some first timer questions XD

[VeiledPocho]

hi, im new to raising chameleons i bought a 1 month old calyptratus, i am currently feeding him with drosophyles, thats what i´ve been told to do, his terrarium right now consists of some ficus branches, a fruit pot so the flyes come to the terrarium, a fountain, and also a dripping water sistem.
he seems to be doing pretty well but something dosent seem right, i have seen him "scratching" his head against the branches in a pretty hard way, is this normal? he isnt skining right now, so i dont see any reason for him to do that does ne1 now why does this happen?

also ive been wondering the seller at the store told me that metal is toxic for them, not only at contact, he said also near by metals do harm too.. is this tru or not?

im open to sugestions on how to keep raising my cham, im not sure if i should still be feeding him drosophyles, but i cant find silkworms here in my country, the seller told me at some point i should start feeding him tenebrios dont know if its the same name in english, if theres anything else i can feed him im open to sugestions.

sorry for the testament i want him to have the best life posible and sorry for my english its a little bad.

 

[Tygerr]

It doesn't sound like you have all the equipment that you need to raise a chameleon.
What have you got for heat and UVB light? What sort of cage is he in?

Please read through the following sites to learn more about how to care for your new chameleon:
- Chameleons! Online E-Zine - Introduction to Chameleon Husbandry
- The Chameleon's Dish - Chameleons as Pets
- Successful Keeping of Veiled Chameleons (despite it's focus being Veiled chameleons, it has some excellent husbandry advice that applies to all chameleons)


Good luck.

 

[dodolah]

hello veiled poncho,
where are you originally from?

return the fountain/ waterfall to the seller.
That is a piece of junk. It is useless and harmful to your chameleon.

as far as chameleon cannot touch metal, that's a load of nonsense.
fruit flies is great for feeding babies.
After your baby reach 3 to 4 months old, he will need to move out from glass cage into the screen cage.

go to this section and answer the Qs listed there in this thread. Be very specific all the way to the brand of product you are using.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

Check my signature link for the general info.

 

[VeiledPocho]

* Cage Type - nylon screen. 40cm x 40cm x 70cm
* Lighting - exoterra Sun glow 75w, night glow 75w, sun glow from 7am till 6pm and then i turn on night glow for the whole night
* Temperature - 26ºc-30ºc, 30ºc, 27ºc
* Humidity - 60%-70%, misting
* Plants - yes, ficus
* Location - its near the window, i have a cealing fan but cage is very distant from it

* Your Chameleon - Veiled, male, 1.5 months aprox.
* Feeding - Drosophyles, i gut load them with banana, mango, and other fruits.
* Supplements - Reptical with D3, 2 times a week
* Watering - dripping sistem, yes i have seen him drinking
* Fecal Description - Humid but not much, white tip with a little bit of orange orange part varies each day
* History -
* Current Problem - just seeking for some recomendations or tips.

 

[VeiledPocho]

oh and im from Venezuela dodolah

 

[hawaiianice99]

there are probably a hundred threads on here that will tell you everything you need to know. and sorry to say it but it sounds like you were taken, and yet another victim of the the pet store salesman.

 

[dodolah]

no need for night heater unless the temp drop below 15 C.
they prefer 10 degree drop in the night.

 

[kinyonga]

You said you have a fountain..fountains aren't recommended...they are hard to keep clean and bacteria-free.

You said..."i have seen him "scratching" his head against the branches in a pretty hard way, is this normal? he isnt skining right now, so i dont see any reason for him to do that does ne1 now why does this happen?"...some compact lights cause eye problems.

You said..."the seller at the store told me that metal is toxic for them, not only at contact, he said also near by metals do harm too.. is this tru or not?"...never heard that in the more than 20 years that I've been keeping chameleons.

You said..."im not sure if i should still be feeding him drosophyles, but i cant find silkworms here in my country, the seller told me at some point i should start feeding him tenebrios dont know if its the same name in english, if theres anything else i can feed him im open to sugestions"...mealworm are Tenebrio molitor. I don't use mealworms for my chameleons. You can use waxworms once in a while...but small crickets are used most often. They are easy to gutload. Small roaches or superworms could be used and once in a while, waxworms.

I dust the insects with a phosphorous-free calcium powder at most feedings. I also dust twice a month with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene source of vitamin A. Because my chameleons don't get sunlight, I also dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

I believe you are getting some excellent advice.

-Brad

 

[VeiledPocho]

Thx for the help guys, im not gonna use the night lamp nemore to see how he reacts, as for the scratching what should i do to solve this? or should i just dont mind it?
thx again for all the help

 

[Brad Ramsey]

He's probably getting ready to shed.
I wouldn't be surprised if he starts in the next day or two ... young veileds shed about every two to three weeks.

-Brad

 

[Tygerr]

I still haven't seen any confirmation that you have a UVB tube bulb in your cage. The ExoTerra SunGlo is not good enough on its own - it only produces UVA.

You also need to have a light like this above your cage:

(That's a ZooMed Reptisun 5.0 Flourescent UVB bulb)