New Veiled Owner

[aluhrs]

Hi, I recently got my first veiled chameleon and want to make sure that everything is set up correctly!

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Juvenile male veiled...unsure of his age (3-4 months?)
Handling - A few times a week to change paper towels/hand feed
Feeding - I feed him 10-12 small crickets a day, and they are gutloaded with flukers gutload and fresh carrots
Supplements - I've been dusting daily with calcium without D3, and every 2 weeks with calcium with D3. Sometimes I spray some crickets with water if he doesn't seem to be drinking much.
Watering - I use a little dripper 3 times a day, and hand mist with warm water 5+ times daily. I rarely see him drink!
Fecal Description - brown with white end
History - Got him from Petsmart, they were unsure of his age.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - 18"x18"x36" screen cage.
Lighting - I have a 90W household lamp for a basking light (it gets pretty cold here), a zilla fluorescent UVB lamp with the plastic shield removed, and a low wattage desk lamp to provide extra light/heat if needed, and a ceramic heat emitter for very cold nights.
Temperature - His basking spot is around 85 degrees, and at night the entire cage drops to around 60-65 with the ceramic heat lamp.
Humidity - I only have one humidity guage, and it is near the basking spot. I am concerned about the humidity, as it usually reads between 35-50%.
Plants -Ficus, schefflera, and pothos. He likes to eat the ficus.
Placement - The cage is in a sunny corner of our kitchen
Location - northern california

Current Problem: I am concerned about his humidity levels. Should i get a second humidity gauge for the lower part of his cage? Are there simple ways to raise the humidity? Also, was curious if anyone could guess his age from the pictures.

Thanks! This site has already been extremely helpful to me.

 

[Decadancin]

Hi and welcome to the forums! I would recommend changing the location of the hygrometer away from the basking spot. You will get more of an average % near the middle of the enclosure. I always suggest having two gauges just in case one fails. The % should go up just after misting and gradually go down before the next session. If you are only seeing 50% after misting you may need to mist a bit more. As for the ceramic heat emitter, unless your house is in the 40's at night, you may not even need it. Veiled chams can easily handle the cooler temps at night. As for his age I would say about 2 1/2 to 3 months, he looks a bit small for 4. Best of luck with your new friend!

 

[jannb]

Welcome to the forums. Congrats on that littl cutie. I'm attaching a couple of links that you might find helpful.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/chameleons/

 

[Mijah139]

Hi there, welcome to the forums. Your baby looks quite healthy
Humidity was tricky for me. I ended up using a lot of live plants, a cool-mist humidifier, and a home-made drip system for drinking water.

 

[aluhrs]

Thanks everyone! I'll definitely look into getting another gauge and misting more often

 

[Decadancin]

Thanks everyone! I'll definitely look I to getting another cage and misting more often

If your levels are low even after misting, you could try wrapping some plastic or shower curtain liner around three sides. That way you can simply remove them during the more humid months. Lots of homes are drier during the colder months and it can be a struggle to maintain humidity.

 

[Gibboltd]

Hi and welcome. I have a male veiled who's just turned 3 months old. He's slightly longer and chunkier by the looks if it. So I don't think yours can be any older than 3 months. Hope that helps. Great looking cham btw.

 

[aluhrs]

That's a great idea, plastic will definitely help! Is there still enough ventilation that way? Sounds like Jerry is a little younger than I thought-nice to have a better guess on his age!

 

[Gibboltd]

That's a great idea, plastic will definitely help! Is there still enough ventilation that way? Sounds like Jerry is a little younger than I thought-nice to have a better guess on his age!

Just cover 2-3 sides of the cage, 1 fully uncovered screen is plenty for ventilation.

 

[Veiled chameleons121]

hi and welcome+ that is a great setup, JUST LIKE MINE!!!!