veiled chameleon care tips???

[Static_69]

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

 

[AudreyElizabeth]

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!!

 

[AudreyElizabeth]

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.

 

[Valael]

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.

 

[ArachnoJoost]

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:

 

[ArachnoJoost]

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

 

[ArachnoJoost]

sorry, here's the pic:

 

[ArachnoJoost]

And a close-up of my cham, Herman:

 

[ArachnoJoost]

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

 

[AudreyElizabeth]

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.

 

[Static_69]

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

 

[ArachnoJoost]

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

 

[Static_69]

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

lol...





Risto

 

[genious_gr]

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??

 

[webspinner]

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

 

[Pedro]

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.

 

[Pedro]

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.

 

[Pedro]

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

 

[genious_gr]

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.

 

[Pedro]

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.