Temperatures?

[pascalowner]

Hi!!
I just got my first chameleon a few days ago, and I love her so much already!
I just was wondering what exactly is a good temperature to keep her habitat at? I'm asking because I got her from Petsmart, and they said to keep it at 95-100 degrees, which I've been doing, but since the second day I got her, she's been randomly opening her mouth for long periods of time. I know that reptiles do this to cool down, so I didn't know if maybe I should turn the heat down in there for her, or if something else is wrong?

 

[brandon1]

Hi!!
I just got my first chameleon a few days ago, and I love her so much already!
I just was wondering what exactly is a good temperature to keep her habitat at? I'm asking because I got her from Petsmart, and they said to keep it at 95-100 degrees, which I've been doing, but since the second day I got her, she's been randomly opening her mouth for long periods of time. I know that reptiles do this to cool down, so I didn't know if maybe I should turn the heat down in there for her, or if something else is wrong?

Yeah that's too warm for any cham you would be getting from PetSmart. I would assume she's a Veiled, but just to be sure, what exactly is she, and how old? Temps depend a lot on species and age.

 

[pascalowner]

Yea, she is a veiled. I'm not entirely sure how old she is, they didn't tell me. I could post a picture of her but I'm not exactly sure how to do that yet xD

 

[pascalowner]

She is pretty young though, I know that. She is about 4 inches but that is including her tail.

 

[xeonic]

I agree with brandon1. The temperatures are too high. I'll let some one more knowledgeable with Veiled Chameleons tell you what the temperatures should be.

 

[brandon1]

Yea, she is a veiled. I'm not entirely sure how old she is, they didn't tell me. I could post a picture of her but I'm not exactly sure how to do that yet xD

That's ok I'll explain how to post pics later, if someone doesn't do it before me. But yeah with the temps, drop them, try around 75-85 ambient with a basking spot of mid to high 80s. Gaping their mouths indicates that they are hot, so good for you for knowing that , and if she continues to do it anymore just lower the temps until she stops. What kind of cage do you keep her in?

 

[brandon1]

Yea, she is a veiled. I'm not entirely sure how old she is, they didn't tell me. I could post a picture of her but I'm not exactly sure how to do that yet xD

To post pics from photobucket click on the url besides IMG Code and that will copy and then you can paste it in the reply box. Another way is to upload pics to the forum by clicking on the attachments icon inbetween the smiley face and undo/redo button, and from there you upload the picture which will cause a new window to pop up titled "Manage Attachments". After it's finished uploading click the attachments icon again and then select your file

 

[pascalowner]

Oh I figured out the picture thing, I just don't have a URL for the picture yet. I'll have to upload it to photobucket or something, lol. And okay, I just now lifted my hanging lamp much higher so it's farther away, so hopefully it cools down in there soon for her And I don't know the exact measurements because I got the cage from a friend, but it's one of the tall ones so she can climb more. It is one of the smaller ones of those kinds that I've seen though.

 

[xeonic]

is it a mesh or glass cage?

 

[pascalowner]

And her cage is glass, but the whole top is screened.

 

[xeonic]

I'm sure it's roasting in that tank. What are you heating it with? What type of lighting do you have?

Your Chameleon looks great! Nice and green.

Please fill out this info so we see what else pet smart has told you to do wrong.

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
Location - Where are you geographically located?

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

 

[brandon1]

Oh she's still a young looking little girl. She should be perfectly fine in there for a while, even if that is a fish tank and not a terrarium, because I have had experience with keeping my Veiled in a small fish tank with a screen top when he was young for a little while, like maybe a month, and he was perfectly fine. But you will want to upgrade to a screen cage or a Terrarium designed for reptiles, not a fish tank, in the near future. By the way, what types of lighting do you have i.e. uvb, basking, house bulb? And also do not put any type of loose substrae, coco fiber, bark, etc, if you are letting her hunt for her food.

 

[pascalowner]

-Veiled, she's young, not sure how old. And I've had her for a week.
-I handle her about 10 minutes each day to get her use to me so she's not mean when she gets older, but I know they're not very social animals which is why I only take her out for ten minutes a day because I don't want her too stressed.
-I feed her crickets, lettuce, and the occasional meal worm. I put in about 8 a day and she eats them all. There isn't an exact schedule, I just feed her 4 when I wake up in the morning and then 4 between about 3-5pm. I don't feed her at night because I want her to be able to digest all the way before going to bed. I use Fluker's Cricket Quencher, which is calcium fortified to feed my crickets.
-I don't actually dust.. I didn't know I needed to, or what that is. Petsmart never even mentioned it.
-I mist her cage very often with warm water. I do so about 5 times a day for about 5 minutes each. I never see her drinking, but she doesn't show signs of being dehydrated so far.
-It's brown, and the urate( I think that's how you spell it) Is white to a very light yellow sometimes. She's never been tested for parasites to my knowledge.
-No history at all.

-Glass, with screened top, I don't know dimensions because I got it from a friend.
-I use powersun lighting which provides both a heat and UVB source during that day, and at night I turn on my infrared light, I don't remember the brand for that one.
-Temps were at 95 like petsmart told me, but I just turned it down a bit to 85. I use a thermometer stuck to the inside of the cage.
-Humidity ranges a lot from when I mist and when it's not misted yet. This ranges from 60-80. I mist with a water bottle. I use a hydrometer inside the cage.
-No live plants, just fake ones.
-located right by my window, but no fan or air vent of traffic. The top of the cage is about 4 feet off the ground.
-Ohio

 

[pascalowner]

It's not an aquarium, it s a cage designed for reptiles. You can't see but it actually opens up in the front. But yea it is pretty small. As she gets bigger I'll definitely upgrade to a bigger terrarium

 

[brandon1]

It's not an aquarium, it s a cage designed for reptiles. You can't see but it actually opens up in the front. But yea it is pretty small. As she gets bigger I'll definitely upgrade to a bigger terrarium

Ok, yeah it was difficult to tell from the pic, but it's all good

 

[brandon1]

-Veiled, she's young, not sure how old. And I've had her for a week.
-I handle her about 10 minutes each day to get her use to me so she's not mean when she gets older, but I know they're not very social animals which is why I only take her out for ten minutes a day because I don't want her too stressed.
-I feed her crickets, lettuce, and the occasional meal worm. I put in about 8 a day and she eats them all. There isn't an exact schedule, I just feed her 4 when I wake up in the morning and then 4 between about 3-5pm. I don't feed her at night because I want her to be able to digest all the way before going to bed. I use Fluker's Cricket Quencher, which is calcium fortified to feed my crickets.
-I don't actually dust.. I didn't know I needed to, or what that is. Petsmart never even mentioned it.
-I mist her cage very often with warm water. I do so about 5 times a day for about 5 minutes each. I never see her drinking, but she doesn't show signs of being dehydrated so far.
-It's brown, and the urate( I think that's how you spell it) Is white to a very light yellow sometimes. She's never been tested for parasites to my knowledge.
-No history at all.

-Glass, with screened top, I don't know dimensions because I got it from a friend.
-I use powersun lighting which provides both a heat and UVB source during that day, and at night I turn on my infrared light, I don't remember the brand for that one.
-Temps were at 95 like petsmart told me, but I just turned it down a bit to 85. I use a thermometer stuck to the inside of the cage.
-Humidity ranges a lot from when I mist and when it's not misted yet. This ranges from 60-80. I mist with a water bottle. I use a hydrometer inside the cage.
-No live plants, just fake ones.
-located right by my window, but no fan or air vent of traffic. The top of the cage is about 4 feet off the ground.
-Ohio

I wouldn't go past 3 p.m. when feeding her IMO. What size are the crickets? She could probably eat 15-25 pinheads a day, but if she's eating something a little bigger then approximately 8 should be fine. That's ok for the mealworm on an occasion. What type of lettuce are you giving her? Romaine is ok but it's not as nutritious as other greens such as mustards and collards, but I'm pretty sure Iceburg is NOT ok to give her.

For dusting, just get Repashy Calcium Plus. It replaces the need for all 3 other supplements you are suppose to have. But check with other members that keep female Veileds because they need a little more calcium than males so I'm pretty sure you will still have to get Calcium WITHOUT D3.

Don't worry about not seeing her drink...lots of people don't see there chams drink. As long as her urates are white she is well hydrated.

For lighting, since she is in what seems to be a small terrarium, she should be fine without a basking or house bulb, and just the UVB bulb. Just make sure she can go somewhere to bask in the mid 80s and her ambient stays from 70-80 during the day. At night you shouldn't worry about an infrared or any other type of heating. So long as your house doesn't get into the 50s she will be fine. The nightime drop into the 60s or low 70s is actually good for them.

Humidity sounds fine. Since it's glass the humidity will stay higher than in a screen cage...make sure you have periods where the cage dries out a little so it's not constantly wet in there so bacteria doesn't grow. What you could do is get a drip system, either by poking a tiny hole in the bottom of a clean bottle or purchasing a ZooMed Dripper, and utilize that. Just put something in there to catch the water that she does not get. This way you won't have to mist as much, and be able to let the cage dry out a little more.

Everything else sounds good and good luck with her and keep us posted

 

[pascalowner]

Wow that really helped a lot! Thanks! I do feed her the very small crickets, so I'll just give her more than 8 from now on, I just didn't know if I would be over feeding her, but I guess not, lol. I'll pick up some Repashy Calcium Plus right away, stop using the infrared, and find a bottle to poke a hole in right now Thanks so much!

 

[brandon1]

Wow that really helped a lot! Thanks! I do feed her the very small crickets, so I'll just give her more than 8 from now on, I just didn't know if I would be over feeding her, but I guess not, lol. I'll pick up some Repashy Calcium Plus right away, stop using the infrared, and find a bottle to poke a hole in right now Thanks so much!

You are very welcome . And I would suggest sending jannb a PM. She is very knowledgable with female Veileds and I'm sure she would know exactly how you should be supplementing your little girl.

 

[xeonic]

Wow that really helped a lot! Thanks! I do feed her the very small crickets, so I'll just give her more than 8 from now on, I just didn't know if I would be over feeding her, but I guess not, lol. I'll pick up some Repashy Calcium Plus right away, stop using the infrared, and find a bottle to poke a hole in right now Thanks so much!

I assume she is no longer gasping?

 

[pascalowner]

I assume she is no longer gasping?

Nope, I haven't seen her gaping since I turned down the heat