my new chameleon

[scarface2jz]

so its been a while since i posted, today i decided to pick up a veiled cham after being ready for one for SOOOOO long, i got the cage and decor almost a year ago, the little guy was housed with another smaller male and when i was checking him out getting ready to buy watching him feed and whatnot, he was more alert, more responsive to the food, and quicker to stalk, besides after he had his fill on crix he decided to claim dominance on the smaller male, lol, so he kind of made the decision for me of who i was taking home...

my setup is a reptarium R65 65 gallon 16.5"x30"x28"
reptisun 5.0
100w blue day bulb
60w red night bulb
PLENTY of different sized flex-i-vines
lots of fake foliage
a live philodendron

i mist 2-3 times daily, and im not too sure what kind of diet to go with, as i dont want him to get metabolic bone disease, so far im thinking gut-loaded crix dusted in calcium w/ D3, as i already have them for most of my other animals, but not as a staple of his diet. i would like to do more research to be sure of what i want to feed him

so far he doesnt seem too stressed, he went from the dark grey color back to normal green within an hour of being in his cage, so i assume he adjusted well, especially coming from a cage half as small with another male veiled

heres the enclosure before i put in the live philodendron, and i also added another vine





about 3 days ago he was seen by a vet that specializes in herps and he got a clean bill of health, no signs of metabolic bone disease, no scarring or past injury, nice healthy eyes, VERY aware of his surroundings, and a VERY strong grip... IMHO hes a great specimen, with great coloration... couldnt ask for much more

im also planning on setting up a way to use my ultrasonic fogger for the enclosure to bring up humidity

[scarface2jz]

83 views... NO COMMENTS ????

[RhacHead]

I think he's a nice pickup! He looks great and so does the set up. I would love to get into Chameleons some day but they require alot of additional equipment and care that is not required by cresties or Balls.SO my chameleon dreams will have to wait.

[SS4Luck]

chams require hardly any extra care.

as far as a staple gutloaded crickets dusted with calcium WITHOUT D3 everyday is the normal. They need D3 once every other week and multivitamin, like herpivite on weeks they dont get D3. If you overdose the D3 it can cause MBD.

also you can ditch the day and night lights, chams dont need light at night and it can actually stress them out. All you need is a 20-60 watt house bulb to heat up their basking spot and voila.

What thermometer/hygrometer are you using to measure basking temps and humidity. That is the most important thing possible. I bet that 100W is frying the little guy.

also pay attention, veilds eat leaves and foliage so you need to pay attention to make sure he doesnt start eating fake leaves, if they get impacted its usually not noticable until its too late.

and make sure your plant isnt toxic to herps. Usually people go with ficus or pothos cuz its 100% safe

[scarface2jz]

everything you listed i fixed and already found out on forums and online, i just saw your post thank you for the help though, his plant is on the chameleon safe list, its a philodendron, i got rid of the red light, got a brand new reptisun 5.0, and a 75w basking lamp... his colors have gotten much brighter and prettier, and hes a bit more active, so far hes healthy as can be and i guess im taking proper care, b/c all hes done since ive gotten him is eat, cruise the enclosure, grow, and develop nicer colors, with the occasional nap... and the temps are all where they should be, heres some updated pix, i also got another bearded dragon, a male blood for my female sunfire, hoping for the first clutch within the next 18months





i use the dish in the planter to feed him butterworms and wax worms occasionally


the male is the 'redder' one, thats charging and eating the cricket






both enclosures, the beardy is a home made wood, plexi, and wire built cage, and the cham enclosure is the R65 next to a 52" projection TV, all in my bedroom with all my other animals...

[Andrew Larson]

I would say get a little ficus or umbrella tree from home depot/lowes to help fill in the cage a little more and give him some more climbing areas.

[Kuba]

You shouldnt keep two beardies at one time in an enclosure, he will breed prematuraly and this can cause eggbinding which can kill your female beardie, so i would suggest removing the female, or male and putting them in seperate enclosures

[scarface2jz]

I would say get a little ficus or umbrella tree from home depot/lowes to help fill in the cage a little more and give him some more climbing areas.

the philadendron was HUGE, but he ate most of it and as he would eat from each leaf it would kill the leaves, so chances are im gonna scoop a ficus soon...

You shouldnt keep two beardies at one time in an enclosure, he will breed prematuraly and this can cause eggbinding which can kill your female beardie, so i would suggest removing the female, or male and putting them in seperate enclosures

they are both yearlings, i spoke with my friend who breeds beardys and chondros, amongst many other variety's of exotic herps, and he said they should be fine at their size and age, and aggression is a bigger concern

[Mr_BoaJangles]

Nice set up, I can seccond the comment on an additional plant... I have an umbrella tree in my cage and my Cham loves it and it fills the space well. I would allso recomend setting up a drip system. There is no need to spray if you have one unless the Chem is sheding and even then its not that big of a deal. If you dont feel like building one you can get a dripper at any pet store.

The only other thing I would add (and I am adding this today after doing lots of research online) is a UVA/UVB florecent tube light along the side on the outside of the cage. This makes sure that reguardless of where the Chem is he/she will get the proper UVA/UVB light that it needs. Since the one on the top onle has an effective fange of 12-20"