Please help! I don't know the age of my chameleon please tell me what you think

[faith.j.p]

So I've recently gotten a veiled chameleon from the Petco, when we bought her the employees didn't give us any background information on her like gender, age etc. We figured out her gender obviously but I'm still not sure about her age... at first I thought she might be about 7 months old but now I'm not sure. So please tell me, how old do you think Smiley is?

 

[MissSkittles]

So I’m not good at figuring out ages, but I’d say she appears to be around 6 months old or so. I saw your other post. If you could fill out the questions, someone can review all of your husbandry and make sure that it’s all correct so that you and Smiley have many happy and healthy years together. Females especially need perfect husbandry as the egg laying has the risk of being problematic and really takes a lot out of them.

 

[faith.j.p]

Okay thanks, will do!

 

[faith.j.p]

So I’m not good at figuring out ages, but I’d say she appears to be around 6 months old or so. I saw your other post. If you could fill out the questions, someone can review all of your husbandry and make sure that it’s all correct so that you and Smiley have many happy and healthy years together. Females especially need perfect husbandry as the egg laying has the risk of being problematic and really takes a lot out of them.

• Your Chameleon - Female, Veiled Chameleon, 6 or 7 months old, I've had her for under a week.
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? I feed her crickets, horn worms, dubia roaches and wax worms. The amount I give her depends on the feeders but no more than 5 for crickets and no more than 2 for horn worms. I haven't had her long but I've been gut-loading with carrots for the moment.
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Zoo med, Yes i dust my feeders, I try to feed her twice a day because she is rather skinny, in the morning at 9am then in the afternoon at 4pm.
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? I hand mist but I have just ordered a automatic misting system which is supposed to be coming soon. How often and how long to you mist? 2 times a day for 3 minutes Do you see your chameleon drinking? I don't see her drink a lot but her urate is white so she is hydrated.
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? Her droppings were solid and the urate was white. She has not been tested.
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. Ive had her for under a week and I dont know too much about her, Over the time I've had her shes maintained a neutral green color and she hasn't appeared to be stressed. Shes more shy than she is aggressive when I had to handle her to get her off a branch she was stuck on she did't hiss or bite she kinda just sat there and refused until i manged to get her off. She likes to eat a lot of leaves and I found its easier to feed her insects outside of a bowl, like for example I tied a dried cricket to a branch and she ate it much faster than she would in a bowl.

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? I have a 16x16x30 screened reptibreeze cage.
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
• View attachment 268793View attachment 268796
• I have these two sets of lights which are on top of my cage, I have her lights on from 9am to 10pm.
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? I have a digital thermometer, The cage floor is 73 degrees which is the lowest temp, and the basking spot is a little above 80 degrees.
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? My humidity levels are 55%. How are you creating and maintaining these levels? I maintain them by having two shower curtains on the sides of my cage to trap the humidity in, and I create them by misting twice a day for 3 minutes. What do you use to measure humidity? Hydrometer
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? No I have fake plants but since Smileys attempts to eat them I got some collard greens that I hung up over top of those plants and she really enjoys eating them.
• Placement - Where is your cage located? My cage is in my room. Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? There are no air vents near by but there is a fan nearby by I have been leaving it off during the day because of smiley. At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? From the floor to the top of the cage it is about 5ft.
• Location - Where are you geographically located? I am located on the coast of North Carolina in the United States.

 

[MissSkittles]

I’ll put my feedback in red.

• Your Chameleon - Female, Veiled Chameleon, 6 or 7 months old, I've had her for under a week.
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? I feed her crickets, horn worms, dubia roaches and wax worms. The amount I give her depends on the feeders but no more than 5 for crickets and no more than 2 for horn worms. I haven't had her long but I've been gut-loading with carrots for the moment. Good variety of feeders. Just keep the wax worms as occasional treats as they are fatty. You could/should be cutting her feedings down to every other day and to 3-4 medium sized feeders. Gut loading needs some improvement. It’s not about keeping the feeders alive so much as it’s passing on nutrition to your cham.
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Zoo med, Yes i dust my feeders, I try to feed her twice a day because she is rather skinny, in the morning at 9am then in the afternoon at 4pm. Is best to feed just once in the morning to give her enough time to properly digest. Is the Zoo Med calcium, with D3 or without, or a multivitamin? Standard supplementation schedule is phosphorus calcium with NO D3 at every feeding except for 4 a month. Two feedings per month (one every other week) should be dusted with calcium with D3 and two feedings (one every other week) with a multivitamin. Correct supplementation is essential not just for strong bones and egg laying, but all over health.
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? I hand mist but I have just ordered a automatic misting system which is supposed to be coming soon. How often and how long to you mist? 2 times a day for 3 minutes Do you see your chameleon drinking? I don't see her drink a lot but her urate is white so she is hydrated. Perfect. Keep the same schedule when you get your mister. Some chams are very secretive when drinking.
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? Her droppings were solid and the urate was white. She has not been tested. Sounds good. Is always a good idea to have a fecal done to check for parasites.
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. Ive had her for under a week and I dont know too much about her, Over the time I've had her shes maintained a neutral green color and she hasn't appeared to be stressed. Shes more shy than she is aggressive when I had to handle her to get her off a branch she was stuck on she did't hiss or bite she kinda just sat there and refused until i manged to get her off. She likes to eat a lot of leaves and I found its easier to feed her insects outside of a bowl, like tied a dried cricket and I tied a string around it and tied it too a branch and she ate it quicker than she would if it was in a bowl. Dried crickets and other already dead bugs are not only bad sources of nutrition (can’t gut load), but chams only eat live buggies.

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? I have a 16x16x30 screened reptibreeze cage. You‘ll, need to upgrade this...much too small. 2x2x4’ or equivalent is minimum for adult chams. Will post a pic that shows the size difference.
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
• View attachment 268793View attachment 268796 For proper uvb, you need to get a linear T5 ho with a 5% uvb bulb and it will need to span the width of your enclosure. Repti Sun makes one and it includes the bulb. Uvb output decreases over time and the 5% bulbs need to be changed every 6 months. Arcadia 6% bulbs can last up to a year.
• I have these two sets of lights which are on top of my cage, I have her lights on from 9am to 10pm. Turn the lights off at 9pm and all is good.
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? I have a digital thermometer, The cage floor is 73 degrees which is the lowest temp, and the basking spot is a little above 80 degrees. Perfect! To help better control egg laying, keeping the basking temp in the low 80’s is ideal.
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? My humidity levels are 55%. How are you creating and maintaining these levels? I maintain them by having two shower curtains on the sides of my cage to trap the humidity in, and I create them by misting twice a day for 3 minutes. What do you use to measure humidity? Hydrometer Humidity is just a tad too high. Is best to keep between 30-50% during the day. Can go up to 100% at night when it’s cooler.
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? No I have fake plants but since Smileys attempts to eat them I got some collard greens that I hung up over top of those plants and she really enjoys eating them. Since Smiley and all other veileds like to eat their plants, it’s best to remove all fake ones and replace with safe live ones. Pothos imho is perfect. This will help. https://chameleonacademy.com/plants/
• Placement - Where is your cage located? My cage is in my room. Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? There are no air vents near by but there is a fan nearby by I have been leaving it off during the day because of smiley. At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? From the floor to the top of the cage it is about 5ft. You should raise it up a bit. Chams feel safest when they are able to look down upon their world.
• Location - Where are you geographically located? I am located on the coast of North Carolina in the United States.

You really need to get a lay bin in her enclosure. It’s easiest/best to make it a permanent part of the enclosure to avoid having to guess when she needs it and the stress of moving a new item into her home. Clean play sand or a mix of that with a little organic soil is best as you need something that will hold a tunnel. Make sure to keep it moist enough for tunneling. Some put a plant in the bin as some chams like to lay against root balls. Minimum size for the lay bin should be 12” on the sides and as deep. Once she starts digging her tunnels, cover visible areas of her enclosure and don’t disturb. They need privacy or they’ll stop their process and risk getting egg bound.
I believe I covered everything. Any questions, just ask...we all love to help chams and their keepers to stay happy and healthy. ☺

 

[SecretLifeofMrMinty]

So I've recently gotten a veiled chameleon from the Petco, when we bought her the employees didn't give us any background information on her like gender, age etc. We figured out her gender obviously but I'm still not sure about her age... at first I thought she might be about 7 months old but now I'm not sure. So please tell me, how old do you think Smiley is?

I actually have no idea, but i have the same problem...

 

[faith.j.p]

I’ll put my feedback in red.

• Your Chameleon - Female, Veiled Chameleon, 6 or 7 months old, I've had her for under a week.
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? I feed her crickets, horn worms, dubia roaches and wax worms. The amount I give her depends on the feeders but no more than 5 for crickets and no more than 2 for horn worms. I haven't had her long but I've been gut-loading with carrots for the moment. Good variety of feeders. Just keep the wax worms as occasional treats as they are fatty. You could/should be cutting her feedings down to every other day and to 3-4 medium sized feeders. Gut loading needs some improvement. It’s not about keeping the feeders alive so much as it’s passing on nutrition to your cham.
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Zoo med, Yes i dust my feeders, I try to feed her twice a day because she is rather skinny, in the morning at 9am then in the afternoon at 4pm. Is best to feed just once in the morning to give her enough time to properly digest. Is the Zoo Med calcium, with D3 or without, or a multivitamin? Standard supplementation schedule is phosphorus calcium with NO D3 at every feeding except for 4 a month. Two feedings per month (one every other week) should be dusted with calcium with D3 and two feedings (one every other week) with a multivitamin. Correct supplementation is essential not just for strong bones and egg laying, but all over health.
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? I hand mist but I have just ordered a automatic misting system which is supposed to be coming soon. How often and how long to you mist? 2 times a day for 3 minutes Do you see your chameleon drinking? I don't see her drink a lot but her urate is white so she is hydrated. Perfect. Keep the same schedule when you get your mister. Some chams are very secretive when drinking.
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? Her droppings were solid and the urate was white. She has not been tested. Sounds good. Is always a good idea to have a fecal done to check for parasites.
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. Ive had her for under a week and I dont know too much about her, Over the time I've had her shes maintained a neutral green color and she hasn't appeared to be stressed. Shes more shy than she is aggressive when I had to handle her to get her off a branch she was stuck on she did't hiss or bite she kinda just sat there and refused until i manged to get her off. She likes to eat a lot of leaves and I found its easier to feed her insects outside of a bowl, like tied a dried cricket and I tied a string around it and tied it too a branch and she ate it quicker than she would if it was in a bowl. Dried crickets and other already dead bugs are not only bad sources of nutrition (can’t gut load), but chams only eat live buggies.

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? I have a 16x16x30 screened reptibreeze cage. You‘ll, need to upgrade this...much too small. 2x2x4’ or equivalent is minimum for adult chams. Will post a pic that shows the size difference.
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
• View attachment 268793View attachment 268796 For proper uvb, you need to get a linear T5 ho with a 5% uvb bulb and it will need to span the width of your enclosure. Repti Sun makes one and it includes the bulb. Uvb output decreases over time and the 5% bulbs need to be changed every 6 months. Arcadia 6% bulbs can last up to a year.
• I have these two sets of lights which are on top of my cage, I have her lights on from 9am to 10pm. Turn the lights off at 9pm and all is good.
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? I have a digital thermometer, The cage floor is 73 degrees which is the lowest temp, and the basking spot is a little above 80 degrees. Perfect! To help better control egg laying, keeping the basking temp in the low 80’s is ideal.
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? My humidity levels are 55%. How are you creating and maintaining these levels? I maintain them by having two shower curtains on the sides of my cage to trap the humidity in, and I create them by misting twice a day for 3 minutes. What do you use to measure humidity? Hydrometer Humidity is just a tad too high. Is best to keep between 30-50% during the day. Can go up to 100% at night when it’s cooler.
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? No I have fake plants but since Smileys attempts to eat them I got some collard greens that I hung up over top of those plants and she really enjoys eating them. Since Smiley and all other veileds like to eat their plants, it’s best to remove all fake ones and replace with safe live ones. Pothos imho is perfect. This will help. https://chameleonacademy.com/plants/
• Placement - Where is your cage located? My cage is in my room. Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? There are no air vents near by but there is a fan nearby by I have been leaving it off during the day because of smiley. At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? From the floor to the top of the cage it is about 5ft. You should raise it up a bit. Chams feel safest when they are able to look down upon their world.
• Location - Where are you geographically located? I am located on the coast of North Carolina in the United States.

You really need to get a lay bin in her enclosure. It’s easiest/best to make it a permanent part of the enclosure to avoid having to guess when she needs it and the stress of moving a new item into her home. Clean play sand or a mix of that with a little organic soil is best as you need something that will hold a tunnel. Make sure to keep it moist enough for tunneling. Some put a plant in the bin as some chams like to lay against root balls. Minimum size for the lay bin should be 12” on the sides and as deep. Once she starts digging her tunnels, cover visible areas of her enclosure and don’t disturb. They need privacy or they’ll stop their process and risk getting egg bound.
I believe I covered everything. Any questions, just ask...we all love to help chams and their keepers to stay happy and healthy. ☺
View attachment 268808View attachment 268811View attachment 268812

Thank you so much, I will keep this all in mind, also the calcium is without d3 and I just looked up a 16 by 16 by 30 cage and it looks alot smaller than the one I actually have... I used the measuring app on my phone and I dont think it measured correctly.

 

[faith.j.p]

I actually have no idea, but i have the same problem...

Aw your Chameleon is cute I like him!

 

[MissSkittles]

I actually have no idea, but i have the same problem...

Yours is a male. Again, I suck at determining age but he is either sub adult or adult.

 

[MissSkittles]

Great place to learn just about everything and then some about chameleons is https://chameleonacademy.com/. Not just what to do, but why to do it. Also has a link to the podcasts.
Another great resource on chameleon care (if you prefer video) is Neptune the chameleon on YouTube. And of course, freely ask on the forum any questions you may have. ☺