new here from lawn guyland

[scarface2jz]

hello everyone !!!!

my name is matt, i just recently got a male veiled chameleon from a friend who knew a breeder, this is my very first chameleon, and ive always been a fan, its not my first reptile by any means. i also have a pastel Ball Python, sandfire bearded dragon, 3 leopard geckos, 3 red eared sliders, as well as 3 cats, and a dog...

my setup is

R65 65 gallon 16.5"x30"x28"
2x reptisun 5.0
100w blue day bulb
60w red night bulb
PLENTY of different sized flex-i-vines
lots of fake foliage
a live philodendron

i mist 2-3 times daily, and im not too sure what kind of diet to go with, as i dont want him to get metabolic bone disease, so far im thinking gut-loaded crix dusted in calcium w/ D3, as i already have them for most of my other animals, but not as a staple of his diet. i would like to do more research to be sure of what i want to feed him

so far he doesnt seem too stressed, he went from the dark grey color back to normal green within an hour of being in his cage, so i assume he adjusted well, especially coming from a cage half as small with another male veiled

i have had him since september 16th and he's doing quite well, so far he seems to be fine temperature wise, and well fed, as well as hydrated, and usually not dark colored...

also if there are any car people here, this is my other passion

 

[Breeze]

Cool, and welcome tp the forums, how old his your cham? (btw, nice plants)
-Tyler

 

[warpdrive]

welcome to the forums...

here are a few of my thoughts...

first, you don't need the red and the blue lights. get rid of them.
1 standard house bulb, 40w-60w...basking temps should be around 80F-84F.

humidity should be around 40%-60% when the cage is dry.
having more live plants might help, but come winter I'll bet you'll need a humidifier like I do (I live in Brooklyn).
you'll need to be able to tell the temps and humidity so you'll need a thermometer/hydrometer...I use this http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...a-digital-thermometer--hygrometer-with-probe/

your best bet for dusting food is just use plain calcium almost every day, calcium w/D3 2 times a month, and a vitamin dust like herptivite 2 times a month.
as he gets older you can dust every other feeding.

crickets are great feeders if gut loaded, but silkworms, hornworms, and superworms make great food too...blue bottlenose flys are also great.
try them.

above all, do some heavy reading and keep asking questions.

Harry

 

[Pure]

Like Harry said, ditch the colored lights and just use a reg household incandescent. The wattage is going to depend on how old your cham is and what your average ambient temps are. Start out with a 60 and if that isn't enough increase it. Your cham looks like he is a little older so low to mid 90s in the basking area should be what you are shooting for. Your cham will usually do a good job of telling you if you have it too warm (by gaping) or too cold (by climbing on the screen under the lamp). You can also get rid of one of the reptisun floros. There is a small risk (if the bulbs are too close to each other) that he will get UV burns, but more so it's just a waste of money and not needed. If you just want extra light for live plants or what ever reason. Just go with a regular floro bulb or for plants use a plant bulb in the 5500-6700 kelvin range.

Again like Harry said you shouldn't be dosing him with D3 but once a month. With the 1 reptisun bulb he should get enough D3 on his own, and over dosing D3 is just as bad if not more dangerous than not getting enough. Leave it up to the cham to regulate that on his own.

No night bulb or heat is needed, and a drop to the mid 60s at night is actually beneficial for him to experience and during winter he can go as low as the low 50s with no harm.

 

[jesses]

Nice cham and evo!

 

[tkilgour]

It looks like you have some nice enclosure furnishings for sure. Great foliage, and vines inside there. As mentioned you do not need the colored lights. You could get away w/ using the reb bulb at night if it gets under 63 degrees F. Otherwise, use nothing at all just total darkness. You may find that the basking area needs to be slightly warmer, if so increase to a 75watt and check the temps. Also, I would only use one reptisun uvb 5.0 and a 60 w/ basking light. Try to keep a range of temps in the enclosure from 90 degrees in the basking area, 75 in the middle, and 65 at the bottom.

 

[jamncristian]

your enclosure looks great

as for feeders:

dubia roaches are a great feeder and are great breeders

house flies will make your chameleon go wild

phoenix worms are naturally high in calcium

wax worms (that are properly gut loaded) can be a good treat

you can use one reptisun 5.0 for uvb

and a reptisun 2.0 for a full spectrum (for the chameleon to see better)

 

[Lovereps]

To add another feeder insect:
Butterworms.
Some posts stated that they're high in fat, but they are actually NOT.
To excerpt from one of my earlier posts:
Some folks mistakenly believe that they are rather high in fat, but they are not--containing only 5.21% fat
(Silkworms contain twice as much fat: 10.6%)
They are also very high in calcium.
They are kept in your refrigerator and can last a month or two.
Since you've put them in a sort of hibernation, they don't need to be fed while refrigerated.

Here's their nutritional summary:

Moisture 58.54 %
Ash 1.04 %
Protein 16.20 %
Fat 5.21 %
Calcium (ml/100 grs) 42.90

No, I don't sell or breed insects-- but everything I have read on butterworms confirms that they are an exceptionally nutritious food.
Variety is the ideal. I've read that chameleons consume as many as 50 different insect types in the wild.
Imagine how healthy a person would be if he/she ate only 1 type of food, even though they took calcium and vitamin supplements.
Even for chameleons--variety is the spice of life

 

[Pure]

You could get away w/ using the reb bulb at night if it gets under 63 degrees F.

Chameleons have better vision than we do. They will see red light just as well as you and I. They need as close to total darkness as possible. It is highly recommended that you do not use any light at night to keep them warm. It's been reported that veileds withstand temps into the low 50s at night in their natural habitat and members here have reported them withstanding short ventures into the 40s. So unless it gets below the mid 50s at night no additional heating is needed. If it does drop that low use a ceramic heat emitter instead of a light to provide supplemental heating.

 

[scarface2jz]

thank you everyone !!!!!

i'll start with ditching the red light, and one of the UVB's, and i'll pick up some plain calcium, and i have access to most of those feeders, i'm going to try butterworms... my little dude "kush" as ive named him, is about 4 months old, and so far his actions portray as ive seen, that he's pretty happy, he moves around the tank, going back to bask once in a while, he does lots of cage cruising, and stays a nice bright green color with his light blues, and brownish-orange and few whites, he's eating very well, and is very aware of my presence, everytime i walk in the room... my room is temp controlled to 68* at night and 70* in the day.... also to tell temps i have a digital thermo-hygrometer, and misting well twice daily helps with humidity as well as the ultrasonic fogger i have to help my ball pythons sheds, i could setup something on top on the enclosure to cascade fog into the tank with a water supply and everything... i look forward to getting more advice on here, thanks again everyone !!!!!!!!!!

 

[tkilgour]

Chameleons have better vision than we do. They will see red light just as well as you and I. They need as close to total darkness as possible. It is highly recommended that you do not use any light at night to keep them warm. It's been reported that veileds withstand temps into the low 50s at night in their natural habitat and members here have reported them withstanding short ventures into the 40s. So unless it gets below the mid 50s at night no additional heating is needed. If it does drop that low use a ceramic heat emitter instead of a light to provide supplemental heating.

Your very right, some nights in Florida can get that low and there are feral veiled populations in S. Florida. I dont really think a light is necessary as I never use one, but if temps. got lower than 50 degrees F. every night I would be concerned. 40 degrees F is getting pretty cold for a chameleon night after night. I have resorted to space heaters over lighting to keep it warm but I dont think every once in a while ,on those really cold nights, it would hurt. I noticed with total darkness, a cool night and a nice warm day my chams appetite increase and they move around a lot.

 

[Pure]

Yes if you had to, it probably wouldn't hurt to do use a light once in a blue moon. Unfortunalty usually, for the most part of the country those cold nights go on for months so it's better to just provide the right heating needed without the use of light.

The best way to do this is, do as you did, heat the whole room. And the second best option is to use a screw in ceramic type heater.

Even here in Jacksonville, I'm far enough North that about 3-4 months out of the year night temps get way too cold..It's even snowed here, twice in my life time.

I don't know how we managed.

 

[scarface2jz]

ok i got rid of the red light, got a brand new reptisun 5.0, and a 75w basking lamp... his colors have gotten much brighter and prettier, and hes a bit more active, so far hes healthy as can be and i guess im taking proper care, b/c all hes done since ive gotten him is eat, cruise the enclosure, grow, and develop nicer colors, with the occasional nap... and the temps are all where they should be, heres some updated pix, i also got another bearded dragon, a male blood for my female sunfire, hoping for the first clutch within the next 18months

i use the dish in the planter to feed him butterworms and wax worms occasionally


the male is the 'redder' one, thats charging and eating the cricket

both enclosures, the beardy is a home made wood, plexi, and wire built cage, and the cham enclosure is the R65 next to a 52" projection TV, all in my bedroom with all my other animals...

 

[pssh]

He should NOT be napping. Napping usually means there is something wrong with him.

 

[scarface2jz]

Lol no more than usual, everytime I walk into my room he's awake and looking right at me, but if I wake up in the morning and switch on the lights he'll sometimes be sleeping and wake right up... It is normal for them to sleep, but durring the day I have never caught him sleeping, I can see how I confused you

 

[laurie]

.

Even here in Jacksonville, I'm far enough North that about 3-4 months out of the year night temps get way too cold..It's even snowed here, twice in my life time.

I don't know how we managed.

Shannon it is snowing here today. The temp is 16 which I thought was too cold for it to snow but I guess I was wrong.

 

[scarface2jz]

Shannon it is snowing here today. The temp is 16 which I thought was too cold for it to snow but I guess I was wrong.

no such thing as too cold to snow, in NY it'll snow in 30* or -5*... doesnt matter lol

 

[jojackson]

Why do you call it 'lawnguy land'?

 

[ChelseaFC]

if you dont mind me getting off topic
what has been done to the evo 8.
Gt35r? anything major

 

[warpdrive]

Why do you call it 'lawnguy land'?

well, he's trying to put it in how we "New Yorkers" would pronounce it.
he's from Long Island, NY.

no such thing as too cold to snow, in NY it'll snow in 30* or -5*... doesnt matter lol

true dat.

Harry