"Squishy" my chameleon is here!

[DnKslr]

I flew outta bed as soon as I heard the first knock this morning and I unpacked it ASAP. I got everything set up in a few minutes. They sent me an aluminum screened cage, a very bushy tree, the dripper, some moss, a reflector light w/reptile heat basking bulb, a UVB light w/fixture and extra UVB bulb, miner-all powder, and a spray bottle.
The little guy was so ready to get out of that cup!

He is about 6-7 inches long and was shedding badly but while I was wiring up some of the branches and a deli feeding cup, he came up and rubbed against my fingers! Then it turned around and started rubbing his little face on me. It was soo cute! I didn't move an inch, it was so flattering even if he was only using me to scratch his itch.=D
I was thinking "Awww, he wuvs me!"
You can see some of the skin flaking in the photo. By this time, most of the skin had fallen off.

 

[AudreyElizabeth]

Looks good so far! Do you know the sex or are you just taking a stab? The tarsal spur should be evident by that size, like a little extra toe on the back feet.

 

[OldHag]

aaahahaha I LOVE THAT NAME!!!!! squishy HEHEHEHEEHEHE=D Very sweet feller!! Congrats on the new squishy baby!
Michelle

 

[MrT]

He wuvs you.

 

[DnKslr]

I asked for a male so I'm pretty sure they sent me a male. I haven't really looked at it's back feet yet, it's too leafy in there! Sometimes all I can see is his head sticking out from behind a leaf.=D
He made a dash (well as fast as they can go) for the deli cup when I threw some crickets in there. I let a few medium sized crickets just roam free inside so he'd have some actual "hunting" to do. He did pretty well grabbing most of them but I think he's rather have them in the cup.:}

 

[DnKslr]

Just a couple more pic of Squishy and his home. It's a male, I was finally able to see the spurs on the back feet

 

[AudreyElizabeth]

Good pics Diane, makes me miss my beloved Zelda even more!
Great that you got a male, they are a lot more hardy than the females. Gives the little guy peace, food, and water and you should be all set!
Your set-up looks pretty good BTW, it's a lot like the one I built, but mine was wooden.

 

[DnKslr]

He's gotten used me quite well! He even readily takes food from my fingers and even likes to drink from the water dropper. This morning he took a drink and as I was removing my hand from the cage, he grabbed the water dropper and almost refused to let go. He's such a cutie!
The dark material is on there because I come home about midnight from work and I don't want to disturb him. I velcroed the material on so I just close the front flap before turning on the light. Of course I have a quick peek to make sure he is in his sleeping spot.
He is only about 6-7 inches but he refuses to eat little crickets. He'll only go for the full sized, plump wingless crickets. Is that ok? He should be able to handle larger crickets/insects right? I put a mix of little crickets and large crickets in the cup and he'll pick out the big ones.

 

[thechicagoloop]

tips

variety in the bugs is always a good thing, but GUTLOAD those buggers with flukers and sweetpotato and DUST them with a calcium/phosphorous dust (no vitamin A). Make sure that UV bulb is a tube type and change every 6 months, even if it doesn't burn out. Get thermometers to monitor temps maniacly. Mist alot and bring some poop to a vet who knows herps to check for parasites. You'd be surprised by the numbers of positive critters out there.
You are now that lizards "mother nature".
Enjoy.

 

[DnKslr]

Great! I gutload the crickets with Fluckers cricket food, apples and I use Miner-All powder on a few. I powder 2 and the other 2 I don't powder. They are all fairly plump by the next day and he just loves em!
I was gonna order some green worms (Green Giant caterpillers) from the Cricket Ranch but they are about 3" and I think they may be too large for Squishy. I just have him on crickets, tried meal worms but he doesn't like them much. Since its getting warmer out, I might try to get some insects from outside. I know of this pond that no one goes to and there are usually tons of things to catch out there.
I mist the cage twice a day and the temp during the day is about 78 degrees and about 70 at night.

 

[Immortal_sin]

wow...he's really cute...
Too bad I don't have the room, or the time, or .....

 

[caligulathegod]

I got one of these guys about 6-8 months ago and I love him. Nigel was only about 2" when I got him and now he's about a foot and a half. It's amazing how friendly they are. I'd researched and heard that they were "hands off" pets and it couldn't be farther from the truth. He's always begging to come out of the cage and climb on us or, preferably, the ficus tree in the room we keep him in. I got this thing called a Misty Mate and it works great for watering him. He loves it. Anyway, here's Nigel.

 

[caligulathegod]

And here's the Misty Mate. I found it in a pet store, but they have a site at about what you'd expect it to be called.

It works great. He usually climbs up to be in the mist to get wet and to drink.

 

[DnKslr]

WOW! He looks great!
Mine is sick though. I took him to be checked by the vet and they said he may have pneumonia(spelling???). They said it could have been from any number of things that could have caused him to get ill, namely the stress from being shipped overnight. I have him on meds right now. I gave them a detailed description of his set up including temps and humidity and they said it was the perfect climate so I know it couldn't have been that. I'm really hoping he'll pull through. I may have to take him to the KSU vet center if he gets worse. At least he's still eating and drinking.
I feel so bad for the little guy I really love him and I just hate to see him suffering.

 

[da_illest]

good luck diane! if mine got sick i'd be pretty bent too..

 

[caligulathegod]

Even though he doesn't seem to like meal worms, have you tried the superworms? My Nigel loves them. He picks them out of the cup over the crickets. (crunch crunch).