Hey guys

[nickers1210]

Hey guys just thought i'd introduce me and Dave. Dave is a young Veiled (he's about 8-9 month old now), awsome little guy but a bit moody as per usual. the first 2 pics are when he was younger 3-4 months, the 3rd one is dave having a drink 4th is Dave cam and the last is his new flexi setup. he was originally kept in the glass exoterra (as per the poor advise from the pet shop where i got him, they also reccomended soil on the floor ) but hey i have learnt alot more since. he is now in his 100gal flexi and has soo much space he doesn't quite know what to do with it lol he now has 2 basking areas one at 40C (with a few levels) and the other at 35C loads of roaming vines (wrapped like a canopy) some fake plants and an umbrella tree in the middle. im going to get him a few more plants just to help raise the humidity a little and to give him a few more areas of interest. ambient temps at the canopy are 25C-26C with cooler areas below dropping down to 20C at ground level. he has only been in the new flexi for a day so i'll give him a month before handling to let him feel more at home. His flexi is misted twice a day once in the morning just after his lights come on (morning dew) and about an 1 1/2 hoours before his lights go off (evening dew). he has always been a bit moody but after a few month he was happy to grab hold and hide on the back of my arm, shortly followed by my head. since then he comes out when he wants to and if he needs weighing or anything. the top left light is a 160W 10% uv and basking and one on the right is a 60W basking only, he also has the twin exoterra light for the glass viv on top aswell.

This is my first reptile so if there is anything i am missing/need to make him happier please let me know. ah he eats a varried diet of mealworms, crickets, locusts and waxworms, occasional house flys. he seems to have gone off crickets about 2 months ago but he eat locusts waxes and mealworms well.

I will make him a dripper at the weekend with a couple of dripping points (1.5litre coke bottle some tubing and some hot glue (a screw for setting drip rate). He is mood as anything at the moment but i think thats because he has been moved, he ate this morning tried to headbutt me and has pooped twice since the move so he seems ok lol

 

[nickers1210]

here a couple more pics even a "oi this is my branch bugger off"

 

[beeze]

Welcome to the forums. Your cham needs a tube style UVB light and you need to get that basking light out of the inside of his cage ASAP before he gets a bad burn. What type of supplements and gutload are you using? A link with some great info on the veiled chameleon: http://raisingkittytheveiledchamele...-max=2008-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&max-results=11

This is the UVB light that you need and you need the correct supplements so he wont get MBD. http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...por-bulbs/-/zoo-med-18-repti-sun-50-uvb-bulb/

 

[Miss Lily]

Hi and Welcome! I live over on the Isle of Wight and I got my female cham from a private breeder in Portsmouth back in May.

The Exo Terra light unit that you are using - is it the 'compact top' or the 'dual top'? Does it house linear (long) UV bulbs, or compact (coiled) bulbs? I can't quite see in the pic which one you've got up there.

 

[nickers1210]

the exo-terra is a dual top coil UVB type bulbs (2 x reptiglo 5.0) which was fine in his last place? this is one of the uvb sources the other is the huge 160W 10% UVB and basking light in one (solar glo) i was actually thinking maybe that was was too much. i have meshed over the bulb part of the basking light to the right i was told this would be fine? if i move it out of the flexi i would need a new bulb as temps would drop at that basking site, the large 10% was litterally the best one in the shop at £58 i suppliment once a week with calcium powder and feed the locusts cabbage (lightly dusted with nutrient powder) and the crickets eat the little orange cubes for crickets and a little cereal) i dont feed either the waxworms or the meal worms (what do mealworms eat?) i did read alot before and after i got dave and 5 months down the line he seems fine, eats drinks a poops reguarly and is well hydrated.

 

[nickers1210]

Hi and Welcome! I live over on the Isle of Wight and I got my female cham from a private breeder in Portsmouth back in May.

i think i have met him a few times, does he breed piebald chams and beardys aswell as yemens?

 

[chamlover]

Boy you sound like me. First reptile, a veiled chameleon. lol. The only thing i have to add is veileds LOVE to bask and with him being able to get ssoooo close is you might very well end up with a burnt cham. Since my first veiled, i've rescued quite a few and most had severe burns. To the point of necrosis and losing their part of their veil and part of the spines on their back. Keep a very very close eye on that area so you don't have any problems. I try to keep my lights at least 10" from his basking spot. Can you lower his favorite basking branch so he isn't soo close? Also i feed my supers, crickets, mealies, the same greens i give my beardies. The healthier your feeders the healthier your animals. Also i would increase the calcium to 2-3 x week and add vitamins and minerals 1x week but on different days then the calcium. Keep up the good work and NICE looking boy. The link that was giving to you is excellent...

 

[Miss Lily]

the exo-terra is a dual top coil UVB type bulbs which was fine in his last place? this is one of the uvb sources the other is the huge 160W 10% UVB and basking light in one i was actually thinking maybe that was was too much. i have meshed over the bulb part of the basking light to the right i was told this would be fine? if i move it out of the flexi i would need a new bulb as temps would drop, the large 10% was litterally the best one in the shop at £58 i suppliment once a week with calcium powder and feed the locusts cabbage (lightly dusted with nutrient powder) and the crickets eat the little orange cubes for crickets) i dont feed either the waxworms or the meal worms (what do mealworms eat?) i did read alot before and after i got dave and 5 months down the line he seems fine, eats drinks a poops reguarly and is well hydrated.

Firstly, some coiled UV bulbs have been known to cause eye problems and even blindness in chams. Usually one linear UV 5.0 bulb is sufficient although with the thicker mesh a 10.0 may be better. Most keepers have one UV tube and a normal household bulb for heat.

I gut load my locusts with mainly wild rocket leaves and apple and carrot. The Morio worms (Supers) and mealworms eat the same, as do the crickets. Mealworms are not a good feeder choice for every day use - their shell is hard to digest and may cause impaction if eaten in large quantities.

With regards to dusting I currently dust with plain calcium on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and Nutrabol (vitmains, calcium and D3) on Sundays.

 

[nickers1210]

miss lilly, i use nutribal as my calcium/nutrients should i increase this to twice a week? or continue to dust once a week and get a seperate calcium only powder for everday? Dave doesn't seem to want to or attempt to climb on the interior basking light approx 7" from the vine (see pic), but i will switch it off for now as he seems to prefer the bigger light to bask under anyways.

i didn't know about the coil bulbs should i change my reptiglo bulbs to a different brand? they are due a change anyways coming up to 6 months old.

he's been roaming today

 

[pssh]

I would try to bring down your basking area to 35 C max and 32C as a more average temp. I would replace the coil bulbs with a linear tube, although I have had to use the compact reptiglo's with a flexarium a few times with no ill effects. However, linear tubes are still better and I suggest a reptisun 5.0 or a reptisun 10.0.

I also suggest getting that light out of the cage, there are horror stories of chams burning off parts of tails and little feeties because of a light that is inside the cage, don't want that to happen to Dave.

I recommend against nutrobal because of the vit A, but if Amy and Tommy (miss lily's chams) have had no bad effects from it then i suppose it's okay. Make sure to get a plain phos free clacium powder without d3 for the rest of the dustings.

 

[OOOst16]

i second everything pssh just said.

 

[ZippiesPal]

D3 ??

I have been doing a lot of reading on this forum the past few days, and it seems I am never running out of questions.

NIckers1210,
I like your set up. Its very large and roomy with plenty of stuff to climb on, but that lamp inside there just gives me the willies. I am sure you will follow the advice given here.

Pssh,
My question is about d3. It seems like it should be included much less frequently as a suppliment. I bought some calcium powder, but havent a clue of what it is. I will look when I get home tonight. The Zippy countdown is now at twentyseven days. I figure on bringing him home on Jan 26th. there is still lots of time to get my set-up right.

In order to avoid stealing the thread, maybe someone could PM me.

What suppliments should I be getting and how often should I be giving each?

 

[kinyonga]

D3 from supplements can build up in the system. As long as the chameleon can move in and out of the UVB it won't allow the D3 from the UVB light to build up so its safer. By giving a little D3 from supplements and letting the chameleon use the UVB to produce the rest you ensure it gets some without overdoing it.

PrEformed vitamin A can also build up in the system so you need to be careful with it. PrOformed (beta carotene) won't build up in the system, but its controversial as to whether any/all chameleons can convert it.

Calcium, phos., vitamin A and D3 are important players in bone health and in other systems in the chameleon and need to be in balance. You need to look at the supplements, what you feed to the insects and the chameleon when balancing them....and temperature and UVB also play a part in this.

Here are some sites with information about supplements, lighting, etc....
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
http://chameleonnews.com/?page=article&id=102
http://web.archive.org/web/20060502...rnals.com/vet/index.php?show=5.Vitamin.A.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20060421.../index.php?show=6.Vitamin.D3.and.Calcium.html
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/2007/12/keeping-female-veiled.html
http://adcham.com/

 

[nickers1210]

ok guys the light inside the viv is switched off leaving the 35C basking area only so are you guys saying that i should take the solar glow 10% back to the shop and get tubes and spots? whats wrong with the solar glow? as you have probably noticed for every bit of advice i find on the net saying one thing i find another site saying the opposite also does anyone else cham hate the spray bottle? i don't directly spray him never have and i always use a warm mist but he hates it and runs to hide from the mist????

 

[pssh]

Well, I recommend against the two in one bulbs unless you have a UVB meter because the output (UVB) can be kind of high if you dont know what you're doing. I suggest a reptisun 5.0 UVB tube and a normal incandescent house bulb of appropriate wattage.

Many chameleons dislike being misted, just mist around him instead.

 

[nickers1210]

fair enough pssh i like dave too much for risks i'll pinch a meter from work and check but i will def look into picking up some tubes i think two 26" across the top would be good. Cheers guys

 

[nickers1210]

ok the the solar glo uvb levels were good overall temps were good and dave loved it but it blew twice in 4 weeks i now have 2 spot lamps and 1 10% UVB and the two coils that came with my previous set up, he loves it. his appitite has improved bit friendlier now and good temps/ UV levels, one happy cham!!

 

[Miss Lily]

ok the the solar glo uvb levels were good overall temps were good and dave loved it but it blew twice in 4 weeks i now have 2 spot lamps and 1 10% UVB and the two coils that came with my previous set up, he loves it. his appitite has improved bit friendlier now and good temps/ UV levels, one happy cham!!

You mention 'coils' - are they coiled UV bulbs? If so, I would get rid of them - some coiled UV bulbs have been known to cause eye problems and even blindness in chameleons. Better safe than sorry!