New to forum and chameleons

Lil’ Sneak

Lil’ Sneak

Established Member
hello all, new to the forum and chameleons as well. My daughter has restarted my interest in raising and caring for a chameleon!!! She’s 12 and has been researching and reporting to me her findings by the minuet. I have to admit, she’s completely drug me into the “rabbit-hole” that is chameleon keeping...wow, there‘s a lot to know. The two of us are having a blast learning and planning... We’ve started to make some decisions on equipment and set up.

here’s what we've got planned so far:

-Dragon Strand tall screen enclosure
-Odyssea t5 quad fixture running 3 6500k and 1 Arcadia 12% UVB about 3 inches above the enclosure.
-an 8.5” reflector with a 75 watt spot on a dimmer, setting right on the top
-we’re going to run a CliMist Cyclone

we’re working on a feeding plan, plant selection and just trying to come up with a strategy to make everything as authentic as possible for a first time keeping experience!

questions... how Big of a deal is fogging, will we be okay with just a mister? Thinking male Veiled. And, can you avoid feeding crickets by focusing on roaches, worms, ???

thanks,

Greg
 
ghughes.hesinc said:
hello all, new to the forum and chameleons as well. My daughter has restarted my interest in raising and caring for a chameleon!!! She’s 12 and has been researching and reporting to me her findings by the minuet. I have to admit, she’s completely drug me into the “rabbit-hole” that is chameleon keeping...wow, there‘s a lot to know. The two of us are having a blast learning and planning... We’ve started to make some decisions on equipment and set up.

here’s what we've got planned so far:

-Dragon Strand tall screen enclosure
-Odyssea t5 quad fixture running 3 6500k and 1 Arcadia 12% UVB about 3 inches above the enclosure.
-an 8.5” reflector with a 75 watt spot on a dimmer, setting right on the top
-we’re going to run a CliMist Cyclone

we’re working on a feeding plan, plant selection and just trying to come up with a strategy to make everything as authentic as possible for a first time keeping experience!

questions... how Big of a deal is fogging, will we be okay with just a mister? Thinking male Veiled. And, can you avoid feeding crickets by focusing on roaches, worms, ???

thanks,

Greg
Click to expand...
For your first question, it depends on the species, Jackson's or high humidity species probably do good with a fogger but Veileds or Panthers are generally ok with a long misting session at night as long as you can keep humidity somewhere around 80 to 90%

For your second question, silkworms and dubia roaches are great staples for a chameleon and personally I prefer not to use crickets as a staple but it's important to gut load and supplement with your choice of insect! While chameleons are young though you should expose their senses to all sorts of feeders, roaches, different worms, crickets, bsfl and other beneficial things in case they have a hunger strike.

There's a how to ask for help form in my signature and it's a basic husbandry review, if you find the time, you can fill it out with parts you know you're set on and we can help you fill in the rest and make your care as good as it can be!
 
Hey Greg, great that you’re doing research! As for your questions, I don’t use a fogger at night. It is too risky to me because the pipes can get very bacteria infested. I have a panther chameleon and while it’s hard for me to keep up the humidity at night, he’s doing great hydration wise. I live in Georgia so it’s already pretty humid around here. As for the cricket question, I only feed mine a variety of roaches, silkworms, BSFL and BSF, hornworms, and blue bottle flies. I believe this is sufficient for him as he gets a lot of variety from this. I’m not sure if the exact nutritional difference that roaches offer, but I do know they are far superior to crickets. Plus, my guy goes nuts for them!

I hope this all helps! Have you thought about what species and gender of chameleon you’re getting?
 
Welcome, or should it be welcome back? How awesome that you and your daughter are embarking on chameleon keeping together! There’s a lot of great info on the forum and all the help you’ll want or need. A couple of other great learning resources are https://chameleonacademy.com/. Besides all the care info you can read, you can also access podcasts there. If you prefer video, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3n4S2GRkOGfk2U8-xhaw6Q which there’s a video for almost everything and always more being added.
 
MissSkittles said:
Welcome, or should it be welcome back? How awesome that you and your daughter are embarking on chameleon keeping together! There’s a lot of great info on the forum and all the help you’ll want or need. A couple of other great learning resources are https://chameleonacademy.com/. Besides all the care info you can read, you can also access podcasts there. If you prefer video, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3n4S2GRkOGfk2U8-xhaw6Q which there’s a video for almost everything and always more being added.
Click to expand...
Thanks, it's just Welcome... We have found all of Bill's content... Chameleon Academy has been and I'm sure will continue to be a wealth of information.
 
Hi Greg, As usual, I'm a little late to the party... (gotta sleep sometime) :rolleyes:

I'm SO glad you're doing the research first (I'm doing the same thing); so many folks come here after getting a chameleon and finding themselves in trouble or overwhelmed.

Your equip. selection so far looks good to me as well (except I haven't settled on a T5 unit yet).
Personally, I prefer a flood to spot. It's easier to establish a gradient, and less likely to get "hot spots". A household incandescent is also a good choice for basking.

Others have already given you lots of good into. First thing I did after signing up (though sign-up wasn't necessary) was reading everything in the Resources section; still working on the Blogs & Media. Like yourself, I found the stuff on Youtube first. I also make frequent use of the site archives (Search)

There's a lot of info online about insect feeder nutritional values. I suggest checking out a few sites—they don't all agree—but by comparing a few, you'll get a better feel for what feeders fit your personal criteria (I found crickets to be noisy, stinky, not as nutritional, and too short-lived, but other species—e.g. banded crickets—are better than others). I already use dubia roaches & superworms as staples for another lizard, and plan to use them for my chameleon as well.
 
Klyde O'Scope said:
There's a lot of info online about insect feeder nutritional values. I suggest checking out a few sites—they don't all agree—but by comparing a few, you'll get a better feel for what feeders fit your personal criteria (I found crickets to be noisy, stinky, not as nutritional, and too short-lived, but other species—e.g. banded crickets—are better than others). I already use dubia roaches & superworms as staples for another lizard, and plan to use them for my chameleon as well.
Click to expand...
This is what my daughter has told me...she said no to crickets... Just fact checking her, It will be her room where they're kept.
 
Are you planning on the all-screen or hybrid version of the DS enclosure? Hybrid may attenuate cricket noise some (IDK-no personal experience). Some other factors to consider: errant spray from the mister getting on walls & furniture, your local humidity, and that some (not all) feeders can chew through nylon screens. However there are work-arounds, such as feeder run cups.
 
ghughes.hesinc said:
This is what my daughter has told me...she said no to crickets... Just fact checking her, It will be her room where they're kept.
Click to expand...
Only issue with avoiding crickets... If you are getting a baby they take down 12-15 a day depending on age. Also crickets are what most breeders raise them on so it is a staple they are used to being food. Trying to convert a cham to another main food source like dubia can be difficult. Most will refuse them. There are faster roaches like discoid that you may have better luck with. But also depending on the age of the chameleon you will more then likely be feeding younger crickets that do not chirp yet.

Where are you getting your baby from?
 
Beman said:
Where are you getting your baby from?
Click to expand...
??? still looking, we're probably a month away from being ready... We have a vacation that will slow accommodations, hoping to be ready to bring a baby home late July, early Aug... Still trying to navigate the breeder scene, we are avoiding the box stores which is our main access to pet supplies/animals, we do have a decent pet shop in Lansing that we'll check out as we get closer and as things open back up for us here in Michigan. We just really want an animal that has been loved and cared for...not a sale, if you know what I mean... Open to suggestions!

Beman said:
Only issue with avoiding crickets... If you are getting a baby they take down 12-15 a day depending on age. Also crickets are what most breeders raise them on so it is a staple they are used to being food. Trying to convert a cham to another main food source like dubia can be difficult. Most will refuse them. There are faster roaches like discoid that you may have better luck with. But also depending on the age of the chameleon you will more then likely be feeding younger crickets that do not chirp yet.
Click to expand...

Good point, thank you! Not completely apposed to crickets, just researching options.
 
Klyde O'Scope said:
Are you planning on the all-screen or hybrid version of the DS enclosure? Hybrid may attenuate cricket noise some (IDK-no personal experience). Some other factors to consider: errant spray from the mister getting on walls & furniture, your local humidity, and that some (not all) feeders can chew through nylon screens. However there are work-arounds, such as feeder run cups.
Click to expand...

Screen version, PVC back wall...
 
ghughes.hesinc said:
??? still looking, we're probably a month away from being ready... We have a vacation that will slow accommodations, hoping to be ready to bring a baby home late July, early Aug... Still trying to navigate the breeder scene, we are avoiding the box stores which is our main access to pet supplies/animals, we do have a decent pet shop in Lansing that we'll check out as we get closer and as things open back up for us here in Michigan. We just really want an animal that has been loved and cared for...not a sale, if you know what I mean... Open to suggestions!



Good point, thank you! Not completely apposed to crickets, just researching options.
Click to expand...
Are you set on a Veiled or open to a Panther? Do you know what your ambient humidity levels are? Sometimes this can help since Panthers need levels of 50-60ish during the day and Veileds need 30-50% max humidity during the day.
 
Beman said:
Are you set on a Veiled or open to a Panther? Do you know what your ambient humidity levels are? Sometimes this can help since Panthers need levels of 50-60ish during the day and Veileds need 30-50% max humidity during the day.
Click to expand...
We don’t have his habitat set up yet, so no humidity levels yet...

We’ve been looking at options, set on a male. And, to be honest, cost does become an issue. Looks like Panthers are 4-5x the investment than a veiled. I feel as though we’d be better served by investing more money into habitat and nutrition. Plus, my daughter, who this is really all for, fell in love with the casque!
 
ghughes.hesinc said:
We don’t have his habitat set up yet, so no humidity levels yet...

We’ve been looking at options, set on a male. And, to be honest, cost does become an issue. Looks like Panthers are 4-5x the investment than a veiled. I feel as though we’d be better served by investing more money into habitat and nutrition. Plus, my daughter, who this is really all for, fell in love with the casque!
Click to expand...
I get it. I love the casque as well. ❤ I would get a male for her first chameleon. If you can find a private breeder that actually works with them they tend to be better acclimated to contact with people. That being said they are not a let me hold all the time animal. My male I currently have was a sweetheart until he hit maturity at a year old. Now he likes to make a lot of fuss and threatens to bite. But I can get him to do anything for food.
 
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