Novice needs help

S

smba310

New Member
Hi
So I am planning on getting my first chameleon soon, a juvenile (3-4 month old) veiled chameleon, from this site here: https://flchams.com/chameleon/juvenile-veiled-chameleons-for-sale/

So although I have done my research, I still have a few little specific questions:
1. When I first get him (3-4 months old) how many crickets should I feed him daily?
2. Are any random live plants ok to put in the enclosure or are some not safe?
3. What type and where can I get the calcium?
4. For the first few months with him, what size enclosure would be best? Im thinking about a 18"x18"x36".
5. Is FLChams a reliable site to buy from?

Thanks!
 
For Q2, not all plants are completely safe, but there are tons of very common chameleon safe plants that you can get at really any store that sells plants. I believe that the chameleon forums has a spot where you can see a list of safe plants right under the big "chameleon care" section.
For Q3, you need 2 types of calcium. Calcium with D3, and calcium without. Only feed bugs with D3 about twice a month, cuz chams can overdose on the D3. You can buy these at any pet store, or on Amazon, or any online reptile store.

For Q4, that size cage would be just fine for a juvenile, but remember that you will eventually need to upgrade for a veild into a bigger cage eventually.

For Q5, yes, FL Chams is an excellent place to get a chameleon from a reputable breeder.

Hope this helps, and good luck (sorry I couldn't answer Q1, not sure of the answer). Once again, good luck!
 
Trent H. said:
For Q2, not all plants are completely safe, but there are tons of very common chameleon safe plants that you can get at really any store that sells plants. I believe that the chameleon forums has a spot where you can see a list of safe plants right under the big "chameleon care" section.
For Q3, you need 2 types of calcium. Calcium with D3, and calcium without. Only feed bugs with D3 about twice a month, cuz chams can overdose on the D3. You can buy these at any pet store, or on Amazon, or any online reptile store.

For Q4, that size cage would be just fine for a juvenile, but remember that you will eventually need to upgrade for a veild into a bigger cage eventually.

For Q5, yes, FL Chams is an excellent place to get a chameleon from a reputable breeder.

Hope this helps, and good luck (sorry I couldn't answer Q1, not sure of the answer). Once again, good luck!
Click to expand...
Thank you, your help is much appreciated! If anyone has an answer to question one, please let me know
 
smba310 said:
1. When I first get him (3-4 months old) how many crickets should I feed him daily? For a juvenile (especially male) you can feed as many as he will eat in one or two feedings a day until the first 8 - 10 months. For females you may not want to feed as much after the 5th month or so due to the fact that most will develop clutches of eggs and some like to limit the amount of food intake and temps in the enclosure. I'd say about 10 - 15 crickets a day minimum, but look into getting other feeders as well. Variety is definitely best.
2. Are any random live plants ok to put in the enclosure or are some not safe? Fl Chams has a safe plant list on their site, and we have one that is basic, but for most Golden Pothos, Shefflera Arboricola, any of the Dracaena's would be a good choice for enclosures, just be sure to have proper lighting for the plants as well as your chameleon.
3. What type and where can I get the calcium? As stated, Calcium without D3 every feeding, Calcium with D3 twice monthly assuming the chameleon isn't spending a lot of time outside in natural sunlight, and multivitamin twice monthly as well. One of our site sponsors here has supplements available, but they are available from other sources... http://www.lllreptile.com/catalog/164-reptile-calcium-and-vitamins
4. For the first few months with him, what size enclosure would be best? Im thinking about a 18"x18"x36". I would just get the larger enclosure (usually 2x2x4 high screened) now. I don't see much difference in the size for a 3-4 month old chameleon. Just my opinion.
5. Is FLChams a reliable site to buy from?
Click to expand...
Yes, they are. Here is a link to the site sponsors that sell chameleons. Fl Chams is on there! https://www.chameleonforums.com/sponsors/?type=chameleons

 
smba310 said:
Hi
So I am planning on getting my first chameleon soon, a juvenile (3-4 month old) veiled chameleon, from this site here: https://flchams.com/chameleon/juvenile-veiled-chameleons-for-sale/

So although I have done my research, I still have a few little specific questions:
1. When I first get him (3-4 months old) how many crickets should I feed him daily?
2. Are any random live plants ok to put in the enclosure or are some not safe?
3. What type and where can I get the calcium?
4. For the first few months with him, what size enclosure would be best? Im thinking about a 18"x18"x36".
5. Is FLChams a reliable site to buy from?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
Dust phosphorous free no d3 calcium at almost every feeding calcium with d3 2x a month and vitamins 2x a month
 
Thank you all for your help! I think I've decided that I'll just get a larger enclosure to begin with so than I won't have to spend more money to upgrade to a bigger one in a few month when he's bigger, so I'll probably get a 2'x2'x4'
 
timw1 said:
As many as he will eat (y)
Click to expand...


I agree with that as many as he will eat I had 3 veiled chameleons from 3 weeks old that was July 1 2017 I still have one I traded 2 for a panther tho but anyway I just put as many crickets as they would eat. that is still a very critical age to get your supplements right your vitamins, calcium, with and without D3 and a good uvb light. make sure you get all that right because if you don’t pay attention to it like you should it’s verry hard to get them to recover from the problems that go along with providing the wrong care..
 
Ok so I have another question. From some people it seems like they just mist down the whole enclosure for the cham to drink off the leaves, but than some places say that you need a dripper. Which one? Both?
 
smba310 said:
Ok so I have another question. From some people it seems like they just mist down the whole enclosure for the cham to drink off the leaves, but than some places say that you need a dripper. Which one? Both?
Click to expand...
I do both and let the dripper drip into the leaves below for a couple of hours at a time
 
smba310 said:
One more question here. Do I need to feed the crickets anything before feeding them to the cham?
Click to expand...
Yes there is a list under one of the care forms of things that are best for gutloading i use collard greens and carrots and i will post that pic of how i have it set up in a second
 
smba310 said:
One more question here. Do I need to feed the crickets anything before feeding them to the cham?
Click to expand...
I just got me a baby Veiled Chameleon 2 1/2 month old. We feed her twice a day and about 5 crickets each time. We bought 3 dozen crickets and keep them in a Critter Cage and feed them Cricket food and water jelly. It’s called gut-loading and you can either make your own mix or just buy the cricket food.
 
@KlutzyRaptor said..."I just got me a baby Veiled Chameleon 2 1/2 month old. We feed her twice a day and about 5 crickets each time...that's not enough if you're feeding it the right size crickets. I would feed it as many well fed, gutloaded and dusted crickets and fruit flies, etc as it can eat in a couple of minutes at each feeding at that age.

You said..." We bought 3 dozen crickets and keep them in a Critter Cage and feed them Cricket food and water jelly. It’s called gut-loading and you can either make your own mix or just buy the cricket food"...for most if my 30+ years of keeping chameleons and other reptiles, I have fed/gutloaded crickets, superworms, etc with dandelion greens, kale, collards, endive, escarole, squash, zucchini, sweet potato,. sweet red pepper, carrots, etc and a small amount of berries, pears, apple, melon, papaya, mango, etc. Not a fan of the water jelly or orange cubes or most commercial gutloads.

@smba310 ...basking temperature is important to aid in digestion. It should not be a colored light and no lights should be left on at night.
Supplementing, feeding/gutloading the insects, proper UVB light, good hydration are all important for your chameleons health.
 
kinyonga said:
@KlutzyRaptor said..."I just got me a baby Veiled Chameleon 2 1/2 month old. We feed her twice a day and about 5 crickets each time...that's not enough if you're feeding it the right size crickets. I would feed it as many well fed, gutloaded and dusted crickets and fruit flies, etc as it can eat in a couple of minutes at each feeding at that age.

You said..." We bought 3 dozen crickets and keep them in a Critter Cage and feed them Cricket food and water jelly. It’s called gut-loading and you can either make your own mix or just buy the cricket food"...for most if my 30+ years of keeping chameleons and other reptiles, I have fed/gutloaded crickets, superworms, etc with dandelion greens, kale, collards, endive, escarole, squash, zucchini, sweet potato,. sweet red pepper, carrots, etc and a small amount of berries, pears, apple, melon, papaya, mango, etc. Not a fan of the water jelly or orange cubes or most commercial gutloads.

@smba310 ...basking temperature is important to aid in digestion. It should not be a colored light and no lights should be left on at night.
Supplementing, feeding/gutloading the insects, proper UVB light, good hydration are all important for your chameleons health.
Click to expand...

@kinyonga The breeder I got her from at the expo said to feed her that amount twice a day and to use the jelly cube. I wish I knew I could have made my own gutload in the beginning. Should I be feeding twice a day? And at her age can I feed her more then just crickets? He also said to get a screen enclosure and we are having problems keeping the humidity up. He said not to get a glass one but would it have been best to?
 
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