New member!

[neosugg713]

Hello all! My wife JUST got me a veiled chameleon. I'm pretty sure its a female as it has no spurs.

Your Chameleon - Veiled. Female. Around 3 months (guy at petco said)
How long has it been in your care? 3 days
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? I try not to handle her too often. We've had her out maybe 3 times.
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? Crickets, millwork, and JUST tried one horned worm What amount? About 5 crickets and a couple millwork a day What is the schedule? twice a day How are you gut-loading your feeders? My wife got the orange stuff that crickets eat (not around it I will go more in detail if needed)
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? I dust the crickets in a calcium powder each time I feed her.
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? I JUST got a mister and have it set for 15 seconds every 3 hours Do you see your chameleon drinking? Yes
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Decent sized black with white tip Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? no
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. Bought her from Petco She is very friendly and started eating out of my hand instantly.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? Screen 18x18x36
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? We have a T8 uvb and a small basking bulb What is your daily lighting schedule? I've read 12 hours of basking and to keep one area cooler so she can change up during the day
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? I have around 82 near light and at night I usually see around 70 72
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? humidity is 55-65 How are you creating and maintaining these levels? mister What do you use to measure humidity? Have a meter at back of cage
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? Bought a gold pathos yesterday and it seems to help with humidity and keeping a good water supply on leaves
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? I have it in my bedroom with low traffic next to a window ( brand new house with new windows) At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? It is about 6 feet above the floor at top of cage
Location - Where are you geographically located? South Carolina
Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about I plan on making an egg laying bin and I am open to whatever ideas or suggestions come my way

 

[neosugg713]

meant mill worms sorry.

 

[kinyonga]

Welcome to the forum!

Mealworms? There are better choices than them.

 

[neosugg713]

Welcome to the forum!

Mealworms? There are better choices than them.

I am open! haha I understand they're a delicate creature and I am open to ideas. Really just what I've been able to buy from petsmart. Whats a good place online to buy food and what would you recommend?

 

[kinyonga]

Hello all! My wife JUST got me a veiled chameleon. I'm pretty sure its a female as it has no spurs.
Post a photo of the heels and we can check.
Your Chameleon - Veiled. Female. Around 3 months (guy at petco said)
How long has it been in your care? 3 days
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? I try not to handle her too often. We've had her out maybe 3 times.
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? Crickets, millwork, and JUST tried one horned worm What amount? About 5 crickets and a couple millwork a day What is the schedule? twice a day How are you gut-loading your feeders? My wife got the orange stuff that crickets eat (not around it I will go more in detail if needed) At that age you can feed her as much as she will eat in 5 minutes or so. Mealworms are not a good choice. BSFL or roaches or silkworms of appropriate size would be better choices along with the crickets and hornworms.
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? I dust the crickets in a calcium powder each time I feed her. We recommend using a phos free calcium powder at all feedings every week but one dusted lightly on the insects...on that one day each week alternate between a phos free calcium/D3 powder lightly and a vitamin powder with no D3.
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? I JUST got a mister and BSFL, roaches have it set for 15 seconds every 3 hours Do you see your chameleon drinking? Yes. You can add a dripper.
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Decent sized black with white tip Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. Bought her from Petco She is very friendly and started eating out of my hand instantly.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? Screen 18x18x36
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? We have a T8 uvb and a small basking bulb What is your daily lighting schedule? I've read 12 hours of basking and to keep one area cooler so she can change up during the day. Most often recommended UVB light is the long linear 5.0 Reptisun tube light and for basking a regular household incandescent bulb of a wattage that puts the basking area at about 80F.
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? I have around 82 near light and at night I usually see around 70 72
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? humidity is 55-65 How are you creating and maintaining these levels? mister What do you use to measure humidity? Have a meter at back of cage
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? Bought a gold pathos yesterday and it seems to help with humidity and keeping a good water supply on leaves
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? I have it in my bedroom with low traffic next to a window ( brand new house with new windows) At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? It is about 6 feet above the floor at top of cage I would move the cage away from the window.
Location - Where are you geographically located? South Carolina
Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about I plan on making an egg laying bin and I am open to whatever ideas or suggestions come my way



I don't live in the States so I'll leave it to someone else to tell you where to get bugs.

 

[AmandaS]

Welcome to the forums!! And the world of chameleons! I will go over your husbandry sheet right now for you. Just click expand and you will see my comment in red!

Hello all! My wife JUST got me a veiled chameleon. I'm pretty sure its a female as it has no spurs.

Your Chameleon - Veiled. Female. Around 3 months (guy at petco said)
How long has it been in your care? 3 days if she is indeed a female you will want to put a lay bin inside her enclosure. I'll find you a link when I'm done! Females lay infertile eggs once mature.
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? I try not to handle her too often. We've had her out maybe 3 times. You'll want to leave her be for a while. They can take a couple weeks to settle in to their new enclosures.
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? Crickets, millwork, and JUST tried one horned worm What amount? About 5 crickets and a couple millwork a day What is the schedule? twice a day How are you gut-loading your feeders? My wife got the orange stuff that crickets eat (not around it I will go more in detail if needed) okay, so, when they are this young they'll eat a lot. You want to be offering her as much as she can eat and leaving a few in her feeder bowl so she can snack throughout the day. She will needs lots of energy to keep growing! I would toss in about 15-20 small feeders and see how she does with that! And variety is key, so you'll want to offer more types of feeders. As already mentioned you do not want to feed her mealworms. They are high in chitin and difficult to digest. Also for gutloading, those orange cubes are garbage. You will want to feed her bugs all kinds of leafy greens, veggies and some fruit. I will attach a gut loading image at the end for you.
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? I dust the crickets in a calcium powder each time I feed her. Very important, you'll want to give her a phosphorus free calcium powder with NO D3 every feeding, besides 2 a month. I like to do the 1st and 15th you will use a multivitamin with retinol (vit A) the HAS D3. And dust very lightly, you do not want powdered donuts.
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? I JUST got a mister and have it set for 15 seconds every 3 hours Do you see your chameleon drinking? Yes Ideally you will want to mist before your heat bulb turn on for about 2-5 minutes, and then again in the evening after your heat bulb has turned off for about 2-5 minutes again. I also like to hydrate naturally so I have a fogger that I use from midnight-4am and it helps keep them hydrated very well. They hydrate from breathing in the humid air as they sleep. More on this in the humidity section.
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Decent sized black with white tip Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? no white tip is good. The white is the urate (urine) and should a nice white, but can have a slight orange hue to it too. As long as 1/2 or more is white then your baby is hydrated.
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. Bought her from Petco She is very friendly and started eating out of my hand instantly. Awesome! Hand feeding is a great way to build trust!! ❤
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? Screen 18x18x36 This is fine for now but you will want to get a larger one eventually for her. She will start laying her eggs around 9 months, give or take, and you'll want room for her lay bin. The recommended size enclosure for an adult is 2x2x4 feet.
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? We have a T8 uvb and a small basking bulb What is your daily lighting schedule? I've read 12 hours of basking and to keep one area cooler so she can change up during the day What percentage is your T8 bulb? Depending on percentage of the bulb you'll want your closest branch a specific distance. You do not need 12 hours of basking, just a few hours during the day is sufficient. And you do not want your basking branch too hot, 80° or 81° is perfect for her.
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? I have around 82 near light and at night I usually see around 70 72 This is great, 82 is slightly hotter than I would want it, but it is in the perfect range. I would try to get your nightti6temps down the 60-65 because they really need a nighttime temp drop.
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? humidity is 55-65 How are you creating and maintaining these levels? mister What do you use to measure humidity? Have a meter at back of cage I havent looked at your encl6yet, I'll get to that at the end, but if you have an analog type meter, get rid of it. It will be very unreliable. You want a few digital temp/hhumidity guages with probes throughout your enclosure. You definitely want one on her basking branch so you know exactly how hot things are getting.
Daytime humidity should be between 30-50%. Nighttime humidity should spike to be as close to 100% as you can get it. We aim for warm/dry days and cool/moist nights. High humidity mixed with high heat can cause a respiratory infection.
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? Bought a gold pathos yesterday and it seems to help with humidity and keeping a good water supply on leaves Wonderful! Pothos are great plants. You want to trade out all the fake plants for real ones since you have a veiled. They are notorious for nibbling on (or completely ravaging) their plants and fake ones can cause impaction if they try to eat it.
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? I have it in my bedroom with low traffic next to a window ( brand new house with new windows) At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? It is about 6 feet above the floor at top of cage Perfect!! They like to see things from a higher place!
Location - Where are you geographically located? South Carolina
Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about I plan on making an egg laying bin and I am open to whatever ideas or suggestions come my way Oh, awesome! So you already know about the eggs! You are well on your way to being a wonderful and successful chameleon keeper!!!

 

[AmandaS]

Hello all! My wife JUST got me a veiled chameleon. I'm pretty sure its a female as it has no spurs.
Post a photo of the heels and we can check.
Your Chameleon - Veiled. Female. Around 3 months (guy at petco said)
How long has it been in your care? 3 days
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? I try not to handle her too often. We've had her out maybe 3 times.
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? Crickets, millwork, and JUST tried one horned worm What amount? About 5 crickets and a couple millwork a day What is the schedule? twice a day How are you gut-loading your feeders? My wife got the orange stuff that crickets eat (not around it I will go more in detail if needed) At that age you can feed her as much as she will eat in 5 minutes or so. Mealworms are not a good choice. BSFL or roaches or silkworms of appropriate size would be better choices along with the crickets and hornworms.
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? I dust the crickets in a calcium powder each time I feed her. We recommend using a phos free calcium powder at all feedings every week but one dusted lightly on the insects...on that one day each week alternate between a phos free calcium/D3 powder lightly and a vitamin powder with no D3.
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? I JUST got a mister and BSFL, roaches have it set for 15 seconds every 3 hours Do you see your chameleon drinking? Yes. You can add a dripper.
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Decent sized black with white tip Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. Bought her from Petco She is very friendly and started eating out of my hand instantly.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? Screen 18x18x36
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? We have a T8 uvb and a small basking bulb What is your daily lighting schedule? I've read 12 hours of basking and to keep one area cooler so she can change up during the day. Most often recommended UVB light is the long linear 5.0 Reptisun tube light and for basking a regular household incandescent bulb of a wattage that puts the basking area at about 80F.
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? I have around 82 near light and at night I usually see around 70 72
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? humidity is 55-65 How are you creating and maintaining these levels? mister What do you use to measure humidity? Have a meter at back of cage
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? Bought a gold pathos yesterday and it seems to help with humidity and keeping a good water supply on leaves
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? I have it in my bedroom with low traffic next to a window ( brand new house with new windows) At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? It is about 6 feet above the floor at top of cage I would move the cage away from the window.
Location - Where are you geographically located? South Carolina
Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about I plan on making an egg laying bin and I am open to whatever ideas or suggestions come my way

Hey! Jinx!!

 

[AmandaS]

 

[AmandaS]

Hello all! My wife JUST got me a veiled chameleon. I'm pretty sure its a female as it has no spurs.

Your Chameleon - Veiled. Female. Around 3 months (guy at petco said)
How long has it been in your care? 3 days
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? I try not to handle her too often. We've had her out maybe 3 times.
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? Crickets, millwork, and JUST tried one horned worm What amount? About 5 crickets and a couple millwork a day What is the schedule? twice a day How are you gut-loading your feeders? My wife got the orange stuff that crickets eat (not around it I will go more in detail if needed)
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? I dust the crickets in a calcium powder each time I feed her.
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? I JUST got a mister and have it set for 15 seconds every 3 hours Do you see your chameleon drinking? Yes
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Decent sized black with white tip Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? no
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. Bought her from Petco She is very friendly and started eating out of my hand instantly.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? Screen 18x18x36
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? We have a T8 uvb and a small basking bulb What is your daily lighting schedule? I've read 12 hours of basking and to keep one area cooler so she can change up during the day
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? I have around 82 near light and at night I usually see around 70 72
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? humidity is 55-65 How are you creating and maintaining these levels? mister What do you use to measure humidity? Have a meter at back of cage
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? Bought a gold pathos yesterday and it seems to help with humidity and keeping a good water supply on leaves
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? I have it in my bedroom with low traffic next to a window ( brand new house with new windows) At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? It is about 6 feet above the floor at top of cage
Location - Where are you geographically located? South Carolina
Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about I plan on making an egg laying bin and I am open to whatever ideas or suggestions come my way

I would also like to say, you want to go outside and forage for branches for her. And hardwood branches with no sap will work...stay away from soft wood like pines and such as they have irritants. You can use fishing wire to hang them, or thumb tracks through the screen and into ends of the branches too. And you want tons of plants for her to escape from the uv when she feels like and to hide from prying eyes when she wants to.
Also you should look into a feeder run. Tkchameleons.com has a shooting gallery people love. And I use the feeder run from fullthrottlefeeder.com

 

[neosugg713]

awesome thanks for the info!

 

[AmandaS]

awesome thanks for the info!

What is your T8 bulb strength?
Is there any way you can return it and get a T5 5.0 or 6%? If not we can work with the T8! If it 10.0 you'll want your branches 8 inches below for a uv index of about 3. Since babies like to screen climb you will want to elevate the light about 4 inches above the screen (same with basking bulb) and then your basking branches will be 4 inches below the screen. If it is a different strength you'll want to adjust accordingly, so that's why I ask.

 

[neosugg713]

This is what it says

 

[neosugg713]

I would also like to say, you want to go outside and forage for branches for her. And hardwood branches with no sap will work...stay away from soft wood like pines and such as they have irritants. You can use fishing wire to hang them, or thumb tracks through the screen and into ends of the branches too. And you want tons of plants for her to escape from the uv when she feels like and to hide from prying eyes when she wants to.
Also you should look into a feeder run. Tkchameleons.com has a shooting gallery people love. And I use the feeder run from fullthrottlefeeder.com

so the feeder run is basically a thing that keeps the crickets or whatever else in one place

 

[AmandaS]

so the feeder run is basically a thing that keeps the crickets or whatever else in one place

Yes. It makes it feel like they're hunting, but the bugs are contained. You can also make your own out of an old juice or milk jug and mesh hot glued to the inside.

And idk about your lighting. Perhaps @Beman can help with that when she logs on tomorrow. She is incredibly knowledgeable about uv lighting!! And she can give you detailed pointers on it!

 

[neosugg713]

Yes. It makes it feel like they're hunting, but the bugs are contained. You can also make your own out of an old juice or milk jug and mesh hot glued to the inside.

And idk about your lighting. Perhaps @Beman can help with that when she logs on tomorrow. She is incredibly knowledgeable about uv lighting!! And she can give you detailed pointers on it!

Glad I joined this forum. I was thinking....surely there's something they make that can hold these boogers from going everywhere haha

 

[AmandaS]

Glad I joined this forum. I was thinking....surely there's something they make that can hold these boogers from going everywhere haha

Yes! These forums are a wealth of knowledge. There is also the chameleonacademy.com that provides tons of correct information. They go every step of husbandry in a detailed manner that allows you to understand why we do the things we do as keepers. I highly recommend looking there for ideas for setting up enclosure to the maximum potential.

 

[neosugg713]

Yes. It makes it feel like they're hunting, but the bugs are contained. You can also make your own out of an old juice or milk jug and mesh hot glued to the inside.

And idk about your lighting. Perhaps @Beman can help with that when she logs on tomorrow. She is incredibly knowledgeable about uv lighting!! And she can give you detailed pointers on it!

I looked and we did get a little combo lamp with the cage kit. It has a 5.0 UVB bulb and a smaller basking bulb.

 

[AmandaS]

I looked and we did get a little combo lamp with the cage kit. It has a 5.0 UVB bulb and a smaller basking bulb.

Those lights are no good. You ideally will have a T5 lamp, it is like the T8, long and linear.
But you do not want the compact bulb.
For basking you can use an old fashioned incandescent bulb. Around 60 watt is usually good.

 

[neosugg713]

Alright! thanks

 

[Beman]

This is what it says

What is the brand of that one hun? T8 is the fixture type.