NEW VEILED CHAMELEON OWNER FIRST REPTILE

[Riiiiivera]

Hi I got a chameleon at petco two days ago I bought it with the repitbreeze kit or whatever. I looks to be about a month old and I just want to know if I should keep his lights on (heat and the uv) during the night I currently turn them off when I notice he goes to sleep around 8.

I’ve tried feeding him the meal worms I bought and he just won’t Im worried he’s gonna die cause he’s not eating

also I’ve been misting his enclosure about 10 times a day for one min straight because I have a very small spray bottle about 1 floz (I do this cause I read that you should spray them about twice a day for 5 mins straight but you see my bottle can’t contain enought water for me to spray him 5 mins straight so I just break it up into tiny increments that add up to 5 mins I guess) pls let me know if this is wrong

other than that he climbs around his pad and stuff and gets under the heat lamp to warm up mainly concerned that he hasn’t ate since I’ve got him. Could he just be getting used to his new home? I’ve tried hand feeding them to him and I’ve left a tray that he can climb too with some meal worms in there but he hasn’t touched them

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi and welcome! So, it sounds like you’re rightly concerned about your little one, but not for the reasons that you think. I’m so very glad that you’ve come here so that the forum can help you get everything just right for your sweet little one. You bought the chameleon kit and I’m going to guess the pet store told you that was all you need, or probably sold you some other stuff that you don’t need. The chameleon kit is a challenge to make things correct and is only a temporary enclosure for baby chams.
First to address your concern, it is normal for your cham not to eat for a couple of days as it needs time to adjust to it’s new home. It’s best not to handle it for a few days to better help it adjust. Then there’s the mealworms you are offering. Those are not good to feed to chameleons. I would suggest crickets and maybe even bsfl (calci worms, Phoenix worms, etc) but they all need to be the right size. Too big and your little one won’t/can’t eat them. The rule of thumb is the feeder needs to be as small as the space between it’s eyes. Very young chameleons should be given all they can eat in about a 15 minute period, twice a day. Over 3 months you can reduce to just one feeding of about 12-15 feeders. If you post a pic someone can help figure out age. I’ll be attaching several graphics for you...one on feeders and the other on what to feed your feeders.
Unfortunately the chameleon kit comes with a very poor choice of uvb light. It has a very narrow range and is only adequate a few inches away. You will eventually need to get not only a much larger enclosure, but the correct uvb is vital! You’ll need a T5 fixture with a 5.0 uvb bulb. For now, we can make what you have work. Using the bendy vine you’ll need to set it directly below the uvb light (the coil one) so that the back of your chameleon is about 2-3 inches down from it. This is a challenge as the heat bulb at this close will be too hot and can cause thermal burns. You’ll need to bend the vine down directly below that bulb. You don’t want basking temps to get any higher than 80. You may need to get a 40w incandescent bulb to replace the basking bulb from the kit.
As they don’t provide nearly enough branches and vines or plant cover, you’ll need to add some more. You could get a nice pothos plant, placing it on a stand in the enclosure for some height. Maybe a small schefflera or dracaena plant too. The goal is to provide some shaded areas and more climbing areas for your baby. Yes, I have a graphic of this too.
The supplements provided in the kit are ok. You’ll use the calcium daily and the Reptivite one feeding every other week. It has D3 in it and is a pretty good supplement to use.
For watering, I’d suggest getting a larger spray bottle. Ideal misting is for 2 minutes 2-3 times a day. You want the enclosure to dry out in between. You could add a dripper if you wanted. Poke a small tack hole in a solo party cup and place it on top. No need to fill it more than once daily.
Now your other question. No lights on at night. You want a schedule of lights on/off for 12 hours. A temp drop at night is perfect and veileds can handle temps as low as the 60’s.
I strongly suggest reading everything here https://chameleonacademy.com/veiled-chameleon-care/. Also, be sure to check out Neptune the chameleon on YouTube for correct keeping advice. There’s so much more I could tell you but I’ll save that for someone else.

 

[Riiiiivera]

Hi thank you so much for all this useful and helpful info I really appreciate it. I’m attaching a Picture of his enclosure basking spot and of him

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi thank you so much for all this useful and helpful info I really appreciate it. I’m attaching a Picture of his enclosure basking spot and of him View attachment 284773View attachment 284774View attachment 284776View attachment 284777

Oh he’s just a tiny little guy! What a cutie! For that young you’ll be needing the tiniest of feeders. I would suggest getting some 1/8” crickets, which you’ll probably have to order on line. I use https://www.ghann.com/Live-Crickets-C2.aspx You could also order some tiny silkworms. Try checking out some of the forum sponsors. I have also ordered silkworms from https://www.ebay.com/itm/Silkworm-1...013036?hash=item4462f5346c:g:NxYAAOSwXjRfV~mX and have gotten some nice silkies. While waiting for them to arrive, you could get some fruit flies from the pet store if they don’t have the super tiny crickets. To keep the fruit flies at the feeding station, you could put a small piece of fruit, like banana there.
Looks like the pet store did get you to buy some unneeded stuff. The bark on the floor needs to be removed. Just keep the floor bare plastic. Much easier to clean and safer for your chameleon. Chameleons don’t use the little hammocks and they can get their claws stuck in them. Definitely need more branches and vines and at least 1-2 or more love plants. This will help.

 

[MissSkittles]

I forgot to add...are you positive you have a boy? Often pet stores have no idea. The male veileds will have tarsal spurs...little nubs that stick out at the backs of their back feet. Like this.

Sometimes females will also have tarsal spurs, but they are much smaller and flatter.

 

[Riiiiivera]

HELLO I JUST FEED HIM TWO MEAL WORMS HE ATE THEM.

he seemed to have want to eat more but it was a bit of a struggle he seemed to get discourage or something I would hold them in front of him because I noticed he had his mouth open. He didn’t use his tongue I had to place them right at the rim of his mouth which prompted him to take a bite. This is the first time he’s eaten since I’ve bought him last week on Saturday.

 

[kinyonga]

If he's not using his tongue post on jhere to let us know please.

 

[Riiiiivera]

A little update got some more things for him to climb on on and another fake plant working on getting a big potted one for the center. I’ve included a picture of my chameleon let me know if you see any health issues he’s also pooped for the first time since I’ve had him which I also included a photo of idk if it’s “healthy” stool or not

I’ve recently bought crickets to feed him instead of the meal worms but I’m having trouble feeding him or getting a schedule down right now I just hold something near him with tongs until he eats but no luck yet should just leave a couple of bugs in a cup for him to eat whenever he’d like?

 

[CBee7726]

That urate looks dehydrated to me (this is the yellow part- a normal, healthy, hydrated urate is all or mostly white- up to 50% yellow or orange is still considered ok). Since your cham is new, I might also recommend getting a fecal analysis done by the vet if no one has mentioned this yet.

What is your misting schedule, and do you have a dripper?

Another thing to keep in mind is live plants are way better than fake ones for chams for a multitude of reasons.

 

[Bazelthechameleon]

Hi! Congratulations on your new little guy! I'd reccomend purchasing an automatic misting system such as a mist king. Humidity is crucail to a chameleons health. They need a lot of moisture in their cage and to be able to drink the condensation off the leaves. If you can you should probably also purchase some more foliage. Good luck!

 

[AmandaS]

30-50% daytime humidity is surprisingly dry in fact.

 

[Riiiiivera]

He gets misted with a spray bottle about 4 times a day for a 1 min

 

[AmandaS]

He gets misted with a spray bottle about 4 times a day for a 1 min

Ideally you will mist twice a day, once before and once after lights on/off, for 2-5 minutes. 1 minute usually isn't enough to trigger the drinking response. And you'll want your enclosure to be dry during the day.
Dry, warm days. Moist, cool nights.

 

[Riiiiivera]

Ideally you will mist twice a day, once before and once after lights on/off, for 2-5 minutes. 1 minute usually isn't enough to trigger the drinking response. And you'll want your enclosure to be dry during the day.
Dry, warm days. Moist, cool nights.

Thank you I will do that from now on . Also he’s usually out by 8-830 I got home at about 6:30 and he was already asleep and still is? Is this normal if so should I turn off his lights. This is the first time he’s done this

 

[AmandaS]

They get accustomed to a certain bedtime and sometimes tuck in before bedtime so they dont get caught in the dark. My chameleons go to bed an hour or 2 before lights out. I turn off all my lights, but leave my uv light on for 12 hours always. They'll tuck their little heads behind some leaves to get away from the lights. But they need that 12 hours of uv lights on.

Just keep watch during the day and make sure he isn't sleeping during the day. He should be alert and active.

 

[SourGrape4u]

He gets misted with a spray bottle about 4 times a day for a 1 min

Just want to make sure, your misting his plants and enclosure right? Not him directly? You do not want to spray him, you want to do everything else.

 

[Riiiiivera]

Just want to make sure, your misting his plants and enclosure right? Not him directly? You do not want to spray him, you want to do everything else.

Yea I make sure to get the sides of his cage wet and all the plants that are in there. Still not sure about feeding he ate for the first time about 3 days ago. I’ve read that young chameleons should be eating everyday as much as they can not sure if he qualifies there I would say he is about a month old

 

[SourGrape4u]

Yea I make sure to get the sides of his cage wet and all the plants that are in there. Still not sure about feeding he ate for the first time about 3 days ago. I’ve read that young chameleons should be eating everyday as much as they can not sure if he qualifies there I would say he is about a month old

They can take time to settle in, just make sure to leave some food in his cage, he might not like to eat in front of you yet.

 

[Riiiiivera]

They can take time to settle in, just make sure to leave some food in his cage, he might not like to eat in front of you yet.

Update: homeboy ate. He had six crickets today and he’s been drinking plenty of water I tried leaving a try with some food in there like you said and it worked I’m gut loading with apple slices

This is him boolin

 

[SourGrape4u]

Update: homeboy ate. He had six crickets today and he’s been drinking plenty of water I tried leaving a try with some food in there like you said and it worked I’m gut loading with apple slices

This is him boolin

Nice! Sometimes when they are new to you they are just shy with eating, glad to hear it worked! Now you need to work on the enclosure and get real plants instead of fake. Also you need T5 uvb linear bulb instead of the uvb you have next to your heat bulb.