veiled chameleon

okay so i decided to break down and finally do it. i've wanted a veiled cham f-o-r-e-v-e-r and today seemed like a good day to do it.

so, i did a search and there isn't much here on them. anyone have one? any tips you can offer a newbie to the world of cham? :carrot:

I usually have pretty good websites saved for animals that interest me, and chameleons fall into that category, so you're in luck!

http://www.adcham.com/

http://www.chameleonnews.com/year200...eiled_faq.html

*sorry here's the link to the veiled specific page so it's easier
http://www.adcham.com/html/taxonomy/...lyptratus.html

thank you so much. ;)

anyone keep chams here?

honestly i'm a little overwhelmed. i was underinformed when i purchased my cham and thankful i have the funds and ability to create a healthy living space for her... but the amount of ventilation concerns me.

i have her in an exoterra but we cover the top of the mesh so the cats don't harrass the occupants (we have lots of exoterra enclosures) and since she needs so much ventilation, i'm concerned i won't be able to give her enough.

:rainon: and i have no where to hang a mesh enclosure as my home is pretty "full".

daniel has a beautiful male veiled so he'd be the one to talk to I guess, there are also some panther keepers here

*sorry I was gonna leave it to someone more experience, but I'd try to find a suitable mesh cage because veileds are from fairly arid areas of yemen and I've read a lot on problems with glass enclosures

oh cool. i'll pm daniel!

pm sent :)

now to add more info on my set-up.

i have an automatic mister on order, should be here by the weekend. until then i'll be misting twice daily. the humidity in our home is generally nice and high since we have so many fish tanks and three of them are within 20 feet of the cham enclosure.

i've tied together some sticks and will add more today... to create an aboreal walking area of all the levels of the enclosure.

i have a red night light for warmth and a regular light for daylight which will be changed to a UVB/UVA bulb today.

my hubby is going to make another screen lid to fit over this screen lid with really good support so the cats can't fall through... AND as our cham grows he'll make a screen addition to add a few more feet UP for our cham...

she's been munching down silkworms all morning... and although she's still dark (stressed) i'm hoping she'll turn the gorgeous greens and yellows she was when i bought her yesterday. ;)

you can see the red glow from the heat lamp

http://www.timelessspirit.com/images/cham/cham.jpg

right now her substrate is organic dirt, (from a gardening center) - and i'm going to make this 'ladder' go all the way up to the top of the enclosure today.

http://www.timelessspirit.com/images...menclapr07.jpg

Sorry I missed this thread ;)

Veiled Chameleons are pretty straight forward IMO. Here is a good caresheet to read:
http://www.kingsnake.com/rockymounta.../RMHveiled.htm

Just a few things about the enclosure. I would be concerned over the reflective nature of glass. Chameleons kept in glass cages (with an exception to pygmy chameleons) become very very stressed when constantly seeing their reflection...enough so that it could eventually lead to death. So I would definately start looking for an entire screen cage (or building a screen cage...they are pretty simple).

Thats about it. They are not as difficult to keep as some people believe....you just have to make sure the 'basics' are covered ;)

Let me know if you have anymore questions...I will try to help out the best I can :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by recycling goddess

okay so i decided to break down and finally do it. i've wanted a veiled cham f-o-r-e-v-e-r and today seemed like a good day to do it.

so, i did a search and there isn't much here on them. anyone have one? any tips you can offer a newbie to the world of cham? :carrot:

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This is interesting to me too. My best friend just bought a baby veiled, and she really doesnt know anything about husbandry or diet or anything. She has a glass set up, with some crickets, and a heat lamp. and some stuff to climb on, but i've been doing my research and everyone says that the glass is a bad idea. AND im worried she wont heed my advice and put it in the enclosure she should. (she wont want to spend the money)
I dont know, guess i was just ranting about stuff. Its hard when you want to know everything about an animal, and your bestfriend [who actually OWNS the animal] doesnt.

i've been talking to some other experienced keepers today (in person) and they said that the glass enclosures are fine if you have lots of plants which cover the sides so it doesn't reflect. they told me that if she is stressed, she won't colour up... she'll stay a brown colour.

she's already a gorgeous green with yellow and i just finished adding to her branches and she's climbing all over checking them out.

we are making a screen which will fit in the front so the doors can be open and it'll increase the ventilation.

thanks for the link daniel... i'm off to read now!

oh and i picked up some romaine lettuce and nasturtium seedlings today for her enclosure as well ;)

AND i couldn't make it to the petstore but they've put aside a ballast and bulb for her... i'll pick it up tomorrow.

i also wanted to say... she's 4 months old ;)

i have found this information on what to feed a chameleon... so i thought i'd post it here in case anyone is using the search function in the future ;)

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turnip greens in a baby food jar.

dried leaves to flowers to cut-up greens, spinach, broccoli bits, grated carrots or small pieces of fresh fruit (grapes, berries and similar types of fruit) offered in a small bowl. Another alternative is to provide small flats of romaine lettuce or other greens that are available at any garden supply store. Just make sure that they are pesticide free before you place them in the cage. Other "growing" offerings can be hibiscus, both the plant and the flowers edible as well as decorative, plus have the added bonus of additional vitamin C.

Offering young calyptratus alfalfa sprouts and pureed vegetable baby food is a way to give them a source vegetable matter in their diet. I have placed the baby food directly onto the leaves of the plants in their cage and they just lick it off.

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A couple things to keep in mind, always better to get a male if you are not gonna breed them. a night light for heat is not important, temps can drop to 65* area at night. lots of calcium is important. any problems...PM me, used to do these wonderful creatures by the 100's. ;)

i do have one question... can you overfeed them?

today i added a uvb/uva light and ballast... 10.0% uvb and 33% uva.

so ed... do i turn the red heat lamp off at night?

As long as temps dont fall below 65* your golden. :sunny:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by recycling goddess

i do have one question... can you overfeed them?

today i added a uvb/uva light and ballast... 10.0% uvb and 33% uva.

so ed... do i turn the red heat lamp off at night?

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so i can't overfeed her as long as her temps stay above 65 :giggle:

You should try and restrict there food somewhat, they will eat and eat.


That 65* temp is nite only, they must heat up during the day. :)

thanks ed!

so how much do you feed them? i read daily when they are young... so when are they no longer considered young? it's unclear as to when i need to change to feeding every other day.

Feed every day as babies, at this stage they will eat mostly crickets. as they get bigger they will take more vegetation. at about 4 months of age you can alternate crickets one day and veggies the next. at about 8 months you can start feeding every other day if you want. very important to get lots of calcium into them, they grow sooo fast you can almost watch them grow. :P


This feeding schedule has served me well. Im sure others have different ideas also. :)

she's 4 months old now... i'm giving her superworms (kingworms) one feeding (i feed twice daily), roaches, crickets and silkworms.

i have four live plants... two nastertiums, one romaine lettuce and a pothos... as well as lots of plastic plants.

tonight... she ate right out of my bin as i was attempting to catch the kingworms and feed them to her! her colour is amazzzzzzzzzzzing!

this is, by far, the coolest critter i've ever had!!!

(thanks ed)