very new need help

[MrScowt]

i just bought a baby chameleon the other day. it's a veiled. the main concern im having is drinking/hydration. i havent seen him drink yet, hes been here for 3 days. ive been misting with a spray bottle as often as i can might be even too much. when i brought him home he pooped and it was white from what i understand thats the urate. but thats when i first got him, as in may have been hydrated from the petco i got him from still. idk heres a pic of his latest poop and his habitat. please help so i can take action or if i can rest easy

 

[reptilover]

Well.. I've had my veiled for 4 months and think I saw him drink once.. lol sneaky little buggers..
You.will not get good reviews on the tank.choice nor the substrate.
Screen upright enclousers are recommended for optimum climbing height and air flow. Anything at the bottom that can fit in the mouth is a choking/impaction risk.
How's he eating?
How's supplementing?
Lighting?
Misting shoukd happen 2-3 times a day and shoukd thouroughly soak everything. (substrate and glass.cause a large draining issue as well)
I have a large screen encliuser and spray almsot 2 gallons of water everyday.

 

[AngieL]

Hi there! I think you need to re think your enclosure.

Chameleons live in trees and so they need a tall tank with lots of things to climb and places to hide.

Also they need a lot of ventilation so most people keep them in a mesh tank.

If you look at the enclosure part of the forums you will get a good Ida of what you need to do.

 

[reptilover]

Most importantly welcome to the forum u have found the most informative and.fun place for chameleon owners

 

[MrScowt]

my question isnt about the cage or substrate. i know that all needs to be changed. little short on cash and my friend had the tank from his bearded dragon so its just recycled till i get some money for all screen one.

PLEASE JUST TELL ME IF THE POOP TELLS YOU ANYTHING i wanna know if he is drinking

 

[MrScowt]

hes eating fine i think he eaten like ten or eleven mini crickets over the past 2 days. i dusted the crickets with repti calcium with d3. thats what it says on the label. hes very young no bigger than 2 inches id say not including tail. i did put a water bowl type thing at the bottom to help since ive read they sometimes will drink from them altough rarely. i also had a plastic cup with a whole in it for a dripper on the top i also read that could suffice.

 

[reptilover]

hes eating fine i think he eaten like ten or eleven mini crickets over the past 2 days. i dusted the crickets with repti calcium with d3. thats what it says on the label. hes very young no bigger than 2 inches id say not including tail. i did put a water bowl type thing at the bottom to help since ive read they sometimes will drink from them altough rarely. i also had a plastic cup with a whole in it for a dripper on the top i also read that could suffice.

His poop looks okay. As long as it doesnt have alot of yellow or orange. U want it white. Another identifer is you want his eye turrets to look full.
Vitamin with d3 is to much. Do u have a UVB bulb? U want plain calcium without d3 daily then the one with d3 2 times a month. And a multivitamin 2 times a month. All dusted very very lightly. And at this age feed him as many crickets as possible. 12-20 a day if there small. Nothing bigger than the space between his eyes as a general rule.

 

[reptilover]

And a dripper alone usually doesn't suffice. Mistings are still pretty required. To keep.humidity up and allow lots and lots of available water.

 

[MrScowt]

thats what i dont understand. is how to keep up humidity with an all screen cage? plus where do you drain off all of that 2 gallons of water a day you use? do you have like a bucket underneath? just wondering

 

[Trillian]

thats what i dont understand. is how to keep up humidity with an all screen cage? plus where do you drain off all of that 2 gallons of water a day you use? do you have like a bucket underneath? just wondering

The humidity is an ongoing battle for those with screen cages, and as for your bucket idea, yes that is pretty much what people do! Chameleons much prefer to drink water droplets from leaves, and need to see water dripping for it to trigger them to drink.

Here's a good article which explains why some glass terrariums are better than others: http://chameleonnews.com/10JulAndersonGlass.html some members have converted glass aquariums into decent upright vivariums, but it is much cheaper to build your own, or just use one of those collapsible mesh laundry hampers that have a zip-closure.

 

[MrScowt]

ty for the laundry hamper idea. ill prolly do that today. and one more question. he seems to be sleeping alot. is that normal? its like he takes naps or something but for a couple hours. i believe hes around a month old is this normal for that age? are mealworms ok for diet at this age as well?

 

[reptilover]

ty for the laundry hamper idea. ill prolly do that today. and one more question. he seems to be sleeping alot. is that normal? its like he takes naps or something but for a couple hours. i believe hes around a month old is this normal for that age? are mealworms ok for diet at this age as well?

Small meal worms. and more of a treat. There fatty and harder to digest. so one or two a day. Well gutloaded crickets.(fresh fruits and veggies) and supplemented properly should be his staple.diet. and yea bucket underneith holes drilled in tge middle. My chamekeon is in a room with turtles so humidity is no issue. But some have to impliment a cool mist humidifer or fogger.to help.

 

[MrScowt]

what if i i left him by the window in my room when i get and all screen cage. i ask this bc i live in houston, texas where its extremely humid so maybe that would help if i left the window open? weird question but like i said im new

 

[reptilover]

what if i i left him by the window in my room when i get and all screen cage. i ask this bc i live in houston, texas where its extremely humid so maybe that would help if i left the window open? weird question but like i said im new

That's an excelent ideA! Just make sure it doesn't get to cold or warm. There's a couple people who put a cage inside tge window and one outside the window with am opening so the cham can go back and forth. Direct sunlight is extremely healthy. We duplicate this with Uvb bulbs and calcium with d3 2 times a month.

 

[MrScowt]

however it does reach the 100's here in the coming summer. usually low to mid 90s around noon right now. is that too hot? should i just close the window whens its too hot? or will it get the sunlight with the window still shut?

 

[reptilover]

Also sleeping durinf the day is not a good Sign. They just dont do it. Try correcting his supplementing asap. Getting some of the multi vit in him and plain calcium.

There is an alternative. http://www.store.repashy.com/calcium-plus-bag.html
That is. An all in one. Dust every feeder lightly and that's it. It's relativky new but has done great thus far

 

[reptilover]

however it does reach the 100's here in the coming summer. usually low to mid 90s around noon right now. is that too hot? should i just close the window whens its too hot? or will it get the sunlight with the window still shut?

Maybe make it so part of the cage is infront of the window or next.to it. So the draft and humidity still.gets him. But the hottest spot in his cage shouldn't get higher than 90. And bottom of cage around. 75ish.
And night time down in the 60s if u can they really benifiet.from cool nights

 

[carol5208]

however it does reach the 100's here in the coming summer. usually low to mid 90s around noon right now. is that too hot? should i just close the window whens its too hot? or will it get the sunlight with the window still shut?

your chameleon will not benefit from the uvb rays from the sun if the window is shut, as they do not penetrate glass but it will still feel the heat. Those temps are hot. the key is your chameleon has to be able to cool down somewhere.

 

[Wykd]

Keeping humidity in a screen cage - live plants, coconut liner for substrate over organic top soil, and misting intervals that occur during the day time hours. Keep the plants in the pots and that volume of soil will suffice, there are plenty of pictures that show what I am saying.

Water control in a screen cage - cover the back and one side with some acrylic from lowes and use GE silicone ii premium to secure it on the inside of the cage. The screen on those 2 would now be outside. Place your mister in the front corner opposite of the covered side/back. Point the mist head down and to that covered corner. That should control the mist from getting everywhere outside the cage.

Drainage - I glued the plastic pvc bottom into the bottom of the cage and silicone it to seal on the covered corner. I then put a 10lb weight in the center of the bottom and used a heat gun (hair drier would work also) to soften the pvc bottom around the weight, this created a bow in the bottom which the water follows and pools to. I then used a 13/4 bore drill bit and cut a hole in the center of that bottom. and siliconed a bar sink drain into the hole and put a 4 inch long 1.5 pvc pipe to that drain and drain any excess into a 5 gal bucket.

For the drain to work like that though you need the stand you are using to have a hole in that center area. On mine I put vinyl tiles over the back acrylic that looked like granite, to hide the cords etc... I don't like seeing that stuff.

 

[MrScowt]

i understand the necesity of a large screen cage guys. this is just for health of it atm. last question how can i tell if his eyes are sunken? whats a good gage?