newbie questions

[Fallendude0]

Hey ya'all. Been reading this forums for awhile and researching chameleons and finally decided to get one(they give me a constant smile haha). But anyways have a few questions before i actually make the purchase. It should either be a panther chameleon or veiled chameleon, depending on what my girlfriend finally decides.

1. I have a 24X12X24 cage, is switching him at 6 months too late, or do you think it'd be good?
2. I've read tons about supplements, so I am pretty educated on that matter, just confused a bit on the vitaman A part and how often that should be added/supplemented.
3. And last, wondering how much of a difference live plants make to real plants?

Thanks for any help. Love chameleons and can't wait to have one of my own.

 

[Elizadolots]

Hi! Welcome.

I'm not sure what your cage dimensions mean....normally for a panther or veiled a cage that is 48 inches tall is recommended. You can keep a young chameleon in a smaller cage. I would say 6 months is pretty much adult when it comes to size. (like a 17 year old human is full size and needs adult space, but is not really an adult)

My recommendation would be to refrain from Vitamin A only supplementation unless there is a specific health issue that requires it. If you give the standard multi-vitamins 2x a month, that is usually sufficient.

Live plants are your friends. Embrace them. They help keep humidity up in the cage more than almost anything you can do, plus, they are edible! The right plants can create all the "crawl" environment you need.

 

[Solid Snake]

Welcome! Its great to have you here. Im glad you are doing research prior to getting your new family member
I second what Elizadolots said.
What is the cage you have made of?
Those dimensions would work for maybe a 3month old, but that would be quite small IMO for a 6month old.
Oh, I also recomend a panther.

 

[Fallendude0]

Thanks for the tips. Yeah instead of buying a new cage I am thinking of using that as an eventual outside cage and building one that is 4 feet tall. They will both be screened, I understand glass is a big no no. haha

Well I have the repashy superfoods calcium plus (vitamins and calcium), which tells me to dust at every insect feeding. It says it contains vitamin A, is that too much or still too little to be sufficient?

Sweet, live plants it is then! Again, thanks for the help so far.

Oh, and definitely leaning toward a panther. =]

 

[EvilLost]

IGNORE directions on any supplement. Those are way too generalized and basically never apply to any given species...

You should be:

CALCIUM (NO D3) - EVERY feeding (except when using other supps)
CALCIUM + D3 - EVERY OTHER SUNDAY (2x/month)
MULTIVITAMIN - EVERY OTHER SUNDAY (2x/month)

Most ppl give calcium daily and just alternate the D3 and multi vits on alternating sundays. On thsoe days you do NOT use the regular calcium.

 

[Fallendude0]

Alright gotcha. Thanks SO much for the help. Just want to be able to give my little guy/girl the happiest/healthiest life possible

 

[JRchameleons]

IGNORE directions on any supplement. Those are way too generalized and basically never apply to any given species...

I agree with this statement, however, I just want to say that I have actually heard really good things about using Repashy Calcium Plus as a sole supplement. The supplement schedule that EvilLost recommended is a tried and true schedule, yes. But here lately, many experienced keepers are switching to using Repashy Calcium Plus rather than the traditional schedule. I just bought some myself. Check out these threads:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/calcium-plus-icb-65145/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/repashy-superfoods-calcium-plus-66591/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/repashy-calcium-plus-daily-supplement-69987/index2.html

 

[JRchameleons]

And by the way, props for doing your research before buying

 

[camimom]

I use the repashy all i one on every feeding and nothing else.I dust it on every feeding for my veileds.

I gutload really well, but i find the repashy is better than the repcal and stuff.


unless you cham starts to show issues, or you have a female, the repashy al in one is just fine to use, on a panther or veiled.

 

[Fallendude0]

Wow, thanks a lot for those links, read them all and came to this conclusion. I think I am going to dust with this every feeding with the exception of 1 day a week. I will also be gutloading the little critters with repashy bug burger for at first atleast, because it is what I have at the moment (bought the 20 kit set from Chameleonsonly.com).

Thanks for the help, and from reading the forums I can tell y'all like pictures, so I will definitely be posting some once I decide I have the perfect setup and get him!