Husbandry Review:

[ChamelaChameleon]

Type:
Adopted, male, Veiled Cham, 2 1/2 years old (maybe)

Adopted October 19, 2022

Handling:
2 to 3 times a week (10 to 15 minutes and only if he come out of cage on his own. He does not want to return to his cage. He starts walking very fast towards the top of a shoulder. Once in his cage, he sits by the door, looking about until he realizes I'm not opening the cage. He will sit there over 30 minutes.

Feeding:
This guy is overweight. His new feeding schedule is Sunday, Wednesday, Friday. 3 crickets each feeding day and 1 horned worm a week. I will dust with calcium at every feeding and zoo med reptivite w/ D3 2 times a month. Im not gut loading.

History:
Adopted from an animal shelter. The shelter stated someone found him roaming in the street. He loves to roam.

Watering:
I've never seen him drink. I'm currently hand misting 3 times a day for 2-3 minutes. I use a cool mist fogger 10pm-8am. Having a Yucca plant provides him with water because water gathers at the bottom of the leaves. When he crawls through the Yucca water dribbles down the leaves.

Fecal:
White with firm brown stool that is slightly moist. Fecal matter has not been tested for parasites. (We did not have fresh stool available for the vet visit). The Yucca also catches the stool making clean up easy.

Cage: Reptibreeze 2x2x4. STemps. I added 2x4ft of Lexan to the sides (to maintain humidity). I added a thick sheet of plastic table cover 1/2 way down the back to maintain basking Temps. I can adjust the plastic covering up or down based on temp needs.

Temperature:
Hydrometer/ Temperature combo.
Day-time: 72-75 degrees Top
Night-time: 55-60 degrees Top
Bottom: 50-55 degrees
Basking: 72-76

Humidity:
42-50% daytime(No fogger) misting 2 times during the day
62-67% Night-time 8pm-6am (with cool mist fogger on 8pm-6am) hand misting prior to bedtime. 8pm

Lighting:
Thrive Dual Dome
Uvb- Thrive tropical 5.0 5%uvb, 30%uva, 23 watts
Uva- Blue Heat bulb 100 watts
Uvb -10 inches from basking, uva- 12 inches from basking. Basking temp 72-78. Uvb and uva on from 8am-8pm. 8pm lights out - fogger on.

Plants:
Yucca (for water management, hiding, climbing,and poop clean up)
Bromeliads - for water management and climbing.
I will be adding Pothos and Dracaena. I also have 3 strands of plastic plants. I will be adding a few silk leaf plants.

Placement:
On the floor but I'm building a 3 ft cabinet where his cage will reside. He is in a high traffic area but he does not seem to mind. In fact he spends most of his time at the forefront of the enclosure.

Location: Dfw- Texas- we have central air which helps maintain temps.

 

[MissSkittles]

I’ll go thru all of your husbandry, but it’ll take me a little bit of time.

 

[ChamelaChameleon]

Type:
Adopted, male, Veiled Cham, 2 1/2 years old (maybe)

Adopted October 19, 2022

Handling:
2 to 3 times a week (10 to 15 minutes and only if he come out of cage on his own. He does not want to return to his cage. He starts walking very fast towards the top of a shoulder. Once in his cage, he sits by the door, looking about until he realizes I'm not opening the cage. He will sit there over 30 minutes.

Feeding:
This guy is overweight. His new feeding schedule is Sunday, Wednesday, Friday. 3 crickets each feeding day and 1 horned worm a week. I will dust with calcium at every feeding and zoo med reptivite w/ D3 2 times a month. Im not gut loading.

History:
Adopted from an animal shelter. The shelter stated someone found him roaming in the street. He loves to roam.

Watering:
I've never seen him drink. I'm currently hand misting 3 times a day for 2-3 minutes. I use a cool mist fogger 10pm-8am. Having a Yucca plant provides him with water because water gathers at the bottom of the leaves. When he crawls through the Yucca water dribbles down the leaves.

Fecal:
White with firm brown stool that is slightly moist. Fecal matter has not been tested for parasites. (We did not have fresh stool available for the vet visit). The Yucca also catches the stool making clean up easy.

Cage: Reptibreeze 2x2x4. STemps. I added 2x4ft of Lexan to the sides (to maintain humidity). I added a thick sheet of plastic table cover 1/2 way down the back to maintain basking Temps. I can adjust the plastic covering up or down based on temp needs.

Temperature:
Hydrometer/ Temperature combo.
Day-time: 72-75 degrees Top
Night-time: 55-60 degrees Top
Bottom: 50-55 degrees
Basking: 72-76

Humidity:
42-50% daytime(No fogger) misting 2 times during the day
62-67% Night-time 8pm-6am (with cool mist fogger on 8pm-6am) hand misting prior to bedtime. 8pm

Lighting:
Thrive Dual Dome
Uvb- Thrive tropical 5.0 5%uvb, 30%uva, 23 watts
Uva- Blue Heat bulb 100 watts
Uvb -10 inches from basking, uva- 12 inches from basking. Basking temp 72-78. Uvb and uva on from 8am-8pm. 8pm lights out - fogger on.

Plants:
Yucca (for water management, hiding, climbing,and poop clean up)
Bromeliads - for water management and climbing.
I will be adding Pothos and Dracaena. I also have 3 strands of plastic plants. I will be adding a few silk leaf plants.

Placement:
On the floor but I'm building a 3 ft cabinet where his cage will reside. He is in a high traffic area but he does not seem to mind. In fact he spends most of his time at the forefront of the enclosure.

Location: Dfw- Texas- we have central air which helps maintain temps.

I’ll go thru all of your husbandry, but it’ll take me a little bit of time.

Thanks, I'm really green but I've learned a ton. We had a Crested Gecko that lived 7 years. I found this guy 2 weeks after Billy (crested gecko) died and he means the world to us. He is as sweet as pie. I'm shocked that he likes interaction. He rarely hides. He mostly stays at the front of the enclosure. He rarely ventures to the bottom 1/4 of the cage.. Even with a huge Yucca, he just does not hide.

 

[MissSkittles]

Will be putting my feedback in bold.
Type:
Adopted, male, Veiled Cham, 2 1/2 years old (maybe) Hard to tell other than he is an adult

Adopted October 19, 2022

Handling:
2 to 3 times a week (10 to 15 minutes and only if he come out of cage on his own. Generally a chameleon (especially a veiled) that willingly comes out to a human is finding something displeasing about the enclosure. He does not want to return to his cage. He starts walking very fast towards the top of a shoulder. Once in his cage, he sits by the door, looking about until he realizes I'm not opening the cage. He will sit there over 30 minutes. Might be wanting/expecting food if not wanting out.

Feeding:
This guy is overweight. His new feeding schedule is Sunday, Wednesday, Friday. 3 crickets each feeding day and 1 horned worm a week. I will dust with calcium at every feeding and zoo med reptivite w/ D3 2 times a month. Im not gut loading. You don’t need to specifically gut load per the definition, but you do need to take good care of your insect feeders and keep them well fed. A healthy fat bug is going to be much more nutritious than a thin hungry one. You may want to think about adding some roaches and other feeders to your guys diet too. Attaching some graphics to help you.

History:
Adopted from an animal shelter. The shelter stated someone found him roaming in the street. He loves to roam. Amazing a big bird didn’t snag him.

Watering:
I've never seen him drink. Many chameleons are very secretive about drinking. I believe it’s a conspiracy to deprive us of seeing how cute such a mundane activity can be. I'm currently hand misting 3 times a day for 2-3 minutes. I use a cool mist fogger 10pm-8am. If that makes things too wet at night, you could decrease the amount of hours you run the fogger. Having a Yucca plant provides him with water because water gathers at the bottom of the leaves. When he crawls through the Yucca water dribbles down the leaves. Not sure I understand, but ok.

Fecal:
White with firm brown stool that is slightly moist. Fecal matter has not been tested for parasites. (We did not have fresh stool available for the vet visit). Usually the vet is ok if you drop the stool off later as you are able to get a fresh sample. Checking for parasites is always a good thing to do, especially when history is unknown. The Yucca also catches the stool making clean up easy.

Cage: Reptibreeze 2x2x4. STemps. I added 2x4ft of Lexan to the sides (to maintain humidity). I added a thick sheet of plastic table cover 1/2 way down the back to maintain basking Temps. I can adjust the plastic covering up or down based on temp needs. Since he likes to wander, have you thought about giving him a larger sized enclosure? I have both of my boys in double sized enclosures…connected 2 standard 2x2x4’. They use all of the space in their daily patrols and seem to enjoy the space. Not a requirement…just an idea.

Temperature:
Hydrometer/ Temperature combo.
Day-time: 72-75 degrees Top
Night-time: 55-60 degrees Top
Bottom: 50-55 degrees
Basking: 72-76 You could increase this a bit. I keep my boys between 80-85 at basking area. The warmer temp will help increase his metabolism and may help with his weight.

Humidity:
42-50% daytime(No fogger) misting 2 times during the day
62-67% Night-time 8pm-6am (with cool mist fogger on 8pm-6am) hand misting prior to bedtime. 8pm
Both are perfect
Lighting:
Thrive Dual Dome
Uvb- Thrive tropical 5.0 5%uvb, 30%uva, 23 watts These types of uvb bulbs aren’t able to provide the levels needed any farther away than 2-3” and at that close, there’s high risk for burns. The standard is a linear T5HO fixture with either a ReptiSun 5.0 or Arcadia 6% uvb bulb. Then the uvb will/can be about 8-9” away from the basking area for the ideal uvb index of around 3.0. You’ll want the light to be as long as the width of your enclosure, so 24”. *don’t get confused as the bulb length is 22” as it allows for the prong/plug ends.
Uva- Blue Heat bulb 100 watts Usually colored lights are harsh on sensitive chameleon eyes, but I’m not so certain about the blue. @Beman knows the answer.
Uvb -10 inches from basking, uva- 12 inches from basking. Decrease your distance to 8-9”. This should increase basking temp to ideal range, but make sure to check. Basking temp 72-78. Uvb and uva on from 8am-8pm. 8pm lights out - fogger on.

Plants:
Yucca (for water management, hiding, climbing,and poop clean up)
Bromeliads - for water management and climbing.
I will be adding Pothos and Dracaena. I also have 3 strands of plastic plants. I will be adding a few silk leaf plants. No silk, plastic or artificial. Our veileds like to nibble their plants and don’t know the difference between fake or real. One nibble of a fake leaf can cause a bowel obstruction which is serious. Pothos is your new best friend. I usually suggest putting a taller plant like a weeping fig tree or schefflera at the center and surround it with vining plants like pothos. Add lots of branches and vines for your guy to travel on. Empty space is wasted space.

Placement:
On the floor but I'm building a 3 ft cabinet where his cage will reside. Height = safety He is in a high traffic area but he does not seem to mind. In fact he spends most of his time at the forefront of the enclosure. Do make sure that you have plenty of plants for him to hide in should he tire of the activity.

Location: Dfw- Texas- we have central air which helps maintain temps.
I think I got it all, but let me post this and then can reread it better.

 

[MissSkittles]

Yup, I seem to have covered all. Adding a pic of one of the enclosures I set up to give you an idea of plant cover. It was for a panther so I was able to use different plants. Also, once I got the plants in I did add more branches.

 

[ChamelaChameleon]

Thanks for the review. I'll ditch the plastic vines and add more real plants. I will change to the linear T5H0 24/22 in. I add food to my cricket feeders enclosure. I Refill crickets one time a week. I rarely lose a cricket. I'm struggling with keep my other feeders alive. I'm using a local chain store. I might need to switch. Example: the horned worms are sold as a 4 or 7 pack. I only leave a small amount of food in the container. These dudes poop alot. I remove the poop but I end up throwing worms away because I think they eat poop and I don't know if its safe for my Cham to eat poop filled worms. Also I don't like the color of the bottom of the horned worms. No matter how much poop I remove, they still spend a considerable amount of time in poop.

 

[Beman]

blue daylight bulb is fine to use. this shines white.

I believe I am seeing tape wrapped around the end of branches. This you want to remove high risk of injury with a cham. No sticky stuff and no sharp stuff in a cham cage.

Horn worms are totally fine to feed and they do not eat their own poop typically but will produce a lot of poop. IF you are not comfortable with feeding them then just stop getting them and choose other feeders. With him being overweight 2-3 feeders 3 days a week. no more than that. You need him to start dropping grams.

 

[MissSkittles]

Many of us buy our feeders on line from our sponsors https://www.chameleonforums.com/sponsors/?tag=food along with https://www.joshsfrogs.com/ and http://www.lindasgonebuggie.com/ Not only are you assured healthy bugs, but you can get quite a variety. Then some of us breed our own - mostly roaches. It’s nice to not have to worry about ever running out of feeders plus it’s kind of a fun and rewarding challenge to do something completely new.

 

[ChamelaChameleon]

You guys are amazing. I feel totally blessed with having access to this knowledge. The

blue daylight bulb is fine to use. this shines white.

I believe I am seeing tape wrapped around the end of branches. This you want to remove high risk of injury with a cham. No sticky stuff and no sharp stuff in a cham cage.

Horn worms are totally fine to feed and they do not eat their own poop typically but will produce a lot of poop. IF you are not comfortable with feeding them then just stop getting them and choose other feeders. With him being overweight 2-3 feeders 3 days a week. no more than that. You need him to start dropping grams.

I am feeling grateful. The advice/feedback I've received has been solid and actionable.

blue daylight bulb is fine to use. this shines white.

I believe I am seeing tape wrapped around the end of branches. This you want to remove high risk of injury with a cham. No sticky stuff and no sharp stuff in a cham cage.

Horn worms are totally fine to feed and they do not eat their own poop typically but will produce a lot of poop. IF you are not comfortable with feeding them then just stop getting them and choose other feeders. With him being overweight 2-3 feeders 3 days a week. no more than that. You need him to start dropping grams.

I'm fine with the poop. I just wanted to make sure it will not make Carmelo Chameleon sick. Yes that's tape. I'll get rid of it ASAP. I Will be implementing habitat changes today. Getting rid of plastic vines, adding more live plants, adding a linear T5HO hood. Thanks for your quick responses and habitat assessment. I adopted this guy to give him the best life possible. I'm happy I found this forum.

 

[ChamelaChameleon]

Many of us buy our feeders on line from our sponsors https://www.chameleonforums.com/sponsors/?tag=food along with https://www.joshsfrogs.com/ and http://www.lindasgonebuggie.com/ Not only are you assured healthy bugs, but you can get quite a variety. Then some of us breed our own - mostly roaches. It’s nice to not have to worry about ever running out of feeders plus it’s kind of a fun and rewarding challenge to do something completely new.

Thank you soooo much. You guys have really educated me on caring for Carmelo Chameleon. If Carmelo is happy, I'm happy.

 

[MissSkittles]

We are also super happy that you found your way here and are wanting to give your handsome Carmelo his best life. I do hope you’ll stick around to continue learning, sharing progress and lots of pics.

 

[dinomom]

Thanks for the review. I'll ditch the plastic vines and add more real plants. I will change to the linear T5H0 24/22 in. I add food to my cricket feeders enclosure. I Refill crickets one time a week. I rarely lose a cricket. I'm struggling with keep my other feeders alive. I'm using a local chain store. I might need to switch. Example: the horned worms are sold as a 4 or 7 pack. I only leave a small amount of food in the container. These dudes poop alot. I remove the poop but I end up throwing worms away because I think they eat poop and I don't know if its safe for my Cham to eat poop filled worms. Also I don't like the color of the bottom of the horned worms. No matter how much poop I remove, they still spend a considerable amount of time in poop.

Are you turning the container so the food is on top and lid at bottom? That way you dump the poop each day and the worms never get near it.

 

[kinyonga]

We are also super happy that you found your way here and are wanting to give your handsome Carmelo his best life. I do hope you’ll stick around to continue learning, sharing progress and lots of pics.

Well said as usual, @MissSkittles !

Welcome to the forum @ChamelaChameleon !!

 

[ChamelaChameleon]

Are you turning the container so the food is on top and lid at bottom? That way you dump the poop each day and the worms never get near it.

Yes. I also removed the food after 5 days. These guys are just full of ____, poop. Next time I purchase

Are you turning the container so the food is on top and lid at bottom? That way you dump the poop each day and the worms never get near it.

Yes. I also remove the food after 5 days. I'm going to purchase a taller container. That should separate the worms from the poo.