New Owner tips/advice

[Speelman]

Hello!

I recently brought home a 3-4 month old male veiled chameleon, and have been trying to do my best to make sure he is happy and healthy. I have had multiple reptiles in the past and am currently living with 12 different reptiles/tarantulas but I have been slightly overwhelmed with the differing information I have gotten about chameleon care. If you have any tips or advice I would absolutely love to hear it.

I currently have =
-reptifogger running almost 24/7 trying to keep it near 50% humidity (I live in Colorado so It has been challenging, I put towel on one side and sticky rap on another 1 and a half and it has helped a lot)
-very slow drip system hopefully aimed at the most leaves
-22 inch high output UVB on from 9am to 9pm
-75watt (possibly 100 I cant remember) basking lamp in one corner with a perch area on 9am to 9pm
-I try and mist 3-5+ times a day just to keep water on the leaves for him
- an extra ceramic heatlamp that I have only turned on a few times just incase it is really cold in my room during the day.

I have one heat probe at the very bottom of the cage which is the temp reading in the middle of the screen, and one up higher closer to the basking perch. humidity sensor is about midway on the wall of the enclosure.

I have been feeding a mix of crickets, roaches, and hornworms though he has not been eating as much as he did the first day I got him. He probably ate 10-12 crickets the first day and it has been much less ever since. I just got calcium powder(no D3) today and he ate two roaches shaken in that.

I have had him almost exactly a week and a half and have seen one poop and one pee both were looking as they should be from what I have found online.

I want to get many more live plants and redo how everything is set up a little bit I think I can easily provide him more humidity and more hiding/drinking spots but I feel like I should give him a little time before shifting stuff around on him again. He is currently pissed off at me because I cleaned his cage today.

Anything you guys would have to say is greatly appreciated ! Thank you !

 

[Chameleoking]

Welcome. You only need 30 to 50% humidity max in daytime. and 70 to 100% at night. Vieleds don't really need a fogger. For it raises the chance of respiratory infection. all you need is dense real live plants with a misting system and that should raise the humidity a good bit. Now Panthers and other species do require foggers to raise humidity. With the veiled chameleon, if your going to use the fogger, do it at night only with temps below 69 °. This will reduce chances of getting a respiratory infection.

 

[Speelman]

Welcome. You only need 30 to 50% humidity max in daytime. and 70 to 100% at night. Vieleds don't really need a fogger. For it raises the chance of respiratory infection. all you need is dense real live plants with a misting system and that should raise the humidity a good bit. Now Panthers and other species do require foggers to raise humidity. With the veiled chameleon, if your going to use the fogger, do it at night only with temps below 69 °. This will reduce chances of getting a respiratory infection.

Ok I will get on that , I just have been worried about moving him/enclosure around to much. He has been pretty stressed from me moving him into this enclosure. For night temperatures , is bottom of the cage roughly 50-53 and top normally around 65-70 seem like an ok gradient ?
Will just had misting be enough for now until I can find a passable misting system ? I have heard I should only be misting before the lights turn off in the morning and only after they turn off at night ?

 

[Chameleoking]

Yes your night time temps are fine, the best temperature is between 55- and 65-degrees Fahrenheit at night. Also hand misting is fine, just make sure your misting enough. And no lights should be on at night at all.

 

[Chameleoking]

What kind of lighting are you using? Do I see a blue colored light? Is your cham a male or female? Can you post a pic of hind feet to see if it has tarsal spurs. Tarsal spurs distinguish whether its a male or female. Males have tarsal spurs. Females need a laying bin. They can carry eggs as soon as 4months.

 

[Chameleoking]

You say your cham is a little aggravated since you put him/ her in new enclosure. It could be lighting and/ or not enough live plants (plenty of places to hide).

 

[Speelman]

Yes your night time temps are fine, the best temperature is between 55- and 65-degrees Fahrenheit at night. Also hand misting is fine, just make sure your misting enough. And no lights should be on at night at all.

Should I be hand misting consistently for a few minutes that is what I have heard.
And all his lights turn off at 9. He is in my bedroom so sometimes I have to have the lamp on last 9pm but it is on the opposite side of the blanket that is on there from his enclosure so it still gets very dark in the cage when everything turns off .
Also , seriously thank you

 

[Speelman]

What kind of lighting are you using? Do I see a blue colored light? Is your cham a male or female? Can you post a pic of hind feet to see if it has tarsal spurs. Tarsal spurs distinguish whether its a male or female. Males have tarsal spurs. Females need a laying bin. They can carry eggs as soon as 4months.

It is a reptisun T5 H0 UVB it is just in a funky mount . I don’t know why it looks so blue in that photo definitely white white in real life. He Definitely Is a male he has some large spurs on the hind feet.

 

[Speelman]

You say your cham is a little aggravated since you put him/ her in new enclosure. It could be lighting and/ or not enough live plants (plenty of places to hide).

Im sure the live plants is definitely annoying him. I do have a larger piece of bamboo in there currently and two smaller houseplants in the bottom currently, but just want to give him maybe another week and I will be getting a much large ficus or something else to put into the center of the enclosure. I bought him at a reptile expo and I got him and a much younger female, and a very unimpressive all glass 40 gallon tank for very very cheap. I don't know how long they were housed together before but they were at the expo and had to be at my house for about 3 days before I found an owner for her. The tank was all glass and had mesh taped to the inside for them to climb on and while taking stuff out of there he climbed in between the glass and the mesh and got very stuck and I had grab him a little bit to get him out, I think that's where some of the weariness of me is coming from, he hasn't seemed angry just not comfortable yet.