Taming Yemen Chemeleon

[unixmiah]

Hi everyone and TIA.

I'm a first time Chameleon owner. My Yemen Chameleon is very trippy to look at, sometimes I stare at him for hours, they are very different looking than any reptiles, looks really interesting and fascinated by it, I could do this all night, love him so far, debating if I should name him wasabi or rango.

I'm new and I put all my questions in a a list for basic beginners knowledge besides posting all these question in separate threads.

Could someone please tell me how I can warm up to my new Yemen Green Chameleon? he runs away when I give him his crickets, I want to hand feed him but do I need time? I got him a week ago.

Do they change from Green to something more colorful when they are adults?

He also loves flies and I also read they can die from eating one firefly from their bio-luminescent toxins.

I've been leaving the lights on for 24/7 and didn't know, just last night I turned off both the lights for 8 hours. Do both lights needs to be on for 12 hours? How long and which or both lights show stay on?

He also dips in the water fountain and I also got him a http://www.amazon.com/BioBubble-Reptile-Drinking-Fountain-Green/dp/B00QYT2KFO - he dips half of his body in the fountain, i thought it might drown so I go thim the BioBubble and turned the other water fountain off where he can sink.

He seems bipolar, sometimes he looks pissed, doesn't move and has black dots - im not sure if he sees something in his cage that I'm not seeing. I don't bother him, I'm letting him settle, I dont reach for him either because now he runs away from me. How do I warm up to him please tell. Most times he is super green, i can't see him sometimes because he blends in, once it took me 10 minutes to find him but he was in front of me the whole time, very sneaky sometimes. He seems active and eats, can't predict the moode.

His cage is always 80% Tropical humidity- will this grow mold eventually? there are these puddles of water on the bottom from the fountain, will this be an issue?

Here is a video of him and his cage. I got this cage at a pet store but they didn't have the exo terra screen cage, this one is glass but the sides have screens and top has screens and i put fan on sometimes to get rid of the stuffy smell to air it out - i need to get the exo terra all screen cage for $99.00 -

his cage looks different now, i organized it more and made it much prettier tired mimicking yemen/saudi desert forest and keep it at 83 degrees at all times, its hotter there I'm sure.
i don't want him getting bored or pissed or giving me attitude because of the lack of things in his cage.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elM9uUl3ShI&feature=youtu.be

 

[Carlton]

Just about all your questions are discussed in the cham care information sheets located under the forum "Resources" tab. You definitely don't want to leave any lights on at night. Chams need a temp drop at night and no visible light in order to sleep.

The care articles will describe the proper lighting, temps, humidity level (yours is too high right now), correct feeding and supplementation, etc.

Generally it can take several weeks for a new cham to settle in to a new home, so he'll be shyer or a bit more pissy for a while. To get him used to being handled first get him on a daily schedule (lights, feeding, watering, etc) so his world is more predictable. Chams hate change. Then start offering him favorite food insects in a container held in your hand. Eventually you can offer the insect without the container once he doesn't think of you as a big predator. All chams are individuals so its hard to predict how tolerant your particular one will be. You need to be patient, as chams are not the quickest learners in the world.

 

[Dirtydan]

Open the cage door and put your hand in the cage. Make sure you and your hand is under the chameleon or else he will likely bite you. Your hand should be about 3 inches away from the Cham. If your chameleon hisses or puffs up do not jerk away. That will encourage bad behavior. Just move your hand back a little so he can't bite you. Do this every day until your Cham one day decides to go on your hand. I did the same exact thing with my Cham and he begs to come out of his cage. Good luck and remember not to jerk your hand away if your Cham tries to bite you

 

[Dirtydan]

Screen cages are MANDATORY

 

[unixmiah]

@Dirtydan

I got him from Petco; I did want to order it from a better place like online but wan't sure how the shipping works. There aren't any local breeders here in richmond, va.

When I was looking at their cages I saw this glass/screen cage and it had a picture of a Chemeleon on it; I know i must sound stupid and new. They didn't have a full screen cage.

I'm going to change his cage next month and looking to get an exo terra all screen cage.

 

[kinyonga]

Do you know about supplementing, feeding/gutloading the insects, appropriate basking temperatures, using UVB lights? If you don't you need to learn ASAP or you will likely be posting about a chameleon with health issues. Too bad you hadn't looked into chameleon husbandry before you got one.

 

[Carlton]

Screen cages are MANDATORY

No, not necessarily. Many keepers use combination glass/screen terrariums and some use large solid-sided terrariums with fan air circulation. It comes down to each keeper's house situation and attention to detail.

 

[Carlton]

@Dirtydan

I got him from Petco; I did want to order it from a better place like online but wan't sure how the shipping works. There aren't any local breeders here in richmond, va.

When I was looking at their cages I saw this glass/screen cage and it had a picture of a Chemeleon on it; I know i must sound stupid and new. They didn't have a full screen cage.

I'm going to change his cage next month and looking to get an exo terra all screen cage.

What matters is whether you can adjust the cage to provide the correct temps, humidity, and airflow, not whether your cage is all screen or not. Careful monitoring with good quality temp and humidity gauges, good maintenance and attention make it work, not just screen.

Tip: The LAST thing I trust about pet products are the fancy pictures on the packaging! Trust experienced advice, not pet shop displays. They are designed to sell you something, not create the best situation for an animal. Half the time I buy a product knowing I'll be using it completely differently than the "package" seems to suggest.

 

[JlaPinska]

he might be a little angry that he is so close to the bottom of the enclosure.. they are arboreal so they like being high up. mine would flip **** if i didn't provide foliage near the top because thats where he always hangs out. I would be worried that he is not close enough to the UVB or heat lamp to benefit from them. you'll never really tame him, and he's a veiled so it will be harder, generally they hate being handled. just be patient and keep trying it's all you can do. it took a month before my veiled was tolerant enough to be touched and he was around 8 months old when i got him

 

[unixmiah]

I bought all my gut loading products from amazon, its 4 times cheaper than petco.

I have D3 and without D3 (I'm following to dust calcium with the without d3 every other day, one with with d3, other with without D3)

I bought 1000 small crickets from amazon also for 22 dollars, and currently I have this orange thing and jelly like material along with they wheat mix I put in the cricket container. When he is hungry, he stares at the crickets, then I feed him. I know you're supposed to feed him 10-12 crickets daily, especially int eh morning to give him things to do in the day time, hunt down his prey during day, but I get ready for work in the morning, and don't have the time to dust and feed him. I do it when I get home from work around 5 or 6. I like to sit and take time when I feed him, and watching him eat is amazing.


I keep always keep his cage 83 degrees. I always keep humidity to above 50%, its always at 80%, but I
heard too much humidity can create mold in the cage.

I keep the lights on for 12 hours straight.

Now at night, I keep a red bulb on, I dont want my cham to freeze at night, it drops below 60 degrees
in the summer, he is with me in the basement. Do I need the red light? Should it just be pitch black?

Supplementing? you mean giving him fruits and vegetable instead of giving him insects all the time?

 

[unixmiah]

I bought all my gut loading products from amazon, its 4 times cheaper than petco.

I have D3 and without D3 (I'm following to dust calcium with the without d3 every other day, one with with d3, other with without D3)

I bought 1000 small crickets from amazon also for 22 dollars, and currently I have this orange thing and jelly like material along with they wheat mix I put in the cricket container. When he is hungry, he stares at the crickets, then I feed him. I know you're supposed to feed him 10-12 crickets daily, especially int eh morning to give him things to do in the day time, hunt down his prey during day, but I get ready for work in the morning, and don't have the time to dust and feed him. I do it when I get home from work around 5 or 6. I like to sit and take time when I feed him, and watching him eat is amazing.


I keep always keep his cage 83 degrees. I always keep humidity to above 50%, its always at 80%, but I
heard too much humidity can create mold in the cage.

I keep the lights on for 12 hours straight.

Now at night, I keep a red bulb on, I dont want my cham to freeze at night, it drops below 60 degrees
in the summer, he is with me in the basement. Do I need the red light? Should it just be pitch black?

Supplementing? you mean giving him fruits and vegetable instead of giving him insects all the time?

 

[JlaPinska]

I bought all my gut loading products from amazon, its 4 times cheaper than petco.

I have D3 and without D3 (I'm following to dust calcium with the without d3 every other day, one with with d3, other with without D3)

I bought 1000 small crickets from amazon also for 22 dollars, and currently I have this orange thing and jelly like material along with they wheat mix I put in the cricket container. When he is hungry, he stares at the crickets, then I feed him. I know you're supposed to feed him 10-12 crickets daily, especially int eh morning to give him things to do in the day time, hunt down his prey during day, but I get ready for work in the morning, and don't have the time to dust and feed him. I do it when I get home from work around 5 or 6. I like to sit and take time when I feed him, and watching him eat is amazing.


I keep always keep his cage 83 degrees. I always keep humidity to above 50%, its always at 80%, but I
heard too much humidity can create mold in the cage.

I keep the lights on for 12 hours straight.

Now at night, I keep a red bulb on, I dont want my cham to freeze at night, it drops below 60 degrees
in the summer, he is with me in the basement. Do I need the red light? Should it just be pitch black?

Supplementing? you mean giving him fruits and vegetable instead of giving him insects all the time?

supplementing with powder. dusting his live feeders with vitamins. feeding his crickets and feeders lots of healthy veggies to gut load them so they are chok full of vitamins when the cham eats them and with a veiled they can eat fruits and veggies i suggest exposing him to veggies asap. ditch the red bulb.. it'll keep him from getting any sleep. as long as it doesn't get below 45 degrees at night, he's fine.