Tips/ Suggestions for Cham Care

[beansprout]

Hi!!
I’ve had my male veiled chameleon “Bean Sprout” for about a month now. He came from Petco so I’m not sure how old he is but i’m guessing 5-6 months.
He gets handled about every other day. I didn't handle him for the first two weeks I had him. Now he comes out about every other day for about 30 minutes around 3 PM and hangs out in a plant I got for him that sits in prime sunlight.
Our feeding routine is 8-10 crickets/dubias every day dusted with Repticalcium w/o D3. Every monday the feeders are dusted with Reptivite w/ D3. I gutload both the crickets and dubias with carrots/turnip greens/collard greens
For watering i mist for 1 min 2 times throughout the night (7 PM and 7 AM). I use a dripper in the afternoon for about 20 minutes, or until i see him drink from it and then seems done with it. My humidity levels suck so I run a humidifier in the room he's in overnight.
He's fecal seem normal. Usually dark brown connected to a white or pale yellow urate. He produces fecals/urates every day, usually in the morning.
I have the Reptibreeze cage that comes with the chameleon kit. I plan on upgrading him to a Reptibreeze XL when he gets to about 1 year old.
For lighting, I had some oopsies in the beginning. I was using the dual fixture. Then switched it out to a T8 5.0 uvb which was recommend by a Reddit group I'm in. I have a T5HO on the way after seeing it recommend by many sources. His heat light is a 65W incandescent light. Both the lights are on an automatic timer from 7am to 7pm.
The temperature at the peak is at 85 degrees F. Sometimes it gets hotter so I dim his heatlight to keep a safe temperature. His ambient temp is usually 73-69 degrees F. My apartment is super warm so the lowest it gets at night is 70-69 degrees.
Daytime humidity is usually around 40. At night i try to get it up to 70 but it has been a struggle.
He has a schefflera tree and a pothos in his enclosure. I've been trying to find a way to get the pothos up a little higher in his enclosure.
If you have any recommendations for how to enhance his enclosure or if there is anything that should be changed please let me know. I love my little man so much and want to create the best life for him!

 

[Beman]

Hi!!
I’ve had my male veiled chameleon “Bean Sprout” for about a month now. He came from Petco so I’m not sure how old he is but i’m guessing 5-6 months.
He gets handled about every other day. I didn't handle him for the first two weeks I had him. Now he comes out about every other day for about 30 minutes around 3 PM and hangs out in a plant I got for him that sits in prime sunlight.
Our feeding routine is 8-10 crickets/dubias every day dusted with Repticalcium w/o D3. Every monday the feeders are dusted with Reptivite w/ D3. I gutload both the crickets and dubias with carrots/turnip greens/collard greens
For watering i mist for 1 min 2 times throughout the night (7 PM and 7 AM). I use a dripper in the afternoon for about 20 minutes, or until i see him drink from it and then seems done with it. My humidity levels suck so I run a humidifier in the room he's in overnight.
He's fecal seem normal. Usually dark brown connected to a white or pale yellow urate. He produces fecals/urates every day, usually in the morning.
I have the Reptibreeze cage that comes with the chameleon kit. I plan on upgrading him to a Reptibreeze XL when he gets to about 1 year old.
For lighting, I had some oopsies in the beginning. I was using the dual fixture. Then switched it out to a T8 5.0 uvb which was recommend by a Reddit group I'm in. I have a T5HO on the way after seeing it recommend by many sources. His heat light is a 65W incandescent light. Both the lights are on an automatic timer from 7am to 7pm.
The temperature at the peak is at 85 degrees F. Sometimes it gets hotter so I dim his heatlight to keep a safe temperature. His ambient temp is usually 73-69 degrees F. My apartment is super warm so the lowest it gets at night is 70-69 degrees.
Daytime humidity is usually around 40. At night i try to get it up to 70 but it has been a struggle.
He has a schefflera tree and a pothos in his enclosure. I've been trying to find a way to get the pothos up a little higher in his enclosure.
If you have any recommendations for how to enhance his enclosure or if there is anything that should be changed please let me know. I love my little man so much and want to create the best life for him!
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Cute little man you have there... Welcome to the forum. Not too much feedback. You are on the right track.

The reptivite with D3 should only be 2 times a month so say the 1st and the 15th.

Upgrade his cage sooner. Now even if you can. the cham kit cage is very very small for a maturing male Veiled.

I would drop temps back a bit... if it is hitting 85 at the branch that means its going to be a few degrees warmer higher up. So aim for about 78-82 max at the branch.

Now for UVB lighting. I am really happy your getting the T5. The T8 will work but you have the wrong bulb strength for him to get the right levels of UVB. With the T5 you want a 5.0 bulb though and you want a measured 8-9 inches to the basking branch below the fixture. This will put him in an approximate UVI 3.

Take a look at this husbandry program https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/

And if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask here in the forum.

 

[kinyonga]

Welcome to the forum and the world of chameleons!
Nice looking chameleon!

You only need to use the reptivite with D3 every second Monday. Be sure not to dust too heavily.

You can add squash, zucchini, sweet red peppers, dandelion greens, kale, endive, escarole, sweet potato to your diet for the insects.

Most people use a fogger at night and mister during the day for humidity as well as a dripper.

You could use a few more branches of various sizes/thicknesses in the cage and a bit more greenery IMHO.

 

[beansprout]

Cute little man you have there... Welcome to the forum. Not too much feedback. You are on the right track.

The reptivite with D3 should only be 2 times a month so say the 1st and the 15th.

Upgrade his cage sooner. Now even if you can. the cham kit cage is very very small for a maturing male Veiled.

I would drop temps back a bit... if it is hitting 85 at the branch that means its going to be a few degrees warmer higher up. So aim for about 78-82 max at the branch.

Now for UVB lighting. I am really happy your getting the T5. The T8 will work but you have the wrong bulb strength for him to get the right levels of UVB. With the T5 you want a 5.0 bulb though and you want a measured 8-9 inches to the basking branch below the fixture. This will put him in an approximate UVI 3.

Take a look at this husbandry program https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/

And if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask here in the forum.

Thank you so much! That link was super helpful. One question I have, if I use reptivite with D3 and mixing that with his normal calcium w/o D3 twice a month, will i need to add a calcium w/ D3 to his schedule? If i do, how often should that be used? Again thank you so much for your help.

 

[Beman]

Thank you so much! That link was super helpful. One question I have, if I use reptivite with D3 and mixing that with his normal calcium w/o D3 twice a month, will i need to add a calcium w/ D3 to his schedule? If i do, how often should that be used? Again thank you so much for your help.

So Reptivite with D3 is a multivitamin and a Calcium with D3. So as long as your using this one 2 times a month you would not add in calcium with D3 on its own. Then all other feedings you would lightly dust with the Calcium WITHOUT D3.

And the Reptivite also has preformed vitamin A which they need. It is fat soluble just like Calcium with D3 so this is why we limit these two. Otherwise they can overdose on them since they store in the tissues.

 

[beansprout]

Welcome to the forum and the world of chameleons!
Nice looking chameleon!

You only need to use the reptivite with D3 every second Monday. Be sure not to dust too heavily.

You can add squash, zucchini, sweet red peppers, dandelion greens, kale, endive, escarole, sweet potato to your diet for the insects.

Most people use a fogger at night and mister during the day for humidity as well as a dripper.

You could use a few more branches of various sizes/thicknesses in the cage and a bit more greenery IMHO.

Thank you for your suggestions. I will try to find some natural branches outside to put in his enclosure. As for greenery, do you have any suggestions on how I could add some plants that are higher up for him without busting the screen? I'm nervous about ripping the screen or having things fall.

 

[kinyonga]

Here's another good link for you...
https://m.youtube.com/c/NeptunetheChameleon

Sorry....all my cages are glass cause I live in Canada...so maybe @Beman or @MissSkittles can help you.

 

[beansprout]

So Reptivite with D3 is a multivitamin and a Calcium with D3. So as long as your using this one 2 times a month you would not add in calcium with D3 on its own. Then all other feedings you would lightly dust with the Calcium WITHOUT D3.

And the Reptivite also has preformed vitamin A which they need. It is fat soluble just like Calcium with D3 so this is why we limit these two. Otherwise they can overdose on them since they store in the tissues.

Awesome thank you so much!

 

[Beman]

Awesome thank you so much!

anytime!

 

[MissSkittles]

I have used Dragon Ledges and love them! https://dragonstrand.com/dragon-ledges/ To hang branches, some use garden trellis, lighting egg crate panels, create a scaffold type support, etc. If you’re crafty, you could create your own version of Dragon Ledges from sheet metal strips. The whole idea is to put the weight of what you’re using on the frame rather than the screen. If you really want a good sized (and a bit expensive) project, you could create faux backgrounds with lighting egg crate panels, expanding foam, silicone (or something like flex seal) and coco coir, which you can build in plant pots to and attach branches with wire thru it all.

 

[beansprout]

I have used Dragon Ledges and love them! https://dragonstrand.com/dragon-ledges/ To hang branches, some use garden trellis, lighting egg crate panels, create a scaffold type support, etc. If you’re crafty, you could create your own version of Dragon Ledges from sheet metal strips. The whole idea is to put the weight of what you’re using on the frame rather than the screen. If you really want a good sized (and a bit expensive) project, you could create faux backgrounds with lighting egg crate panels, expanding foam, silicone (or something like flex seal) and coco coir, which you can build in plant pots to and attach branches with wire thru it all.
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this is such a great idea. thank you!