First timer/ Yemen Chameleon

[gemsss]

Yesterday I got myself a gorgeous male yemen chameleon, wondered if anyone could tell me roughly how old he is? I know he's still a youngster. I've got some artificial leaves wrapped round different size bamboo canes and I have a large ficus plant in his enclosure too. I spray inside his enclosure three to four times a day. Should I be spraying him directly? I've tried a plastic cup on top of his enclosure with a little hole pierced through to see if he takes any notice but if not should I remove this? I'd just a like a little bit of advice and for you guys to let me know if i'm doing things correctly? I have a 100W bulb for the basking lamp and 26W UV bulb. My enclosure is 40x40x76cm Mesh Reptibreeze. I'd be grateful for any responses. I also wondered if I should have sand or something at the bottom of his enclosure? He never goes down there though.

 

[jannb]

Welcome to the forums and congrats on that little cutie! I have blog for new keepers that you should find helpful.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html

More great info: https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/chameleons/

 

[Decadancin]

He's very cute! Jann already posted the links with great info! What is his basking site temp? 100 watt may be a bit too strong for him. I would guess he is about 4 months old in that picture. As for spraying directly, I would not. You could try some warm water and spray near him for a bit and gradually get closer to him and see how he reacts, but I would let him settle in a bit first before trying to do that. Best of luck with your new little boy and your enclosure looks great!

Oh, and Welcome to the forums!

 

[Djturna4thakidz]

Yeah 100watt is too hot, unless your house is freezing. I use 45-60 watts on all my tanks, including adults

 

[gemsss]

Thanks guys, I live in england so it's not always warm here. I was recommended this bulb by the lady I got the chameleon from. This is what she uses. I'll check the temp in a sec, what is the correct temp for the basking area?

 

[Monopoly9182]

I would put it to about 78-82*f

 

[tdismang]

He's very cute! Jann already posted the links with great info! What is his basking site temp? 100 watt may be a bit too strong for him. I would guess he is about 4 months old in that picture. As for spraying directly, I would not. You could try some warm water and spray near him for a bit and gradually get closer to him and see how he reacts, but I would let him settle in a bit first before trying to do that. Best of luck with your new little boy and your enclosure looks great!

Oh, and Welcome to the forums!

That's interesting. I was told that my male veiled was about that age, but he is much bigger and is 8 inches long. I'm so confused! LOL!

 

[Decadancin]

That's interesting. I was told that my male veiled was about that age, but he is much bigger and is 8 inches long. I'm so confused! LOL!

He could be a bit younger, its not an exact science. Depends on how much he is fed, etc. Here's a picture of Zaphod at about 4 months...

 

[bradley]

He looks about two months old to me. I am In England too an a 40w bulb is fine for me in even my adult cages. I would also recommend a tube uv bulb as the compacts are known to cause eye problems. Only yesterday there was a case of eye problems caused by them.

 

[LaughingCat]

I may be wrong, but I don't see any spurs on his back feet, but that may be because of his age, or the angle of the picture. You may have a female! Like I said, I may be wrong, however he is still very cute! I agree with Bradley, a tube light would be better because it covers more range. I am not sure if the coiled compacts still cause eye problems, as I was told by another member in one of my posts that the companies seem to have fixed that problem, but I would still get a tube light just to be safe, in the event that they still do.

Welcome to the forums and good luck with your little guy! He's adorable!!!

 

[gemsss]

thanks guys! i'm going to buy a tube light in the next few days he has some black stripes which come and go every now and then... any ideas?

 

[LaughingCat]

thanks guys! i'm going to buy a tube light in the next few days he has some black stripes which come and go every now and then... any ideas?

They usually don black stripes or dots here and there when they are stressed. It's nothing to worry about, he's just settling in and trying to get used to his new environment. Booda gets them here and there when he doesn't want to be bothered much. It's a normal thing. Just give him some space and he'll settle down.

 

[LaughingCat]

thanks guys! i'm going to buy a tube light in the next few days he has some black stripes which come and go every now and then... any ideas?

If it looks similar to this, then it's nothing to be concerned about. Just cranky