Hey I'm new.. also, questions

[wildgeechi]

Hello...

I recently got a male veiled chameleon and have "busted" him walking on the cage floor a few times... twice this morning. As soon as I walk in, he runs back up to the vines/plants. Any cause for concern? Is he hunting? Also, I've yet to see him drink. Had him for close to a week now so I assume he is drinking. There is a waterfall in the cage, a ceramic mister thing that puts droplets on the glass, and I put an ice cube on the top screen once a day to slowly drip into plants. Any harm in building a sturdy screen cage for outdoor use so he can get some pure, unfiltered good old sunshine? Outdoor temps are in the 90's now here. High humidity

 

[Clifford]

Ive read that waterfalls are a bad idea, as are ice cubes. Misting (spraying) and drippers are the correct ways to provide water.
Since you've only had him a week, he's probably still exploring his new cage territory.

 

[wildgeechi]

Ive read that waterfalls are a bad idea, as are ice cubes. Misting (spraying) and drippers are the correct ways to provide water.
Since you've only had him a week, he's probably still exploring his new cage territory.

what was the reason they are bad ideas?

 

[pssh]

Waterfalls are a breeding ground for bacteria and ice cubes drip cold water, you want it room temp. What are your temperatures like? What are you measuring with? How big is your cage and what is it made of? How old is the chameleon?

 

[wildgeechi]

Waterfalls are a breeding ground for bacteria and ice cubes drip cold water, you want it room temp. What are your temperatures like? What are you measuring with? How big is your cage and what is it made of? How old is the chameleon?

Temp is about 85 in the cage, humidity about 75, cage is exo terra medium "rainforest" kit. Not sure how old, but he is about 4 inches long from vent to head. About how old is that?

 

[pssh]

What are you measuring temps with?

 

[wildgeechi]

What are you measuring temps with?

the supplied thermometer from the kit

 

[pssh]

Is it digital or one of those meter things?

 

[wildgeechi]

Is it digital or one of those meter things?

non-digital

 

[pssh]

That may be your problem. Generally non digital thermometers are not acurate enough for chameleons. You may be cooking your little boy and he's going lower to try and get away from it. Try turning off the heat lamp and buying a digital thermo
eter from lowes/home depot/wallmart. Check the temps with the probe and see what they really are. It should be about 70-75 at the bottom and 80-83 in the basking spot.

 

[wildgeechi]

That may be your problem. Generally non digital thermometers are not acurate enough for chameleons. You may be cooking your little boy and he's going lower to try and get away from it. Try turning off the heat lamp and buying a digital thermo
eter from lowes/home depot/wallmart. Check the temps with the probe and see what they really are. It should be about 70-75 at the bottom and 80-83 in the basking spot.

well, 90% the time he goes to the highest possible point in the cage directly under the lights... i'm just curious if the coming to the ground thing is a signal he's looking for something he's not getting from me. I'll pick up a digital thermo and check out the temps again.

 

[ghettomike]

do you know approx how old your male veiled is? The pet store I got my veiled from sold me an exo terra rainforest kit because I didnt know any better until I did my homework. I ended up having to up grade everything from the cage ( u will need to too due to yours being all glass and not big enough) to the lighting (the kit came with compact flourescent lights which are known to cause eye problems/blindness) The outdoor cage is a great idea as long as it only gets moderate sunshine, plenty of water is available and temperatures permit and are not too high. It helps to fill out a help form on here to see if there is any problems with your husbandry such as lighting, supplementing, temps etc... as Im sure you want to give your cham a good and long life.