Setting up a new cage and having questions! Please help answer them...Please!

[gingie]

Okay I'm setting up a 24 x 24 x 48 cage for a baby veiled cham. I have never had one before and I'm kinda nervous! Here are my questions
1. Can I sit the lights just on top of the cage? I'm going to screen off the cage to make it not so tall for that baby but will they be too far away then?

2. starting out is it better to start with a baby veiled or should I be looking a different one or an older one?

3. where is the best spot in my house to put the cage?

4. should or shouldn't you handle your cham? I hear as little as possible but then I see tons of pics of them being handled or outside etc...?

5. does anyone have any do or don't from personal experience with a baby veiled?

6 to mist or not to mist your cham?

7. how many crickets should a baby veiled eat at a time and how many?

8 what should the temp/hum be kept at?

9 what lighting, heat and UVA UVB lamps should I have on him?

These are just of the questions I have. I have done my research but some of the informations I've read doesn't always match so I'm just trying to get at much info as possible to be as prepared as possible! Thank you for your help in advance!
Future cham mom!!
Michelle

 

[Texas Panther Man]

When you section off the cage its easier to sections off the bottom and put in a false floor so he will be using the top 1/2 of the cage. As far as bulbs and heat go. The vast majority of keepers use 1 uvb fluorescent bulb (repti sun 5.0 rec) and 1 incandescent light bulb in a dome fixture (60 watt should be ok) You will need a digital thermometer and hygrometer also you can get those at home depot or wally world cheaper. Position his lights and basking perches so that he can get about 8" below the uvb and basking bulbs. I like my basking spots to be in the low to mid 80's depending on the time of day in my home. It starts at around 80 in the morning and tops out at 83 in the afternoon. Hope that helps.

 

[gingie]

Thank you! Have you ever used a UVA UVB basking light?

 

[Stalker]

i started with a baby veiled cham and i have no problem he is 6 months old now.I've read that they don't usualy drink water from bowl but mine does.I bought waterfall and he goes there and drinks water from it and it looks great too.Most of the people are using misting sistems or dripping water on leaves 2-3 times a day for 10-15 mins. I've read that the humidity should be 60% + i keep it around 65-70%.I think it is best to put the chameleon somewhere where it will be less bothered because causing stress to the reptile isn't good ... as for the food i've made a feeder and im putting the crickets and other insect there so i can monitor how much he eats (and ofcourse he always know where the food is ) so if he stops eating i know that there is some kind of problem.I'm giving him as much as he wants to eat, I've read that adults need to be on diet (6 per day or 12 the other day) but the younger chameleons should eat as much as they want.You need to use a lot of plants so the chameleon have plenty of places to hide and feel comfortable.I have only ficus pumila as live plant (he ate it) but i'v read you can use ficus benjamina and hibiscus.

 

[Stalker]

I'ts good to make a reasearch about the illneses
one verry tricky is MBD you need to use multivitamin and calcium to prevent catching it
Juviniles Calcium without D3 twice a week
Multivitamin twice a week
Adults- Calcium without D3 once a week
Multivitamin once a month
Females (gravid) –Calcium without D3 twice a week
Multivitamin once to twice a week
you should gutload the insects you feed him with

 

[Stalker]

i'm using exo terra Repti Glo UVB 5.0/T8 36" 90cm 30W
and for the basking spot exo terra sun glo halogen

 

[Carlton]

i'm using exo terra Repti Glo UVB 5.0/T8 36" 90cm 30W
and for the basking spot exo terra sun glo halogen

The ReptiGlo will be good for the UV your cham needs. For the basking spot you can use an ordinary incandescent light bulb. A baby can overheat and dehydrate more easily so the halogen might be a bit intense for the smaller baby setup.

 

[mlw50]

1. Can I sit the lights just on top of the cage? I'm going to screen off the cage to make it not so tall for that baby but will they be too far away then?

2. starting out is it better to start with a baby veiled or should I be looking a different one or an older one?

3. where is the best spot in my house to put the cage?

4. should or shouldn't you handle your cham? I hear as little as possible but then I see tons of pics of them being handled or outside etc...?

5. does anyone have any do or don't from personal experience with a baby veiled?

6 to mist or not to mist your cham?

7. how many crickets should a baby veiled eat at a time and how many?

8 what should the temp/hum be kept at?

9 what lighting, heat and UVA UVB lamps should I have on him?

1. It typically depends on the wattage and ambient temperature. To be safe i secured metal brackets to the frame and have the heat lamp lifted about half an inch away from the screen.

2. veileds are typically considereda "starter" cham, along with panthers, because they both tolerate mistakes in hisbandry better than other species. As for age, my first(and only) cham was a 3.5month old panther, so he was young, but not too young. For a first time owner, you probably don't want to go any younger than 3 months.

3. The best place in your house would be a nice, quite, low-traffic spot.

4. The general rule of thumb for handling is as little as possible. Owners will handle their cham when cleaning or when taking their cham outside for some natural rays. Excessice handling will stress the chameleon and stress KILLS

5. As for do's and don't's, I never owned a baby veiled, but search the forum, and if you have any specific questions, there are plenty of experienced owners here willing to help.

6. Generally don't mist the chameleon directly, they will hate it and run away. However, mist the cage several times a day for several minutes each time. With that being said, a dry-out period is essential to prevent bacterial growth in the cage.

7. As a baby they will eat their hearts out, and feeding really depends on the size of the feeder. A well-gutloaded variety will benfit your cham. Try dubia, they are SOOO much easier to deal with than crickets. In addition, try butterworms, superworms, hornworms as your cham gets larger, and silkworms. There are other feeders, too, that I left out of this list.

8. I am unsure of this, because I don't own a veiled, but a quick forum search will turn this up for you.

9. Lighting wise, you should get a reptisun 5.0(can be bought at www.lllreptile.com or any pet store. From my experience, lllreptile is cheaper) and a regular house incadescent bulb for heating in the heat lamp(avoid colored bulbs sold at pet shops). 60 watts should do the trick, then you can just adjust basking braches accordingly.

I hope that helps!
-Matt

 

[JJC]

Supplements

I'ts good to make a reasearch about the illneses
one verry tricky is MBD you need to use multivitamin and calcium to prevent catching it
Juviniles Calcium without D3 twice a week
Multivitamin twice a week

I was advised by BocaJan (Senior Member) to supplement my baby Veiled Chameleon as following:
multi-vit once a month
calcium w/D3 2 times a month
plain calcium the rest of the time

I am also a first time Cham owner, I have had my Veiled for only 4 weeks now, but I have learnt so much from this site. Using the search button you can find info on everything and anything you need.

Cheers!
Julia

 

[Stalker]

Juviniles Calcium without D3 twice a week
Multivitamin twice a week
Adults- Calcium without D3 once a week
Multivitamin once a month
Females (gravid) –Calcium without D3 twice a week
Multivitamin once to twice a week

this if from a thread in this forum

 

[ChameleonRave]

i started with a baby veiled cham and i have no problem he is 6 months old now.I've read that they don't usualy drink water from bowl but mine does.I bought waterfall and he goes there and drinks water from it and it looks great too.Most of the people are using misting sistems or dripping water on leaves 2-3 times a day for 10-15 mins. I've read that the humidity should be 60% + i keep it around 65-70%.I think it is best to put the chameleon somewhere where it will be less bothered because causing stress to the reptile isn't good ... as for the food i've made a feeder and im putting the crickets and other insect there so i can monitor how much he eats (and ofcourse he always know where the food is ) so if he stops eating i know that there is some kind of problem.I'm giving him as much as he wants to eat, I've read that adults need to be on diet (6 per day or 12 the other day) but the younger chameleons should eat as much as they want.You need to use a lot of plants so the chameleon have plenty of places to hide and feel comfortable.I have only ficus pumila as live plant (he ate it) but i'v read you can use ficus benjamina and hibiscus.

my 3 month Veiled also drinks from a dish too

 

[mlw50]

Absolutely don't use a water dish, just spray the cage.
For supplementation use the RepCal brand(can be bought at www.lllreptile.com, possibly your local petshop, or a reptile expo) and the schedule for a juvenile veiled or panther should be:

Calcium without D3 every feeding
Calcium with D3 once every 2 weeks
Multivitamin once every 2 weeks

 

[JJC]

Hey "Stalker" check out this link... https://www.chameleonforums.com/supplement-dispute-43911/

 

[Stalker]

Hey "Stalker" check out this link... https://www.chameleonforums.com/supplement-dispute-43911/

https://www.chameleonforums.com/supplementation-mbd-1-a-2451/
...
i was writhing about this thread i got the info from here but i might be wrong i just wrote what i am doing
so im doing this as well as a good gutloading and my chameleon gets direct sunlight in his enclosure almost every mornig ... depends on the clouds and it looks like i need to use the multivitamin once every 2 weeks thanks