wud love some answers

[Miss becky]

i recently bought my yemen chameleon amigo i've had him for about 6 weeks now and after getting advice from the pet shop i got him from and now looking on here its made me question the advice i have been given.
1. i have a uv lamp and a heat lamp in his vavarium do i need to turn 1 of them off to simulate a "day and night" for him i have been told to keep both on all the time. if this is wrong which needs to be turned off and for how long?
2. i know shedding is a natural process but hes been shedding a lot like he shed last week and looks like he's about to shed again is that ok?
3. he's in a woodern glass vavarium when he grows a bit bigger is a mesh terrarium a better option for him?
4. amigo has been rubbing himself and his feet against everything is this a teritorial/maiting thing or could it be somthing else?

he seems to be healthy and is eating fine if anything he's rather greedy i mist his cage alot and see him lick the plastic leaves so i fink he's drinking fine. i will really aprecate all advice given

 

[royden]

I might be able to answer a few, though my experience is with veileds only so far.

1 - All lights off, total darkness for night time. Some people stagger the UV and the heat coming on and off during transitions from day to night. I personally wouldn't stagger more then a half hour. Reptiles in general have a high sensitivity to light, especially colored light. My vet wishes people would blanket their cham cages like people do with birds. Mine in is a closet that shuts at night time.

3 - mesh is always best


My guess is that 2 and 4 are not issues and are related to each other, but I don't know this species well enough so I won't comment.

Welcome to the boards!

 

[Dankmeleon]

veiled and yemen = same thing

 

[Electric]

welcome, you definately came to a better place than the petshop for advice.

Yes you need to turn both lights off to simulate day and night. Just like us, they need darkness to sleep lol, who knows what buddy at the pet store has been smokin but that's just flat out bad advice and lack of common sense. Get yourself some timers and set your lights to roughly follow the same light schedule of the sun in your area.

I wouldn't be too worried about the shedding, I don't know how old he is but they are known to shed more often (because they're growing) when young.

Mesh/screen is the way to go, they are okay in glass for a bit when young (but again we don't know his age) but the sooner you build or buy another cage the better.

The only reason I can think of for him rubbing himself and his feet all over is most likely to remove the dead skin that's hanging off. You will see them do some weird stuff when trying to get it off.

 

[Miss becky]

thank you for the advice can anyone else shed any light on the situation i am very annoyed that i was told to keep both lights on

 

[Miss becky]

Amigo is about 4months old im not to sure how old he was when i bought him but i would give that as a rough estamate

 

[Julirs]

Most people follow a 12 hours on 12 hours off lighting schedule. Chameleons are sound sleepers and also benefit from a temperature drop at night.
I think that Petshop should win the award for most idiotic thing to tell a customer. They actually told you 24 hours 7 days a week lights on???

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Here's a good read:




http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/

-Brad

 

[Miss becky]

that wasn't even the most idiotic thing they told me the woman who sold him to me said he will live for 20 years and grow no bigger then the size of my hand which didnt ring very true so i rang my local zoo and made a complaint as i now know he will live up to about 8 years and could possably grow up to 24" lol. but yes i was told both lights on 24/7 and after getting this advice i have already turned both lights off

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Do they think the sun never sets in the Arabian Peninsula?

-Brad

 

[royden]

veiled and yemen = same thing

thankyou sir!

 

[Miss becky]

well no i didnt think that lol but as i was told to keep both on i have done so but it was a question that has been worrying me and the book and web sites i have been on has't said anything about this and thank you for that web site link and to everyone else for thier advice and i would be gratefull for any more advice

 

[leolover]

I learned that that was my first mistake with the first chameleon that I bought. I bough him from a petco. He died barely 2 weeks in. I was so upset and totally burned that I didnt buy another one till 3 years later! And I did all the research I could on them before making another purchace. I advise you do the same. I sat for 3 years believing that I killed my chameleon only to find out that I didnt have anything to do with it and it was almost guaranteed that he was sick before I got him. I have learned that Chams are NOT hard to take care of if you keep up with preventative care to keep them from getting sick, (cleaning the cage daily, gut loading crickets, keeping adequate water suppy, etc.) Some things are just destined to happen and you have no control over but I definitly suggest reading all that you can on them. This forum is amazing and a lot a lot of help. I did all the research that I could before I bought leo but still needed some advice... you are definitly in the right spot to getting on the right track!!! Good luck!!!

 

[dectr6]

Welcome Mrs. Becky,
You might want to fill out this Thread How to ask for help. It will let every one know what your setup is so we can help you better with your questions. If they don't even know about how long to leave the lights on, imagine what other misinformation they gave you. What type of lights are you using? This is one of the most common mistakes new owners make. Good luck.
david

 

[Miss becky]

Cage Info:
Cage Type - closed vavarium dont know the measurements but it aint all that big but seems fine for the size he is at the moment
Lighting - UV light and a heat light was told to use a green one now 12 hours on 12 hours off
Temperature - its normally 28 degrees in there dont know about his basking spot and seem as i use to have the lights on 24/7 it would be that temperature at night but im not sure what its gone down to now
Humidity - humidity levels? sorry i dont know how to check this i mist his cage about 4-5 times a day
Plants - no live plants just fake ones
Location - on the floor not really near any of the ones mentioned

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Yemen,male and id say he's about 4 months old
Feeding - crickits,mealworms and hoppers,i normally give him about 7 small crickits a day every 3 days i will change that to mealworms and then on the odd ocasion i'll give him hoppers,crickits and mealworms are allways covered in calcium powder and i feed the crickits crickit water and crickit food.
Supplements - calcium powder over his morning feed
Watering - i mist his cage, now and again i will see him licking the leaves and the walls
Fecal Description - not all have the white stuff with it id say reasonably large n he'l go about 1ce every 2 days summin like that
Current Problem - well seem as i've found out that the way i had my lighting was wrong i would love advice and help on anything else i should be changing so amigo will have a happy life

 

[dectr6]

Becky, Sorry to tell you, but your whole setup is wrong and dangerous for your little guy. I don't know what you mean by green light. The lighting is extremely important as the wrong type can lead to metabolic bone disease (MBD). You need to get this specific bulb, repti-sun 5.0. It comes in 2 types, a long linear 18 or 24" or a short curly compact bulb. Get the long one, not the compact type as they have been known to cause problems. I can't stress enough how important this is! Many new owners have lost their chameleons due to having the wrong bulb.Try and get a cheap digital humidity gauge with a built in thermometer. You can usually get them at walmart, home depot etc. I never pay over about $15 dollars and they moisture doesn't seem to bother them. Your humity for a veiled should be in th 40 to 50% range. It will go much higher after misting but this is a good medium. Your cage should be all screen or mesh. Glass cages can lead to upper respiratory infections (URI). Most if not all your plants would ideally be real ones instead of fake. You need to put your cage up as high as possible. If you could put it on a 4 foot table that would be good. This gives them a sense of security. They can stress from being so low. Their used to being in trees to stay away from preditors. It sounds like from they way your talking about dusting that your using way too much. This can kill them also. When you dust, Just put a tiny pinch in a baggie, put in your feeders and shake. When your finished, you should have just a very light dusting on your feeders, they shouldn't be solid white and heavy with dust. For watering, get a plastic cup and put a very small pin hole in the bottom of it, fill it with water to obtain a drip down into the cage. Set the dripper on top so it drips down onto his leaves. You should be misting him and his cage at least twice daily. This is another main cause of problems with chameleons and frequent mistake of new owners. Dehydration can lead to many problems and the overall health of your animal. Sorry for hitting you with all of this, but don't feel alone. Many have made the same mistakes. Good luck. David

 

[Miss becky]

thank you for your advice i will make all the changes i can untill i get a mesh tarrerium it is alot to take in but i do really thank you especialy if this is dangerous for him if i was to carry on and he was to die from this i would of been devistated. i do feel really bad but then i have only been going on the advice from the pet shop i bought him from just releaved that i've come on here and i can change things while he still seems healthy.
im sorry for the not so pasific infomation that i gave not all i know and i wasnt at home to see on the box's exactly what i have. what i ment by green light its a reflector lamp with a green coloured 60w bulb.
i also still dont understand about the humidity levels how do i set this up,how do i check this?
i am really gratefull for all the advice given and if anyone else feels like theres somthing i should know that would help me i would really apreciate it.

 

[dectr6]

Pet shop advice has killed many a cham. Becky, please try to get the proper lighting as quickly as you can and your water drip going. MBD can be a heartbreaking problem and it doesn't take that long for it to take hold. It will cause their bones to get rubbery to the point that they can no longer stand and can kill them. I would say that those are the two that you need to take care of first. Good luck with him. Davi

 

[Miss becky]

i've raised his vavarium so thats 1 off the checklist i know its only small but its all im able to do at the moment. i was just wondering though if i was to go in to the pet shop i got him from should i be able to get somthing off them for this like a mesh terrarium or the correct basking light. is it worth me having a try if so will i need evidance that what they have advised me is wrong and where will i be able to get this such as a internet link that i may be able to print off and take with me?
would love peoples opinions to this as well as any more advice and any infomation that you think i should know
thanks

 

[dectr6]

Becky, why don't you download Brads site. I don't have much time to write now, but I'll look it up for you. I bet if you PM Chris Anderson, he would also write you a short letter you could take with you since he has all the credentials. Hopefully they will let you exchange it for a reptarium which I don't particularly like but their perfectly fine and are fairly inexpensive. You'll find prices almost half at website like www.lllreptile.com. I pay $14 for bulbs there versus 25 at our local pet store.
David