New Chameleon owner!!

C

Cheekyreagan

Member
Long story short a friend of a friend needed to rehome his cham because he was tired of caring for it (not good) so I jumped on the opportunity as I've always wanted one. I've done quite a bit of research but there is a lot to caring for them. I was given a chameleon cantina. It has an 18inch fluorescent light and a heat lamp as well as a waterfall. Currently don't have the waterfall running am using a spray bottle to mist the cage twice a day. I will be going to get crickets later and some veggies for gut loading (which the old owner did not do). Basically i was told to feed him big crickets once a day, mist the cage, and cover the crickets with the repti calcium with d3. I don't this all of this is correct. I'm about to head to lowes for some pathos and a nice ficus tree. I don't like that his enclosure now is pretty bare. Any advice is appreciated. I'd love tips on how to warm him up to me, so far I've just let him acclimate in his cage without bothering him. I did put my hand in the cage and he didn't really react at all. Which is better than him turning a dark color or puffing up I suppose. I was told he is less than a year old but no idea how to tell for sure. He seems a little malnourished but I may just be paranoid. What kind of fruits/veggies would he like to snack on? Thank you in advance. Looking forward to making his new home perfect!
 
While you are out get a multi vitamin supplement that has preformed Vit A for twice monthly and a calcium supplement without D3 for daily use (6 days out of 7). Use the D3 supplement twice monthly. You will want to read this the resource section of this site care sheets for your species of chameleon.
 
Welcome to the wonderful world of cham ownership! You have come to the right place, we can definitely get you on the right track.

Knowing what kind of Chm you have will help us know what direction to pint you in. The cantinas are not a great enclosure. I would suggest a reptibreeze or dragon strand. Size will also depend on locale and sex of your cham but the bigger the better, they do like to have some space. Pictures would be great too.
 
Here he is. In this photo he seems to be sun bathing and is a brown color. Earlier he was a nice line green. He is a veiled chameleon. I'm getting the calciums and multi vitimans now. Thanks guys!
 

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I'd recommend an extra large reptibreeze for him. That cage looks far too small. He also needs real plants such as ficus and umbrella plants. More horizontals wouldn't hurt either. Good luck with your new pet!
 
@Cheekyreagan, The problem with the cantina is that they are way too small and do not offer enough air ventilation. I would seriously look at getting him out of it as soon as you can. Look through the enclosure threads and get some ideas. Setting up a new enclosure can actually be a lot of fun.

Here is the care sheet for Veilds.....
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/

Read it, read it again and then reread it. Set things up they way they are specified here and you will be well on your way. And of course we will help you with whatever info you need.

Since he has had Calcium with D3 daily, I would actually stop giving it to him for a month and just concentrate on getting plain calcium into his system. Still use the multi 2x a month, on the days you give the multi, do not give the calcium. Same goes for the D3 when you start giving it agin.
Oversupplimeting can be just as bad as not giving any at all. D3 can build up toxins.

I would also start giving him a shower for 20-30 minutes a couple times a week to help him hydrate and flush out his eye and system. Take a very stable plant and put it in the shower. Make the water warm but not hot and point the spray at the wall. The overspray will hit the plant and him. And supervise him the whole time.
 
Okay. So I've gotten some pothos and will be putting that in tonight with organic soil and moss to cover. How do you guys "wash" the plants off? I will be getting a ficus tomorrow and can start his showers. How do you suggest getting him out of his cage? I want to build trust not scare the little guy. I got crickets but pets mart did not have any non d3 calcium. I will go to our local pet store tomorrow for a multi and a calcium. I'm trying to decide how much to feed him but I am kind of clueless as to his real age? Can you guys tell from the photo?
 
Looks to me to be about 6-8 months. Getting that calcium as soon as you can is going to be key. He really needs it. Also, check the ingredients of your multi vitamin and check for D3, if it has it in it then you don't need the extra, just 2x a month with that will work. But if it does have it, then don't give it to him for a month. Wait until he's had a month of just plain calcium. If it does not have D3 in it then you can give it 2x this month.

Also just throwing this out there but make sure you have all lights out at night. If he's had a night light, he really needs to get his day/night schedule back on track.

To wash my plants since its winter I put them in the shower for a good 30 minutes and just rinse the heck out of them.
In the summer, I blast them with the hose for a good long while.
 
As for getting him out of the cage. If he will let you, just slowly bring your hand up from underneath and let him climb on. Now, you could do the same with a stick instead of your hand. once he's out he should calm down. But since he didn't react at all to you before, I don't think you are going to have an issue. Just go slow and keep it calm. I have a new rehab I'm taking care of and he's easy to get out, seems calm but the little booger is fast and almost flipped out of my hand the first time I got him out and flipped himself around and up my arm into my hair three times before I could get him still enough for his meds. You will learn his mannerisms pretty quick.
 
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okay update: he has a yellow droplet coming out of his tummy? is that normal? poop? pee? also he has what looks like white paint splotches?? So I took out the enormous waterfall and replaced it with a pothos plant. I used clips on the outside of the cage so he has a lot more climbing opportunity. I accidentally grazed him a bit with my hand and he hissed at me. Which I didn't know chameleons did and it scared the s@#$% out of me. I also noticed when I put the plants in and left him for a while he turned into a bright yellow color with stripes... Hmmm. I'm going to leave him alone for a while. Today must have been stressful for him. Hopefully he enjoys his new pothos ( i broke my phone trying to get it and the crickets and what have you inside lol. Oh well.
 
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Cant take a picture because my phone broke as I was bringing his pothos plant inside. It must have been his vent. It has since gone away. Looked like really dehydrate pee I'm thinking?
 
Was it at the base of his tail? Thats where it all comes out.

What time is it there? It's almost 11 PM here, my guys are already in bed and have been since 7:30.
 
Cheekyreagan said:
okay update: he has a yellow droplet coming out of his tummy? is that normal? poop? pee? also he has what looks like white paint splotches?? So I took out the enormous waterfall and replaced it with a pothos plant. I used clips on the outside of the cage so he has a lot more climbing opportunity. I accidentally grazed him a bit with my hand and he hissed at me. Which I didn't know chameleons did and it scared the s@#$% out of me. I also noticed when I put the plants in and left him for a while he turned into a bright yellow color with stripes... Hmmm. I'm going to leave him alone for a while. Today must have been stressful for him. Hopefully he enjoys his new pothos ( i broke my phone trying to get it and the crickets and what have you inside lol. Oh well.
Click to expand...

Ok, that sounds better, he probably loved having a bit more cover.
 
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