New to Chams, is he healthy?

[Ghostbirb]

It is a 24x24x48" mesh enclosure.

I also misreported the current enclosure's size. The one he was originally sent home in was 18x18x24.

Awesome. There is this kit that is sold, here’s a photo of it that I found online, and it is pretty much all wrong with husbandry. So I just want to double check that what you where looking at wasn’t it
also welcome and good luck with your guy! He is so handsome

Bad kit photo

 

[Gloriawood]

Oh I’m so glad! It seems like you found a good shop to help you out! I promise that humidity and temps can be controlled in screen enclosures. I will add that those in more dry areas might be better suited for a hybrid enclosure, but you still have to have good ventilation to avoid respiratory infections. Their enclosures have to dry out in between mistings. Neelix will be so happy. And yes, please keep the photos and updates coming! We love seeing each others chams and we tend to get attached and worry for them just as if they were our own. We love to see progress updates and photos along the way as well if you’re willing to share. So glad to have you here!!

 

[MissSkittles]

then work on building trust. @MissSkittles wrote a great blog on this topic.

Hi and welcome! You’ve already gotten great info from everyone, so I just wanted to say hi and correct the author of this blog https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/ as it wasn’t mine, but came from @Beman I’m so very glad that you’ve found your way here and look forward to seeing more of you and your handsome guy.

 

[Gloriawood]

Hi and welcome! You’ve already gotten great info from everyone, so I just wanted to say hi and correct the author of this blog https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/ as it wasn’t mine, but came from @Beman I’m so very glad that you’ve found your way here and look forward to seeing more of you and your handsome guy.

Oh so sorry! My mistake thank you for correcting me! Honestly you both are so helpful that I often confuse who gives what info

 

[Chancla]

Awesome. There is this kit that is sold, here’s a photo of it that I found online, and it is pretty much all wrong with husbandry. So I just want to double check that what you where looking at wasn’t it
also welcome and good luck with your guy! He is so handsome

Bad kit photo
View attachment 355790

Thank you for double checking! Yes it’s surprising just how prolific this particular kit is. The person we consulted with actually sent us to Reptifiles.com, explaining that all of the staff are trained on the care sheets from that site. I’m reading up myself and feeling good about the foundation they’re working from so far

 

[Chancla]

Hi and welcome! You’ve already gotten great info from everyone, so I just wanted to say hi and correct the author of this blog https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/ as it wasn’t mine, but came from @Beman I’m so very glad that you’ve found your way here and look forward to seeing more of you and your handsome guy.

Thank you for the warm welcome! I can’t wait to share and learn more with the community y’all have here

 

[Gloriawood]

Thank you for double checking! Yes it’s surprising just how prolific this particular kit is. The person we consulted with actually sent us to Reptifiles.com, explaining that all of the staff are trained on the care sheets from that site. I’m reading up myself and feeling good about the foundation they’re working from so far

I was just checking this site out and the care sheet looks great! I’m not familiar with the supplements they suggest but I THINK others here use them. I did notice however, they suggest introducing feeding with tongs. Please DO NOT use tongs. There have been cases where chams have gotten their tongue stuck on these and damaged it, some to the extent they have to have it amputated or even ripped their tongue off. It is very risky to feed a chameleon this way. I use tongs to get the bugs from their container to the feeding dish, but that’s it.

 

[CalamityCrow]

Welcome!!! it's SO wonderful to see someone so open to info and such a quick effort to correct this poor cham's life. You're doing wonderful things for him. I don't have anything to add, everyone here covered it, but I wanted to welcome you and repeat what's been said - we want to see pictures as he recovers and gets healthy and even more beautiful!

(If I don't cup feed, I'll hand-feed - holding a bug by the leg, or setting it in my hand and letting my cham shoot it from there is much safer than tongs and helps really build positive rapport with your little Neelix!

 

[MzLaurie]

Hello and welcome to the amazing world of chameleons. I have a male veiled about the same age. Just want to say that my vet corrected me on my basking temp which I kept at 80-85. He said males like 90-95. The also warned me about super worms which I had never heard before which is if they are swallowed before being killed they are so hardy they will try to bite their way out and cause major damage to the intestinal track. Wow that was a new one for me so off the menu they went. I order my feeders from rainbowmealworms.com and have always gotten good clean healthy feeders. My boy loves hornworms and I get 25 a time with extra food to make more if needed. They have always made any issue right so I trust them. Also I get 1/2 inch crickets as they grow fast and feed them carrots, parsley etc. I put about six in a cup with a sprinkle of calcium then transfer them to another cup that I have wedged in up high with a small
Stick in it so they can climb out or he can get out if he falls in. Don’t worry they will keep to the top to get the heat from the lamps. Chams are made to hunt and it’s fascinating to watch them. Also Fluker Farms make very good vines that you can use to create a jungle gym. You can get them on Amazon I would go with medium and large. Oh get zip ties too. Keep the basking branch about six inches below the basking bulb. You need to buy a hand mister too. Many of us put vinyl on two sides of the reptribreeze and tape it to all edges. The back and to one side. That way you can spray without worrying about water getting everywhere and have a side where the cords can drape so as not to cause a fire. Also I have a strip timer set up to my phone. You want 12 hours on and 12 off. No lights at night and no red or blue lights which can cause blindness. As long as the room’s ambient temp doesn’t drop below 50 they need no heat at night. Their internal temp actually goes up a few degrees when they sleep and you will see when he puts his pjs on. Now a feeder that many keepers use are silk worms which are very nutritious. Also as a treat, I would get some wax worms as they are high in fat content and may put a little extra weight on him. Now potted plants. Yes you will need a plant light to keep them healthy. I like monstera or Swiss cheese plants as well as pathos. Monstera have thick stalks that will handle his weight and large leaves that will keep water on them and offer shade and hiding areas. Make sure your top soil has no chips, pebbles or perlite. You must remember whatever his tongue hits will go straight into his mouth and down the gullet. I actually sift my top soil and change it every year. Some people put the larger flat rocks on the soil. Make sure you clean each plant and planter before put new top soil on before putting it in the cage. Sansi makes plant lights that are good. If you boy turns out to like to eat plants, I suggest collard greens as it has a high bit a content. It also keeps well in a glass vase in the frig. So try him on salads or tie a leaf to a branch. So love it some won’t touch it. I am so glad you found the forum so fast and are headed in the right direction. We are all constantly learning about these unusual wonderful pets. Now make that pet shop pay you back for all the unnecessary stuff they sold you and tell them to study about the babies they sell! I wish you the best of luck. Sorry I got so winded! lol I can go on and on about these amazing critters!

 

[Professor Stitch Witch]

Hello friends! I’m Neelix’s mom and the plant queen who will create a habitat for the little fellah.

We got his new enclosure and items last night and plant to outfit it today. I’m going to grab a few additional plants that are Neelix safe today.

Per the recommended list, I have a spider plant and some prayer plants to start. Planning to get some pothos and perhaps a money tree today. (I mostly have philodendrons which are not veiled safe and I’ve really wanted a pothos so I am hype!)

The spider plant is blooming so the lil guy’s new home will have some welcoming flowers when we moves in. Our plant center of choice is organic, so I feel good about getting plants from them to outfit our new friend.

 

[Professor Stitch Witch]

Also wanted to share this little lady, who we met last night. The center we visited is also a rescue, and miss thang here is heavily pregnant and SASSY! She put on a whole show for us.

 

[MissSkittles]

Hello friends! I’m Neelix’s mom and the plant queen who will create a habitat for the little fellah.

We got his new enclosure and items last night and plant to outfit it today. I’m going to grab a few additional plants that are Neelix safe today.

Per the recommended list, I have a spider plant and some prayer plants to start. Planning to get some pothos and perhaps a money tree today. (I mostly have philodendrons which are not veiled safe and I’ve really wanted a pothos so I am hype!)

The spider plant is blooming so the lil guy’s new home will have some welcoming flowers when we moves in. Our plant center of choice is organic, so I feel good about getting plants from them to outfit our new friend.

I use philodendrons (heart leaf) with my veileds and panthers, both. I have no idea why it isn’t on the list. Its toxicity is the exact same as that of pothos - contains calcium oxalate which can cause irritation and stomach upset when eaten. My veiled girl who loves eating her plants doesn’t find the philodendron very tasty though and has left it alone.

 

[MissSkittles]

Also wanted to share this little lady, who we met last night. The center we visited is also a rescue, and miss thang here is heavily pregnant and SASSY! She put on a whole show for us.

Oh dear! Poor beautiful girl is huge! From her puffed out casque, she’s obese too and at high risk for complications laying her eggs. It’s good she’s at a rescue that can care for her properly.

 

[Professor Stitch Witch]

I use philodendrons (heart leaf) with my veileds and panthers, both. I have no idea why it isn’t on the list. Its toxicity is the exact same as that of pothos - contains calcium oxalate which can cause irritation and stomach upset when eaten. My veiled girl who loves eating her plants doesn’t find the philodendron very tasty though and has left it alone.

Hi Miss Skittles! That's so great to hear! I have many philodendrons and some really pretty ones that I'd love to share with Neelix. Those were my thoughts too--pretty much the same plant! I will share pics of my greenies shortly.

 

[Professor Stitch Witch]

I’ve had each of these for quite a while and have propagated them both! I will likely put some of the props in the enclosure for our buddy, but I do plan to gift him the dark green as a house warming present.

 

[Professor Stitch Witch]

Oh dear! Poor beautiful girl is huge! From her puffed out casque, she’s obese too and at high risk for complications laying her eggs. It’s good she’s at a rescue that can care for her properly.

As @Chancla said last night, "she is a circle." They are really taking good care of her there. I was so impressed with their set up. Over half of their animals are rescues and they receive 3-5 more per week, not just chams but many other scaled friends as well. They will only adopt them out if you can show that you can properly care for them and have the correct set up which made me so happy.

 

[Gloriawood]

It’s great that you already are good with plants! It’s a good idea to keep a couple on back up. My veiled LOVES to munch his pathos and monstera. I have a brown thumb so between us both, his plants don’t last long. I use a ‘double pot’ method. An empty pot is zip tied in the enclosure and the plant is potted in a second pot that just sits inside the first one. That way when it inevitably gets eaten down, I can pull it out and drop a second plant into the zip tied pot while I nurse the first one back to health .

 

[Professor Stitch Witch]

It’s great that you already are good with plants! It’s a good idea to keep a couple on back up. My veiled LOVES to munch his pathos and monstera. I have a brown thumb so between us both, his plants don’t last long. I use a ‘double pot’ method. An empty pot is zip tied in the enclosure and the plant is potted in a second pot that just sits inside the first one. That way when it inevitably gets eaten down, I can pull it out and drop a second plant into the zip tied pot while I nurse the first one back to health .

That is such a great idea! I often do that with my house plants: the decorative pot is on the outside and the plant itself is in a plastic pot inside so it can be easily removed if needed. Planning to make a moss pole for some of the philodendrons (will anchor very securely!) to create a tree like structure for him and them.

Love the back ups idea. I’m always growing props so I’ll be sure to continue and pot them on to grow in case Neelix likes salad.

 

[CalamityCrow]

Not sure if it's been said, but you want to wash all the plants you have with water and if possible, repot them with organic only soil - even better if you can put big stones (too big for your cham to eat) over the soil in the pots so that he's not tempted to munch on the dirt.

The general consensus here is to NOT feed your cham plants/salads of any kind. While it doesn't necessarily hurt them (see: eating the plants in the cage), it gives them zero benefit nutritionally, and fills their tummy with useless matter instead of nutritious insects. THey're insectivores after all, not omnivores. So to encourage your dude to eat his healthy bugs (dubias, crickets, locusts, silkworms, hornworms, black soldier fly larva (my cham's favorite!), I'd not bother with extra greens for munching.

 

[Professor Stitch Witch]

Not sure if it's been said, but you want to wash all the plants you have with water and if possible, repot them with organic only soil - even better if you can put big stones (too big for your cham to eat) over the soil in the pots so that he's not tempted to munch on the dirt.

The general consensus here is to NOT feed your cham plants/salads of any kind. While it doesn't necessarily hurt them (see: eating the plants in the cage), it gives them zero benefit nutritionally, and fills their tummy with useless matter instead of nutritious insects. THey're insectivores after all, not omnivores. So to encourage your dude to eat his healthy bugs (dubias, crickets, locusts, silkworms, hornworms, black soldier fly larva (my cham's favorite!), I'd not bother with extra greens for munching.

Thank you! Will not provide him with greens, but I do want to make sure he's got safe plants in case he does get a leaf or two. Got organic coconut based soil for the plants, will wash and remove all stones. Going to do the very best we can for this little guy!