Hi my name is Brock

[s7plagues]

Hi there all, i recently got a veiled about 3 weeks ago a male that i named Ullr(Oolar) anyway he is about 7-8weeks old now and i just got his new setup yesterday in the mail. His old set up was a temporary aquarium with a small ficus and some branches. he seemed ok, but sometimes unhappy and would wander the bottom. he ate and drank fine though

New Setup.
26x24x12 fresh air
Monstrous Schefflera
a few branches
a heat lamp and a 2' repti glo 10.0
the temp of the cage is mid 90sbasking down to 80 in the bottom opposite corner so he has a large gradient.
i mist him of course 2 times a day and have a diy drip system that drips on the plant during the day from 2-3ice cubes.

problem is i set this up yesterday came home this morning after being gone an hr to see him in the cold corner on the scree all blacked out and pissed off.so i persuaded him onto my hand and onto a branch higher up and went back to a happy green and chilled i then put 10ish smaller crickets in there and he proceeded to eat 4 instantly. right now he is basking but at one point he was on the top of the cage upside down right under the uvb! so i grabbed him again and put him in the plant. overall im confused how he could be upset with this set up, imo its a baller set up. anyway here are some pics of Ullr and cage. oh I'm a 21 year old Junior at University of Arizona going for my Biology major.


chillin


cage

pissed off



basking


i know the cage is only 2ft off the ground...but when im in my room im either at my cpu or on my bed, and im gone most the day.

 

[s7plagues]

well, i just took a shower and he was at the bottom again.....black. moved him to his basking spot and now he's chill....im so confused.

 

[Chameleons Northwest]

Greetings. What a handsome guy! Very nice, unbroken bars, and nice striping on the head.

It takes them a few days or a week to get totally accustomed to a new cage. The size may be overwhelming him a bit, right now. We have several veileds, one we've owned for a few years, and what you describe was what each of ours has gone through with the introduction of a new cage. Give him some space and a little time. As long as you monitor his eating and drinking. The repti glo 10 might be a little overkill for that size set up, but I'm no expert. Hopefully the experts will chime in here soon. I just wanted to let you know our veileds went thru the same thing.

 

[s7plagues]

awesome, yea i was thinking the 10.0 might be strong, but with the mesh it should only penetrate to about 12" of his cage, so i figured he would be alright since its at the backside as well. yea he has no problem eating haha or drinking.

 

[Jeweledchameleons]

Please read the discussion in the enclosures forum regarding the UV lights.

You'll have to understand that the UV exposure is a gradient
and that your animal may be harmed by being too close to such a strong light.
especially when it's trying to warm up..
Ask yourself: how close will it be to your UV source
when he's warming himself?
what will be it's exposure at that range?

More isn't always better.
I'm positive that many keepers
have lost their animals due to lack of knowledge.

 

[s7plagues]

you'll have to understand if your post confuses me. i've read the general care deal and it just states that a 5.0 is good or preferred for chameleons. and that the chameleon should be allowed to get within 12" of the light source. thats it.

http://www.anapsid.org/uvtable.html
http://www.anapsid.org/gehrman2.html

i looked over these and it gave me alot more info. ill see if i can return the bulb and get a 5.0 in 24" model. unless someone else states that this will be fine.

 

[DkRhodes]

no ice cubes.make sure it's not too hot up top and mist long periods
with warm water.

 

[s7plagues]

well i got the bulb exchanged for a 5.0 repti glo so all is well there.

 

[PardalisGirl]

Handsome boy

Good job in exchanging the 10.0. The reflector hood can greatly magnify the strength of the UVB.......It magnifies more than the mesh screen deflects.....And young chams like that will spend a lot of time walking around upside down on the screen top. So.....the 5.0 is an excellent choice. He is an extremely good looking boy. Where did you get him? I would give him the time to adjust like everyone has already said. As long has he eats and drinks and the temperature at the bottom of the cage is not too cold he will be fine.

 

[s7plagues]

yea its not that cold at the bottom, my room stays at 79-80F so it should be fine. i got him at the Reptile show here in tucson that happens once a year. the guy i bought him from is named Dean and he seems nice.

 

[SuperRad]

Hey i'm here in phoenix also. And i got my chams from the reptile expo in tucson in sept. Where did you get your chams from? i got mine from reptile depot during the 2nd day of the event. Yours and mine might be brothers and sisters

 

[Mintglow]

Oh yeah, he's a nice one! Now that you fixed the light problem everything looks alright to me... just get a bigger cage when he's a little older, that's all.

 

[s7plagues]

bigger cage is a summer deal so in 5-6 months, i wanna build one. i got him from dean sessions on the first day, i dont think he's affiliated with reptile depot though, but at least they are the same age ahah.

 

[s7plagues]

well Ullr has been acting funny the past few days, i see him drinking water and the number of crickets in his cage is going down but he seems unhappy and pissy. i've noticed him on the side and top of his cage and he isnt a happy bright green anymore. any ideas? nothing has really changed and he was happy.