Suggestions?
- Thread starter jewelsosco
- Start date
#Chams4life
Avid Member
Hello and welcome to the forums! Looking good so far! Definitely need to add a lot more vines/branches and foliage but you're on the right track! He needs more horizontal vines and/or branches. You should replace the dome with a linear t5 UVB bulb. You can keep the dome for the heat bulb though if you don't wanna spend money on a single dome. I can't tell what type of plants you have, but veileds eat plants so just make sure they are safe.
Would you mind posting some pictures of your cham and some of the back of the back feet? Looks awful big for 5 months and looks like a female from the pictures.
Would you mind posting some pictures of your cham and some of the back of the back feet? Looks awful big for 5 months and looks like a female from the pictures.
jewelsosco
New Member
Thank you so much! The live plants are a pothos and a corn plant. I'm not sure about his actual age but 5 months has been my approximate guess. Here are some pictures of him. His spurs are partially visible in the one with him in the corn plant
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Kaizen
Chameleon Enthusiast
I agree with @#Chams4life: more horizontal branches at different heights in the top region of the cage. And most importantly, a linear t5 uvb bulb. Additionally, it is a great idea to fill out the how to ask for help form, linked below. I know you’re not actually in need of health advice right now, but having the form filled out and ready is really handy in case of emergency, and, most importantly, forces you to answer husbandry questions you didn’t even know about:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/how-to-ask-for-help.66/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/how-to-ask-for-help.66/
jewelsosco
New Member
Thank you so much
jewelsosco
New Member
Hey everyone im newi have a 5 month old vieled chameleon named demetrius (mimi for short). just upgraded him to a 2x2x4! any suggestions for what i can add in?
here's an update
#Chams4life
Avid Member
Oh I see now lol. Yep definitely male. Couldn't see his pastel colors in the first pictures. Very pretty. He looks older than 5 months. I would say 7-8 months old.
The cage is looking better!
Brodybreaux25
Chameleon Enthusiast
Agree with above^
Good progress with more foliage!
A chameleons #1 defense against predation is its ability to blend in and stay hidden. Obviously your Cham doesn’t really have to worry about predation too much but they can’t override their instinct. Ideally you should have to actually look for your Cham for a couple of seconds when approaching the viv. Not all the time but occasionally. You should also try to build in one place where you cham can go and be completely hidden. This is for their comfort but the foliage I mentioned previously is for their health.
By having lots of foliage and branches of various thicknesses you are creating different gradients for your cham to move into and out of at will to meet their bodily needs. Start by placing a couple larger plants in your viv and connect them with a few branches. Then backfill the other gaps with smaller plants and connect them to your bigger plants with more branches. What gaps you have remaining should be filled with a few branches here and there so your Cham can access these areas as well. It’s a balancing act, you will need to play with it a bit, careful to not congest the viv by jamming too much in there.
To review:
-To a Cham, foliage and hiding spots = security.
-Think of the plants as towns/cities and the branches as the roads that connect them.
-Remember, empty space in a viv = wasted space.
Good progress with more foliage!
A chameleons #1 defense against predation is its ability to blend in and stay hidden. Obviously your Cham doesn’t really have to worry about predation too much but they can’t override their instinct. Ideally you should have to actually look for your Cham for a couple of seconds when approaching the viv. Not all the time but occasionally. You should also try to build in one place where you cham can go and be completely hidden. This is for their comfort but the foliage I mentioned previously is for their health.
By having lots of foliage and branches of various thicknesses you are creating different gradients for your cham to move into and out of at will to meet their bodily needs. Start by placing a couple larger plants in your viv and connect them with a few branches. Then backfill the other gaps with smaller plants and connect them to your bigger plants with more branches. What gaps you have remaining should be filled with a few branches here and there so your Cham can access these areas as well. It’s a balancing act, you will need to play with it a bit, careful to not congest the viv by jamming too much in there.
To review:
-To a Cham, foliage and hiding spots = security.
-Think of the plants as towns/cities and the branches as the roads that connect them.
-Remember, empty space in a viv = wasted space.
jewelsosco
New Member
Thank you, I will definitely keep this in mind
