New cham owner, and he's realy tiny, i just want to make sure im doin everythin right

[g schrock]

I got him a couple days ago, seems to be in good heath, but hes tiny, not much more than an inch and a half. Im having the typical Phoenix (desert) issue of humidity, i have read about wrapping it with a shower curtain or trash bag, but wouldnt that prevent airflow and cause stagnant humid air?

-i got a reptifogger and am misting as well but my humidity wont go much above 15% even in the tract of fog... im thinking of exchanging the gauge for a new one.

-he's super tiny, pinheads are small enough, but jump out of the feeding cup, and he enjoys the hunt, but the crickets can jump around the cage more freely and i feel like he's not getting enough and then they're also hanging out inside and i dont want them to hurt him. (i also image that this wouldnt be nearly an issue as he gets older) any suggestions on feeding other things?

-also having an issue with water pooling on top of the screen from the fogger, is the only way to fix this buy cutting a hole?

my setup:
zoomed aluminum screen 18x18x36

2 lights: basking (75w) (temp @ 80-85)
UVB 5.0 i think its the 18W one, not really sure, but it wont get too hot...

reptifogger going off a lot - about 30 min on 30 min off

exotera digital therm/hydro

basking branch at about 7", i might get a 60W bulb next time and move the branch up

umbrella tree to climb/help keep humidity and hibiscus to munch on (i havnt seem him eating much of it though) i have put out other leafy greens too, but he doesnt touch them either.

moss on the bottom to help keep humidity, ive been moving it around daily to keep from sitting stagnant.

he has seemed to be really good for getting picked up, from time to time, even turning lighter after he gets picked up, but i feel like i have been over-handling him (its hard not to, he's so tiny and cute)

any help would be greatly appreciated

 

[camimom]

Where did you get this baby from?

He looks barely older than a month, if that.

Chams should not be sold any younger than 2.5-3 months.

 

[g schrock]

pet store down the road, they were the only male's that i was able to find, and i dont want to deal with eggs (or impaction) for my first time around

 

[camimom]

He is super super young.

What do you supplement with?

And don't handle him a lot, they are fragile at this age.

 

[Jay1501]

Wow so small! Too small! To be sold

 

[Ulrich]

Welcome to the forum. This is indeed a young one. We usually don't recommend babies for novice keepers. Now tht you have him you have to be very rigorous in your husbandry. And it is good that you came here as there can be good advice that helps you to become more knowledgeable

Can you fill out the help form? What Cham is it? Looks like a veiled?

How do you measure humidity? With a fogger and 3-4 times misting (of about 1-3 min each time) you should get fairly high humidity of 50-70%. If humidity is still too low, you might work with a glass enclosure first.

Setup sounds ok except that the enclosure is huge for a baby. I would start with half the size as temperature gradients and humidity can e better controlled.

I would remove the moss.

What about supplements? And gut loading for the prey?

One more thing is temperature. Make sure your basking spot is not too hot. (80-85 for a baby to juvenile) and the ambient can stay at 70-75.

 

[g schrock]

ive been using calcium with D3 (i know, im going to get w/o D3 [we have it for our bearded and i didnt know there was a difference till i found this forum yesterday]) and Rep-cal herptivite with beta carotene.

edit: (yes veiled)

how do i get to the help form?

humidty is measured with an exotera digital them / hydro, but i think it might be bunk so im gonna exchange it. (it hasnt read above 15% no matter what.)

is there any-way of maybe keeping my enclosure, but minimizing the space available, he has been able to get from bottom to top easily...

should i have anything in place of moss? (its just sitting on a countertop, and without anything there, that seems like a watery-mess.

suppliments yes. gutloading, yes, with mostly spinach at the moment (was on sale )

temp is good, i even had to lower my branch at one point, it was way too hot.

Thank you for your help!!

 

[Ulrich]

Sandrachameleon has an excellent blog about gut loading. Search her name on the forum. As far as I remember spinach is not too great. Kale, rocket are better. Some carrots. Also Oranges and papaya. And once in a while some oats.

D3 not too often. Once every 2 weeks. But calcium without d3 every feeding.

 

[g schrock]

any suggestions on anything to feed other than pinheads? they wont stay in the feeding cup id imagine that a smaller enclosure would make hunting easier, but i dont have an extra tank anymore (i traded it for store credit towards the little guy) and i am getting not D3

 

[g schrock]

how many should he be eating at that age? i would imagine 8-10 a day

 

[ChameleonMom]

Kale and spinach are okay in very small doses as a gut load but they are high in oxalic acid which prevents the absorption of calcium. Be careful how much you use!!

 

[crocky]

Wow he looks barely out of the egg. So cute but tiny. I agree I think the cage is too big for him right now. Not sure you would need two basking lights. Any reason you have that? If it is light you want I would replace one of the basking lights with a plant light. I assume you have UVb light, you may have mentioned it but I can't remember.

I agree though he will have a tough time hunting and getting enough to eat in that size cage. If they are jumping out of the cup you have, can you just get a slightly bigger cup? If you can get him eating out of the cup that would help. Maybe order some SMALL/tiny silks from one of the sponsors. They are pretty tiny but not 100% sure they would be tiny enough.

 

[g schrock]

Wow he looks barely out of the egg. So cute but tiny. I agree I think the cage is too big for him right now. Not sure you would need two basking lights. Any reason you have that? If it is light you want I would replace one of the basking lights with a plant light. I assume you have UVb light, you may have mentioned it but I can't remember. I agree though he will have a tough time hunting and getting enough to eat in that size cage. If they are jumping out of the cup you have, can you just get a slightly bigger cup?

one is a basking, one is UVB.
my issue with a bigger cup is his ability to get them, i think i read that they can extend their tongue ~as far as their body... so thats only 1.5". and even with his current bowl, i also have to leave a branch / leaf over it so if he falls in he can get out. im thinking about doing vestigial fruit fly's "walks" but that seems really annoying and reminds me of my genetics lab.

also, i found a thing of calcium w/o d3 in my "not for a bearded but got for free" tub so he'll start getting that tomorrow.

 

[dom1959]

you may try getting a small room humidifier and running that in the room, that is what i have been doing and humidity is easier to manage.
flightless fruit flies might be another food option.

just curious, which store?

 

[g schrock]

you may try getting a small room humidifier and running that in the room, that is what i have been doing and humidity is easier to manage.
flightless fruit flies might be another food option.

just curious, which store?

bom bom... another Phoenician.. hes in the main room of the house, so a room humidifier (ive thought of it) would then have to do the entire house (not huge, but open) i was thinking of putting some plants around the outside of the enclosure

it is called custom creatures. (and i know no store bashing), im going to do the best i can for him but if he doesnt make it i got a 30day warranty,

 

[Fretfreak13]

He is adorable! I'm still kinda new to chams myself, but I have a question and was wondering why this hasn't been suggested? If the pinheads are hopping out of the cup, couldn't you simply pull the back legs off? I know, sounds cruel, but as a pet owner you gotta do whatcha gotta do.

Is there a reason this wouldn't work?

 

[Ulrich]

He is adorable! I'm still kinda new to chams myself, but I have a question and was wondering why this hasn't been suggested? If the pinheads are hopping out of the cup, couldn't you simply pull the back legs off? I know, sounds cruel, but as a pet owner you gotta do whatcha gotta do.

Is there a reason this wouldn't work?

Never thought about it. But their exoskeleton is very soft (other than locust). You might rip out the body fluids as well. Especially for pinheads.

I wouldn't mind releasing the crickets as long as you don't flood the enclosure with them. I myself never cup feed. All my prey is 'free ranged'. It stimulates the hunting and ambushing instinct of the chameleon.

 

[Kaianuanu]

Wow so small! Too small! To be sold

I would have to agree with this. He is still just a little speck of a Cham. That pic of him sleeping is adorable though. As mentioned above though, I think a humidifier may be the answer to your humidity issue.

 

[JohnDoe]

Humidity in my house has been horrible running the heat this winter. I have ran my cool mist humidifer all day during her awake cycle. it keeps my humidity right around 50%, and thats even with misting with a mistking 5x's a day.

 

[Bacteria77]

I know what your going through... I just bought a little guy.. Looks exactly like yours.. He is much younger then I was told.. I just want the best for him... Listen to these people.. They know what they r talking about.. People in who work in a pet store... From my experience... Don't have a clue what they r talking about... good luck with ur new baby he is adorable...