New Owner: Veiled Cham (Intro)

[Brodybreaux25]

screen 16 x 16 x 30 (Repti Breeze chameleon kit)

He will outgrow this viv in the next 3 months

 

[Brodybreaux25]

UVB - Repti Glow by Exo 5.0 26w (100)

this Should be upgraded to a linear uvb within 60 days to prevent permanent damage to your Cham. MBD is not reversible.

 

[Brodybreaux25]

Humidity - (70 - 90)
Misting twice a day for 5-10 min
Shower curtain covering, rear, left and right side of cage
Towel covering the cage in the rear
Digital Hydrometer

Target humidity between mistings is 40-60%.

 

[Brodybreaux25]

24-26" inches off the floor

Cage sits right next to my computer desk, which is in the living room of my home, right next to the cage is the balcony window, and above is two vents, 1 stays open other stays closed.

Your viv should be as high as possible in the room. To chams height = security.

 

[Brodybreaux25]

When feeding, not sure if my cham will see the crickets at the bottom of the cage, due to the flowers etc....

2. If I wanted to add a black glowing light that makes fluorescent colors glow, not sure if this will harm my cham or not, dont have a purpose to use it but to only have a couple things glow in his cage for looks only.

Cup or hand feed to monitor his food intake. No black lights especially at night.

 

[Goose502]

Your first action should be to exchange that small cage for the larger one. Do not buy that crappy “chameleon kit” either. Just buy or build an appropriately sized screen cage, order a proper t5 fixture and bulbs, and get a regular incandescent bulb and fixture from Home Depot or Lowe’s. You need to get the proper t5 bulb and fixture immediately. You purchased an older chameleon from Petsmart, that means it’s already had weeks of very poor care and lack of UVB. In fact, honostly I recomend returning the chameleon too. Purchase from a breeder that actually cares about their animals, and will provide husbandry information that actually works. I know this sounds super negative, but most chameleons from the big stores die within weeks.

 

[Brodybreaux25]

Your first action should be to exchange that small cage for the larger one. Do not buy that crappy “chameleon kit” either. Just buy or build an appropriately sized screen cage, order a proper t5 fixture and bulbs, and get a regular incandescent bulb and fixture from Home Depot or Lowe’s. You need to get the proper t5 bulb and fixture immediately. You purchased an older chameleon from Petsmart, that means it’s already had weeks of very poor care and lack of UVB. In fact, honostly I recomend returning the chameleon too. Purchase from a breeder that actually cares about their animals, and will provide husbandry information that actually works. I know this sounds super negative, but most chameleons from the big stores die within weeks.

I do not disagree with any of this.

 

[EARepLovers]

Your first action should be to exchange that small cage for the larger one. Do not buy that crappy “chameleon kit” either. Just buy or build an appropriately sized screen cage, order a proper t5 fixture and bulbs, and get a regular incandescent bulb and fixture from Home Depot or Lowe’s. You need to get the proper t5 bulb and fixture immediately. You purchased an older chameleon from Petsmart, that means it’s already had weeks of very poor care and lack of UVB. In fact, honostly I recomend returning the chameleon too. Purchase from a breeder that actually cares about their animals, and will provide husbandry information that actually works. I know this sounds super negative, but most chameleons from the big stores die within weeks.

yea sounds pretty negative and over the top, he's still young based on his size im guessing 3-4 months old, so the size of cage im sure is fine for a while, im well aware he needs a better UVB bulb, but everything else you said was just too much. I saw his enclosure and the store actually uses the linear bulbs on all of their reptiles, ive looked. To be jumping the gun saying all animals or chams in particular and say they are no good because they come from the store is not all true.

 

[Brodybreaux25]

yea sounds pretty negative and over the top, he's still young based on his size im guessing 3-4 months old, so the size of cage im sure is fine for a while, im well aware he needs a better UVB bulb, but everything else you said was just too much. I saw his enclosure and the store actually uses the linear bulbs on all of their reptiles, ive looked. To be jumping the gun saying all animals or chams in particular and say they are no good because they come from the store is not all true.

No, your not guessing, your just repeating what I just told you, you had no clue how old that Cham was. It is clear that you do not have a basic understanding of the husbandry a veild requires. We are trying to help you but your letting your feelings get in the way. All we care about is the health of your Cham, we aren’t getting anything out of correcting you...

If all the stores enclosures had linear UVB then that should tell you right away that you have the wrong bulb. You do not have linear bulbs you have the CFLs.

 

[Goose502]

yea sounds pretty negative and over the top, he's still young based on his size im guessing 3-4 months old, so the size of cage im sure is fine for a while, im well aware he needs a better UVB bulb, but everything else you said was just too much. I saw his enclosure and the store actually uses the linear bulbs on all of their reptiles, ive looked. To be jumping the gun saying all animals or chams in particular and say they are no good because they come from the store is not all true.

Those stores sell inferior stock. Not only are they selling poorly bred and unhealthy animals(yes, all of them), they do not provide the basic needs of these animals while they are in their stores. Really, the worst part is where they misinform their customers(you), and allow them to buy enclosures that are not appropriate for these animals. It’s not just the chameleons or reptiles, look on fish and bird forums, and you will see the same feelings about those animals too. I along with all the other experienced owners/breeders want you to to be successful with your chameleon. The easiest way to success at this point, since you can not obtain the correct lighting or larger caging immediately, is to simply bring the chameleon and cage back, and start over. There won’t be any scrambling or worrying about your chameleon when you’re confident in your husbandry. You will learn that the overall consensus here is to not buy anything from the large box pet chains. That includes animals, cages, and feeders.

 

[EARepLovers]

then why have i seen videos of people being successful with thier cham and they started out just like me with the same cage kit and bulbs?

eventually yes i will get a linear bulb, but even on the ASQ on this forums it clearly says, for the size of my cham, cage is ok for 16 x 16 x 30 ?? care to explain that? and you guys says other wise ?

you guys might be more advance in reptile handling etc but this isn't my first time having a reptile as a pet, and me being successful....

 

[Brodybreaux25]

eventually yes i will get a linear bulb, but even on the ASQ on this forums it clearly says, for the size of my cham, cage is ok for 16 x 16 x 30 ?? care to explain that? and you guys says other wise ?

I’ll repeat what I said. His viv is ok for now but be prepared to upgrade him in 90 days as he reaches adulthood.

 

[yodathepanther]

then why have i seen videos of people being successful with thier cham and they started out just like me with the same cage kit and bulbs?

eventually yes i will get a linear bulb, but even on the ASQ on this forums it clearly says, for the size of my cham, cage is ok for 16 x 16 x 30 ?? care to explain that? and you guys says other wise ?

you guys might be more advance in reptile handling etc but this isn't my first time having a reptile as a pet, and me being successful....

When you see the 24x24x48 youll understand why u need that one its crazy big compared to the other one but in the long run returning that cage and get the 24x24x48 will not only save you money it will ensure your chameleon a lot more happiness i had to do that with my first chamelon i started off by getting a glass enclosure returned it the next day for the large reptibreeze less then a month later i realized it was still too small and i wanted to make my cham very happy so i looked online and got the xl for 70$ wasted money on the large but it was more worth it getting the xl still in the process of decerating his enclosure but he seems 10x happier in this, on thing ive learned is chameleons are not a cheap reptile and more advanced then a average reptile, ps most people on here may come of as “negative” but i promise its just constructive criticism and you should use it to your advantage!

 

[Brodybreaux25]

When you see the 24x24x48 youll understand why u need that one its crazy big compared to the other one but in the long run returning that cage and get the 24x24x48 will not only save you money it will ensure your chameleon a lot more happiness i had to do that with my first chamelon i started off by getting a glass enclosure returned it the next day for the large reptibreeze less then a month later i realized it was still too small and i wanted to make my cham very happy so i looked online and got the xl for 70$ wasted money on the large but it was more worth it getting the xl still in the process of decerating his enclosure but he seems 10x happier in this, on thing ive learned is chameleons are not a cheap reptile and more advanced then a average reptile, ps most people on here may come of as “negative” but i promise its just constructive criticism and you should use it to your advantage!

How do you have those branches secured to the side walls? Tiny screws?

 

[yodathepanther]

Thin wire + support from the other branches it took a long time to make sure each branch could not move i would test by putting more pressure then knew the chameleon could even make and if it stayed its good, also the size i cut my branches the sizing made it perfect to almost just stay without wire but i used wire just for safety! Anyways i was thinking does anyone know if a chameleon makes themselves lighter on branches because ive seen some chameleons on some pretty unsecure thin branches

 

[Brodybreaux25]

Thin wire + support from the other branches it took a long time to make sure each branch could not move i would test by putting more pressure then knew the chameleon could even make and if it stayed its good, also the size i cut my branches the sizing made it perfect to almost just stay without wire but i used wire just for safety! Anyways i was thinking does anyone know if a chameleon makes themselves lighter on branches because ive seen some chameleons on some pretty unsecure thin branches

Lighter?

 

[EARepLovers]

Update:

charlee now has 2 linear fixtures with Reptisun UVB 5.0 ‘s (once it’s time to replace these i will get the T5HO bulbs that should give me enough time to save up $$ to get them)

I also added a middle leve Thermometer which is 73.F.

The baskin bulb i have now is getting his basking spot too hot (90-93F) @ 4.5” inches so i decided to leave it off for now.

The CFL i’m still using gives off enough heat which gives him 80-82F for his basking spot. When i find a lower wattage heat bulb i’ll ditch the CFL.

Humidity is really steady now @ 60-75

think i’m done adding stuff, next is dripper and the bulbs i mentioned above.