# veiled chameleon care tips???



## Static_69 (Aug 6, 2003)

I'm selling an old acoustic guitar of mine and I'd really like to use the money to buy a chameleon.  I've heard that veiled chameleons are one of the easier species to keep.
Do any of you chameleon keepers have any tips for me?
Like what type of bulbs I should use and what plants to use???
The one I'm looking to buy is only about 3 1/2 inches or so from nose to the tip of the tail.





thanks,

Risto


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## AudreyElizabeth (Aug 7, 2003)

Alright, Have you done your homework?
Chameleons are some of the most delicate herps available. 

I'll tell you what they need to thrive. 
1) a quiet life. put your cham in the area of the house that has the least traffic. 

2) Food pretty much everyday for the young one. 3 some odd inches is pretty young. They eat crix and greens. Pothos is a good potted plant to use because the chameleon can eat it.  

3) Tons of venilation. An all screen cage if possible. Respiratory disease kills most specimans within the first year if there is cigarette smoke exposure.  Babies need less venilation, but they also need to be in a smoke free environment.

4) A basking lamp is a good idea, turn it off at night and on in the morning. A temperature of about 90 degrees (Just in the basking spot!!) is good, with acess to lower temps at all times. 

5) Heigth is more important than width, so keep the cage taller than it is wide. 

6) Mist the cage EVERY morning. A chameleon does not recognize standing water (ie in a dish) as drinking water. They drink the dew and the rain off the leaves. EVERY morning. 

7) plenty of vines and branches for climbing. Veiled Chameleons are aboreal, they live in trees their entire life. You will hardly ever see your cham on the ground. The branches should be different widths so as to exercise the chameleons grip.

8) A reptile light that provides the full spectrum. Without natural sunlight (not window glass filtered) a chams bones can become very weak. It can cause permanant, crippling damage. 

If you set the environment up properly before you get the cham this routine will become 2nd nature. Chams are SO fascinating to watch, they are worth every effort. I used to spend hours in front of my chams cage. PM if you have any questions, and I almost forgot, No handling unless you absolutely have to. Unless the cham deems otherwise.

Peace, and good luck!!


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## AudreyElizabeth (Aug 7, 2003)

Oh yeah, and dont even bother with substrate, you wont need it!! just make sure you rinse the plant off really well and repot it with some organic soil.


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## Valael (Aug 8, 2003)

She pretty much got it all.  Also, I would add...Don't try to handle it.  Veiled Chameleons are pretty vicious unless you get them young, and even then, I've heard of them getting so stress from handling that they stop eatting and starve to death.


Some of the really hardcore keepers will get two cages for them, one for inside and one for outside.  It isn't absolutely REQUIRED, but they seem to enjoy the sunlight.  But others will say not ot do it because it stresses them (stress about predators)

Another option over misting is a drip system.  They're pretty cheap (You can make your own pretty easy.  It's basicly just a bottle with a hose at the bottom so the water slowly drips in.  It has a valve to adjust the degree at which it flows.)  Only problem with these is they have a lot more water, so you'd really kind of need a tub or something under the cage to catch the excess.


And about the pothos -- I had one, he never even touched it.  That doesn't mean they don't like it, but mine never bothered to eat it.


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## ArachnoJoost (Aug 8, 2003)

One thing that isn't mentioned yet is that crickets (or locusts in my case) should first of all be gutloaded well, with different kinds of food, and always sprinkle the feeders with calcium and vitamin powder.
My Veiled Chameleon roams free in one side of my bedroom, I have a large aquarium that has a lot of plants in it, and a large Monstra (don't know the common name) on top. I have a large bamboo cane leading to the window, where it often basks. (remember to roughen up bamboo if you're using that, it can be too slippery for a chameleon).
I can handle him without any problems, but I rarely do, just as with the T's I use a hands-off policy.
I'll attach a few pics of the environment of the cham and of the cham itself.
Left part of the environment, includes a wooden enclosure for in the winter when it gets too cold in my room, it can find warmth more easily there:


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## ArachnoJoost (Aug 8, 2003)

Right part of the cham territory, with the bamboo to the window, right behind my tv is the Locust enclosure:


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## ArachnoJoost (Aug 8, 2003)

sorry, here's the pic:


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## ArachnoJoost (Aug 8, 2003)

And a close-up of my cham, Herman:


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## ArachnoJoost (Aug 8, 2003)

And finally a pic of one of the young last year (unfortunately the female died):
Greetz,
Joost


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## AudreyElizabeth (Aug 8, 2003)

Cool pics..... I dont keep chameleons any more, much as I want to, cause I'm going to wait until I get a house with central heat and air. I have two cats and have to keep the cham room shut at all times. So the temps are kinda hard to regulate in the winter time. 

Stress really does kill. I went through a period in my life where I had to move 4 times in 3 months. I think that's what killed my female veiled, because with every move she got in worse shape, eventually quit eating. It was very sad when she died cause I'd had her for two years. She was only about 2 inches long when I got her! 

About the cricket dust..... I used fluker's farm brand.


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## Static_69 (Aug 8, 2003)

Nice pics Joost!
And thanks for the info you guys.

BTW...Joost, what type of leaf is that framed hanging on your wall eh? 






Risto


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## ArachnoJoost (Aug 9, 2003)

Haha, one of the beautiful plants I grew last year, Holland is a lovely place


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## Static_69 (Aug 9, 2003)

> _Originally posted by ArachnoJoost _
> *Haha, one of the beautiful plants I grew last year, Holland is a lovely place  *



lol...





Risto


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## genious_gr (Jul 24, 2004)

*bump*

So... 

I stopped at the pet-shop for crickets and thought I'd look for new T's as well. I didn't find any interesting T's but he had chameleons for sale. I asked for the scientific name and I came home with "calyptra" in my mind     Google suggested that I might wanted to say "calyptratus" and well, it was right.

Anyway, to the question now. The giy at the pet store said they dont grow much and showed me with his hands "they grow THAT big". That... was at most a foot long.
Looking for info on the net though, I found a site that sais they grow up to 24 inches which is 2 feet, right??

So, how big do they get??


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## webspinner (Jul 24, 2004)

Has anyone ever ordered a cham on line?    If so how long did it live for?


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## Pedro (Jul 24, 2004)

My veiled chameleon is a total sweet heart, she is probably my fav pet

they can eat anywhere from 10 to 20 crix a day and when they get older there diet is about 60% plant matter (romaine, dandilions flowers, roses)
make sure you don't give them to much D3 (none if you can give them a full specturm lamp) (UVA, UVB) be very careful not to give them D3 if u are using a full spectum light. the best suplement u can give them is something W/lots of vitamins, calcium, an minerals, but NO D3. please try not to use D3 it isn't good. it can be toxic if used improperly.

they feel much more comfortable up high so give them lots to climb on,
and for water u HAVE to use a dripper misting does not work great and they hate it. if u use a dripper u won't have problems and they will even drink from the dish it drips into cause the water will move.

they are probably the most agressive chameleon u can get but they are great, PLEASE PM with any questions i am more then willing to help i love these animals and they can be very touchy.


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## Pedro (Jul 24, 2004)

I almost forgot to tell u the best tree/plant to put in with a Veiled Chameleon is a Ficus which is a type of Fig tree, just go to your local flower shop and they will know what u mean. V. chameleons love this plant and it is pretty good for them i bought mine 2 and she has compleatly eaten all the leaves off of one of them,  now my G/friend is making a new and bigger cage for her around the second tree i got.


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## Pedro (Jul 24, 2004)

One more thing female Veiled Chameleons get about 12" to 14" and males get about 24"


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## genious_gr (Jul 24, 2004)

That means I can only afford the space for a female.

But I read that they are a bit harder to care for than males??

How long can they go without food??

Any serious problems from not beeing mated??

Thanks a lot for the answers.

I'm not PMing cause I thing it's better for the info to be available to everyone.


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## Pedro (Jul 25, 2004)

I don't know about Females being harder to keep, but females aren't that bad IF u are committed. i try not to let mine go long without food but she can go a few days, but they should be fed at least once a day (even if its plant matter). if u have a female and u don't want her to die don't mate her, if they mate once they can produce MANY clutches, even if they never mate again. and females die after a handful of clutches (i think its 6) and if u don't mate them AS SOON as they are old enough about 6 to 8 months they will usually die eggbound if u try later in life say at one or two years old. i say its not worth it if you really like her, but if u get a male i say stud the little bugger he'll probably love it 

PS. try to feed her lots if you get one they will appreciate it.


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## DnKslr (Jul 25, 2004)

> Has anyone ever ordered a cham on line?  If so how long did it live for?



I ordered both of mine online. The first one was my Veiled chameleon. He was a bit stressed from the shipping (they shipped him with the cage instead of seperately  ). He got an eye infection which developed into other infections. It took me weeks of treatment and handfeeding to get him healthy but he will never reach his full size. His growth was stunted so now he's only about 10" STV. One good thing is he's friendly and even eats from my hand with no hesitation. I think he became that way during the hand feeding sessions and realized I wasn't trying to hurt him.
My other chameleon is a Panther chameleon. I bought him from a breeder instead of just an online store. He arrived fat and healthy! Full of attitude too!   Eats like a champ and is a gorgeous blue-green.
 Both of them have pothos plants because the ficus trees gave them eye infections when the sap got on them.
It all depends on where you get your cham from when ordering online. I will never buy from a business again. Breeders only because the breeders will take the time to properly pack and ship the animal where as a business may just throw them into the "package deal" when you buy a cage set up.


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## Ryan123 (Jun 15, 2009)

VEILED CHAMELEON Please Do Not Feed Mealworms! 

(Chamaelo Calytratus Calytratus) 


I strongly recommend that you buy a book about veiled chameleons to gain great insight into their care. 

Sexing: An adult chameleon is easily sexed by appearance. Males are usually larger, more varied in color and pattern, and have large veils (casts) on their heads. Otherwise, females are usually smaller, have very little pattern, and have smaller casts on their heads. A young chameleon is easily sexed by looking at the heel of its rear foot. A young male chameleon will have a bump (or spur) on its rear foot, whereas a female will not. 
Habitat: For a young and sub adult chameleon, a ten gallon setup works fine. When adult, it will need a 20 high or larger tank. Either way, there should be no substrate on the bottom of the tank; the sticky tongue that the chameleon uses to catch food from afar can also collect the substrate. The substrate can kill the chameleon and thus isn’t worth the risk. Instead, use a bare bottom and place reptile carpeting underneath the tank. Decorate the inside with a few branches so that the chameleon can climb around. If desired, you can use a background and place a few plants inside amongst the branches (be warned: chameleon are camouflage artists!). 
The next thing to consider is the chameleon’s basking site. A very young veiled chameleon needs a basking site of 80 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit; a sub adult and adult chameleon needs 105. I use a regular incandescent light bulb in a reflector as a heat source: a 25 to 40 watt bulb in the summer and a 40 to 60 watt bulb in the winter. This is where the branches in the tank become vital. Make sure that the chameleon can get both very close to the light and far from it. Next, make sure to provide a fluorescent full spectrum light, such as a Reptisun 5.0. All lights should be on for one half of the day (12 hours) and then off for the other half. Also, a timer can be helpful to you by keeping your veiled on a regular lighting schedule without you worrying. 
Diet: 1. The most important food source of the chameleon is CRICKETS. 
2. NEVER FEED YOUR VEILED CHAMELEON MEALWORMS. Mealworms=possible death 
3. Do not overfeed the chameleon and leave a lot of crickets in the cage for all night. The crickets 
can, and will, nibble at your chameleon. Also, leave dog food at the bottom of the cage to prevent the 
crickets from nibbling on your chameleon during the day. 
3. Dust all crickets with Rep Cal Calcium (ultra fine) and Rep Cal Herptivite powder (if another 
brand of Multivitamin is used, make sure vitamin A comes from beta carotene. Otherwise, vitamin A 
in its regular form is toxic!). 
4. For the young chameleon, only feed crickets everyday. Spray with water from a spray bottle twice 
a day, preferably morning and evening. Do not overkill; get just enough water so that beads form on 
glass and plants. 
5. For the sub adult, supplement with greens along with crickets. Varieties of greens include romaine, 
Red or green leaf lettuce, mustard, turnip, and collard greens. Once the veiled has started to eat 
greens, spray only once a day or every other day. 
6. For the adult chameleon, you can reduce dusting the crickets to 3 to 4 times per week. The chameleon 
may also be offered super worms, pinkie mice, wax worms, and other pesticide-free insects. 

Ryan


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## 1crazygecko (Jun 16, 2009)

*Good cham tips*

Okay, heres what I do to my chamleon:

1: feed daily, put repti-cal powder dust on crickets
2: fairly big tank, use air breeze type of tank
3: 5.0 uvb on tank, 75 watt heat lamp 79 degrees is what i keep it at
4: good humidity
5: dont make fast movements around tank..might stress out

 they make good pets!!!


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## Brad Ramsey (Jun 16, 2009)

Remarkable how much good information is peppered in among quite a bit of wrong or just plain bad information on this thread.
Rather than try to separate it all, I will direct you here:

http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/

and here:

http://www.chameleonforums.com/

and here:

http://www.chameleonnews.com/

-Brad


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