veiled chameleon care tips???

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DnKslr

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 6, 2003
Messages
1,255
Has anyone ever ordered a cham on line? If so how long did it live for?
Click to expand...

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 :mad: ). 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! :D 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

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jun 13, 2009
Messages
3
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
 
1

1crazygecko

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jun 15, 2009
Messages
17
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

{D they make good pets!!!
 
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