kanjigirl22
New Member
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Bought a male veiled chameleon from the care of Petco about 5 days ago. The associate said he had been at Petco since he has been a hatchling, and has been there for about 4-5 months? About 9" long from nose to tail end. I am not confident of his age at this point.
Handling - Only handled him putting him in his cage the first time. After that, no handling yet. He doesn't seem to be very shy, and will just sit there if I open his door.
Feeding - So far cup feeding him small crickets, and small dubia roaches gutloaded with apples, carrots, kale, bulk gutload, and using water crystals. Have been feeding him a combination of ~6 insects in the morning, then ~6 more in the early afternoon. He eats with no reserve and seems to like eating a lot. He has also been eating his live Pothos plants.
Supplements - Dusted the first day with ZooMed Calcium with D3, then have been dusting with ZooMed Calcium w/o D3 every day after that. Plan on dusting with Herptivite Multivitamin with Beta Carotene 2x month, ZooMed Clcium with D3 2x month, and then ZooMed Calcium w/o D3 every day besides.
Watering - I have an Exo-Terra Monsoon RS400 misting system with two nozzles installed at the top of the enclosure. I have it set to mist 3x a day for 2 minutes each time. I also have a home made dripper constantly dripping at a drop every couple seconds onto his plant leaves. I also have been trying hand misting a couple times a day.
Fecal Description - Large poops once a day in the morning, with dark brown solid fecal matter, with a small amount of urate. Urate has been slightly yellowish, and yesterday and today have had a bit of orange in the urate.
History - I purchased him from Petco about 5 days ago. He was in a horizontal glass terrarium with 4 other chameleons, all females. They had a "Little Dripper" sitting in the cage that dripped about 1/4" down into a large bowl that sat on the floor of the terrarium. I did not witness any misting. The associate said he had been at their store for a few months since he was a baby, just a couple inches long. I was hoping I could purchase him and save him.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - We built him an enclosure modified from a large curio cabinet. We took out all of the glass from the curio cabinet and switched it to fiberglass window screen. We live in MN and experience very dry winter conditions, so I left the back of the cabinet as wood and waterproofed it. The sides, top, and front are all screen. It is about 24"w and 50"h. Right now it is about 12" deep, but we were thinking of making it deeper once he got a little bit bigger.
Lighting -
Exo-Terra Reptile UVB100 Bulb, 26 Watts with dome on 12 hrs a day
Zoo Med Repti 100w Basking Spot Lamps with dome on 12 hrs a day
Both bulbs are brand new, and are on at the sale time. Basking bulb is positioned in the upper right corner of enclosure and is about 12" from his perch. UVB bulb is immediately to the left of the basking bulb, again about 12" from his perch.
Temperature - His basking spot reaches 90F at it's hottest temp, and the bottom of the enclosure averages about 72F. I use a digital thermometer at his basking perch, and have another thermometer at the bottom. Nighttime temps have not dipped lower than 68F so far.
Humidity - Humidity has been ranging between 40%-70% depending on how recently his enclosure has been misted. I use a digital hygrometer to measure the humidity.
Plants - So far I have three different sizes and varieties of Pothos (washed and replanted into covered organic soil), and they are placed staggered in the enclosure with vines coming down over his branches. He has many natural wood branches that are tiered up and down the enclosure to allow him access to all the different levels, and the plant vines intersect the branches to allow him to climb all around. He has been taking bites out of the Pothos.
Placement - His enclosure is located in the dining room, nowhere near fans or vents. The top of the cabinet is about 84" up from the floor, and the bottom is about 34" up off the floor. There is a large window about 6' away from his location. We have a cat, but she is very behaved, and has never bothered or shown predatory actions towards him.
Location - Minnesota
Current Problem - I bought him on Sunday about 5 days ago from our local Petco in hopes that I could save him and love him up for the rest of his life. I am afraid though that he was raised since a hatchling at Petco with his only water source being that of a large bowl of standing water, that he might not know how to get water right now. I have not seem him actually drink anything, and he is very afraid when his misters go off. I have tried to hand mist him, and he runs to hide. I have a dripper going constantly to try to coax him to drink. Even though he cautiously checks it out, he not drank from it that I have seen. So far he has enjoyed basking, been adventuring around, eating a ton of insects with no hesitation, and eating his Pothos occasionally. He has been pooping once a day (see info above). Since I've gotten him he seems to be getting dehydrated looking and boney. He has been moving slower and weaker every day as well. He has been brown or ash colored a lot, but will turn his pretty pale green if he is sleeping. I am worried that he is not getting water, and he's going to die on me before he can figure it out. I am looking for suggestions on what I can do to ensure he's getting what he needs.
Thank you very much
Your Chameleon - Bought a male veiled chameleon from the care of Petco about 5 days ago. The associate said he had been at Petco since he has been a hatchling, and has been there for about 4-5 months? About 9" long from nose to tail end. I am not confident of his age at this point.
Handling - Only handled him putting him in his cage the first time. After that, no handling yet. He doesn't seem to be very shy, and will just sit there if I open his door.
Feeding - So far cup feeding him small crickets, and small dubia roaches gutloaded with apples, carrots, kale, bulk gutload, and using water crystals. Have been feeding him a combination of ~6 insects in the morning, then ~6 more in the early afternoon. He eats with no reserve and seems to like eating a lot. He has also been eating his live Pothos plants.
Supplements - Dusted the first day with ZooMed Calcium with D3, then have been dusting with ZooMed Calcium w/o D3 every day after that. Plan on dusting with Herptivite Multivitamin with Beta Carotene 2x month, ZooMed Clcium with D3 2x month, and then ZooMed Calcium w/o D3 every day besides.
Watering - I have an Exo-Terra Monsoon RS400 misting system with two nozzles installed at the top of the enclosure. I have it set to mist 3x a day for 2 minutes each time. I also have a home made dripper constantly dripping at a drop every couple seconds onto his plant leaves. I also have been trying hand misting a couple times a day.
Fecal Description - Large poops once a day in the morning, with dark brown solid fecal matter, with a small amount of urate. Urate has been slightly yellowish, and yesterday and today have had a bit of orange in the urate.
History - I purchased him from Petco about 5 days ago. He was in a horizontal glass terrarium with 4 other chameleons, all females. They had a "Little Dripper" sitting in the cage that dripped about 1/4" down into a large bowl that sat on the floor of the terrarium. I did not witness any misting. The associate said he had been at their store for a few months since he was a baby, just a couple inches long. I was hoping I could purchase him and save him.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - We built him an enclosure modified from a large curio cabinet. We took out all of the glass from the curio cabinet and switched it to fiberglass window screen. We live in MN and experience very dry winter conditions, so I left the back of the cabinet as wood and waterproofed it. The sides, top, and front are all screen. It is about 24"w and 50"h. Right now it is about 12" deep, but we were thinking of making it deeper once he got a little bit bigger.
Lighting -
Exo-Terra Reptile UVB100 Bulb, 26 Watts with dome on 12 hrs a day
Zoo Med Repti 100w Basking Spot Lamps with dome on 12 hrs a day
Both bulbs are brand new, and are on at the sale time. Basking bulb is positioned in the upper right corner of enclosure and is about 12" from his perch. UVB bulb is immediately to the left of the basking bulb, again about 12" from his perch.
Temperature - His basking spot reaches 90F at it's hottest temp, and the bottom of the enclosure averages about 72F. I use a digital thermometer at his basking perch, and have another thermometer at the bottom. Nighttime temps have not dipped lower than 68F so far.
Humidity - Humidity has been ranging between 40%-70% depending on how recently his enclosure has been misted. I use a digital hygrometer to measure the humidity.
Plants - So far I have three different sizes and varieties of Pothos (washed and replanted into covered organic soil), and they are placed staggered in the enclosure with vines coming down over his branches. He has many natural wood branches that are tiered up and down the enclosure to allow him access to all the different levels, and the plant vines intersect the branches to allow him to climb all around. He has been taking bites out of the Pothos.
Placement - His enclosure is located in the dining room, nowhere near fans or vents. The top of the cabinet is about 84" up from the floor, and the bottom is about 34" up off the floor. There is a large window about 6' away from his location. We have a cat, but she is very behaved, and has never bothered or shown predatory actions towards him.
Location - Minnesota
Current Problem - I bought him on Sunday about 5 days ago from our local Petco in hopes that I could save him and love him up for the rest of his life. I am afraid though that he was raised since a hatchling at Petco with his only water source being that of a large bowl of standing water, that he might not know how to get water right now. I have not seem him actually drink anything, and he is very afraid when his misters go off. I have tried to hand mist him, and he runs to hide. I have a dripper going constantly to try to coax him to drink. Even though he cautiously checks it out, he not drank from it that I have seen. So far he has enjoyed basking, been adventuring around, eating a ton of insects with no hesitation, and eating his Pothos occasionally. He has been pooping once a day (see info above). Since I've gotten him he seems to be getting dehydrated looking and boney. He has been moving slower and weaker every day as well. He has been brown or ash colored a lot, but will turn his pretty pale green if he is sleeping. I am worried that he is not getting water, and he's going to die on me before he can figure it out. I am looking for suggestions on what I can do to ensure he's getting what he needs.
Thank you very much
