night time/general care

[stuart535]

hi there,i totally new to keeping chameleons ive had a little experience with other lizards. just got a few questions that i could do with help on please.


1.is it right that you should turn off the heat lamp and uv bulb for 12 hours through the night regardless of the temprature.


2. and i have been told to swap his food from brown crickets to hoppers but to my knowlege he hasnt eaten a hopper since i swapped his food about 8 hours ago and im not sure how many crickets he had before that.


3.i am also a little worried that i seen him eat two small lumps of chippings from the bottom of his viv. he has been to the toilet since and it looks normal i think lol.could this be why he hasnt eaten his hoppers as this happened about an hour before i swapped the food over?


any help would be appreciated.

 

[Nellycool1]

Hey Stuart your right u should switch off all lights after 12 hours and still try to use crickets there prob the biggest part of there diet and try and remove all the substrate from the setup you might not be so lucky next time hope this helps. Nelly

 

[stuart535]

hi nelly thanks for the reply i have removed all the sub from the bottom of the viv and so hopefully no more slip ups there. i have now turned of the heat lamp and uv bulb.it just feels strange as it really cold in my house and the temp is gonna drop considerably is this ok or can it get too cold ?

 

[Elizadolots]

Hi! You definitely want to turn the lights off at night, but if your house gets really cold (under 55 degrees F) you'll want to add a heat source that doesn't give off light. There are ceramic heat emitters that screw into light sockets which can do the trick.

Nelly's right, you should remove the substrate. You've seen for yourself that it can be eaten and that presents a danger of impaction.

I don't know whether crickets are really more nutritious than grass hoppers. I think it's mostly how well you've gutloaded them that makes the difference.

You can't judge whether a feeder is working by one 8 hour trial. If you want to try crickets, you may need to give it a day or even two for him to adjust.

 

[stuart535]

hi eliza thanks for replying so is it ok that he does not eat for a few days or should i mix the feed a bit?

 

[stuart535]

sorry one more question i have a 4 month old veiled do you think i should get a waterfall for his water ?again thanks for all the help

 

[Nellycool1]

If it gets to cold buy a ceramic heater there fab.

 

[Nellycool1]

Never use a waterfall there really bad for bacteria unless you take it out everyday and scrub it but that can be a pain everyday have u got a mesh top on your set up

 

[stuart535]

ok no waterfall then i was gonna order one to glad i asked. and no i have a wood viv with glass front. do you think a dripper would be more appropreaite then? and thanks again for your advice

 

[Nellycool1]

No probs and yes I use the little dripper and my Cham loves to drink straight from it. Just drill a little hole and slip the tube through and it's so easy to put clean water in everyday.

 

[stuart535]

right back to the shop . seem to live there since i brought him .but hey love him already thank you chuick

 

[mcleodschams]

ya dripper a couple times a day and misting through the day aswell about three times that is the schedule that works for me no water at night like others said ceramic heat emitter is good for heat at night.

 

[mcleodschams]

also for food source mix it up crickets silks dubia. (treats) like hornworms butterworms wax worms but only as a treat once and a while also what is your suppliments?my veileds like to eat romaine lettuce a couple times a week aswell its not for nutrition but good for hydration some will eat it some wont. What did you mean by hoppers (mice?)