new baby veiled concerns

Abba's Amanda

Established Member
Chameleon Info:

  • Your Chameleon Veiled, male, 2-3 months. two days
  • Handling – I am trying to leave him alone to get acclimated, but I did take him out yesterday to try to feed him.
  • Feeding – small crickets. I just put a few in his habitat last night b/c he hadn’t eaten yet, and I didn’t know how many to give him. The original crickets I had gotten before he got here were too big, and he couldn’t eat them, so by the time I got him some more I figured he must be super hungry. He only ate two that I saw last night, and there are still several hopping around the bottom of the cage. I bought something called Nature Zone Total Bites soft moist food for the crickets. The lady at the pet store said it was the best. I was going to give them just vegetables, but I thought maybe I should start with this since I am new. I don’t have a feeding schedule yet. I was basically waiting for him to eat the ones I put in there and then I was going to put some more.
  • Supplements – I bought Zoo Med Repti calcium Ultrafine Precipitated Calcium Carbonate Supplement with D3. I haven’t used it yet. I just bought it last night.
  • Watering – I have a homemade misting system I got from someone who was not keeping chams anymore. It is on a timer. It goes off at 7am, 10am, 1pm, and 4pm for 2-3 minutes each time. No I have not seen him drinking, but he is really shy, so I am trying to give him space. He doesn’t like me to watch him.
  • Fecal Description – I just read the info about poop, b/c I didn’t know what to look for. I haven’t seen any poop yet. No, I have not had him tested for parasites yet.
  • History – none yet

Cage Info:

  • Cage Type – 22w x16d x 45h. It has solid back and sides, but front is screen.
  • Lighting – I don’t know, b/c the lights are too hot right now for me to say exactly. I have a tubular light and a dome light. I bought both of them from the same guy I got the mister and habitat from. I basically bought his whole set up.
  • Temperature – The basking temp is around 90. I just got another gauge for the lower temp, but I don’t know yet what that is.
  • Humidity – Humidity stays above 70 all the time. It is very humid here even without the mister. I bought a sing hygrometer and it is in the upper middle part of the cage
  • Plants – no live plants
  • Placement – the cage is in by my bedroom door, so I do walk past it when I go in and out of my room, but like I said I am trying to give him privacy to get adjusted, so I try not to pass by it too much, I just peek over the side, b/c the top is screen so I can see in. The cage is about 6” off the floor so the top of the cage is 51” from the floor
  • Location – Southern Lousisana.


I just want to start off right, but I am concerned that there are still crickets hopping around, so I don’t know if he ate today. The crickets are at the bottom and he pretty much just hangs out at the top under the lamp. If I do see him walking about, he immediately goes back to his little hidey spot. I am worried that he doesn’t see the crickets and that they are too far away. Maybe his cage is too tall? I just want to start out correctly, so experienced advice would be greatly appreciated! Also, I want to make sure I am misting him enough. I tried misting him with a misting bottle and he did NOT like it at all. And now after reading that poop article I am worried that he hasn’t pooped! The first picture is from Friday and the second picture is from yesterday when I took him out to feed him. I was not trying to hand feed him, I was trying make sure he ate, so I took him out to put him in something smaller with the crickets so I could monitor him. That didn't work so I put him back in his habitat, and he immediately ate two crickets. Yay at least about that!
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How long have you had him? It is not unusual for them to not eat for the first few days.

When they first get to you they are stressed new place new cage, they wont eat for a few days. Handling them and trying to force them to eat will only make things worse. Leave him be and dont worry I know its hard, but you have to.

It might also help to drape a sheet or something over the front of his cage, so you have as little contact with him as possible. Dont let him see you unless needed so he can get comfortable.
 
Ok, thanks for the sheet idea, I will try that. It will be better during the week b/c I have to go to work, it's just that I've been home for the weekend. I will try not to worry! I do want to leave him alone as much as possible, but I just didn't want to neglect him either in case I should be noticing something! I just got him on Friday afternoon, so yeah he's probably still stressed out from shipping. Thanks again for the advice!
 
Ok, thanks for the sheet idea, I will try that. It will be better during the week b/c I have to go to work, it's just that I've been home for the weekend. I will try not to worry! I do want to leave him alone as much as possible, but I just didn't want to neglect him either in case I should be noticing something! I just got him on Friday afternoon, so yeah he's probably still stressed out from shipping. Thanks again for the advice!

NP
 
Ahhh, I'm just going over the notes I have been collecting over the months, and I see I need the one without D3 and phosphorus more often. Thanks for reminding me of that!
 
Chameleon Info:

  • Your Chameleon Veiled, male, 2-3 months. two days
  • Handling – I am trying to leave him alone to get acclimated, but I did take him out yesterday to try to feed him.
  • Feeding – small crickets. I just put a few in his habitat last night b/c he hadn’t eaten yet, and I didn’t know how many to give him. The original crickets I had gotten before he got here were too big, and he couldn’t eat them, so by the time I got him some more I figured he must be super hungry. He only ate two that I saw last night, and there are still several hopping around the bottom of the cage. I bought something called Nature Zone Total Bites soft moist food for the crickets. The lady at the pet store said it was the best. I was going to give them just vegetables, but I thought maybe I should start with this since I am new. I don’t have a feeding schedule yet. I was basically waiting for him to eat the ones I put in there and then I was going to put some more.
  • Supplements – I bought Zoo Med Repti calcium Ultrafine Precipitated Calcium Carbonate Supplement with D3. I haven’t used it yet. I just bought it last night.
  • Watering – I have a homemade misting system I got from someone who was not keeping chams anymore. It is on a timer. It goes off at 7am, 10am, 1pm, and 4pm for 2-3 minutes each time. No I have not seen him drinking, but he is really shy, so I am trying to give him space. He doesn’t like me to watch him.
  • Fecal Description – I just read the info about poop, b/c I didn’t know what to look for. I haven’t seen any poop yet. No, I have not had him tested for parasites yet.
  • History – none yet

Cage Info:

  • Cage Type – 22w x16d x 45h. It has solid back and sides, but front is screen.
  • Lighting – I don’t know, b/c the lights are too hot right now for me to say exactly. I have a tubular light and a dome light. I bought both of them from the same guy I got the mister and habitat from. I basically bought his whole set up.
  • Temperature – The basking temp is around 90. I just got another gauge for the lower temp, but I don’t know yet what that is.
  • Humidity – Humidity stays above 70 all the time. It is very humid here even without the mister. I bought a sing hygrometer and it is in the upper middle part of the cage
  • Plants – no live plants
  • Placement – the cage is in by my bedroom door, so I do walk past it when I go in and out of my room, but like I said I am trying to give him privacy to get adjusted, so I try not to pass by it too much, I just peek over the side, b/c the top is screen so I can see in. The cage is about 6” off the floor so the top of the cage is 51” from the floor
  • Location – Southern Lousisana.


I just want to start off right, but I am concerned that there are still crickets hopping around, so I don’t know if he ate today. The crickets are at the bottom and he pretty much just hangs out at the top under the lamp. If I do see him walking about, he immediately goes back to his little hidey spot. I am worried that he doesn’t see the crickets and that they are too far away. Maybe his cage is too tall? I just want to start out correctly, so experienced advice would be greatly appreciated! Also, I want to make sure I am misting him enough. I tried misting him with a misting bottle and he did NOT like it at all. And now after reading that poop article I am worried that he hasn’t pooped! The first picture is from Friday and the second picture is from yesterday when I took him out to feed him. I was not trying to hand feed him, I was trying make sure he ate, so I took him out to put him in something smaller with the crickets so I could monitor him. That didn't work so I put him back in his habitat, and he immediately ate two crickets. Yay at least about that! View attachment 161302 View attachment 161303
My female will eat roaming crickets when she thinks I'm not watching. With my new Repribreeze enclosure they can climb up the screen sides, and that's been perfect for her. She'll eat from my hand, but as soon as she sees a cricket climbing the sides, it's gone. She's also learned to look in places where crickets usually fall, like her laying pot. Not sure if this is good or not, others more experienced can chime in. She has a feeding cup, and sits by it waiting for food...
 
Chameleon Info:

  • Your Chameleon Veiled, male, 2-3 months. two days
  • Handling – I am trying to leave him alone to get acclimated, but I did take him out yesterday to try to feed him.
  • Feeding – small crickets. I just put a few in his habitat last night b/c he hadn’t eaten yet, and I didn’t know how many to give him. The original crickets I had gotten before he got here were too big, and he couldn’t eat them, so by the time I got him some more I figured he must be super hungry. He only ate two that I saw last night, and there are still several hopping around the bottom of the cage. I bought something called Nature Zone Total Bites soft moist food for the crickets. The lady at the pet store said it was the best. I was going to give them just vegetables, but I thought maybe I should start with this since I am new. I don’t have a feeding schedule yet. I was basically waiting for him to eat the ones I put in there and then I was going to put some more.
  • Supplements – I bought Zoo Med Repti calcium Ultrafine Precipitated Calcium Carbonate Supplement with D3. I haven’t used it yet. I just bought it last night.
  • Watering – I have a homemade misting system I got from someone who was not keeping chams anymore. It is on a timer. It goes off at 7am, 10am, 1pm, and 4pm for 2-3 minutes each time. No I have not seen him drinking, but he is really shy, so I am trying to give him space. He doesn’t like me to watch him.
  • Fecal Description – I just read the info about poop, b/c I didn’t know what to look for. I haven’t seen any poop yet. No, I have not had him tested for parasites yet.
  • History – none yet

Cage Info:

  • Cage Type – 22w x16d x 45h. It has solid back and sides, but front is screen.
  • Lighting – I don’t know, b/c the lights are too hot right now for me to say exactly. I have a tubular light and a dome light. I bought both of them from the same guy I got the mister and habitat from. I basically bought his whole set up.
  • Temperature – The basking temp is around 90. I just got another gauge for the lower temp, but I don’t know yet what that is.
  • Humidity – Humidity stays above 70 all the time. It is very humid here even without the mister. I bought a sing hygrometer and it is in the upper middle part of the cage
  • Plants – no live plants
  • Placement – the cage is in by my bedroom door, so I do walk past it when I go in and out of my room, but like I said I am trying to give him privacy to get adjusted, so I try not to pass by it too much, I just peek over the side, b/c the top is screen so I can see in. The cage is about 6” off the floor so the top of the cage is 51” from the floor
  • Location – Southern Lousisana.


I just want to start off right, but I am concerned that there are still crickets hopping around, so I don’t know if he ate today. The crickets are at the bottom and he pretty much just hangs out at the top under the lamp. If I do see him walking about, he immediately goes back to his little hidey spot. I am worried that he doesn’t see the crickets and that they are too far away. Maybe his cage is too tall? I just want to start out correctly, so experienced advice would be greatly appreciated! Also, I want to make sure I am misting him enough. I tried misting him with a misting bottle and he did NOT like it at all. And now after reading that poop article I am worried that he hasn’t pooped! The first picture is from Friday and the second picture is from yesterday when I took him out to feed him. I was not trying to hand feed him, I was trying make sure he ate, so I took him out to put him in something smaller with the crickets so I could monitor him. That didn't work so I put him back in his habitat, and he immediately ate two crickets. Yay at least about that! View attachment 161302 View attachment 161303
He's very precious. I love baby veilds, I think they have the sweetest faces as babies! He's gonna be a heartbreaker!
 
I like reptivite for a multivitamin. It has preformed vitamin a, but in order not to over dose on the vitamin a I only dust half to a quarter of the feeders when feeding with the multivitamin.
 
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