Veiled Husbandry Review

[Dexter’s Mom]

Please check my info and let me know how I’m doing. Thanks!


If you could fill this out -- that way forum members can give feedback on the husbandry.

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? He is about 3-4 months old and I’ve had him a week and a half.
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? I have only handled him a few times.
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders. I feed him 6 crickets in the morning and 6 in the afternoon. They are gutloaded with carrots, blueberries, escarole and ZooMed natural cricket care. I I have wax worms, but have only given him one so far. He wasn’t impressed. He’s obsessed with eating his Pothos plant, so I gave him some escarole.
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Twice a week with Rep Cal calcium with D3. Twice a week with Rep Cal Herptivite.
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? I have a little dripper, and a pressure mister. I mist 2-3 times a day for about a minute. I have not seen him drinking.
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? His droppings are medium to dark brown with white unrates. He goes once a day almost like clockwork. It’s not hard, but also not soggy. I have not had him tested for parasites.
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. He’s so new I have nothing.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? 18x18x24 glass with mesh top. Working on a custom build for when he’s a bit bigger.
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? 12 hours of Reptisun 5.0 UVB and 75 watt ZooMed basking bulb. Night time 12 hours of 40 watt purple light (can’t remember brand) we let our house get down to about 60 degrees at night. All outside cage.
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)?
  Basking 85-95, cage floor 60-70 . Lowest overnight temp? 60 degrees. How do you measure these temps? I have thermometers on the top and bottom inside the cage.
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? Levels are 38-50 in top of cage and 50-60 on bottom. How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? Dual temp and humidity gages at top and bottom of cage. Maintaining by plants and regular misting.
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? I have Pothos and Ficus
• 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? 4 ft off floor. In an unused bedroom. I hang out in there, but mostly for reading, no tv, not lots of traffic. There is a ceiling fan, but I’ve avoided putting it on.
• Location - Where are you geographically located? I live in Cleveland , Ohio

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about. None that I know of currently.

 

[Dexter’s Mom]

I forgot pics!

 

[kinyonga]

Welcome to the forum and the world of chameleons!

Nice looking male veiled! Glad you are providing your husbandry for review!

You mentioned using RepCal with D3 and Herptivite (both of which should be used lightly twice a month) but you don't mention using a phos free calcium powder. A phos free calcium powder should be used at almost every feeding. This might be why he's eating the pathos leaves...he might be looking for calcium.

He could also be eating the pothos for fluids. I would run a dripper for at least a good hour or so every day. I don't think the short spraying you're doing is enough.

Re feeding/gutloading the insects...I would recommend using a wider variety of greens such as dandelions, kale, collards, endive, etc and veggies such as carrots, squash, zucchini, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, etc and a bit of fruit such as apples, pears, melon, berries, etc.

You can feed silkworms, hornworms (not from outside), roaches, locusts, etc and once in a while superworms and waxworks (which you already do), etc.

No lights should be on at night.

Hope this helps!

 

[Thatwizard420]

Quick suggestion, don’t know if it matters.... Cover the lizard in the dripper. Chams are very territorial

 

[Dexter’s Mom]

Welcome to the forum and the world of chameleons!

Nice looking male veiled! Glad you are providing your husbandry for review!

You mentioned using RepCal with D3 and Herptivite (both of which should be used lightly twice a month) but you don't mention using a phos free calcium powder. A phos free calcium powder should be used at almost every feeding. This might be why he's eating the pathos leaves...he might be looking for calcium.

He could also be eating the pothos for fluids. I would run a dripper for at least a good hour or so every day. I don't think the short spraying you're doing is enough.

Re feeding/gutloading the insects...I would recommend using a wider variety of greens such as dandelions, kale, collards, endive, etc and veggies such as carrots, squash, zucchini, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, etc and a bit of fruit such as apples, pears, melon, berries, etc.

You can feed silkworms, hornworms (not from outside), roaches, locusts, etc and once in a while superworms and waxworks (which you already do), etc.

No lights should be on at night.

Hope this helps!

This is so helpful, thank you. I do run the dripper daily, I’m just supplementing with the misting, I’ll start misting longer and more frequently though. With the glass bottom I’ve read bare is best, is that your suggestion also? The RepCal with D3 is phos free. Should that be given everyday, or Is that too much D3? Should I be able to find phos free without D3?
I will definitely start adding more of a variety to gutload my crickets. Thank you for the list of suggestions. As for the night light, I guess I was worried he’d get too cold. What’s the safest low temp?
Again, thank you so much for taking the time to help me!!!

 

[Dexter’s Mom]

Quick suggestion, don’t know if it matters.... Cover the lizard in the dripper. Chams are very territorial

I never would have thought of that, thank you!! I do feel like he gives it the side eye! LOL

 

[kinyonga]

Phos free calcium/D3 twice a month...vitamin twice a month...phos free calcium with NO D3 at all the other feedings. RepCal makes phos free calcium with NO D3.

Night temperatures can easily go down to the 50's with no problem for veileds.

You're welcome for the info. I like to see people's chameleons do well...so I'm always glad to help.

 

[CamoChameleonsHuman]

 

[Dexter’s Mom]

Phos free calcium/D3 twice a month...vitamin twice a month...phos free calcium with NO D3 at all the other feedings. RepCal makes phos free calcium with NO D3.

Night temperatures can easily go down to the 50's with no problem for veileds.

You're welcome for the info. I like to see people's chameleons do well...so I'm always glad to help.

Got it. I’ll get the phos free calcium tomorrow and ditch the light and night.

 

[Thatwizard420]

I never would have thought of that, thank you!! I do feel like he gives it the side eye! LOL

I know from experience, My Cham would always be all defensive with the dripper

 

[Ares05]

Where did you get him? I didn't see that in your info. And when you upgrade your cage as he gets bigger, maybe consider a screen cage. Glass cages are good for some species but if there is only ventilation on the top, the air inside can get stagnant. Currently I have a few fake plants in my cage, with the rest being live, but once my guy settles in, I plan on getting rid of them and replacing them with some live plants(as directed by Beman ), like more Pothos, or a small umbrella tree , just because veiled chams love to munch on some plants. Maybe once he's settled (and if he is) try and replace some of those fake plants with more live?

 

[GoodKarma19]

Where did you get him? I didn't see that in your info. And when you upgrade your cage as he gets bigger, maybe consider a screen cage. Glass cages are good for some species but if there is only ventilation on the top, the air inside can get stagnant. Currently I have a few fake plants in my cage, with the rest being live, but once my guy settles in, I plan on getting rid of them and replacing them with some live plants(as directed by Beman ), like more Pothos, or a small umbrella tree , just because veiled chams love to munch on some plants. Maybe once he's settled (and if he is) try and replace some of those fake plants with more live?

I just had this discussion the other day re: well built glass terrariums, so I'll just go ahead and directly quote my opening statement and counter arguements. I like to set the record straight!

ExoTerra enclosures are actually very beneficial in dry/cold environments, and have pretty solid ventilation due to the vent strip toward the bottom. It creates a "chimney effect", which circulates the air. Additional airflow can be achieved by the use of a DC fan on top of the enclosure, sucking air out (and thus pulling more in from the bottom vent).

A well built terrarium doesnt have the same problems with stagnant air and poor air flow that an aquarium or similar does.

Counter arguements, cause I'm a big advocate for glass enclosures done right, and like to ensure that all sides are represented fairly!

Ventilation issues: only in poorly designed glass enclosures, such as aquariums (which are not built for reptiles) - not a problem in well built terrariums designed for reptiles (I.e. ExoTerra). If it's not drying out properly, then you add a DC fan on the top as zip already mentioned.

Lime scale on glass: won't happen if you're using RO or distilled water, and can be prevented with tap water by regularly wiping down the glass with a microfiber cloth.

Reflections: the inside actually isn't terribly reflective, and there have been very few reports of animals being bothered by it. Not to say it can't happen, but there are ways to reduce potential glare. Hadn't been an issue for my animals, but I also have 3 sides covered in a spray foam background.

Damage to the tongue: could happen in any enclosure, on any surface. Accidents happen, and it's certainly not glass specific!

Poor Drainage: you got me there, that's the one major drawback to glass terrariums. However, due to the humidity retaining qualities of glass, you can also get away with using less water when installing a misting system. I, personally, have gone bioactive and don't have any issues with water. That's what my drainage layer is for! But for non-bioactive enclosures, I agree water is more of a problem.

Both screen and glass have their place when done right - it all depends on your environmental factors and what you're looking to achieve! More than one way to skin a cat. I have a screen enclosure and a glass enclosure, and have had to modify both to suit my needs. If anything, I had to modify the screen more to make it work!

My 36x18x36 glass ExoTerra bioactive (front doors removed and replaced with a screen panel until I eventually get it fixed, cause whatever - it works! Have to go through a ton of water to keep up, though):

ReptiBreeze bioactive (16x16x30 for my sick lady, Lily) on a planter box; had to cover 3 sides to maintain the correct humidity and temperature, cause Canada.

 

[Dexter’s Mom]

Where did you get him? I didn't see that in your info. And when you upgrade your cage as he gets bigger, maybe consider a screen cage. Glass cages are good for some species but if there is only ventilation on the top, the air inside can get stagnant. Currently I have a few fake plants in my cage, with the rest being live, but once my guy settles in, I plan on getting rid of them and replacing them with some live plants(as directed by Beman ), like more Pothos, or a small umbrella tree , just because veiled chams love to munch on some plants. Maybe once he's settled (and if he is) try and replace some of those fake plants with more live?

I got him from RMS Aquatics. A local place I’ve been getting my fish for years. They only do fish and reptiles. I totally agree about the plants. The first few pics are old, I have since put a ficus and a Pothos plant, which he loves to eat!! I did hand the fake ones on the outside of the cage though to give him more coverage.

 

[Gingero]

On top of what everyone else said, I'd also recommend putting the dripper on the outside of the enclosure instead of the inside. I actually just posted a YouTube video all about supplementation you might find helpful to watch. I explain what each supplements is, the benefits, and how often to use each.

 

[Dexter’s Mom]

On top of what everyone else said, I'd also recommend putting the dripper on the outside of the enclosure instead of the inside. I actually just posted a YouTube video all about supplementation you might find helpful to watch. I explain what each supplements is, the benefits, and how often to use each.

Thank you!