MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
There’s been a bit of feedback already so to keep my poor challenged brain on track, I’m going to proceed as though there’s been none. Also, I do talk a lot so will be breaking this into two parts.
- Your Chameleon - He is 3 to 5 month male veiled chameleon (hard to determine age right now) and I’ve had him for only 5 days. I’m not the greatest at determining age, but I’d say he doesn’t look to be older than about 5 months, so that is the age I will be using.
- Handling - I try to avoid handling right now to let him settle, but I have added a few branches here and there and I go near him when I’m misting or feeding. Very good. You will want to work on building trust with him. Veileds aren’t known for their friendly disposition and he may never willingly come out onto your hand, but you still want to work on trust.
- Feeding - I feed him as much as he will eat consisting of calcium dusted crickets gutloaded with a balanced mix of collard greens, carrots, squash and bee pollen I plan to switch the ingredients every week. I also mix in soilder fly larvae. I ordered Dubia roaches and super worms to add in the mix also. I feed him about 10-15 bugs in the morning after lights go on and if he eats them all I add a few more in the afternoon. Even though veileds will eat plant matter, they have no need for it and aren’t able to properly digest it. Give the produce to your insect feeders instead. Easy with the bee pollen too. Anecdotally it is suspected to have given some chameleons edema. Good variety of feeders. It is important to feed them well and keep them healthy so that they will be more nutritious. Attaching a couple of graphics below. He’s old enough that you only want to feed him once in the morning. The amount of 10-15 bugs is fine. As he gets older, you will be reducing his diet. By the time he’s around 10-12 months old, he should be getting only 2-3 feeders every other day.
- Supplements - i dust crickets every feed with calcium without D3, And I’m going to start doing the recommended supplement schedule from chameleon academy ( rapashy calcium plus LoD twice a month and Arcadia EarthPro-A every feed) Very good
- Watering - I try to hydrate him through misting and using a dripper. I hand mist in the morning before lights come on and After lights go out at night. I use a homemade dripper in the afternoon just in case he needs extra hydration and I sometimes will use it before I go to bed. Really no need for the dripper at night. Chameleons don’t drink as often as we do.
- Fecal Description - urates are pure white and poop looks brown, dense and moist. Pure white urates are a sign he’s fully hydrated. It’s ok to have a touch of yellow on one end. It’s always best to have a fecal parasite check. Usually a wellness visit is required, which is always a good thing too...meet your vet and such.
- History - He is a premium veiled chameleon purchased online from FL Chams.