Preparing for my first chameleon, tips appreciated

Traildrifterphalanx said:
Haha, thanks. I've considered panthers as well, being so cool and colorful, but I think I'm pretty set on a veiled for now. Yes, they're the more common and "disposable" one, but the amount of money I spend on them won't change the attention and care I give to them, unfortunately for the general population this may differ.
I'm sure temperament is largely based off of interaction with the animal, and I interact with my animals many times daily, so hopefully that should offset any moodiness.

Regarding gender, I do see males coming off as the easier of the two due to eggs. I thought about getting another male beardie after my oldest succumbed to cancer (female, she showed symptoms of being gravid up until it was confirmed as cancer) but loved the idea of another little girl. Perhaps it's best not to have two female lizards so I'm not doing double gravid, though...
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I just like to think of the classic veiled moodiness as personality :). Veileds are so pretty in my opinion because of their colors combined with their size and casque. It makes for a beautiful animal. Not that I wouldn't get a panther too if I had a chance ;).
 
Just to add to the panther vs veiled: definitely nothing wrong a veiled, not trying to change your mind, but getting a veiled, be prepared for an animal that might hate you forever. You see some with easy going veileds, but many are just naturally aggressive and interaction may not change it at all. I keep panthers and and they're as calm as could be, with the exception of my new little guy which is the first panther I've seen hiss/lunge at me. He's starting to relax though. Honestly I think the moody, grumpy personality is entertaining(not that i provoke them). I don't insist on holding my animals. I actually prefer not most of the time because my panthers climb up onto my face and head. They never sit still, but they love climbing all over me any chance they get.
 
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etclement said:
I just like to think of the classic veiled moodiness as personality :). Veileds are so pretty in my opinion because of their colors combined with their size and casque. It makes for a beautiful animal. Not that I wouldn't get a panther too if I had a chance ;).
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Girl veiled are awesome . My little girl is a little spit fire sassy as can be . She's adorable!!. First pic is Frances pissed off at her feeding cup sec she was about 2 weeks off of laying her first clutch . Check out @jannb beautys !!. She had them all posted under Photos .
 
Kristen Wilkins said:
Girl veiled are awesome . My little girl is a little spit fire sassy as can be . She's adorable!!. First pic is Frances pissed off at her feeding cup sec she was about 2 weeks off of laying her first clutch . Check out @jannb beautys !!. She had them all posted under Photos .
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She's gorgeous! I think you reopened the debate on whether to go male or female. I love her colors!

My uvb light finally arrived, and of course now I can't find the dome fixture for the basking bulb. Oi.

I've also finally decided on a location. It's straight across from a large, north facing bay window in my living room and out of sight of the beardies.
I picked up a draceana and my large climbing sticks are bleach mixture soaked, soaked again, and air dried indoors.
IMAG3691.jpg
My new buddy can hang out near the frogs. Please don't mind that the plant is still in a home depot bag. I do plan to repot it prior to adopting a chameleon, lol.
The hibiscus is still outside, in a new pot, soaking up all the sun it can get for the time being.

All I seem to have left is getting some horizontal railways, adding the hibiscus and pothos, and setting up the basking light.
I'll look into doing a feeding cup as well.
 
Traildrifterphalanx said:
​

She's gorgeous! I think you reopened the debate on whether to go male or female. I love her colors!

My uvb light finally arrived, and of course now I can't find the dome fixture for the basking bulb. Oi.

I've also finally decided on a location. It's straight across from a large, north facing bay window in my living room and out of sight of the beardies.
I picked up a draceana and my large climbing sticks are bleach mixture soaked, soaked again, and air dried indoors.
View attachment 184344
My new buddy can hang out near the frogs. Please don't mind that the plant is still in a home depot bag. I do plan to repot it prior to adopting a chameleon, lol.
The hibiscus is still outside, in a new pot, soaking up all the sun it can get for the time being.

All I seem to have left is getting some horizontal railways, adding the hibiscus and pothos, and setting up the basking light.
I'll look into doing a feeding cup as well.
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Thank you Frances is a Grumpy little beauty . She has tons of attitude. She's a little spit fire !!. Our little boy Septiceye could not be more different he is a lover no question he is super social @Matt Vanilla Gorilla make sure of that . He's a little love and I think he has eyes for Frances lol . Septiceye is a panther.

@CharlieCharmingo is correct the babies rule . All our babies do what they want lol !!. Have us wrapped around their beautiful little grabby feet !!.

Our beardie boys are not housed in the same room as Frances and Septiceye but they are seen by the chameleon daily and have no prob . Also I know @CharlieCharmingo beardies and Tony are often see by each other . I really believe it's what they are used too .

The plants will be fantastic in there !!. Your new baby will love his/her condo . Do you have a grow bulb ? You can use branches from out side they work fantastic.
 
I'm not gonna lie, I know nothing of grow bulbs other than their function, lol. I've never used one. The pothos I'm sure will be fine without, but I'm unsure of the other two, especially the hibiscus.

The branches I used are from the giant mature maple tree that chooses to litter them all over my lawn, lol. I could easily snap a few more to size and bake them for the horizontal tails. The two branches in there now were too large to fit in the oven so had to soak in the tub. I have dried reeds as well I could size down
 
Traildrifterphalanx said:
I'm not gonna lie, I know nothing of grow bulbs other than their function, lol. I've never used one. The pothos I'm sure will be fine without, but I'm unsure of the other two, especially the hibiscus.

The branches I used are from the giant mature maple tree that chooses to litter them all over my lawn, lol. I could easily snap a few more to size and bake them for the horizontal tails. The two branches in there now were too large to fit in the oven so had to soak in the tub. I have dried reeds as well I could size down
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The potho absolutely will be fine the hibiscus will need a bulb . You will need full spectrum what did you get for uvb and backing ? Or did you go with lightyourreptiles ? They have a great quod set up .
 
Traildrifterphalanx said:
Thanks for the warm welcome!
I see a lot of people reaching out for help on the beardie forum months after getting them and it's often too late to help and usually uvb related, so I wanted to be sure not to be that person. I will sit with the empty enclosure until I'm absolutely ready.

And I do apologize for getting a little defensive about the cat, but it seems mentioning cats over on the bearded dragon forum instantly means you're pets are in danger from some members, so I felt it necessary to come out the door defending her.

Here's my happy pet family!
Alucard, 3mo female
View attachment 183668
Richter, 9mo male
View attachment 183669
Yoshi and Richter
View attachment 183670
Hypnotoad, the Pacman frog
View attachment 183671
And Gunther (female), Luis (male), and Kashi-Go-Lean (male), the African dwarf frogs.
View attachment 183672
That's Luis hugging onto Kashi. They'll figure it out one day.
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looks like your going to do great. honestly with my experients. chameleons are played up too much. are you going for free range or caged? just make sure to keep your cat away. and if you have two beardies im sure your well educated on cricket health and gut loading. be sure to feed your new veiled baby plenty of food every day.
 
The chameleon is going to be caged, and my cat doesn't give a second thought to my critters.
As far as food, I have a dubia roach colony that will be the main source of food. My beardies and Pacman frog all take part in eating from it. The feeders are fed fresh veggies and apples. I also dust their feeders.
 
I've heard stuff about the coil uvb, but I think in the long run I'll probably upgrade to an Arcadia bulb, anyway. Both my dragons use one and have no issues :) I'll watch for eye issues, and probably upgrade after around a year, when it needs replacement, or as soon as I see any health or eye issues
 
Traildrifterphalanx said:
The chameleon is going to be caged, and my cat doesn't give a second thought to my critters.
As far as food, I have a dubia roach colony that will be the main source of food. My beardies and Pacman frog all take part in eating from it. The feeders are fed fresh veggies and apples. I also dust their feeders.
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You will be good too go . Chameleon do like verity . You may want to through some worms in . Silkies , super worms , wax worms all are good . Hornworms are fantastic for hydration . Your beardies will love them too .
 
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