information on veiled chamelion pls

[dawneh]

Hi ive just bought a set up for a veiled chameleon which im buying next week (baby ) can anyone tell me what temperature they can fall to on the night time as different sites say different things, and also what would you recomend as flooring as theres so many, im going to use plastic plants if i did put a live plant in which one are bad/good for the chameleon ? any information would be really gratefu;l as this is going to be my first chameleon ive got snakes but dont know much at all about chameleons pls help p.s any info on veiled chameleons would be appreciated thanks x

 

[KarmaChameleon1337]

Tell us everything you have for the cham and what you know about them. I wouldn't get the cham until you have everything 100% set up. Night time temp can usually fall to 65 comfortably. If it gets too low you can buy a ceramic heat bumb, not a red light bulb. You can just use paper towels on the bottom of the cage, substrates are bad.

 

[KarmaChameleon1337]

For chams good plants are schefflera, pothos, hibiscus, and a few others, might be some blogs about the safe ones.

 

[KarmaChameleon1337]

Also, DO NOT, and I repeat DO NOT get the cham until you know about them, you said you don't know much about them, so do NOT get one yet, it's your choice, but ignorance is what kills most chams. They are nothing like snakes at all.

 

[ChameleonNerd]

for flooring you can use paper towels, or a removable plastic sheet. for temperature, mine goes down at times to 60 with no problems. i have heard that a healthy adult veiled can go down to 50, but i would not recommend going past 60

 

[JackP308]

for your questions, they can get tolerate pretty low overnight temps. Easily into lower 60s which most homes and basements will not get lower then. I prefer live plants. More natural, and the leaves hold water better which you chameleon may drink off the leaves when misted. My easiest chameleons friendly plant would be the basic umbrella plant "Schefflera arboricola" . It lives well and has plenty of shoots for the chameleon to maneuver while holding water pretty well. Floor just leave it bare if you bought a screened cage they usually have those white pvc bottoms. Just wipe down and pick up mess daily.

Nice that your looking into things before you get it next week. You'll be plenty prepared if you keep checking out threads around here. Make sure to get the proper lighting as well and feeder information and nutrition. Good luck enjoy your new chameleon.

 

[dawneh]

I bought a 4ft high glass tank which the pet shop sold me for a chameleon, i bought a uv light, a heat light (dark colour) a few packets of plastic plants , a spray bottle, a temperature stick, some bendy stuff what looks like wood for the chameleon to climb, i do know about gut feeding and have bought the powder for the crickets etc, also i have been looking on different sites now for a couple of months. im getting it next week but wanted to find out about the temperature and the best flooring and plants to hold water in as i know they dont reconise standing water and got told to spray 2-3 times a day on plants, with me getting a little baby one was just panicking also diffrent pet shops have told me on how often to feed the cham a day and i know they said meal worms , crickets , silk worms, and salad bits any more suggestions please will be very very gratefull , and thank you for the replys

 

[JackP308]

Where do you live? What kind of Glass tank? Does it have any type of ventilation or just the top? Either way it will work but you need to properly set it up so you don't over heat the whole aquarium if that is indeed what it is an aquarium.

Is it a UVB light also what kind? most use 5.0 UVB models but they're are other options out there.


What powders "supplements" did you already buy.

 

[Rycron]

I bought a 4ft high glass tank which the pet shop sold me for a chameleon, i bought a uv light, a heat light (dark colour) a few packets of plastic plants , a spray bottle, a temperature stick, some bendy stuff what looks like wood for the chameleon to climb, i do know about gut feeding and have bought the powder for the crickets etc, also i have been looking on different sites now for a couple of months. im getting it next week but wanted to find out about the temperature and the best flooring and plants to hold water in as i know they dont reconise standing water and got told to spray 2-3 times a day on plants, with me getting a little baby one was just panicking also diffrent pet shops have told me on how often to feed the cham a day and i know they said meal worms , crickets , silk worms, and salad bits any more suggestions please will be very very gratefull , and thank you for the replys

Chameleons need air circulation, is any part of the tank you bought screened? Most people here tend to use mesh or metal screened cages. You'll also have to think about drainage, as all that water you mist in has to find a way out eventually. In addition to misting, you'll need some kind of drip system too.

You need more than one kind of power, one calcium with and one without D3 and a multivitamin, but I'll let someone with more experience explain that so you get the best information.

For future reference, you can skip out on buying heat bulbs from a petshop- they're really expensive and a 40 or 60 watt house bulb will do the same thing for a couple bucks.

I have pothos in my tank (a good viney plant that you can wrap around branches) and a croton species. Here is a link to some other plant ideas. You'll want to have pretty thick foliage coverage so them cham feels secure.

Silk worms and crickets are good staple foods, but the meal worms are just a treat occasionally. Young chameleons (and many adults) are pretty carnivorous, so don't be surprised if he/she doesn't touch the salad (you can feed it to the crickets instead) but some chameleons do eat plants occasionally.

It's awesome that you're looking into all this before you get your cham. Your new pet will appreciate all the work you put into making a great habitat for him/her!

 

[ruru]

https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html
You should read this over.....one of our very own members jannb wrote this...very educational I highly recommend this to any new veiled keepers

 

[dawneh]

Thanks the name for the tank i bought is called a aborium i think? The pet shop sold me it , its 4FT high the top layer is 3/4 glass and a quarter mesh and the rest is glass the powder is to put the crickets in a bag and shake it up so it gets vitamins, the uv light is a large colied uv light , and i bought a heat light which pet shop told me to leave on all the time which is black which is 75 watt , i was just panicking about temperature cause the babys look so tiny and i dont want it to reheat and die as all pet shops say different temperatures thats why id rather speak to some one who has had a veiled from a baby, thanks for the link on plants i will definatly have a look on there, has everyone i know all hve artificial plants but ive read that live plants are better ? so basically baby chams have crickets as there main meal ? and silk worms and meal worms are a treat and try with salad ? i have bought a thing what looks like wood wat you can bend into any shape so my cahm can climb high up as i know thats were they feel secure cant wait to get it now and thanks everyone for being friendly and given advice as i only joined tonight , my main concern was temperature, p.s what do i click on to upload a picture onto the site as i will continue to use as im getting my cham monday

 

[JackP308]

your main concern is temp, but You need to make sure everything else is right too. From the lighting that all you explain is spiral uv. There is all sorts of UV lighting . Also you need more than 1 certain powders. You need calciums, vitamins ect. given at different times. So you need find out little more info than just the temps. Read Janns blog, Id imagine she goes over everything.

 

[Rycron]

Thanks the name for the tank i bought is called a aborium i think? The pet shop sold me it , its 4FT high the top layer is 3/4 glass and a quarter mesh and the rest is glass the powder is to put the crickets in a bag and shake it up so it gets vitamins, the uv light is a large colied uv light , and i bought a heat light which pet shop told me to leave on all the time which is black which is 75 watt , i was just panicking about temperature cause the babys look so tiny and i dont want it to reheat and die as all pet shops say different temperatures thats why id rather speak to some one who has had a veiled from a baby, thanks for the link on plants i will definatly have a look on there, has everyone i know all hve artificial plants but ive read that live plants are better ? so basically baby chams have crickets as there main meal ? and silk worms and meal worms are a treat and try with salad ? i have bought a thing what looks like wood wat you can bend into any shape so my cahm can climb high up as i know thats were they feel secure cant wait to get it now and thanks everyone for being friendly and given advice as i only joined tonight , my main concern was temperature, p.s what do i click on to upload a picture onto the site as i will continue to use as im getting my cham monday

Silkworms can be a staple; mealworms cannot. You really don't even need to mess with the leafy greens aside from using them to gutload your feeders.

You may have to section part of this cage off, it seems really large for a baby veiled. If you're getting a baby veiled, the bulb you got may be too powerful, as baby veiled don't need a basking area above 80 (some sources say to not even use a basking bulb with baby veiled, I do though, because my apartment is drafty). Chameleons are diurnal (as opposed to nocturnal), and when they're sleeping it's ok (actually necessary) for the temperature to drop as long as it doesn't go below 65 -70 seems to be the recommended range.


Live plants hold humidity, which is what makes them "better" and why they're recommended. Luckily the viney plants that work with chameleons are pretty low maintenance. There is nothing wrong using fake plants as well though. Just make sure your cham is drinking.

 

[KarmaChameleon1337]

Most worms aren't staples. Crickets and dubia roaches are staples, worms are treats. Contact Jannb, from what I've heard she's highly recommended on this site as an owner and blogger.

 

[kinyonga]

With baby veileds I like to keep the temperatures at normal house temperature at night (low 70's to high 80'sF). Although I'm sure they can tolerate lower temperatures it doesn't necessarily mean that its good for them at this age.

I have always recommended using no substrate...especially for babies....since many of the substrates can cause impaction and there is little way of knowing until its too late.

Its okay to start off with fake plants but with veileds, I would recommend real ones that have been washed well, both sides of the leaves, since veileds will often eat foliage and flowers.

If set up properly glass cages with screen lids can be used successfully for veiled chameleons. You need to pay attention to light placement to encourage air flow and to ensure that no water lays stagnant on the floor of the cage. However, if you live in a hot area and have no air conditioning, screen would be better....or if the chameleon is to be housed outside all the time.

Here's some information I hope will help you with things like supplements, gutloading, etc....
Appropriate cage temperatures aid in digestion and thus play a part indirectly in nutrient absorption.

Exposure to UVB from either direct sunlight or a proper UVB light allows the chameleon to produce D3 so that it can use the calcium in its system to make/keep the bones strong and be used in other systems in the chameleon as well. The UVB should not pass through glass or plastic no matter whether its from the sun or the UVB light. The most often recommended UVB light is the long linear fluorescent Repti-sun 5.0 tube light. Some of the compacts, spirals and tube lights have caused health issues, but so far there have been no bad reports against this one.

A wide variety of insects that have been well fed and gutloaded should be fed to it.

Since many of the feeder insects we use in captivity have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorus in them, its important to dust the insects just before you feed them to the chameleon at most feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder to help make up for it. (I use Rep-cal phosphorus-free calcium).

If you also dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder it will ensure that your chameleon gets some D3 without overdoing it. It leaves the chameleon to produce the rest of what it needs through its exposure to the UVB light. D3 from supplements can build up in the system but D3 produced from exposure to UVB shouldn't as long as the chameleon can move in and out of it. (I use Rep-cal phos.-free calcium/D3).

Dusting twice a month as well with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A will ensure that the chameleon gets some vitamins without the danger of overdosing the vitamin A. PrEformed sources of vitamin A can build up in the system and may prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the chameleon towards MBD. However, there is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert the beta carotene and so some people give some prEformed vitamin A once in a while. (I use herptivite which has beta carotene.)

Gutloading/feeding the insects well helps to provide what the chameleon needs. I gutload crickets, roaches, locusts, superworms, etc. with an assortment of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.)

Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are important players in bone health and other systems in the chameleon (muscles, etc.) and they need to be in balance. When trying to balance them, you need to look at the supplements, what you feed the insects and what you feed the chameleon.
Please note that various supplements have various amounts of D3 and vitamin A and so some can be given more often than others. The idea still is not to overdo the fat soluble vitamins like D3 and prEformed vitamin A.

Here are some good sites for you to read too...
http://chameleonnews.com/07FebWheelock.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200605020...Vitamin.A.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200406080...d.Calcium.html
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
http://web.archive.org/web/200601140...ww.adcham.com/
If you can't access the sites above that have the word "archive" in you can do it through the WayBackMachine.