Jammonlee
New Member
After doing a great deal of research on Veiled Chameleons I decided to make a purchase believe I can accommodate all its needs. While I think I've done this quite well, I still believe I could use some improvement, especially on the location of the enclosure. I ask for help/advice. Waldo, my male veiled, has had quite a turn of personality in the 4 days after ownership and I wonder if its normal or something I should be worried about.
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Veiled, Male, Unsure of the age. This is the 4th day I've had him
Handling - Once when introducing him to his cage, I only search for it when I get worried and only insert up to a forearm in the cage to place crickets
Feeding - Small crickets, store bought says 1/4 but some are bigger then others? I put about 5 in at a time, free roaming, when I thought there was no more in the enclosure I put more in the next day before realizing they were hiding. Feed him once in the morning. Gut-loading with Fluker's High Calcium cricket diet. I also have a culture of flightless fruit flies, though i am unsure of how to feed them to him, I tapped the plastic vile to knock them to the bottom and tried to pour a few in the enclosure and they jumped all over the place and out of site.
Supplements - I've only fed twice since the crickets are still in the cage. I dust them with Flukers Calcium powder with vitamin D3?
Watering - I have a Monsoon RS400 set to mist with distilled water every 8 hours for 30 seconds. One nozzle is burried in the fake greenery misting the enclosure and the other nozzle is outside the mesh spraying onto it creating drips above other fake greenery, I've seen him tongue a water dropplet from a nozzle and licking the moisture off of a fake vine
Fecal Description - Never tested for parasites, I have cleaned up some dark to light brown in color fecal matter off of a low lying vine. I do see some white drops in certain areas of the enclosure as well.
History - None
Cage Info:
Cage Type - I have a Mesh enclosure, all sides. it is a 65 gal enclosure, dimensions are 28" x 16.5" x 30"
Lighting - I use an Exo Terra 100W SunGlo bulb for his basking, I use an Exo Terra 18" Repti Glo 5.0 UVB Bulb for his UVB. His basking light is about 10" about his favorite basking spot with greenery near in case he wants to go higher or lower. It is placed on the left side of his cage. His UVB is sitting on the top of the enclosure covering a majority of the middle/right side of his cage. All lights are on a timer, set to turn off at 7pm and on at 7am. At 7pm I sometimes use a 75watt Nite-Glo Moonlight from Exo Terra, but I sometimes also forget to use it. It keeps his basking area at 84 degrees at night.
Temperature - Basking light is on a thermostat to regulate the temperature at 99 degrees, Temperature range from coldest to hottest during the day is 73 degrees F to 99 degrees F. at night, it dips to 63 degrees F.
Humidity - Humidity ranges from 40% to 73% in different parts of his cage, I gauge all temperature and humidty levels using two Thermometer/Hydrometers hidden in the cage. Humidity is maintained with the Monsoon Mister
Plants - No live plants, just fake greenery, some fake vines, and some drift wood
Placement - The cage is not located in an extremely high traffic area, most of the traffic stays a good 6 feet away from the enclosure, but the enclosure is located in the back of a living room with full view of the living room and kitchen. No vents nearby, a ceiling fan but never in use. There is the sound of back surround sound speakers about 3 feet away and above the enclosure the emits a very low volume of noise. I do have three kids who are incredibly curious about him and do approach the cage about 5 times a day, I do my best to tell them to be quiet and stay clear of the cage.
Location - Located in Texas
Current Problem - The first day in his new home Waldo was a bit hesitant and gradually moving in his basking area. He's fed on crickets very well from what I have seen, but its a rare occasion that I catch him doing so. He doesn't hunt beyond his basking area though and most of the crickets tend to go towards the darker area of the UVB light, beneth the greenery where the temperature drops. After 3 days of doing so, he has explored his home a lot more, yesterday (3rd day of ownership) was my first time seeing him go to the UV light. He then hid in the back of the enclosure behind the greenery and out of sight from about 6pm till now, 958am the next day. He is awake, I seen his beady eyeballs moving about when I looked at him, but he refuses to leave the spot. Since typing this report, I notices he has moved around, still staying in the area all night but switching positions. I'm curious if this is a sign of stress? Fright maybe? Should I relocate his cage to a less traffic area, per say my bedroom? It has the least amount of traffic, but there will be some buzzing of alarm clocks in the early morning. how would you move an entire enclosure on an aquarium stand without further stressing him out?
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Veiled, Male, Unsure of the age. This is the 4th day I've had him
Handling - Once when introducing him to his cage, I only search for it when I get worried and only insert up to a forearm in the cage to place crickets
Feeding - Small crickets, store bought says 1/4 but some are bigger then others? I put about 5 in at a time, free roaming, when I thought there was no more in the enclosure I put more in the next day before realizing they were hiding. Feed him once in the morning. Gut-loading with Fluker's High Calcium cricket diet. I also have a culture of flightless fruit flies, though i am unsure of how to feed them to him, I tapped the plastic vile to knock them to the bottom and tried to pour a few in the enclosure and they jumped all over the place and out of site.
Supplements - I've only fed twice since the crickets are still in the cage. I dust them with Flukers Calcium powder with vitamin D3?
Watering - I have a Monsoon RS400 set to mist with distilled water every 8 hours for 30 seconds. One nozzle is burried in the fake greenery misting the enclosure and the other nozzle is outside the mesh spraying onto it creating drips above other fake greenery, I've seen him tongue a water dropplet from a nozzle and licking the moisture off of a fake vine
Fecal Description - Never tested for parasites, I have cleaned up some dark to light brown in color fecal matter off of a low lying vine. I do see some white drops in certain areas of the enclosure as well.
History - None
Cage Info:
Cage Type - I have a Mesh enclosure, all sides. it is a 65 gal enclosure, dimensions are 28" x 16.5" x 30"
Lighting - I use an Exo Terra 100W SunGlo bulb for his basking, I use an Exo Terra 18" Repti Glo 5.0 UVB Bulb for his UVB. His basking light is about 10" about his favorite basking spot with greenery near in case he wants to go higher or lower. It is placed on the left side of his cage. His UVB is sitting on the top of the enclosure covering a majority of the middle/right side of his cage. All lights are on a timer, set to turn off at 7pm and on at 7am. At 7pm I sometimes use a 75watt Nite-Glo Moonlight from Exo Terra, but I sometimes also forget to use it. It keeps his basking area at 84 degrees at night.
Temperature - Basking light is on a thermostat to regulate the temperature at 99 degrees, Temperature range from coldest to hottest during the day is 73 degrees F to 99 degrees F. at night, it dips to 63 degrees F.
Humidity - Humidity ranges from 40% to 73% in different parts of his cage, I gauge all temperature and humidty levels using two Thermometer/Hydrometers hidden in the cage. Humidity is maintained with the Monsoon Mister
Plants - No live plants, just fake greenery, some fake vines, and some drift wood
Placement - The cage is not located in an extremely high traffic area, most of the traffic stays a good 6 feet away from the enclosure, but the enclosure is located in the back of a living room with full view of the living room and kitchen. No vents nearby, a ceiling fan but never in use. There is the sound of back surround sound speakers about 3 feet away and above the enclosure the emits a very low volume of noise. I do have three kids who are incredibly curious about him and do approach the cage about 5 times a day, I do my best to tell them to be quiet and stay clear of the cage.
Location - Located in Texas
Current Problem - The first day in his new home Waldo was a bit hesitant and gradually moving in his basking area. He's fed on crickets very well from what I have seen, but its a rare occasion that I catch him doing so. He doesn't hunt beyond his basking area though and most of the crickets tend to go towards the darker area of the UVB light, beneth the greenery where the temperature drops. After 3 days of doing so, he has explored his home a lot more, yesterday (3rd day of ownership) was my first time seeing him go to the UV light. He then hid in the back of the enclosure behind the greenery and out of sight from about 6pm till now, 958am the next day. He is awake, I seen his beady eyeballs moving about when I looked at him, but he refuses to leave the spot. Since typing this report, I notices he has moved around, still staying in the area all night but switching positions. I'm curious if this is a sign of stress? Fright maybe? Should I relocate his cage to a less traffic area, per say my bedroom? It has the least amount of traffic, but there will be some buzzing of alarm clocks in the early morning. how would you move an entire enclosure on an aquarium stand without further stressing him out?
