Help! New Veiled Chameleon

[bharrold]

My first chameleon! It's a juvenile veiled.

Habitat:
Exo-Terra 12"x12"x18" (I know I will need a taller, larger habitat as he grows, right now he's very small)
75W basking bulb
5.0 Repitsun UVB
75W nocturnal heat bulb
Installing reptiFogger today
Lots of greenery/climbing branches
2 thermometers (1 at top, 1 at bottom)
1 hygrometer
RepCal multivitamin
RepCal calcium + D
Bark substrate

Any suggestions for care, feeding, housing, etc?

 

[camimom]

Welcome!

You don't need the bark substrate, in fact we never recommend using it as veileds can ingest it and cause impaction.


next- you don't need a night bulb. they need darkness to sleep and can handle temps down to the 50's at night.


here is the care sheet which will provide you with everything you need.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/

 

[Dgood]

I would ditch the nocturnal heat bulb. Chameleons are not nocturnal and need complete darkness at night to sleep. Also a tempurature drop at night is also beneficial. Other than that he should be fine in there until you get a bigger cage, which he is going to need soon. They grow up so fast!!

 

[jamjam]

I dont see any calcium with no d3. if your using d3 every feeding your going to over supplement your chameleon. Your best bet for advise on everything else is to post pictures and explain how you are doing things (feeding, supplementing etc) than people can correct any problems or give suggestions. Take a look at the care sheets on the site a lot of things are explained there or the FAQ thread. Also dont really see the need for so many new pet owners getting foggers. I know some people get them to help aid in humidity problems but usually dont see the need in one

 

[Djturna4thakidz]

Like previously stated, you will need rep cal calcium w out D3. For some reason most pet stores don't stock it. You may have to order it. You are only supposed to dust w calcium with D3 twice a month. Same with the multi vite. You can use the plain calcium daily. I use it 3x weekly

 

[Ahyriah]

What temp is the 75w basking bulb putting the basking spot at? With that small of cage it might get it too hot.

 

[bharrold]

Thank You!!!

Awesome, thanks for all the helpful advice, ditched the night bulb, the bark and the calcium. Also, in regard to the 75W getting too hot, I have it in a dimmer lamp, so I'm able to adjust the temperature.

 

[nick barta]

I dont see any calcium with no d3. if your using d3 every feeding your going to over supplement your chameleon. Your best bet for advise on everything else is to post pictures and explain how you are doing things (feeding, supplementing etc) than people can correct any problems or give suggestions. Take a look at the care sheets on the site a lot of things are explained there or the FAQ thread. Also dont really see the need for so many new pet owners getting foggers. I know some people get them to help aid in humidity problems but usually dont see the need in one

I agree with JamJam, foggers are not needed for Veilds or Panthers. Foggers may have value with the montane species such as Mellers, Quads and Montiums, but have been successfully kept without foggers. Jacksons seem to do well with foggers, but have also been successfully raised without.

I would get a temperature gun to get the actual temperature of where the cham basks, if that temperature is too low, he will stop eating. The infra red temperature gun is only $18.00 or so.

Nick

 

[junglefries]

You can keep your reptifogger if you want. i have to disagree with the previous user's statement. both my panthers and veils love mine as well as the jax. they all sit right under the nozzles. my household humidity is always around 65-70rh and they still love the cold fog. if yours likes it keep it. i have 14 chams not including babies and everyone uses it. a suggestion though. for your next cage make sure it is a screen cage. good luck and enjoy your new friend.

 

[kinyonga]

You ditched he calcium wig D3?? It's recommended that kt be used twice a month and the phos - free calcium powder be used at most of the other feedings. Most people use the vitamins twice a month too.

 

[ThatDigitalChameleon]

By greenery i'm assuming you meant real plants? Veiled chameleons tend to nibble on leaves and such.

as for feeding, if yo uhaven't already, check the link for the care sheet camimom linked in her post so you know what size to feed and how often to supplement, even though people have already given you the rundown.

Go ahead and bookmark it in your browser, there's a lot of great information in there for beginners. THis way if you ever forget you can be like... "I FORGOT WHAT I SHOULD GUTLOAD MY CRICKETS WITH!" and then you check your bookmark and BAM! there it is in your face and you can write it down and go to the store and get some tastey food to gutload feeders with and make your chams mouth all drooley cos he loves it!

(that last part made no sense at the end there.... I'M POSTIN IT!"

 

[ridgebax1]

I agree, no heat at night. Be very careful with your supplements. That was where I went wrong with my first cham; Also look at all the feeding options and try not to rely on one type of food all the time. There are lots of options and the sponsor websites associated with the forums are good places to order lots of different bugs. And read, read, read. There is a ton of great advice and different opinions on keeping chams. Do not be afraid to ask questions, but don't get insulted either if someone disagrees with you, you can't read someone's tone or intent in these postings. Enjoy your baby!

 

[bharrold]

Thanks everybody!!!

I LOVE all this advice and feedback.

Can somebody who has lots of experience with veileds tell me exactly what vitamins and calcium to buy, and what schedule to use them on?

Also, my little guy slept ALL night long in one of his plants (7pm-7am), is that normal?

I do have fake plants in his habitat, but there is no way he can eat them, or bite pieces of them off.

Also, can somebody tell me very specifically how to go about feeding him?


THANKS AGAIN!!!

 

[camimom]

I LOVE all this advice and feedback.

Can somebody who has lots of experience with veileds tell me exactly what vitamins and calcium to buy, and what schedule to use them on?

Also, my little guy slept ALL night long in one of his plants (7pm-7am), is that normal?

I do have fake plants in his habitat, but there is no way he can eat them, or bite pieces of them off.

Also, can somebody tell me very specifically how to go about feeding him?


THANKS AGAIN!!!

I use repashy all in one calcium plus. This keeps me from messing up dusting schedules, as the three supplements previously mentioned tend to do. Instead of what day is what powder, I just use repashy on every feeding. It has all the required nutrients to sustain a happy and healthy cham ( of course you have to feed the bugs good gutload, but in regards to the supplements, repashy covers it all).

You can buy repashy from our site sponsors.
If you do not wish to use it, you need to order a calcium with NO d3 to be used on every feeding, a calcium with d3 for twice a month, and a multivitamin for twice a month.

Hes supposed to sleep all night long. DId you expect him to wake up?


You think he cant bite them off, but they have sharp teeth, and yes, those teeth can draw blood.

In regards to feeding him, do you want to know HOW to feed him, WHAT to feed him, or HOW MUCH to feed him?

 

[bharrold]

Camimom,

Lol, I guess I did expect him to wake up. I'm glad his sleeping is normal.

Than you for the vitamin advice.

And I would love to know how to feed him and how much to feed him, I have small crickets and mealworms.

 

[camimom]

Like I said, both ways of supplementing are acceptable.

I just have 10 chams, so I find it easier when I don't need a schedule to do it.

As for food-

You can cup feed or free range bugs.

I prefer to cup feed, as crickets always get out of my cages, and end up in my shower or my dresser.
I also primarily use roaches, and that's a whole nother ball game.

Anyway- cup feeding- I use a solo cup for my babies and young chams, and I use a piece of Tupperware- about the size of a shoe box (kmart, walmart, etc) for adults. this makes them have to move around and work to get the bugs.

As for how much- babies can eat 20+ bugs a day. we recommend letting babies eat as much as they can in about 10 minutes. stay away from feeding a lot of mealies, as they are not very nutritious, and they have a hard exo skeleton, which can cause impaction when consumed too much.

You want to feed crickets a varying diet of fruits and veggies. what the bugs eat, your cham eats.

for now- you can feed any appropriately sized bug.

I personally love roaches, for the simply facts of:
they don't make noise.
they don't smell as bad as crickets do.
they breed super fast, and I cant breed crickets to save my F-in life.
they gutload better
they are fatter and better than crickets, so it takes less bugs to fill a cham.

 

[Andee]

You can feed crickets, grasshoppers (which have to be caught locally if your from the US), silkworms, hornworms (though I wouldn't recommend them until he's a juvenile and then I would get eggs), butter worms, phoenix worms, a lot of type of roaches (I have three), flies, stick bugs, mantids.

Those are just some of the feeders you can feed and since he's a veiled when he gets a little older, though he might show some interest now too, he will eat fruits and veggies which are an important part of his diet.

Remember variety is key. I do not suggest feeding either wax worms or meal worms. Too fatty and mealies have too much exo.

My panther boy when he was 4 months used to eat 24 small crickets daily, he was a pig XD

 

[bharrold]

Thanks!

Thanks everybody!!!