New chameleon mama

[liberty]

After being obsessed and doing a lot of research for a long time, I have recently gotten my first chameleon, a veiled. I got her maybe three weeks ago. I was unsure at first but after research I am almost positive it is a female. I got her at a pet store and do not know how old she is but I believe she's young, because she's rather small. I have all the proper food, cage and plant setups and all the environmental needs. She is still fairly new to the place and has been timid. I have been able to hand feed her once and all other attempts she's been afraid, which i hope is expected because she's new and not use to me I suspect. She gets very scared when I even get near her, hisses and puffs out. I don't push her into handle in for anything like that, the most interaction I have is just putting the food inside her cage and misting the plants. She eats fine and is active, but I'm fearful of her not getting use to me and being stressed out when I try to interact. How long is it expected for her to start to even be use to me being near her?
I also have questions about her being a female. I know that she will eventually lay eggs and I have read a lot about that. But I still feel unprepared and I don't know what to expect. I don't even know how old she is so im not sure when she will lay. Also, I have a plant pot of sand and soil in her cage. She's rather small but is that enough?
Any advice is much appreciated

 

[DaChameleonKing]

Put rocks that they can't eat over your soil and sand so they can't eat it. My cham likes to sit on the soil (he might think it's soft)

 

[jpowell86]

I'm a very glad to hear that you put that much thought and research in before buying you chameleon. If you could post a pic of your cham, we could tell you if it is a female or male and give you a fairly close age estimate.

The defensive posturing and hissing is completely normal. I'm also glad to hear that you aren't trying to push your cham into be handled. IMO this is a big mistake most first time keepers make. The ability for your cham to accept you as something that can be tolerated will take time. Don't push this. It is a gradual process, but a rewarding one. She will eventually learn that you are the big blob that brings the delicious what nots and water. This is when the defensive behavior will begin to lessen dramatically.

Veiled chameleons can begin laying eggs fairly early. Here is a link to the care sheet given here on the Forums. It goes into great detail about laying bins. https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/

Feeling unprepared is an okay thing. It is better than keepers that don't take time to research because they feel like it's going to be an easy task. Keepers who have been at for years and years still learn new aspects of these great animal's care on a daily basis. Don't be shy about asking your questions and welcome to the Forums!

 

[Kaylaaabrown]

Hello! I'm also a first time Cham mama. I bought mine a week ago for my husband. We thought she was a he at first so after finding out she is a she, I'm a little intimidated about her laying eggs. There are some really great resources here which brings me a lot of comfort!

What did you name her? We struggled with a male name and my husband decided he liked Echo. Could still be a possibility for a female!

 

[liberty]

Put rocks that they can't eat over your soil and sand so they can't eat it. My cham likes to sit on the soil (he might think it's soft)

Oh yes, I remember reading about doing that. thank you!

 

[carol5208]

If you post a picture of your chameleon's back heels on the back feet we can tell you if you have a male or female. The males have little bumps called tarsal spurs, and the females do not. At an early age, they are all mostly green, so this is the only way to tell. As they mature into adults, you can tell the males from colors and patterns and the size of the casque(the pointy thing on their head)!

 

[liberty]

I'm a very glad to hear that you put that much thought and research in before buying you chameleon. If you could post a pic of your cham, we could tell you if it is a female or male and give you a fairly close age estimate.

The defensive posturing and hissing is completely normal. I'm also glad to hear that you aren't trying to push your cham into be handled. IMO this is a big mistake most first time keepers make. The ability for your cham to accept you as something that can be tolerated will take time. Don't push this. It is a gradual process, but a rewarding one. She will eventually learn that you are the big blob that brings the delicious what nots and water. This is when the defensive behavior will begin to lessen dramatically.

Veiled chameleons can begin laying eggs fairly early. Here is a link to the care sheet given here on the Forums. It goes into great detail about laying bins. https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/

Feeling unprepared is an okay thing. It is better than keepers that don't take time to research because they feel like it's going to be an easy task. Keepers who have been at for years and years still learn new aspects of these great animal's care on a daily basis. Don't be shy about asking your questions and welcome to the Forums!

thank you so much, i feel much more relieved after reading this. Just a little while after posting this i was able to hand feed her a few meal worms and she acted very calm and interested. Progress!

 

[liberty]

Hello! I'm also a first time Cham mama. I bought mine a week ago for my husband. We thought she was a he at first so after finding out she is a she, I'm a little intimidated about her laying eggs. There are some really great resources here which brings me a lot of comfort!

What did you name her? We struggled with a male name and my husband decided he liked Echo. Could still be a possibility for a female!

My boyfriend was the one who got me my chameleon as a surprise so i decided to let him name it. We thought it was a boy at first but now that I know my Cham is a female, her name is Luna (named after Luna Lovegood, my favorite Harry Potter character)

 

[liberty]

If you post a picture of your chameleon's back heels on the back feet we can tell you if you have a male or female. The males have little bumps called tarsal spurs, and the females do not. At an early age, they are all mostly green, so this is the only way to tell. As they mature into adults, you can tell the males from colors and patterns and the size of the casque(the pointy thing on their head)!

I did a lot of research on how females differ from males. My cham appears to lack the spurs on her heels, but i will post a picture when I can just to get that confirmed

 

[Kaylaaabrown]

My boyfriend was the one who got me my chameleon as a surprise so i decided to let him name it. We thought it was a boy at first but now that I know my Cham is a female, her name is Luna (named after Luna Lovegood, my favorite Harry Potter character)

We also thought we had a male at first. After much research and confirmation on this site, we realized we have a little lady. We settled on Inara for a name which means goddess. We found it off this new show, Fire Fly we started watching on Netflix. I love your name choice!

 

[liberty]

We also thought we had a male at first. After much research and confirmation on this site, we realized we have a little lady. We settled on Inara for a name which means goddess. We found it off this new show, Fire Fly we started watching on Netflix. I love your name choice!

Yes this site has definitely been one of the most helpful. it's great to hear from people who share the same experience and have detailed knowledge. thanks so much, love your name choice as well

 

[liberty]

this is my baby. This is the best picture I've gotten, since I find it hard to get really close with my phone and take a good picture without her being afraid. I'm not sure if a person can tell that she lacks the heel spurs by this but just looking at her I think I can tell that she definitely doesn't have them.

 

[liberty]

this is a better picture, size wise. I also don't know if someone could tell how old she is by just looking at this. My guess is rather young? (she was sleeping/woken up that's why she's laying like this).