Who's bought a chameleon from a friend before?

[Mk2MadMitch]

So I bought a young female veiled chameleon from a friend, she's around 6 months old, the environment he had her in was really poor, so I have bought her a big tall terrarium with everything inside, perfect lighting, two different real plants planted at the bottom, nice wood and some fake decorations too, so I had to take her out from her old environment to this new one which went better than expected, but she is still scared of me haha, I'm guessing it will take a few weeks before handling can happen again? Any adbadv from this point on for me? Thanks.

 

[leedragon]

you need a hell lote more plants in there, she can only make use of the volume which has branches, empty spces can not be use b the female. do you have uv b? what kind of temp do you have? the top of the terrarium needs to be of net. i don´t know maybe it is enough but the lid on the front and the one in the top doesn´t feel like enough for a Yemen.

 

[JapSolum]

I would fill out the how to ask for help form if you're looking for advice on husbandry https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/ but I'd agree with @leedragon on just about everything if you notice humidity is staying too high and not getting enough airflow you can try setting small fan on top pointing away from enclosure to create more circulation. as long as it is a mesh top, if not you definitely need one.

 

[Brokaylacham]

I think the whole cage should be net because of the humidity and also foilige is not good for chameleons, crickets and bugs can hide in them and mold will be created. All you need is some branches or vines they wont touch the ground for the most part. I hope this helps!

 

[JapSolum]

im pretty sure that is an exoterra cage setup, I personally dont think it's as good for them as screen. but they are designed specifically to create airflow which is the only reason I said to make sure to monitor the humidity close and if it's not dropping enough use the fan

 

[Fiona's Mom]

Plants are NOT bad for veild chameleons. They actually like to munch on them as long as they are a safe variety. They are also good for raising humidity. Bugs won't hide in them if you cup feed. I prefer a screen cage over glass. They require good air circulation.

 

[Mr. J hahaha]

That enclosure seems to small still.

 

[Mk2MadMitch]

I think the whole cage should be net because of the humidity and also foilige is not good for chameleons, crickets and bugs can hide in them and mold will be created. All you need is some branches or vines they wont touch the ground for the most part. I hope this helps!

She's a female veiled chameleon.. she needs to lay eggs.

 

[Mk2MadMitch]

That enclosure seems to small still.

Got told buy a reptile store owner who owns chameleons and he said the enclosure is perfect for a female veiled chameleon as she doesn't need too much airflow, just a window open during the day with a nice slight draft which is what I have for myself anyway

 

[Mk2MadMitch]

Plants are NOT bad for veild chameleons. They actually like to munch on them as long as they are a safe variety. They are also good for raising humidity. Bugs won't hide in them if you cup feed. I prefer a screen cage over glass. They require good air circulation.

Thanks for the info, yeah I literally took two plants out of the pots, shook all of the soil off that could be harmful to the chameleon then planted them in the ground soil that is safe for her in the enclosure and she loves eating them in between meals haha and I was told they do need circulation of air but not too much.. his words exactly aha

 

[Mk2MadMitch]

you need a hell lote more plants in there, she can only make use of the volume which has branches, empty spces can not be use b the female. do you have uv b? what kind of temp do you have? the top of the terrarium needs to be of net. i don´t know maybe it is enough but the lid on the front and the one in the top doesn´t feel like enough for a Yemen.

I was told it's the perfect setup for a female veiled chameleon! I'm kinda sure a reptile shop owner knows what he's talking about, not saying you don't haha but yeah the light sits on top so that she can go up and down the enclosure if she's too hot or too cold and yes I still need to fill up the enclosure a lot more but it's all a start, it's expensive too!

 

[leedragon]

I was told it's the perfect setup for a female veiled chameleon! I'm kinda sure a reptile shop owner knows what he's talking about, not saying you don't haha but yeah the light sits on top so that she can go up and down the enclosure if she's too hot or too cold and yes I still need to fill up the enclosure a lot more but it's all a start, it's expensive too!

okey mate, not gonna argue with you. just keep in mind shopers are trying to sell them things, you can look here for the hundreds of threads here were people have been told just about anytime from reptile shops. And as I said chameleons can not use empty space.

 

[Goose502]

The cage is very nice. It is set up poorly, and your friend at the pet store is an idiot, don’t listen to him. Please look through the literally thousands of threads regarding veiled chameleons, their proper care (husbandry), and their need for a laying bin. I’m glad you bought an expensive cage, now please set it up appropriately. Oh, there is nothing wrong with that style of cage (glass vs screen), it just requires a few extra touches to make it work better for your new chameleon.

 

[Mk2MadMitch]

okey mate, not gonna argue with you. just keep in mind shopers are trying to sell them things, you can look here for the hundreds of threads here were people have been told just about anytime from reptile shops. And as I said chameleons can not use empty space.

Not trying to argue at all haha just saying what was said, I'm new to this stuff, but yeah I know it needs to have a lot more stuff put into it to make it work, cheere.

 

[Mk2MadMitch]

The cage is very nice. It is set up poorly, and your friend at the pet store is an idiot, don’t listen to him. Please look through the literally thousands of threads regarding veiled chameleons, their proper care (husbandry), and their need for a laying bin. I’m glad you bought an expensive cage, now please set it up appropriately. Oh, there is nothing wrong with that style of cage (glass vs screen), it just requires a few extra touches to make it work better for your new chameleon.

Thank you, yeah I do need to know what exactly to add and where to add it for a perfect setup, I will read the threads but do you know in bullet point form the basic but essential stuff I need to do and what I need to know? What are these extra touches? Is the ground suitable for the female veiled chameleon?

 

[Goose502]

These are great questions, questions you should have asked and answered before you acquired your chameleon. My recommendation is to read the care sheets on veiled chameleons located in this website. When you have more specific questions, and you will, ask away.

 

[Curlytails]

are you using uvb?

 

[chameleonneeds]

If power in numbers means anything to you.. I'd like to agree with everyone on how poorly setup the cage is and that the pet store guy giving you advice has no basic knowledge of chameleon care and you really shouldn't be listening to him. That cage is maybe adequate for a Pac man frog. Not a veiled chameleon.

It looks too small, the substrate in there that you think she will use to dig and lay eggs in is not in anyway adequate for egg laying. If you think she will grow up and lay eggs in that cage... she will die for all sorts of other reasons before she gets to the point that she can die from being egg bound in that cage. Sorry for being blunt.

You don't have a basking light, you don't have uvb... just fill out the how to ask for help form as posted above and then we can highlight what else is wrong. Which will probably be how you water, feed and supplement the chameleon. But better get to this all quickly. Your chameleon is running out of time.

 

[Lennoncham]

I think the whole cage should be net because of the humidity and also foilige is not good for chameleons, crickets and bugs can hide in them and mold will be created. All you need is some branches or vines they wont touch the ground for the most part. I hope this helps!

If you think that foliage is no good for chameleons I think you need to reevaluate your setup. They live in trees and bushes. Last time I checked those are full of foliage

 

[chameleonneeds]

If you think that foliage is no good for chameleons I think you need to reevaluate your setup. They live in trees and bushes. Last time I checked those are full of foliage

I'm sure the person was talking about the substrate as foilage. Not the plants