ZiggyStardust
New Member
Hello very experienced and knowledgeable Cham owners!
Can I just say, by the way, that if I hadn't discovered this forum, my newly owned male Veiled would probably be dead in about a month, so thank you all so much for the knowledge that you pass on.
Bit of background.
I am new to keeping chameleons. We have owned Mediterranean Spur Thighed Tortoises for 16 years but I have never had the pleasure of owning a lizard. Anyhoo - happened across them for sale recently at a reputable reptile and aquatic store in Blackpool, England. have to say that despite being absolutely fascinated by these creatures for nearly all my life, I had never seen one in the flesh, so to see them for sale sent me into orbit! I knew that I had to do this!
So, about 6 weeks ago, I told the store proprietor that I wanted to be a cham owner. I told him that I had never kept a lizard before, was a total novice, but that I intended to do a lot of reading and make sure that I knew what I was getting into before I took the plunge.
I asked him if he could set everything up for me - bought a large viv which is all glass, with opening front doors and a screen top.
Went to pick it up and everything was in situ. Substrate (which i know now is the devil's spawn for chameleons but I didn;t know any different then), lots of branches, artificial leaves, perching places. UV and heat lamp, themostat controlled.
Took it all home and tested everything for 48 hours before I went to collect my male Cham, Ziggy.
Everything fine for the next 3 weeks.
Ziggy expressed a preference, in fact an insistence for hoppers and stopped entertaining crickets as soon as I introduced them. Eating between 10 and 20 hoppers a day. Dusting hoppers with calcium and with a vitamin suppment and D3 once every 2 weeks. I have a tank for my feeders with fresh greens and fruit.
I work full time, so misted Ziggy's tank every morning for 5 minutes, came home at lunchtime and put a dripper in and then misted again in the evening.
He was thriving. He has shedded since I brought him home, pooping and expressing urate (is that the right word for the white urine that he produces - the tortoises do the same) and was happy colours although would not tolerate the possibility of being handled at all - gaped, hissed and tried to bite me when I tried.
So I left him alone.
However......... in the last week, the humidity in the tank has been climbing higher and higher. It is very warm in the UK at the moment, so I have been misting more, thought that was the reason.
But in the last few days, I have seen that the substrate, where it is pressed up against the glass of the tank was soaked. Obviously, because of the amount of water that has been going into the tank, and I can't have a drainage system, because the bottom of the viv is glass.
Yesterday evening, i came home to a very very unhappy Cham.
The humiditiy was up in the high 80s. It normally never gets this high unless during the night, when it climbs and then dips during the day.
Ziggy had been at the bottom of the viv at some point and was absolutely COVERED in wet substrate. I thought that he had eaten it, but he hadn't - he had just been poling about in it!
He was black as the ace of spades and hadn't eaten any of his hoppers.
So tonight - i have taken action!
Catching him was a nightmare and Lee my hubby had a pair of gardening gloves on to do the job but we got him out and into a keeper tank.
I have spent 4 hours gutting that awful, soaking wet and stinking substrate out of the tank, all the plants out, cleaning them and have put down astroturf, with the artificials in plant pots off the floor so that I can see the base easily, with kitchen towels put down to catch the wet, which can be replaced every day.
I have put Ziggy back in tonight and I swear to god, within 1 hour he was happy colours, roaming around and eating!
I am so relieved and so thankful to you guys on here, because, without you I would never have known that substrate was evil for Chams. I am going to go into the reptile centre on Saturday who set me up with Ziggy to tell him that he really needs to rethink his husbandry. I thought he was an expert, but it turns out that he really isn't.
So I guess this is a story with a happy ending, hopefully! I am a world more wise now on keeping Chams so thank you all for everything.
Love this forum!
Rachel
PS sorry for the massive post!!!!!
Can I just say, by the way, that if I hadn't discovered this forum, my newly owned male Veiled would probably be dead in about a month, so thank you all so much for the knowledge that you pass on.
Bit of background.
I am new to keeping chameleons. We have owned Mediterranean Spur Thighed Tortoises for 16 years but I have never had the pleasure of owning a lizard. Anyhoo - happened across them for sale recently at a reputable reptile and aquatic store in Blackpool, England. have to say that despite being absolutely fascinated by these creatures for nearly all my life, I had never seen one in the flesh, so to see them for sale sent me into orbit! I knew that I had to do this!
So, about 6 weeks ago, I told the store proprietor that I wanted to be a cham owner. I told him that I had never kept a lizard before, was a total novice, but that I intended to do a lot of reading and make sure that I knew what I was getting into before I took the plunge.
I asked him if he could set everything up for me - bought a large viv which is all glass, with opening front doors and a screen top.
Went to pick it up and everything was in situ. Substrate (which i know now is the devil's spawn for chameleons but I didn;t know any different then), lots of branches, artificial leaves, perching places. UV and heat lamp, themostat controlled.
Took it all home and tested everything for 48 hours before I went to collect my male Cham, Ziggy.
Everything fine for the next 3 weeks.
Ziggy expressed a preference, in fact an insistence for hoppers and stopped entertaining crickets as soon as I introduced them. Eating between 10 and 20 hoppers a day. Dusting hoppers with calcium and with a vitamin suppment and D3 once every 2 weeks. I have a tank for my feeders with fresh greens and fruit.
I work full time, so misted Ziggy's tank every morning for 5 minutes, came home at lunchtime and put a dripper in and then misted again in the evening.
He was thriving. He has shedded since I brought him home, pooping and expressing urate (is that the right word for the white urine that he produces - the tortoises do the same) and was happy colours although would not tolerate the possibility of being handled at all - gaped, hissed and tried to bite me when I tried.
So I left him alone.
However......... in the last week, the humidity in the tank has been climbing higher and higher. It is very warm in the UK at the moment, so I have been misting more, thought that was the reason.
But in the last few days, I have seen that the substrate, where it is pressed up against the glass of the tank was soaked. Obviously, because of the amount of water that has been going into the tank, and I can't have a drainage system, because the bottom of the viv is glass.
Yesterday evening, i came home to a very very unhappy Cham.
The humiditiy was up in the high 80s. It normally never gets this high unless during the night, when it climbs and then dips during the day.
Ziggy had been at the bottom of the viv at some point and was absolutely COVERED in wet substrate. I thought that he had eaten it, but he hadn't - he had just been poling about in it!
He was black as the ace of spades and hadn't eaten any of his hoppers.
So tonight - i have taken action!
Catching him was a nightmare and Lee my hubby had a pair of gardening gloves on to do the job but we got him out and into a keeper tank.
I have spent 4 hours gutting that awful, soaking wet and stinking substrate out of the tank, all the plants out, cleaning them and have put down astroturf, with the artificials in plant pots off the floor so that I can see the base easily, with kitchen towels put down to catch the wet, which can be replaced every day.
I have put Ziggy back in tonight and I swear to god, within 1 hour he was happy colours, roaming around and eating!
I am so relieved and so thankful to you guys on here, because, without you I would never have known that substrate was evil for Chams. I am going to go into the reptile centre on Saturday who set me up with Ziggy to tell him that he really needs to rethink his husbandry. I thought he was an expert, but it turns out that he really isn't.
So I guess this is a story with a happy ending, hopefully! I am a world more wise now on keeping Chams so thank you all for everything.
Love this forum!
Rachel
PS sorry for the massive post!!!!!
but its after lights out now 
