Husbandry Review for first time owner

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.


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Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - his cage is a 18x18x36 reptibreeze screen cage but I want to upgrade to a 2x2x4ft cage very soon. Yes! He will definitely be needing more space. Honestly, if you can go even bigger than the 2x2x4’, I encourage doing that. Males especially, enjoy and use all the space we give them. https://chameleonacademy.com/double-wide-chameleon-cage-project/ Keep an eye out online for holiday sales on the enclosures.
  • Lighting - I use a 18” T5 HO 5.0 UVB reptisun light and run it horizontally on top screen. The lights are on 12 hours and off 12 hours (7am-7pm) as well as his basking bulb. That’s an unusual size for a T5. You will want your uvb to span the entire width of the enclosure. Your schedule is great.
  • Temperature - During the day the temps are 70-75F and the basking temp is 83-88F. At night the temps drop and stay in the 50-60F range. I use a digital thermometer to measure temps and a laser temp gun for more precise readings. Excellent
  • Humidity - During the day humidity ranges around 40-50% I am going to purchase a dehumidifier to try and bring these levels down closer to 30% any other tips will help! ( I don’t mist during the day so that isn’t brining up humidity) The dripper will be adding to daytime humidity. 40-50% isn’t bad at all. You don’t want to go over 50% during the day. At night the humidity ranges from 75-98% I mist after lights go out and then have a fogger turn on from midnight to 5am. I use a digital hygrometer to read humidity. Excellent! With running a fogger at night, you probably don’t need to use the dripper during the day at all or for more than just a few minutes. Night fogging is hydrating.
  • Plants - I currently only have 2 pothos but I ordered more plants and different varieties. I do have a silk vine to add extra coverage and he seems to like to climb on it. I also have 1 plastic hanging plant in the top right that he loves to sit on. Eventually I plan on tossing all fake plants but for the time being I will monitor closely to make sure he doesn’t try to eat the plastic plant. I use my fake plants on the outside of the enclosure to give my chams a sense of more privacy. Usually adding a tall center plant like a schefflera or weeping fig is nice and then have the pothos and other plants around the edges.
  • Placement - My cage is located in the living room. there is an electric heater/fan but it’s relatively quiet. People are occasionally walking by the cage when they are leaving or returning home but it’s definitely not super active. The cage is raised around 5 and a half feet at the top to the floor. When I upgrade to a 4ft tall cage it will be 6ft+ high. Ok. It looks like he’s got a wall on one side, which is good. You may want to use something like a fabric shower curtain to prevent any overspray from hitting your walls. The height is excellent.
  • Location - I live in Illinois where we have all 4 seasons and the annual relative humidity is 60%.
 
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. :)


  • 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. How soon can I start working on trust with him and maybe trying hand feeding? I sit in the living room for a while everyday just watching him and on my phone so he’s more comfortable with me being near him. But I’m not sure when I should start doing more.
  • 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. My bad, I think I typed it out wrong. I don’t feed my chameleon the produce, it’s being fed to my feeders lol.
  • Really no need for the dripper at night. Chameleons don’t drink as often as we do. Thank you! I figured I didn’t need it but I just added it as extra just to be safe. I didn’t use it last night and he still seems hydrated so you’re right. I will not be using it at night anymore.
 
Yes. I have those enclosures and like them better than the ReptiBreeze. You would attach the Dragon Ledges the same that you would on a ReptiBreeze. I can’t recall the distance I put mine and too lazy to go look, but here’s what I did with that same enclosure and Dragon Ledges. *I do see that the style of the ledges has been changed since I bought mine.
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How soon can I start working on trust with him and maybe trying hand feeding? I sit in the living room for a while everyday just watching him and on my phone so he’s more comfortable with me being near him. But I’m not sure when I should start doing more.

That is an excellent start - sitting so he can see you and become more comfortable. Give him a couple of weeks to fully settle in and start slow. Food is the best motivator. My favorite thing is putting a silkworm on the back of my hand and holding it out near my cham while I look away. It takes time but eventually the desire for the yummy worm wins out and over time, they aren’t so afraid of my hands.
 
Thank you so much! This
Yes. I have those enclosures and like them better than the ReptiBreeze. You would attach the Dragon Ledges the same that you would on a ReptiBreeze. I can’t recall the distance I put mine and too lazy to go look, but here’s what I did with that same enclosure and Dragon Ledges. *I do see that the style of the ledges has been changed since I bought mine.
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That looks great! Do you know if I would be able to double wide this cage eventually? That would be something I can see myself doing in the feature. I just want him to have the best life he can. Also thank you so much for your responses, it’s good to know I’m doing most things right.

Edit: I’m sorry for asking so much, Is that a mistking mister you have? How did you mount it on the top?
 
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Thank you so much! This

That looks great! Do you know if I would be able to double wide this cage eventually? That would be something I can see myself doing in the feature. I just want him to have the best life he can. Also thank you so much for your responses, it’s good to know I’m doing most things right.
Yes, absolutely it can be doubled up. The DIY enclosure is almost the same as ReptiBreeze, but somehow is sturdier. I needed to take down my bioactive enclosures…ReptiBreeze and DIY. The ReptiBreeze had some serious rot to it from the moisture and other pieces just broke so easily that it was crazy. I had to mix & match pieces from 3 ReptiBreezes to make 2 enclosures (just about held together with bubble gum in places). The DIY was reusable as is.
 
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