Raising Ofelia the Veiled Chameleon

Personally, I think you should limit the number of uncontrolled variables if you really want to measure the effect of no supplementation. By leaving her outside in relatively cold weather you're adding another unknown to the mix that will make it harder to say anything definitive about the supplementation thing. Unless you want to change the experiment to "How well do veiled chameleons survive in San Diego".
I'm saying this under the assumption that the temperatures that she will be exposed to are uncommon for the species in this time of year. I'm by no means an expert on veileds.

Either way, if you want to measure the effect of a certain variable you have to keep as many other variables as possible under control.
 
Good point, but without putting her outside she will have no UVB source. I've watched weather for several Ch. calyptratus locales for a while now, and at certain times of year temps that only reach the 60s or low 70s for extended periods do occur frequently. Really, the only thing I wanted to test was not giving her supplementation dusts. As I don't give them UVB bulbs inside, I believe it is very important for them to be outside frequently but this extended period of low pressure is keeping us under a heavy marine layer all week. I figured the only effects the cooler temps would have would be to perhaps slow down her appetite and growth rate but little else as it is only temporary. Anyway, as she is the first of this species I've raised, I wanted to see how dependent they are on warmer temps for their appetite and metabolism. For instance, I've had F. oustaleti that would act exactly the same during extended periods of temps in the mid-60s as they did during times of mid-80s temps.
 
I think this is a great experiment you have planned. My one comment would be.. if you are attempting to mimic a total natural environment.. to show that dusting is not necessary and such, then why not hold true with the rest of the process? I am not sure on the types of gutloads that insects find in the wild, but im sure they dont have a buffet of greens, carrots, etc etc.

Regardless, i am excited to see the outcome in the next year or so! Keep us posted Kent!
 
CammieNLeno said:
I think this is a great experiment you have planned. My one comment would be.. if you are attempting to mimic a total natural environment.. to show that dusting is not necessary and such, then why not hold true with the rest of the process? I am not sure on the types of gutloads that insects find in the wild, but im sure they dont have a buffet of greens, carrots, etc etc.

Regardless, i am excited to see the outcome in the next year or so! Keep us posted Kent!
Click to expand...

Thanks very much. I know the details of this are still kind of evolving, but what I really want to show with this is that with some knowledge about what your insects eat and exposure to a UVB source, a juvenile female veiled chameleon can be raised successfully.
 
Yesterday's pics of my favorite subject :rolleyes::

DSCF7369.jpg

DSCF7387.jpg
 
I see she had a nice healthy shed recently... Looks like she is doing great so far... Thanks for the update Kent.
 
Whew, I almost forgot to take some pics this weekend. Not much to report though. Ofelia continues to be just about impossible to photograph and still hasn't had any calcium or multivitamin powders. I took a handful of pics 10 minutes ago and this is the only one that's half-decent:
ofelia-6-22-08.jpg


Thanks for the interest!
 
Well, poo. This may be the last update on Ofelia. It appears she exploited an old cage's tear along the bottom frame and squeezed her way to freedom. Due to being in a rush when I did it, I don't recall doing more than just feeding and watering the cage yesterday, which I didn't think was unusual as she is generally difficult to find. I've searched the trees and shrubs nearby and will keep trying until going out with a flashlight later tonight. If she's not been predated upon, she's unfortunately got up to a two-day headstart. Find her or not, looks like the little experiment is over :(
 
Bummer man! Those little Veileds can cover ground once they realize they are free to... I left my girl unattended on a ficus in the backyard for about 1 min... came back and she was gone... Took a couple of hours of looking but we found her... And she had covered a lot more open ground than I thought was possible in the short minute I was away. Hopefully she shows up... Maybe leave some feeders in a cup somewhere for her to find. I have found to ...as this is how I found my girl...They usually do a Bee-Line for the nearest TALL tree. We drew a staright line from her cage to the big tree in my neighbors yard... and found her trying to climb the fence.
 
Damn. Sorry to hear that Kent. I tell you what. They are like freaking hamsters. I saw my 3.5 month old panther squeeze right thru the bars of a bird cage that I was sure would hold him:eek: I thought I was saving money. I also lost my female for 2 days last year and luckily saw her in a tree 50 yards away. She traveled a gravel parking lot for I guess the tree she wanted. She did the same thing as yours. Right thru the bottom. Do you have a lot of trees around? One thing I did was put out dixiecups with a few crix in them and put them in the branches of all the trees and shrubs around although she was further than I expected. Also I sprayed the trees and shurbs down with cold water from the hose tryingto see if I could make her move. Again not the tree she was in. Just look for the most perfect tree for a cham. Well I hope this helps in someway. Good luck Im sure you will find her.

Socal is right about the sraight line and finding the tallest tree. That was the same case as mine.
 
Thanks guys. Unfortunately this is a really old neighborhood (my house used to be army cavalry barracks and was a stop on the Pony Express apparently) with a lot of mature trees....none of which are in my own yard. Next door, where I'm guessing she is are two Ficus ben's. One is really big with really thick leaves. The other is freakin' ginormous and really thick with leaves too. I'm hoping I can find her with a flashlight once she goes into sleep colors tonight. If not, I think the only thing going for us is that if someone finds her with the intentions of locating her owner, enough people around here know I'm the lizard guy for it to be easy.
 
Ofelia is still alive. The next door neighbors saw her yesterday, ran inside to find something to put her in (they're not reptile people) but she had vanished by the time they came back outside. Crap.
 
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