Good progress this week :)) what next?

[damionvincent]

Hi

I've had my little female veiled for nearly a month now and this week I've been handing feeding from a small dish, this went well so I then attempted a waxwork on my bare hand. She was a bit nervy but after a few minutes she came down and took it from my hand. What would you all suggest I do next? Keep with the hand feeding? I sit on my sofa next to her enclosure and she happily sits on her top perch near her heat lamp. I keep the front door open whenever I'm home to make my home more accessible should she ever wish to eventually explore.
Any advice or thoughts would be great

 

[melble68]

Hand feeding is good. Also get her used to cup feeding. Add more plants (live or fake). Get a temp gun to know the exact basking temps (to high of basking temps can cause a female to lay eggs). Get rid of the bark. They can inadvertently ingest small pieces that can cause major problems. I'm also not a big fan of chams "exploring". They can fall, disappear quickly, etc....

 

[damionvincent]

Hand feeding is good. Also get her used to cup feeding. Add more plants (live or fake). Get a temp gun to know the exact basking temps (to high of basking temps can cause a female to lay eggs). Get rid of the bark. They can inadvertently ingest small pieces that can cause major problems. I'm also not a big fan of chams "exploring". They can fall, disappear quickly, etc....

Many thanks for your reply. I was actually going to remove the bark in the morning just to be safe. Are real plants ok as I was scared she would eat them?

 

[melble68]

Many thanks for your replyI was actually going to remove the bark in the morning just to be safe. Are real plants ok as I was scared she would eat them?

Real plants are better than just ok, they're awesome. They look great, they hold humidity, You just need to make sure you get plants that are chameleon friendly. I am anal about my live plants. I have a specific potting soil procedure that I do an all my plants to help w/ drainage and eliminating potential knats problems. But the end result is gorgeous. Keep an eye out, I have a couple new plants that I need to doctor up for my inside cages, so I may do a step by step picture post of my procedure which includes 50/50 organic soil vs play sand, layer of weed guard, 1-2" layer of play sand, and then finally covered w/ washed medium to large sized river rock. Veiled are more abt to be chewers, than the panthers that I have. There is a great safe plant list under the Resources tab to view. So if it turns out she's a chewer, fake plants may be the better option for you. All of my enclosures are totally filled up w/ live plants, and custom drip pans that totally deal w/ mistings and my drippers. I have previous posts that you can search for my enclosures, custom drip pans, custom drippers, and feeder keepers. If you are unable to find them let me know, I can track them down and send you the links.

 

[Andee]

Feed her lots of greens that she likes in order to reduce the amount of eating her plants she will do. But since she is a veiled it will happen either way. Just make sure you have safe plants. I would continue with hand feeding before you take her out until she doesn't question it. Then free ranging with supervision should be fine.

 

[melble68]

Feed her lots of greens that she likes in order to reduce the amount of eating her plants she will do. But since she is a veiled it will happen either way. Just make sure you have safe plants. I would continue with hand feeding before you take her out until she doesn't question it. Then free ranging with supervision should be fine.

Baby's Tears is a very popular edible live plants. There are some members that rotate multiple Baby's Tear plants because their chams love chomping them up so much.

 

[Fiona's Mom]

Beautiful set up! It looks like from the picture she is awfully close to the lights though. You might also start looking at ideas for her to lay her eggs ( she is a girl...and girls WILL lay eggs. Several good ideas on the forums.