Need advice on handling my chameleon.

[Mk2MadMitch]

So I got my chameleon from a friend who had it for 3 months from the shop, he said he handled it everyday or most days, I know they need to get use to you by eventually letting it climb on your hand if you have successfully hand fed it before but I'm wondering how long before it stops scaring away from me every time I come in my room? I've had it for 3 days now. I've fed it once by just dropping the crickets in it's little area where she likes to stay. I spray water 3 times a day for humidity but I will need a humidifier I think as well, do I need a dripper or a waterfall too? Thanks.

 

[jamest0o0]

Sounds like you need a good husbandry revision. Read the caresheets on this site, use the search function, and fill out the sticky from health clinic section posted at the top that says 'how to ask for help', copy and paste it. That way people can give you the best advice for what to change and what you're doing well so far.

In the mean time, I would make handling the last of your concerns. 3 days is way too early to even think about that. A lot of us try minimal contact, other than necessary husbandry(feeding, water, etc) in the first week or two of having a chameleon.

 

[jamest0o0]

great investments would be(assuming you have correct basking, supplements, feeders, and other basic needs met):

Mistking system
A nice linear uvb, like Arcadia
Live plants(pothos, umbrella, ficus

You're also not telling us which kind of chameleon? What the sex is? If it's female and doesn't have a laying bin, she may become eggbound and die. There is so much more. You jumped into this headfirst, be prepared to do a lot of reading if you want to be successful with this animal.

 

[Kristen Wilkins]

So I got my chameleon from a friend who had it for 3 months from the shop, he said he handled it everyday or most days, I know they need to get use to you by eventually letting it climb on your hand if you have successfully hand fed it before but I'm wondering how long before it stops scaring away from me every time I come in my room? I've had it for 3 days now. I've fed it once by just dropping the crickets in it's little area where she likes to stay. I spray water 3 times a day for humidity but I will need a humidifier I think as well, do I need a dripper or a waterfall too? Thanks.

Hello @Mk2MadMitch can you do your best to fill this out .
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/how-to-ask-for-help.66/ . We need a bit more info to help you best . @jamest0o0 is correct we do not know what species you have . Females as well have a bit different care if she’s an egg laying species you will need a lay bin a bit lower temps and less food .

 

[VerucaSalt]

Please do not get a waterfall. And for quite a while, let it be. Minimal contact from you except feeding and watering. You have a drip system? You can build a cheap one or you can purchase a cheap one thru drip king....they need a lot of time to get interested and need to see the dripping water--we give ours 3 times a day 20-30 mins of a steady drip, think 6-10 drips per sec....ours actually comes right to my hand pump and skips the drip now and fills his belly with the hand sprayer lol. That took 2 months just FYI, and he loved coming out and being held from the jump. They are well worth the time and knowledge it takes to have good husbandry...and they deserve the effort as well. Beautiful creatures.

 

[Mk2MadMitch]

great investments would be(assuming you have correct basking, supplements, feeders, and other basic needs met):

Mistking system
A nice linear uvb, like Arcadia
Live plants(pothos, umbrella, ficus

You're also not telling us which kind of chameleon? What the sex is? If it's female and doesn't have a laying bin, she may become eggbound and die. There is so much more. You jumped into this headfirst, be prepared to do a lot of reading if you want to be successful with this animal.

You may be annoyed with this question haha but what is basking? I don't have a dripper system yet, therefore I mist the tank 3 times a day for two minutes, it's a veiled female cham about 5 months old I believe.. I know it is a young one at least. There are no live plants installed yet, but I want to get her a new environment, I want to have a tall vivarium for her instead of this medium wide tank with a mesh roof that she came with. Also the bulb is an all in one bulb but the previous owner has stupidly put it inside the tank hanging from the roof. When feeding, I want to try something different today and put the crickets into a glass jar and put the calcium supplement on them then just put it in the tank in her preferred area, will that be ok? Thanks for the quick replies people, I definitely have a lot to do before thinking about handling her.

 

[Mk2MadMitch]

Please do not get a waterfall. And for quite a while, let it be. Minimal contact from you except feeding and watering. You have a drip system? You can build a cheap one or you can purchase a cheap one thru drip king....they need a lot of time to get interested and need to see the dripping water--we give ours 3 times a day 20-30 mins of a steady drip, think 6-10 drips per sec....ours actually comes right to my hand pump and skips the drip now and fills his belly with the hand sprayer lol. That took 2 months just FYI, and he loved coming out and being held from the jump. They are well worth the time and knowledge it takes to have good husbandry...and they deserve the effort as well. Beautiful creatures.

I don't have a waterfall haha I was going to get a dripper system instead, just one that works and is reliable and affordable I think will be ok, do I need a humidifier too? Do I need a thermometer to know the temperature inside? Or is the 12hr light timer ok? Are live plants a necessity? Thanks for the reply. Here's a picture of the quite frankly.. poor environment she's in, I really want to change it to a tall vivarium but will that not stress her out too much as I've only had her since Sunday afternoon?

 

[VerucaSalt]

https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/food/

This lists a lot of options for feeders with gut loafs to use and not to use.

 

[Mk2MadMitch]

https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/food/

This lists a lot of options for feeders with gut loafs to use and not to use.

Thank you, I had a read over, useful info on what not to feed Vegetable wise, thank you

 

[Kristen Wilkins]

You may be annoyed with this question haha but what is basking? I don't have a dripper system yet, therefore I mist the tank 3 times a day for two minutes, it's a veiled female cham about 5 months old I believe.. I know it is a young one at least. There are no live plants installed yet, but I want to get her a new environment, I want to have a tall vivarium for her instead of this medium wide tank with a mesh roof that she came with. Also the bulb is an all in one bulb but the previous owner has stupidly put it inside the tank hanging from the roof. When feeding, I want to try something different today and put the crickets into a glass jar and put the calcium supplement on them then just put it in the tank in her preferred area, will that be ok? Thanks for the quick replies people, I definitely have a lot to do before thinking about handling her.

Basking is a light source where they can warm up . Female veileds do not need high temperatures , some keepers do not use a basking light at all for female veileds . Low 80 no more then 84 . It’s best for egg production . She will produce eggs and need to lay likely once a year , this does not matter if she is mated or not she will lay Unfertile eggs . You can try to control that . Lower temps feeding 3 times Per week all helps with smaller clutch’s . The egg production sucks a lot of calcium from the girls . Big clutches wreak havoc . https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-with-young-veiled-or-panther-chameleons.325/ . At the bottom of this blog there’s some good information on females .

 

[jamest0o0]

The all one one bulb I assume is a mercury vapor which isn't appropriate for most chameleon set ups. There is a good chance you'll burn the chameleon with it that close. Get a regular incandescent bulb and set the temps In the low 80's like @Kristen Wilkins mentioned. Then get a linear uvb(like reptisun 5.0 or Arcadia t5ho) and put that in a hood across the top.

 

[austin1125]

Haven’t read any of the responses yet so I could be redundant at this point... but do not get a waterfall; as badass as they look and as cool as they are, they’re nothing but a pain in the ass. Instead put that money towards an automatic misting system like a mist king. I made the mistake of getting a waterfall when I first got my chameleon, had it in for only two weeks and had to clean it three separate times. If you’re doing things correctly, the temperatures and humidity are too high to keep up with a waterfall. Live plants are not technically a “necessity” but if you were to ask anyone on here, myself included, we all have lots of live plants in our enclosures. It helps maintain the humidity and the Veileds munch on the leaves and petals.. As for handling, each chameleon is different. I didn’t even touch mine for the first two weeks just to let him settle into his new environment. I take him out now once a week or so to enjoy some natural sunlight on my day off. Hopefully you’ll have loads of time with the animal so there’s no need to rush into handling. It’ll happen when it happens, you don’t want to stress him/her out. Good luck!!

 

[Mk2MadMitch]

The all one one bulb I assume is a mercury vapor which isn't appropriate for most chameleon set ups. There is a good chance you'll burn the chameleon with it that close. Get a regular incandescent bulb and set the temps In the low 80's like @Kristen Wilkins mentioned. Then get a linear uvb(like reptisun 5.0 or Arcadia t5ho) and put that in a hood across the top.

Thanks for the info, I don't know what a incandescent bulb is? I've never heard of that(I'm new to reptiles and have probably thrown myself into the deepest of ends with a female veiled cham haha) and with the linear uvb I'll look for one of those types today then, and the all in one bulb I'll just lay that on top then right?

 

[Mk2MadMitch]

Thanks for the info, I don't know what a incandescent bulb is? I've never heard of that(I'm new to reptiles and have probably thrown myself into the deepest of ends with a female veiled cham haha) and with the linear uvb I'll look for one of those types today then, and the all in one bulb I'll just lay that on top then right?

At least just for the moment

Haven’t read any of the responses yet so I could be redundant at this point... but do not get a waterfall; as badass as they look and as cool as they are, they’re nothing but a pain in the ass. Instead put that money towards an automatic misting system like a mist king. I made the mistake of getting a waterfall when I first got my chameleon, had it in for only two weeks and had to clean it three separate times. If you’re doing things correctly, the temperatures and humidity are too high to keep up with a waterfall. Live plants are not technically a “necessity” but if you were to ask anyone on here, myself included, we all have lots of live plants in our enclosures. It helps maintain the humidity and the Veileds munch on the leaves and petals.. As for handling, each chameleon is different. I didn’t even touch mine for the first two weeks just to let him settle into his new environment. I take him out now once a week or so to enjoy some natural sunlight on my day off. Hopefully you’ll have loads of time with the animal so there’s no need to rush into handling. It’ll happen when it happens, you don’t want to stress him/her out. Good luck!!

Thanks man, yeah I'll have to go hunting for a mist king I think, also I'll get a couple of plants as well and a uvb then I think I'll get the tall vivarium next month, I have a feeling I've caused her too much stress already just by moving stuff around and her having to get use to someone new

 

[jamest0o0]

Incandescent is just your regular housebulb they are getting a little hard to find actually with LEDs replacing everything. Look for a 65w. If you go to home depot or something and ask. They can probably help. Check out lightyourreptiles.com for uvb, they also have the basking lamps. If you talk to Todd there he can help you get exactly what you need.

BTW it's refreshing to see someone doing what they can to fix their husbandry and taking advice. Hoping the best for you and your cham.

 

[Rogue]

This is redundant, but as @jamest0o0 mentioned, lightyourreptiles.com is great for your UVA/UVB setup and bulbs. They are a bit more expensive up front, but they will save you a LOT of money in the long run (the bulbs last a year vs. the cheap ones lasting 6 months at best) and potential vet expenses due to poor lighting. Todd was super helpful when we first started ourselves.
I am also happy to see someone ask a lot of questions and seek assistance in providing the best setup and care for your cham No question is a "silly" question. Good luck and best wishes!

 

[Mk2MadMitch]

Incandescent is just your regular housebulb they are getting a little hard to find actually with LEDs replacing everything. Look for a 65w. If you go to home depot or something and ask. They can probably help. Check out lightyourreptiles.com for uvb, they also have the basking lamps. If you talk to Todd there he can help you get exactly what you need.

BTW it's refreshing to see someone doing what they can to fix their husbandry and taking advice. Hoping the best for you and your cham.

Thank you! Yeah I just want what's best for her and I don't wanna stress her out, such a cool animal and I've never owned anything other than two gerbils but yeah this is quite the challenge owning a cham! All worth it though of course, especially as I have a lot of time for it

 

[Mk2MadMitch]

This is redundant, but as @jamest0o0 mentioned, lightyourreptiles.com is great for your UVA/UVB setup and bulbs. They are a bit more expensive up front, but they will save you a LOT of money in the long run (the bulbs last a year vs. the cheap ones lasting 6 months at best) and potential vet expenses due to poor lighting. Todd was super helpful when we first started ourselves.
I am also happy to see someone ask a lot of questions and seek assistance in providing the best setup and care for your cham No question is a "silly" question. Good luck and best wishes!

Thank you buddy, I'll definitely see if I can have a chat with Todd then to get the best equipment! I hate to think I'm doing something wrong and neglecting an animal so it's gotta be done right this time!

 

[Kristen Wilkins]

@Mk2MadMitch this is the light set up I have for my babies as both @jamest0o0 and @Rogue mentioned they are pricey but they’re all in one also only need replacing once a year . Well worth the money !!. The start up does cost some , once their set up correctly its so worth every penny . You do not have to go with that set up you can go seprete but their light is super important . Chameleon are Masters of hiding sickness until it’s too late .

 

[Ecubaker]

I have not gotten a chameleon yet....but am currently immersing myself in these forums and discussion boards. Additionally I have downloaded the Chameleon Breeder podcast ap (you can find it online also). These podcasts are amazing! Episode 85 talks about "taming your chameleon" and gives excellent advice. Episode 80 is on "handling your chameleon." Many of the other episodes are also incredible...discusses husbandry, etc.