Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have never posted before, but I've been reading and watching for a long time. I have also been participating when I could in the Reptiles and Amphibians chat.

Today I am posting because last night I brought home my first chameleon, a male Veiled I have named Slick. He is just a baby, and sooo darling that I fawn over him for hours on end (which is generally me sitting a few feet away from the habitat and watching him move).

He has been drinking well, though I have not yet seen him eat. I have placed five small to medium sized crickets in the habitat and as of an hour ago, there were only four. I hope this means he ate! I also have mealworms, but am not certain how to go about feeding these to Slick. Should I be concerned that I have not seen him actively hunting?

The habitat is a fresh-air enclosure, about 4'T, 2'D, 3'W. A ficus tree, two pothos vines, and tons of "pathways" made of climbing branches and vines are inside. I have been in the habit of misting the habitat thoroughly (but not in excess) twice a day for a week. I have a large UVA lamp shinin' down on the whole thing, and a basking spot lamp focused on a couple of paths off to the side. I have seen him basking three times since he came home. I am considering getting another smaller lamp to focus somewhere else. Would this be wise?

Thank you all for your time! I intend to be here often.

Included are some pics of my pretty baby...

I'll let the more knowlegable people answer your questions, I just wanted to say congratulations on your new cham! He sure is an adorable little guy!
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1.1.0 Leopard Geckos (Booger & Gimp)
1.0.0 Veiled Chameleon (Lucutis)
0.0.1 Quince Monitor (Pollux)

Just don't fall into the "micromanagement" trap! I guarantee the more you stare at him, the more things your brain will "invent" that needs tweakin' and fixin'. Keep the handling to the absolute minimum (even a seemingly "calm" Cham is stressing big time inside) know and adhere to the basics of husbandry,and most importantly, just let him be a Chameleon.

Bill

Thanks! I am trying to keep in mind that inventing problems is as bad as recognizing actual ones, so that hasn't been a problem. Handling has been kept extremely minimal. I haven't touched the little darlin' since I released him into the habitat last night.

Good to hear that you were reading and watching for a long time before getting a chameleon!

Chameleons are not the easiest lizard to keep in captivity, as you've probably already figured out from your reading....but if you get the husbandry right, you should have your veiled with you for quite a few years.

You said "he" is just a baby....are you sure its a "he"? Males have tarsal spurs on their heels...females'heels just go straight down at the back. See this page...
http://adcham.com/html/husbandry/glossary/tarsalspur.html

If it is a female, then it would be wise to provide a container of sand in the cage in case she has to lay eggs. Veiled females can lay eggs even when they are not mated...and failure to provide a satisfactory place to lay them can lead to eggbinding and death.

You said..."He is just a baby, and sooo darling that I fawn over him for hours on end (which is generally me sitting a few feet away from the habitat and watching him move)"...I would let it have some peace so that it can settle in. If you want to watch it try to do it in such a way that it can't see you. If it sees you watching, that might be why you aren't seeing it actively hunt. You might be causing it stress.

Cage setup sounds fine regarding the comments you made ("the habitat is a fresh-air enclosure, about 4'T, 2'D, 3'W. A ficus tree, two pothos vines, and tons of "pathways" made of climbing branches and vines are inside". I hope you washed the plants well (both sides of the leaves) before putting them in the cage? Veileds are omnivores once they reach the age of about 5 or 6 months....so they can/might eat the leaves. They should be given some fruits and greens and veggies as part of their diet.

Misting twice a day is good, but it would be better if you also had a drip system. Hydration is important. More is always better (up to a point...the cage should be allowed to dry out for part of the day and overnight too).

You said..."I have a large UVA lamp shinin' down on the whole thing, and a basking spot lamp focused on a couple of paths off to the side"...do you really mean UVA? The chameleon needs UVB in order to use the calcium it gets. You didn't mention the temperature under the basking lamp....or the cage temperatures overall. The UVB should not be through glass or plastic and the light should be situated so that its 12 or so inches away from where the chameleon sits a good part of the time.

Are you gutloading the insects? Are you supplementing/dusting the insects in any way before you release them in the cage?

You said...."I am considering getting another smaller lamp to focus somewhere else. Would this be wise?"...besides providing a place for the chameleon to warm up, the other "purpose" of the basking lamp is to heat the cage. I place my basking lamp to one side above the lid of the cage which helps to provide a variation in temperatures throughout the cage. This way the chameleon can regulate its body temperature. There should be no lights on the cage at night. Its good for the chameleon to cool off at night.

Here are some sites that you may like to read (if you haven't already seen them on here)...
http://www.chameleonjournals.com/vet/
http://adcham.com/
http://www.chameleonnews.com/index.html

Good luck with your new chameleon!

In my opinion, your reply is a little overboard, even if it is out of concern. Too overwhelming.

Also, even if it is a female, it's a little early to be worried about eggs. It still looks quite young yet.
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CANADIAN CHAMELEONS

Will...I would rather have given her a little too much information now than not enough so that she won't end up overwhelmed when/if any problems (such as egg-binding, MBD from improper husbandry, for example) develop because she wasn't told. Prevention is easier than the cure.

Or are just very concerned and considerate of all the details. Most likely the latter. In either case, thanks for all the good questions and pointers.

Let's see if I can respond to everything, overwhelming or not...

I could swear up and down that when I initially examined Slick, he had tarsal spurs, but reviewing pictures and trying to get a look at him has not yielded confirmation. I will have to check again when he is out in the open (and not hiding at the top of the tree out of my sight range).

As for watching him, I have been letting him have lots of space. I understand that chams stress very easily, and do not want to create anxiety for Slick. It makes me anxious not to be able to know where he is at all times, but I'm getting used to it. Maternal nature must be patient for once!

Yes, I thoroughly washed down all the plants before they went in the habitat. I was wary of pesticides and did not want to risk ingestion of those chemicals.

I am leaving small slices of pear and some collared greens in various spots in the enclosure on stable surfaces. I have noticed the three remaining crickets eating the pear and greens.

I am still nervous about whether or not Slick is eating the crickets or if they are simply hiding extremely well in some place. Or are just dead. I don't know.

I was actually considering buying a drip system. I am simply not sure about how often and when to turn it on/leave it on.

I didn't mean to type just UVA. It is a UVB/UVA bulb, but further reading has led me to believe I need better lighting in that area. I will probably be investing a large chunk of my next paycheck in that.

The current ambient temperature in the habitat is 82 degrees F and typically drops to only 73 degrees F at night. Should it be cooler or warmer? I have read conflicting information on nighttime temp requirements. The basking spot is at 91 degrees F. Again, should it be warmer? Is that too warm for a baby?

I am gutloading the insects with pear, tropical fish food, collared greens, and am dusting them with vitamin supplements before release into the habitat, yes.

Is there anything else I should consider? I'm sure there is, but my checklist is long and my cageside-calendar crammed. Heh.

Your response was quite overwhelming. But nice to see concern! Thanks again.

I hate typing...but I've seen it happen too many times on this forum where people end up with problems that could have been avoided if the time had been taken to give them certain basic husbandry information....and I love chameleons enough to not want to see people have their chameleons end up with problems.

You said..."thanks for all the good questions and pointers"...you are welcome...sorry it was overwhelming....but like I said in my reply to Will...prevention of problems is easier than the cure in most cases.

The only thing that matters concerning Slick's sex is the egg-laying concerns.

You said..."I have noticed the three remaining crickets eating the pear and greens"...a "bonus" to feeding the chameleon is that it also keeps the crickets fed!

You said..."I am still nervous about whether or not Slick is eating the crickets or if they are simply hiding extremely well in some place. Or are just dead"...if he/she is pooping then he/she must be eating.

Concerning the drip system...while you decide...take a deli container and punch a very small hole in the bottom so that the drip rate will be about 2 drips per second and allow it to drip on the plant leaves. It can be done more than once a day.

For an adult, the basking area can be in the high 80's to mid 90's. I start babies off in the mid 80's but once they have a good body size, they can have adult temperatures. At night, my cages drop to about 70F this time of year, but I know that they can accept somewhat cooler temperartures than that...and 73F should be fine too. Your ambient temp. sounds fine.

There is a good gutload on the ADCHAM site that I sent you. Yours needs improvement IMHO.9

You said..."am dusting them with vitamin supplements before release into the habitat"...I keep my chameleons under artificial light almost all year and I dust the insects with calcium (most insects have a poor calcium to phosporous ratio) a couple of times a week, and I dust lightly with a D3/calcium dust twice a month, and a vitamin/mineral powder twice a month too. Babies and females need more calcium to grow their bones and eggs, so they can be dusted a little more with calcium. D3/UVB play a part in this too...they can't use the calcium unless they have enough D3/UVB. (If they are outside in the sunlight, the D3 can be dropped.)

You asked..."Is there anything else I should consider? I'm sure there is, but my checklist is long and my cageside-calendar crammed. Heh"...hopefully you have enough information for now to keep your chameleon healthy. I always worry that I have missed something though.

Once again, sorry for giving you so much information at once...but its always given out of concern! I hope you will have your chameleon around to enjoy for many years to come. Both male and female veileds can live to be over 7 if the husbandry is good!

Glad to have you with us, so happy you decided to join in finally Your little guy is a real cutie, wish you the very best with him.

Looks as though you have been given plenty of info and help, so I will just leave the Chameleon Help and resource link below for you.

Keep the pics coming, and holler if ya need help, enjoy the forum !
Chameleon Help And Resources

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PHEve / Eve

Contact PHEve

He is soooooo cute!! I just got mine 2 weeks ago. I didn't get to see him eat until this past Friday. So, I think as long as he is active, he should be ok, and if the crickets disappear!! Once you get to see him eat, it is soooo cool. I love watching him stalk him crickets. Slick is a cute name. How did you come up with it?? I have heard as far as meal worms they need to be at least 6 mos, but I am sure that everyone here will know about that kind of thing better than me since I am a newbie too. Good luck!! Oh, what color phase is he?? Your pics are so good. I wish mine were better.

Slick came about as a name because when I first decided to get a chameleon, I was telling my beloved older adoptive sis, and she was raised a cowgirl. She suggested "Slick" and I loved it. It seemed like such a suave, old-fashioned name, fit the way chameleons slide around, and their quick-draw tongues.

As for takin' pictures, I have a fabulous camera, so don't feel bad. Also, try taking pictures on a night setting, action setting, or extreme light setting. Try different non-flash and flash settings too. Most importantly, hold the camera still. This can be done by balancing your wrist or elbow on something solid or against your side or chest. A tripod is optimal, but hard to position when it comes to these darlin' critters, hm?