Hey the name is Gabe, and I am a first time cham owner, Veiled. I just wanted to post to make sure I'm doing it right, I have never owned another reptile and I heard that a chameleon was a bad idea for a first time reptile. So here is what I got, I think it's a she, no spurs/little bumps behind hind legs. Her name is Coco. We bought the 18x18x20 (20"tall) mesh cage available at petsmart. I got a reptisun 5.0 UVB 18" light, along with the dual 75w basking light and night infrared light (3 lights total). I got the big dripper system, but only using 1 dripper atm. A couple vines and fake leaves along with a small fake tree looking thing. I opted to get substrate, to help absorb moisture and keep humidity up, also I think it might have been a good idea because she got freaked out by me once during misting and in her scrambling to get away she musta had a bad hold and fell on the substrate, feet first, i think if i had not have had substrate it might have hurt. I also placed a water bowl in there to catch most of the dripping water, I know she wont drink from it and i regularly empty it out so as not to build bacteria. I bought a small cricket keeper and gutload my crickets with Fluker's High-Calcium cricket diet, as well as I powder them with Fluker's Calcium: phosphorus 2:1 before feeding. To feed I usually just put about 10 crickets in the cage with her at a time. The substrate is too large for her to swallow (bought the big stuff on purpose) so she doesn't have a problem hunting them down. From time to time we catch a fly in the house and she bolts for the thing with gusto. I mist alot, probably around 10 times a day. I am very fearful of her being dehydrated as I never see her drinking water from the leaves. The humidity level inside the cage according to some cheap analog gauge i bought is usually between 40 and 50, so thats why I mist alot. I also have some cheap analog tempature dial the usually reads between 75-80 durring the day and closer to 70 at night. I think this is probably where I'm lacking most, as I probably should get a digital reader and check areas all over the cage. But anyway. I usually leave the night infrared light on for a while at night but turn off before bed. Durring the day, if i see the temp drop below 75 i turn the infrared lamp on until the temp goes back up. She seems to be happy, bright or pastel green in color. She does darken when I mist though. The only thing that has me a little worried right now is that I dont ever see her drinking. Also the petsmart girl said she was anywhere between 3 and 4 months old. Sometimes I see her basking on a vine that is about 3 inches from the basking bulb and she sits there with her mouth open. I'm wondering if i should lower that vine or if its normal? Also I'd like to place a live plant in there soon, I'm thinking a hibiscus as I've read that ficus sap is mildly toxic, what kind of soil should I get? When should i prepare her an egg laying spot? And what type of sand/soil to get, should I place it inside a little "house" for privacy? (the fake tree has a little cave in the middle that might work?) Anyway thanx in advance, trying to do this right the first time.
-Gabe
-Gabe
