Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Just bought my first baby female veiled, and have a small question. She seems to be spening all of her time on a naked vine i have running through the entire cage. Thers no foliage on this vine, but it is right below the heat lamp. She's eating fine, but getting her to drink is becoming a problem. I have a fountain in the cage, and 2 live plants that collect loads of water on their leaves, only problem is she's nowhere near these sources and i'm becoming concerned about dehydration. Any advice?

What are the temperatures in the cage under the heat light and in the rest of the cage? If she's cool where the plants are then she might be sitting in the bare area to get warm.

Re: drinking/providing water for her...I don't ever use fountains or bubblers for chameleons. They are too hard to keep clean and germ free. If the water is too deep in the pooled area at the bottom, the chameleon might drown.

With baby chameleons under the age of about 3 months, I only mist the cages. The drips from most drippers are too big. I also am careful not to let the water pool into drops that are big (or puddles) because sometimes a baby chameleon can try to drink from a large drop or puddle of water and aspirate the water.

Don't use cold water to mist the cage with....very warm water is less of a shock to them if/when it touches them....and doesn't cool their small bodies either.

You said you have..."live plants that collect loads of water on their leaves, only problem is she's nowhere near these sources and i'm becoming concerned about dehydration"...most baby chameleons move to the areas where the water is.

Also...I hope you washed the plants well (both sides of the leaves) before using them in her cage.

Some other things that I think are worth mentioning...
Since you have a female, she will likely lay eggs even if unmated once she is sexually mature..so you need to have an area in the cage where she can dig to lay them.

You should gutload your insects and when you go to feed them to her, they should be dusted with calcium. If she doesn't get direct sunlight they should be dusted with a D3 powder a couple of times a month.

She should have fullspectrum light including UVB if she's not in the sun all the time....and the light shouldn't pass through glass or plastic. (Neither should the sun for that matter.)

I never use substrates in chameleon cages. They can ingest it and some cause obstructions of the intestinal tract.

Here are some good sites that you might like to read...
http://www.chameleonjournals.com/vet/
http://adcham.com/
http://www.chameleonnews.com/index.html

Forgot to say that since the veileds are omnivores when they reach about 5 months of age, the plants should all be non-toxic.

Turns out she was stuck. I have all the stuff mentioned though. She couldnt get down, and she couldnt get up. A finger bridge helped her out though

Hope she's okay after being under the heat for so long!
How was she stuck?

couldn't find a way down. After a while i noticed her kinda easing her way towards a branch from the ficus, but it couldnt support her. She'd then withdraw. Since then i've added more sticks, branches, foliage in and around that area. She's drinking, gobbling crickets, and basking .

Cheers.
Faust