My beautiful Juanita

[Juanita2014]

Hi everyone meet Juanita, she's a 3 month old Veiled cham. She's also my very fist reptile, but I never thought in a million years that I would get so attached. Any care, setting and suggestions are welcome.

 

[qdude46]

She is pretty but you do need some husbandry issues fixed. Your cage needs quite a bit more decor and what kind of lighting do you have? Make sure the red light is not on during the night. As for tips i dont have experience with veileds, just knowledge of them, but make sure you have a lay bin ready in the future.

 

[SaintJimmy]

Agreed, she is a cutie

But I would ditch the red light, have no lights on at night.

Get a 50-70 watt bulb and use it as a heat bulb (with some sort of hood) and then get a uvb coil or tube. Turn both off at night.

Maybe buy another twisty vine or so, and get a cheap ficus tree or pothos plant from like home depot, and get some large rocks to put into the pot so she doesn't eat dirt.

That's all

 

[jannb]

Welcome to the forums and congrats on that cute little girl. I have a few helpful links for you below to help you keep Juanita healthy and happy.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/2007/12/keeping-female-veiled.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/jannb/345-egg-laying-laying-bin.html#comment2073
https://www.chameleonforums.com/laying-bin-set-up-educational-video-77225/

 

[FlChamMom]

She is definitely adorable! Good luck with your new girl.

 

[Ahenn]

I agree with Saint Jimmy.

Ditch that red bulb asap and I would add more vines and branches as well.

 

[Juanita2014]

Thank you very much for the help. The picture of the cage was before I added a few more things. The reptile store I go to, they told me to turn the red light on at night, because of the A/C. It can get around 70.
I know about the place for her to lay eggs when she's around 6-8 months old. Regarding the live plants I'm still debating tho.

 

[pigglett79]

She will be happy with many more horizontal highways at various level so that she can regulate her body temperature. No lights at night, it disturbs their sleep cycle. They are fine at low temps, if it gets below 60 I would think about a space heater or ceramic heat emitter. You may want to fill out this form just to be sure you are on the right track, and do pay attention to the links Jann posted as they are very helpful.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

Here are care sheets.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/

Also pointers on setting up the cage properly

https://www.chameleonforums.com/official-enclosure-picture-thread-49688/

Look at other members pictures and it can help you with ideas.

And yes she needs a lay bin pretty soon.

And she will need a bigger cage soon as well.

 

[SaintJimmy]

Your cham is totally fine at that temp at night.

No night lights! You'll soon come to know that it is a #1 no no here, or at least very frowned upon.

Usually pet stores give lots of misinformation.

You did good adding things to the cage, maybe try getting horizontal branches, but if that's all you can do for now, it looks fine by me Try getting a regular house bulb for basking, replace that red light with it. Then the other light should be UVB.

and follow the links everyone gave to you--they'll detail food info etc.

 

[Juanita2014]

Thanks again everyone. The links are awesome, and I've read a couple as soon as I found this blog. One of the lights I have on top is a 75 watt that I keep on during the day. Since I live in S. FL I think during the summer I'll have to change to a 40 watt, because my A/C is set to keep the house at 80 during the week days. One of my main concerns is the feeding and the humidity. I've been feeding her crickets which I gut load with white potatoes, and once a week I give her either a super worm or a caterpillar, she likes them. From watching many videos on YouTube, I've also learned to watch her poop to make sure she's getting enough water, and we are good on that. I will improve her cage little by little. Red light is off as of today, thanks! Oh! I give her about 10-12 every morning and dust them with calcium about twice a week. She eats the crickets in minutes, but I'm afraid I'm under feeding her, because if I give her more she'll eat.

 

[pigglett79]

potatoes arent good for gutloading. You should check out sandrachameleons blogs, she has a wealth of information. here are a few good ones.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...just-crickets-roaches-gutload-everything.html

https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/425-may-2011-gutload.html

https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/75-feeder-nutrition-gutloading.html

 

[Juanita2014]

Home Improvements!

Hi everyone I've made some home improvements in Juanita's cage.
This is a 16x16x30 but I plan on getting a bigger cage when she gets older.

 

[Juanita2014]

Full View

Here's a full view of the new set up.

 

[Tyaeda]

Looking better, but it can really help to have a live plant in there. When it comes to foliage, the more the merrier. I also don't see a UVB bulb. Those are very important, unless you allow your chameleon to have access to real sunlight outside for a large portion of the day.

When gutloading you have to keep in mind that what the crickets eat, your chameleon eats. Potatoes do not really offer much in the way of nutrients. The best way to go is to offer a variety of different fruits, veggies, and greens to your feeders.

I use for wet:

collard greens, dandelion greens, butternut squash, oranges, and I directly feed my cham the odd piece of strawberry as a treat.

For dry I use oat flour, sesame seeds, dried kelp, and bee pollen.

 

[Chameleon Brothers]

..

Those look dope

 

[Juanita2014]

Looking better, but it can really help to have a live plant in there. When it comes to foliage, the more the merrier. I also don't see a UVB bulb. Those are very important, unless you allow your chameleon to have access to real sunlight outside for a large portion of the day.

When gutloading you have to keep in mind that what the crickets eat, your chameleon eats. Potatoes do not really offer much in the way of nutrients. The best way to go is to offer a variety of different fruits, veggies, and greens to your feeders.

I use for wet:

collard greens, dandelion greens, butternut squash, oranges, and I directly feed my cham the odd piece of strawberry as a treat.

For dry I use oat flour, sesame seeds, dried kelp, and bee pollen.

Thanks Tyaeda!
I am siously thinking about putting a money tree in there. I do have a UVB running across the top of the cage during the day, and in the afternoon when I get home, now with the daylight savings I put her outside when the sun is hitting my back yard, I have one of those hanging mesh enclosures and she really likes it (I can tell by her color and patterns)

as far as gutloading the crickets I've been giving them apples, oranges, and carrots. Still do potatoes once a week. I didn't know I could feed her fruits. I am so trying that tonight with a mango.