Help! First time chameleon owner!

[lau217]

Hello I am getting my first juvenile male veiled chameleon tomorrow from FLChams and I can't be anymore excited! I've been doing my research and I have built my own cage and dripping system! Please let me know if I am missing anything!

I am attaching pictures of everything I have!

-The cage is 18"x24"x3' I plan to extend the cage up another foot when he gets bigger.
-I have two live plants (golden pothos and Schefflera both from Lowes)
-I have the Exo Terra Jungle Vine with a fake vine with leaves that has -convenient hoops to loop it through from Michaels Craft Store. And also two ---sticks from my backyard.
-On the bottom of the cage is just a plastic sheet. Eventually I will be getting a tray. I've read that I should not have any substrate..
-For lighting I have a UVB 5.0 bulb and a 75watt basking lamp. (I've read that a house lamp works the same and is cheaper. What watt is equivalent?)
What is the best 12hour light schedule? 9am to 9pm?

-The dripper I cleaned out a gallon jug and got a tube and gang valve out of the fish section and have it set on about a drop every 3 seconds. I also have a spray bottle to spray every now and then through out the day.

I understand that I need to put on calcium on the food every feeding except for twice a month calcium with D3 and except twice a month multivitamins. To feed my chameleon I have small crickets and mealworms. About how many should I put in the cage? I was planning on putting a little bowl on the side of the cage during feeding time.

Also how do y'all keep the humidity up!? During the day it is about 40% and will drop to the 20s and 30s at night..

Hope y'all and my chameleon like my cage and set up I made!!! Please give me feedback!

 

[IAmCarl]

Best of luck!

Make sure you have rinsed the plants off and swapped out the soil for organic soil. Cover the soil with big stones so the Cham can't eat it.

What size is the Cham your getting?

 

[lau217]

Thank you for the advice!

I have washed off the leaves, but did not change the soil. I will have to do that!

I named my little guy Prince. He should be a 3-4 month old!

 

[jrath]

Looks like you are off to a great start. Keep asking questions if you have any more. You will love him!

 

[APBMM veil charm]

You are definitely off to a great start. Im getting a sub adult male veiled from Fl chams today also the weather had push the delivery date back so he will be here this morning . Lets swap out pictures once you have your cham . Good luck and don't hesitate to ask questions this forum is great .

 

[NHenn]

Congratulations on your first chameleon and welcome to the forums. As other stated you are off to a good start but I would still read through as much information as you can here https://www.chameleonforums.com/cha...sheets-caging-lighting-nutrition-more-104558/. It can only help!

As for your cage it looks nice but I do have a few modifications. Right off the bat, you should add some more branches for him to sit on. Especially under the UVB bulb as it doesn't look like he has any place to sit and bask under it. That branch needs to be within about 6 inches of the light to be effective.

Feel free to change the soil as suggested or you can place larger rocks over it so that your little one can't get down into it. If you do change the soil, just make sure it is furterlizer free and doesn't contain any perlite or vermiculite.

You can use a regular bulb for basking, as for wattage just play around with it until you get the correct temp. Light timing doesn't really matter as long as it is 12 hours on during the day and 12 off at night, so whatever fits your schedule the best I would go with that. Humidity, if your at 40 during the day, you have live plants and with your hand misting you should be fine as that will allow for spikes in the humidity right after misting. If you still want it higher you can wrap the sides and back of the screen cage in a shower curtain or Plexiglas to help hold the moisture longer.

Hope this helps and be sure to post pictures when he arrives!

 

[lau217]

Thanks for all the input!

I will post pictures of him later. Should be here soon!

 

[lau217]

Just received my little Prince 10:30 on the dot!

As I would assume when I opened his box he turned dark green. Poor little thing! I put him straight away so my pictures of him aren't very good, but there will be more to come!

 

[Kath44]

He is so cute. Kath.

 

[TOXICx213x]

As I would assume when I opened his box he turned dark green. Poor little thing! I put him straight away so my pictures of him aren't very good, but there will be more to come!

Who's the sire?? He looks cute!

 

[lau217]

Sire

I'm not sure who the sire is. I emailed FLChams to let them know I was happy with my purchase and asked who the sire was and never got a response..