Finally bought my first Cham xD

R

RatteN

New Member
Hi all, ahhhhhh..... chams are awsome :D. Ive been a reptile keeper for quite a few years now but i finally took the plunge and went for a 3 week old Veiled Chameleon... and i couldnt be happier with him :D.

As im a complete noob to Cham keeping and this is my first post, i thought id better give ya a little bit of info.

Chameleon Info:

* Your Chameleon - I have a 3 week old veiled chameleon and i have had for about 10 hours now.
* Handling - other than putting him in his cage, i haven't. Im waiting for him to settle in a bit first.
* Feeding - Im feeding him fruit flies and really small crickets
* Supplements - not much in the way of suppliments atm, i have put a drop of liquid vitamin suppliment in the water sprayer and sprayed this onto one of the plants in the cage when he went wandering about
* Watering - i have a water dish in the middle of the cage (to keep the humidity up). i have sprayed his cage a couple of times and i have seen him drink from the leaves both times.
* Fecal Description - havnt found one yet... Im hoping they are going to be smaller than my 6ft corn snake's leavings tho :) :p
* History - although ive only had him a short while i have seen him drink well and eat VERY well(i think). Ive seen him eat 3 small crickets and im just into double figures with the fruit flies.... hes sleeping them off as we speak


Cage Info:

* Cage Type - i have him in a vivexotic vx36 (http://www.vivexotic.co.uk/products_vx&cx.html)
* Lighting - i have a normal 60w reflector bulb mounted on the left hand side panel of the cage(pointing in, towards the right hand wall) and an exoterror reptiglow 5.0 uvb, 60cm, mounted on the back wall, atm i have him on the same cycle as my snakes so i will have the spot bulb and uv on from around 9 am through to around 5-6 pm
* Temperature - the basking temp at the hot end is around 95 and the cool end is 70-75 during the day. night time temp is around 64-68. i have checked the temps with a digital but this was on tempory loan from one of the snakes so will need to buy a few more tomorrow, for tonight he has an analog (one of the few made that actually read the right temperature).
* Humidity - between 60 and 70 depending on wether ive just misted the cage or not. i also have a very shallow bowl in the middle of the cage floor which seems to be helping.
* Plants - have no live plants atm, just a couple of those overpriced plastic/silk ones
* Placement - the cage is against an inside wall to help keep the heat in and is on a table about 2 1/2 feet from the floor.
* Location - am in Doncaster, UK. Its a small town in the north of England.

This is my first post and my first cham so if im going wrong somwhere... please be gentle :)

I will post some pics tomorrow at some point..... havent even named him yet so any name ideas will be welcome.

x
 
First off lower that temp! 80 in the basking spot max! Cover the water bowl with screen so he won't drown. Buy calcium without d3, calcium with d3, and vitamin dust. He needs calcium without d3 on most food items. You should not have bought him so young.

Make sure the lights are shining into the viv from the top, not the sides. If they are in the enclosure, take them out.
 
Congrats and welcome to the forum. There's a lot of helpful information here.

The only thing I would really change right now would be to take the water dish out and find some live plants if you can (I know it's hard this time of year). The water dish doesn't really serve a purpose other than to bring humidity up and could be potentially dangerous if bacteria bred in it or something to that extent. Once you find a live plant the humidity should be fine as long as you mist 2-3 times a day. I would suggest pothos / hibiscus / umbrella plant / or a ficus. I think ficus limbs will be to thin for him when he's an adult, but as a baby it should be perfect. Also, when your cham gets older if you choose a hibiscus they will be able to eat the flowers (my veiled destroys hibiscus).

Also, do you know if your veiled is a male or female? Males will have little spurs on their back feet.
 
yeah as pssh said ....3 weeks is way to young for a new keeper...babies die off easy if somthing isnt right. your cage is a horizontal....he needs a vertical for climbing....as a baby he will be fine in this but id say once he hits 3 months he needs a vertical cage....since your in uk glass is ok becasue of temps...but if you feel you can keep temps up and humidity up then you will be fine with a screen cage...also does your vield have spurs on the back of his feet? if so its male if not its female....im not sure if you can see the spurs at such a young age....(the spurs look like little bumbps on its back feet)...once you sex your cham things will change...females require alot more research becasue of possible laying of eggs . im not expert on egg laying so i cannot offer anymore info. basking temps for a baby should be 80 degrees...with 70 degree ambiant....lower wattage bulbs produce less heat. 90 is way to much
 
yer, i thought it was a bit young but the seller seem happy to sell him to me. im not worrying too much just yet, ive raised a few hatchlings before, granted they were snakes and gekko's so completely different animals, but this little guy seems to be doing fine as little baby reptile go. hes eating well and hes wandering around the cage, so as long as i can get him though the next month or so im sure he'll do fine.

dont worry, the basking temp thing will be sorted asap tomorrow (thanks for the tip)

Hes definatly a male, i saw the spurrs back at the pet shop.

Cheers for the help, uve all been fantastic :)

x
 
hi im in uk 2 birmingham lol brummie! just got mine to a 5 month old girl learnt loads of here so far like now i need to sort out a nest pot thingy for her to lay her infertile eggs lol when she feels ready 2. i managed to find umbrella plant and ficus a couple of days ago in homebase it the house plant section so hopefully u will find them umbrella was about £3.99 and ficus was about £9.99. i have had a gecko and a corn snake in the past too this is my 1st cameleon cant wait to watch her grow up . good luck im sure you will be fine and welcome:D
 
Hey all, sry i havn't been able to get any pics to ya, still waiting on a cam that works properly. Thought my Cham was insainly pissed off with me earlier cos he went a really dark brown and i have been with him all day being the clucky father, but i have come back 2nite and he is going through his first shed. im sooooo pleased it was nothing i was doing wrong. Have got all his temps sorted now and i hope the shed goes well when he wakes up.....wish him luck :) :D
 
just a quick one.... other than keeping the humidity up, is there anything i can do to help him in his first shed?
 
RatteN said:
just a quick one.... other than keeping the humidity up, is there anything i can do to help him in his first shed?
Click to expand...

there is a zoomed product repti-shed aid ive used it on my chameleon and its helped it might work for you.
 
thanks 4 the reply, was just worried i might be missing somthing.

Just to note...I have raised more than my fair share of hatching reptiles in my life (corn snakes, leopard geckos and (Arachnid) Chilian rose tarantulas) but none have taken as much care as this single little Chameleon has. I was just lucky that i had alot of the equipment he needed ready when he arrived, Just somthing to think about. Please dont get me wrong tho, im loving watching him develop, hes a fascinating little animal and i cant wait to see him grow up...:D
 
Chameleons definitely aren't starter reptiles :) A lot of people underestimate the time and care they need.
 
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