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ReptileGirl111

ReptileGirl111

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Hello, I'm getting a Veilded Chameleon this weekend so I figured I should get to know the things petstores don't tell you. I am currently a owner of 2 Bearded Dragons, Lexie & Byren. I am not new to reptiles. My first question is what type of maintance is needed for them?
Any help is appreciated! :)
-Aimee
 
Welome to the forums!

Answer: lot's of maintanance ;)

I'd encourage you to do as much research online as possible. Read these forums a whole bunch, use the awesome search engine to search for discussions on enclosures or diets or feeders or feeder gutloads etc. It's a wealth of information, and a lot of it is debated here. But for the most part everyone agrees on the basic rules of good husbandry for a chameleon - and there's a lot of rules!

Just so you don't feel ignored, don't expect to find anyone here just giving you the "rundown" on chameleon maintanace. There's too much information.

I'll give you my opinions since I'm new to this and hobby and read this forum daily:

Get a male veiled.
Only buy it from a breeder. (I'd recommend the sponsors of this forum, they're pros.)
read.read.read.

Chameleons take more maintanace then any reptile I've owned.

Have fun!

Welcome!
 
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I second the more maintenance than any animal I have ever owned! Think large cages, live plant maintenance, keeping crickets and other feeders like silkworms, think expensive lighting that must be changed every 6 months, think lots of misting and collecting water overflow and other cleaning, think that you can't just haul the large cage to someones house when you want to go on vacation, think supplements and temperature control! Also think that most chameleons don't want to be handled like Beardies. It has not stopped me but my husband and daughter all share in chameleon duties!
 
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Hm, sounds like more fun. ;) My 2 Beardies are a lot of work, but I always make time for them. :) 1 question I have been waiting a while to ask is what the best subtrate for a baby veilded? Paper towel?
 
There is a bit of debate, but 90% of owners would say NO substrate.

After cage price (do get a large screened cage) cost of fake vines, live plants, fake plants, the cham, the suppliments, the vitamins..

I came in at a start up price of just under $400 dollars (I went in witha budget of 300). That was this last May, and I'm continuing to keep a list of things that I need to purchase to improve my husbandry.

Please don't take my comments, or others as a kind of discouragment or a "this is too difficult for you" kind of attitude. We just want to make sure, for the sake of the animal you get, that you know what you're getting into.

I don't know you're situation, but I actually lined up a back door option - someone to sell the animal and setup to, incase I found it was overwhelming.

So far so good. LLReptile has some great cages.

Here's a list of search items you could type into the forum search:

cricket gutload
feeder
calcium
D3
enclosure baby veiled
enclosure size
misting schedule
misting
schedule
UVB lighting
lighting
metabolic bone desease
MBD
Upper respitory infection
URI
handle

also search 'enclosure' in the gallerys to see various setups.
 
If anything at all, mostly no substrate is the best less for him to accidentally eat and become impacted...
 
read read read!!

I've had my female veiled for about 3 months now...she is roughly 8 months old. Believe it or not, I got her at petSmart and she seems extremely healthy. I have had no problems with her as of yet. She is spoiled of course, because I love her dearly, and have found what makes her happiest is the live pothos plants (14 inches high on a stake) i put in her habitat because she thinks she is hiding and hunting bugs. haha! She is funny. I feed her crickets and mealworms (her favorite) daily, and would welcome any suggestions on other "treats" i can offer her. She is extremely friendly most of the time. She normally will come right to me and alot of times sleep in my hands in the early evening. Sometimes she will hiss but i have found a way to calm her when she does this and then she is crawling right up my arm and when I go to put her back she doesn't want to go! :) I am totally enjoying her, have done tons of research, talked to vets that specialize in reptiles...so I may or may not be able to answer anyones questions...or at least offer my opinion. Looking forward to communicating with other chameleon parents!!!
Pam :D
 
Welcome new members, If you are all able to , please post some pictures of your setups as well as your animals or even yourselves... And enjoy all the information that is right at your fingertips...
 
Welcome Aimee,
Feel free to post any question you have. Someone will get to you soon. We are all Chameleon Fannatic who would love to share our experience and thought. I agree with Royden, it is hard to tell you everything about Chameleon keeping as it will be at least a few thousand words long; makes you sleepy. Just pop some question/ doubt you have along the way. We well try to help the best we can; we have breeder/vets/enthusiastic that have been working with chameleons for years~~ :D
 
I purchased a "set up" from a reptile store. I did ALOT of reading prior to deciding to purchase a chameleon, and felt that I did very well with getting a complete setup. My initial cost with baby cham included was $159.00. (came with a ficus, mega dripper, miner-all, basking and uvb lights and fixtures....)

My other expenses (not counting buggies) have been $10 for a cricket keeper, $7 for multi vit, $25 for a reistat to control basking lamp and temp. Oh, and a .89 cent fish net to catch the escaped crickets.

I plan on getting a second cage so that I can put my guy outdoors once it cools off here in the desert.
 
Woah, you guys seem like really nice and intelligent people!:) 2 more days till' I become a chameleon parent!:p The petstore im getting him at is about 2 hours away, and i've already called to arrange things and make sure everything is good to go!;) This place has a package deal,(screen cage, vitamins, lighting, living ficus, fake vines,) everything for $159.99 and the chameleon is $29.99 which is roughly going to be $215-225, including me buying food... Im soo excited, I have wanted a chameleon for soo long they are one of the coolest reptiles i've ever seen. Any advice is appreciated!
-Aimee
 
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Be VERY careful with the live plants you use in your tank. I just lost a Cham due to the fact that I didn't clean the plants well enough or change the soil.
And good luck with your new baby they are a lot of work but it is also very rewarding watching them grow up. They are the kind of animal you can watch for hours. And even though keeping worms and roaches and crickets may sound like lots of work I find it very fun and end up doing it and researching it just for the pure enjoyment of it all. At this point I have an entire ecosystem just about. I have a Mulberry Tree that feeds my worms that feed my Cham, and I am breeding Silkworms, Wax worms, Crickets, and Roaches. Fun Fun Fun :D
 
I feel like im rasing a zoo! I already have fun dealing with crickets and bugs, I have 2 bearded dragons and they are a lot of money but it's really nice to be able to say "Yup, I there mommy, I raised them since they were the size of my thumbs and now there just about full grown!" lol but whats the best insect for baby chams?
 
Cricket will be the main staple food for Veiled Chameleon. You can mix in some worms/roaches once every week or so just to keep them hype up. The ground rules for feeding baby chameleon is that the width of the feeder insect should not be wider that the width of your chameleon mouth.
 
I put my dish kinda in the middle. I find that if the Cham doesn't see the food very well he won't go after it, so I positioned my cup just below his perching spot. When he sits there to get warm he can't help but to see the worms just below him. I let the Crickets roam free so my little guy can hunt a bit for fun.
 
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