Is my female veiled chameleon environment correct? I got her 3 days ago
- Thread starter Mk2MadMitch
- Start date
jamest0o0
Chameleon Enthusiast
To be blunt, not even close.
Bulb should be outside the cage.
Much, much more vines/branches
Get rid of that bark at the bottom
Where's the uvb?
Many more live plants
No water dishes... they hydrate from heavy misting and humid air
Honestly a lot needs changing. I would suggest reading the caresheets here and filling out the how to ask for help form stickied st the top of the health clinic section.
Bulb should be outside the cage.
Much, much more vines/branches
Get rid of that bark at the bottom
Where's the uvb?
Many more live plants
No water dishes... they hydrate from heavy misting and humid air
Honestly a lot needs changing. I would suggest reading the caresheets here and filling out the how to ask for help form stickied st the top of the health clinic section.
Syreptyon
Chameleon Enthusiast
In addition to everything James said, the enclosure itself is completely ill-suited for chameleons. It is way too short. Chameleons need HEIGHT way more than width. Take out the substrate, unless its bioactive (which I can tell it isn't). Please look up the care sheets on this forum if you want your chameleon to have a chance at survival.
JapSolum
Member
I cant tell from the pic of that bottom part is screen. but if that is glass on all four sides you need ventilation. not just coming from the top but at a very minimum one side or some sort of ventilation coming from the bottom to create good air flow
Jevin
Chameleon Enthusiast
it's an exoterra cage. It is all glass with a screen top and vents along the bottom of the doors.
JapSolum
Member
looked like exoterra but couldn't tell for sure
Mk2MadMitch
New Member
Okay, thank you for the advice, need to be blunt to express the facts, that's not an issue
the bulb is an all in one bulb, so I'll just put that on top of the mesh then? I do want to get a tall, more ventilated environment for her anyway so I'll do that soon, the bark? Should I just get rid of it completely? I mist her for two minutes, 3 times a day, do I need a dripper/waterfall too? I showed that same picture to the guys at the reptile shop and asked if that was fine, they said yeah but I still wasn't sure, it didn't seem right for a chameleon so thank you for letting me know the right way, also, I seen a thing where some chameleons got sick because of live plants? So I wasn't so sure on that. I think I covered everything you mentioned. But yes I'll keep away from the handling part until I've got everything set up correctly. Also I never tried to get her out I literally put a hend in down in front of her and if she hissed which she did the first couple of times I backed off for the day.Mk2MadMitch
New Member
Ah another thing I was supposed to add! I literally just came in to go to bed and I've looked in the tank and she's sleeping upside down on the roof of the tank on the mesh, is that normal!?!?
Jevin
Chameleon Enthusiast
It is normal.
Last edited:
Mk2MadMitch
New Member
JapSolum
Member
a better pic, more in the open with better light, would be helpful. from what I can see there's no sunken in eyes, and bones look nice and straight. from the position in the pic it looks like she's on the move which is a good sign. but chams usually dont show visible signs of being sick unless they are pretty late into it. so I would make those changes asap (especially a change to watering and a linear uvb bulb that can cover the length of the cage) or she may not stay that way for long.
Mk2MadMitch
New Member
Yeah I struggle to get a good clear picture as she shys away and goes dark when I get too close, right now she's actually walking around the tank and climbing up and down the wall and now just at the glass nearest to me just staring at me haha, in regards to water, are you implying that I should get a dripper system installed? The light that's in there at the moment provides uvb but I'm guessing the longer one would be better? Especially if it's a light with just one job?
Mk2MadMitch
New Member
Yeah I seen a thing about mealworms, I'm just gonna stick to crickets and fruit once in a while, I'll get a uvb today
JapSolum
Member
yeah I've heard people get by with just misting. although they are usually the ones with the expensive mistking setups, not misting by hand. but droppers give them a constant source of water they can go to whenever they want. those bowls you have in the bottom won't be touched, and will only grow bacteria. they are cheap to buy, or SUPER easy to make. so it's a good investment either way. it's good that the light does have uvb. but as you can see, it covers maybe half the tank at best. the linear tubes are better for them, and cover more area, giving them constant source of uvb. which is critical for a cham's bone development.
Mk2MadMitch
New Member
Okay cool, I'll try and get a good mist king today, do you have a picture for me so I know the exact one/type to get? I'll get a uvb as well, 5.0 or something?
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