New here some help plz ^^

[kevink82]

Hi everyone new member here. I just gotten my cham for 2 days and have some general questions, if anyone can help plz do!

I see alot of ppl talking bout cup feeding, does it just means put its meals in a cup and put it in the cage?? I bought some roaches from the pet shop but they seems to run very fast and my chameleon is super duper slow.... cricket however he seems to do ok with it he will miss about 2 out of 7 and i just pulled it out of the cage if he didnt get them after an hr or 2.

2nd question i got is that today he seems to be determined to climb on my monsoon misting hose no matter what..... first i saw him on it i got him to go to my hands and put it down, but after a few hrs hes back on it again... i'm scared he will drop and injured himself badly ; ; I didnt get him down yet since i dont wanna bother him too much...

Can chameleon walk backwards?? Cause i see no other way he can come down from there unless he reverse all the way to the backdrop i got and i think thats how he got up since i saw him climbing it on the first day.

Should i remove the backdrop or leave him be? Heres a pic of it and hes been there for bout 3 hrs now.

 

[Ferrah88]

The backdrop is fine. The reason why your chameleon is climbing up there is because they love being high up. What you lack is lots of foliage that (Almost) reaches the top of the enclosure. You should also get some higher vines around the plants, going from left to right so he can roam around closer to the top. That would make him a lot happier

Chameleons can walk backwards, but they can bend to really odd angles. He will likely turn around via bending his body at "unnatural" looking angles, he should be fine

But yeah, plants, plants, plants! And vines of course, or sticks. Anything that he can climb on really, he will love you for it!


As for cup feeding, my chamelons don't do it. There are a lot of pictures of cola-bottle feeders and little containers that people use. You might want to have a little search to see what people have made

Hope this helps to an extent!

 

[carol5208]

can we see a better pic of your set up???? What types of lighting are you using in there? It does not look like you have any branches or vines high up enough for basking. Do you have a basking light? Is the cage on the floor?

 

[DavidBuchan]

Hello, welcome to the forum I agree with the advice you have gotten so far, yes that is what cup feeding is

That looks like a veiled from here........so.....
Here is a great basic caresheet I always recommend to new people with Veileds - https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/chameleonsinmyhouse/395-veiled-chameleon-care-sheet.html

I just found this sweet blog and every time I read it it gets better....enjoy - https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/psychobunny/746-taming-chameleon.html

 

[kevink82]

The cage is on the floor, I live in a tropical country call Malaysia. I have a repti 5.0 26w and a 50w sun glo basking bulb in there both from exo-terra. The cham is about 15cm cant really measure him since he gets pretty angry if i point a camera at him... temp is 27C-32.5C throught the daytime.

My cham only goes to the repti 5.0 bulb though not the basking one?? I tried flipping the light and i have confirmed that since he move to the opposite side where the repti 5.0 bulb is. Maybe its a bit too hot?

The glass terrarium is 60 x 45 x 60 cm also from exo-terra. As for plants what i have bought is a pothos in the background and i am getting some organic soil to repot it before putting it into the tank.

Misting system is set to go off for 2 minutes 4 times a day. Last one goes off after the light is off though should i adjust it? As for meal crickets he seems most interested in but seems to only take 5-6 after that he just goes back to the repti 5.0 light....

Rearrange the wood to go higher from Ferrah88 advice now he does seems happier climbing all the way up on it and sitting there Thanks!! (He still only goes to the repti 5.0 light though ..)

 

[DavidBuchan]

At the moment he is warm enough without basking......that's no problem.
Can he move to a corner where it gets to 21 or 22C? - he should have a wide gradient so he can choose. You still have room for more plants. They like to think they are quite well hidden in the leaves
I would change it so there is no misting after dark, but it shouldn't hurt him.
Here is a great list of ideas for insects because variety is the spice of life - https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/74-feeders.html
And lots more info about gutloading - https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/75-feeder-nutrition-gutloading.html

He looks good, congratulations

 

[kevink82]

Search through some list of plants seems like hibiscus is highly recommended, luckily it is the national plant for Malaysia so obtaining it is easy.

Is it ok for me to just wash the plant and repot it and get it into the cage straight away or should i grow the plant outside for a week or two to make sure that it is free of any chemicals?

Thanks for all the great help so far.