will fit a 24x24x48 DIY cage.
Click to expand...
the basking spot is about 6 inches from the top of the screen, the cage is pretty huge so I can adjust it and move it lower or raise the lamps higher and hopefully that'll help! Is the 10.0 okay though or is a 5.0 better for a little guy? I don't mind having to buy a different one later when he's older. Thanks a ton for the tip about the drain, i will buy it right now and add more branches lower for plant cover. ill post a picture for you later one when I get home :)
 
stringbean said:
Okay great! Thanks for much, I will definitely get both a heat gun and a scale! I am actually a veterinary technician and work for an animal hospital with an amazing reptile doctor so as soon as I get the little guy I'm gonna get him looked at get his stool tested for parasites!
Click to expand...

Awesome! Do you see many chams come to your clinic?
 
stringbean said:
the basking spot is about 6 inches from the top of the screen, the cage is pretty huge so I can adjust it and move it lower or raise the lamps higher and hopefully that'll help! Is the 10.0 okay though or is a 5.0 better for a little guy? I don't mind having to buy a different one later when he's older. Thanks a ton for the tip about the drain, i will buy it right now and add more branches lower for plant cover. ill post a picture for you later one when I get home :)
Click to expand...
Ok bring the basking branch down to 8 inches below. So the only way you will have a for sure answer on bulb strength is to get a solarmeter 6.5. While they are expensive they take all the guesswork out of the equation. You want a 3-4 UVI level for a Veiled. The other good thing about having a solarmeter is that you can test your bulb strength month over month. This is the only for sure way to know when you have to replace the bulb. :)
 
Does the low D mean there is no or low D3? Not familiar with it, and curious.

My limited knowledge suggests that you want a no D3 calcium daily.
 
Lunatuck said:
Does the low D mean there is no D3? Not familiar with it, and curious.
Click to expand...
No, so it has a low D3 amount. multivitamins. Vitamin A which most only have beta carotene. Calcium. But it is to be used for Chams that are receiving a lower amount of natural sun and most of their D3 is provided my UVB light conversion. So it is a safer way to provide everything rather then using 3-4 different supplements.
 
Beman said:
No, so it has a low D3 amount. multivitamins. Vitamin A which most only have beta carotene. Calcium. But it is to be used for Chams that are receiving a lower amount of natural sun and most of their D3 is provided my UVB light conversion. So it is a safer way to provide everything rather then using 3-4 different supplements.
Click to expand...

So does one use that in addition to the 2x a month D3? I'm always fearful of a D3 overdose.
 
Lunatuck said:
Thanks for clearing up my confusion and the OP's!
Click to expand...
Your welcome! There is a ton of overwhelming info when it comes to supplements. Honestly I started going directly to the manufactures sites to figure out exactly what had what. Repashy has tons of different ones so theirs always confused the heck outa me.
 
Thank you all so so much for all the advice and for being so nice and welcoming! I feel so much better about doing things right by my little man. I just gotta go get those last few things (heating gun, scale, and solarmeter 6.5). I will post picture of my enclosure and of my little man when I can. Thanks again!
I'm planning on getting him next week so if any one has any other advice or recommendations on what I need please let me know :)
 
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