hh566
New Member
Hello! Just wanted to get some feedback on my husbandry with my veiled chameleon Ripley.
Chameleon Info:
Cage Info:
Current Problem (not a list of problems but a list of concerns for feedback)
Chameleon Info:
- Your Chameleon- The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
- Veiled chameleon, male. Age is unknown but I am assuming in the range of 3-5 months. I have had him in my care for about a month now.
- Handling- How often do you handle your chameleon?
- He will sometimes see my and seem that he wants to come out, so I would say around once a day but only for a few minutes.
- Feeding- What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
- He is being fed around 10-15 feeder crickets a day. Starts with 8-10 in the morning (11 AM) and then 5-7 later in the day (2-3PM). The are gutloaded with natural foods that I put in a food processor. Latest batch of gutload had collard greens, bell peppers, carrots, and a little bit of blue berries.
- Supplements- What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
- Repti Calcium without D3 every morning feeding, and then Repashy Calcium Plus every 2 weeks.
- Watering- What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
- I will mist the enclosure in the morning after lights on, and then before lights off. I mist for about 2-3 minutes each time. I have only seen him drink once.
- Fecal Description- Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
- For the most part the urates are mostly white. Sometimes they will have a little bit of yellow, other days will be fully white. The feces portion is usually brown, with the exception one time where it was a duller, more "gray" brown.
- History- Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
- Vendor says the chameleons come from a trusted breeder.
Cage Info:
- Cage Type- Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
- I am unsure of brand but it is a screen cage, dimensions are 18x18x30.
- Lighting- What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
- Schedule of lighting is 7:30 AM - 7:30 PM (ensured by a timed switch which turns the lights on and off automatically). UVB is a Zoo Med ReptiSun 5.0 HO T5 UVB Lamp. Heat lights are Zilla Mini Halogen Reptile Dome Heat Lamp with Zilla Mini Halogen Bulb, Day White, 25 Watt as the bulb.
- Temperature- What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
- The basking branch that the light points to has temperature ranges from 83-89F, with the rest of the cage being in the 75-80F range (floor is usually around 73-75F). Temperatures are measured with a laser infrared thermometer gun. At night temperatures drop to low 70F.
- Humidity- What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
- Humidity levels in the cage are always above 45 with maximums of 55. The levels are maintained by hand misting as mentioned above, along with sometimes running a dripper for him. I have a hygrometer next to the cage to measure the humidity, to get more precise measurements I will usually hold the hygrometer inside the cage for a moment.
- Plants- Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
- A mix of artificial and live. My live plant is a pothos which is growing, and the artificial plants are to provide some cover while the pothos grows.
- Placement- Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
- Cage is the the corner of my living room, not a lot of traffic other than me when I go to check on him and my other pet (sun conure, there is a big shelf between both their cages so that my chameleon doesn't have direct view of my sun conure). There are not any fans or air vents that point directly towards the enclosure, but the room has central air conditioning through vents. Cage roof is around 4 feet above the ground.
- Location- Where are you geographically located?
- South Florida, Miami area.
Current Problem (not a list of problems but a list of concerns for feedback)
- My chameleon will usually have white flakes around his nose, I have read that this is a natural way of excreting salts but some feedback for this would be appreciated.
- He also just has a tendency to sit around, don't know if this is because he is lazy or if it might be an area of concern. He will walk around his enclosure at times during the day.
- I have started using Reptisafe as a way to condition the water I use for misting since I have been using tap water before.
- This could be something that is natural but his hind legs are wider than his front ones.
You’re doing great! I do see a few things that could be improved upon though.
