New to Chameleons and need advice

[Xfire669]

Hello everyone, My names Jeremy and my buddy told me I should join this and introduce myself and setup cause he said that the pet store may have given me misinformation about what to buy and what not to buy. So this is all the stuff the pretty much recommended.

Naturalistic Terrarium 18x18x24
Terrarium Canopy with
Repti Glo 5.0 uvb 26w coiled bulb
Zoo Med Moonlight 25w regular bulb
Zoo Med Eco-carpet
Exoterra Digital Thermo-Hygrometer
ReptiSafe
Zilla Calcium Supplement Spray
and they gave me 20 live crickets
But I also got Flukers Medley Treat and 25 Live meal worms, some fake tree and branches and vines. Also i will have pics up for you to see setup

So one recommended a fogger or misting device and then one said if you want to save a few dollars and your available to mist them ever so often(which i am) just get a spray bottle and make sure you spray when it dips below 60% humidity or when you see it dry in the terrarium cause they drink from the leaves and glass..Now he was perfectly bright green when i got him which was 8 days ago from today but as of 3 days ago when he started shedding he is also getting duller and seems to be browning alot(picture attached)..He was also eating crickets at first then stopped thats when i got the flukers medley treat and the live meal worms..The only way to get him to eat was unfortuantely by making him upset and him opening his mouth to bite me but instead putting food in his mouth and since i was scared about him not eating i have given him 6 meal worms today..

Please Criticize cause i need it and i need to know what to get if the setup i got was coached to buy more expensive stuff for them to make a sale or what..And thank you for your time

 

[DaKIDD]

Im new to but I see that u didn't mention anything about your calcium,clacium with D3, or your herptivite not sure if you have it but u need it. Also you will need a dripper you could have done without the carpet its gonna get wet and maybe hold bacteria.

 

[jannb]

Welcome to the forums. This is a great place to learn about chameleons. I see a few things that I would recommend you change. Supplements are very important to your Chams health. I'm linking my blog below for new keepers for the way that I keep veiled and panther chameleons. The supplements that I use are in my blog.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html

 

[NorCalAnthony]

Hello and welcome to the forum! I would definitely read through Jann's blog that she posted above, it helped me out a lot when I started with chameleons. There are also some very well put together care sheets that can be accessed from the link on the home page (upper right area). https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/chameleons/

A couple of things that jump out right away is that you have a decent amount of fake vines in the lower area but none towards the top where chameleons typically spend most of their time. I would add a ton of horizontal pathways either store bought vines or sticks from outside that have been cleaned/sanitized. At least one of them should be about 6-8" from the top with your basking bulb over it and towards one side so your cham can go up to get warm and then have plenty of room to explore and escape from the heat when needed. I would also add a live plant to help with humidity and provide hiding spots. Lots of people use ficus but I like scheflera/umbrella plants as they support the weight of chams better and look more tropical IMO. Also, how old is your new cham and about how big? He looks like a good size guy and unfortunately your cage isn't going to last him long as he will out grow it shortly, if he hasn't already. Unless you live in a very dry climate and have trouble maintaining humidity levels, I would suggest getting a screen enclosure when you do buy your next one as it allows more air flow and will avoid the possibility of your cham getting stressed from seeing his own reflection (doesn't happen all the time but it does happen to some chams). One more thing, I would use the coil style bulb for now but definitely consider replacing it with a linear florescent style set up like the Zoomed Reptisun 5.0. I've used the coil bulbs in the past and they seem to have a very confined area of UV coverage compared to the linear bulb that will span the width of the cage and my cham was much happier once I switched it out.

Hopefully this info and the resources on here will help get you going in the right direction. Please don't take all of the changes we're recommending personally, the vast majority of pet stores do not give the proper advice and have no business selling chams. Luckily your friend helped you find this forum and all of the awesome info and people that love to help fellow cham keepers. Welcome again

 

[SaintJimmy]

Other members have already told you that you need D3 calcium and regular calcium, so I won't go on about that.

1) Chameleons don't really use the reptile hammock, but you can keep it if you want

2) The reptile carpet will get annoying because you will have to lift everything off of it every time you want to clean it

3) I would suggest adding more branches toward the top

 

[jmacphee9]

also, it seems to be normal for a chameleon to not eat well after an environment change, i was a little worried after mine wasnt eating too much but a quick google search i found plenty of others with the same experience.