Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I adopted my first Veiled this week. His owners are moving across country and I volunteered to care for him. He is a very healthy 6 month old sunburst that is just gorgeous. He came with a large, 8 foot high enclosure that includes Basking light, UV lights, and giant ficus tree. I do need a little help understanding these guys. I Am NOT a newbe to the Herp world, so I do know the basic reptile care. Just that this is my first delicate herp so I will ask TONS of questions… HOPE you folks don’t mind too much…..

QUESTIONS

FEEDING: How much do I feed this animal? His owners were feeding 7 silkworms daily. But I want to vary his feeding better than this. HOW MANY Large Crickets do I give him? Is a dozen enough? OR too much?? I found quite a few crickets dead today, so maybe I am giving too many.

ALSO, What is a good way to offer mealworms and waxworms? Is the Superworm safe to give?

LIGHTING: What is the light/heat cycle for them? Right now it is set for 6am-7pm for BOTH the UVB bulb and the basking light. BUT the Veiled seems to hang out on the lower branches after about 4pm. HOW do I tell if he is getting TOO MUCH HEAT???

I think this is all for now. I do have a few books and bunch of caresheets, but they just don’t seem to answer the right questions…

Thanks in advance..

Billie
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Have You Hugged Your Herp Today?

Billie-

Well at this age you can feed him as much as he will eat. SILKWORMS ARE THE BEST STAPLE FOOD (MAIN DIET) YOU CAN FEED CHAMELEONS AND OTHER ANIMALS! If your local store doest carry them check out www.mulberryfarms.com or www.ebay.com do a search for silkworms. Crickets are the second best staple diet you can feed your chameleon. If you want to feed something other then those two, it should only be done as treats or only 10% of his daily intake. Chameleons will tire of being feed the same food over and over so mixing it up is a good idea. Also make sure you dust your food on a regular basis, veileds are prone to MBD if not supplemented regularly. Young growing chameleons need calcium for strong bones just like we do! 12 crickets sounds about right, waxworms, mealworms, and supperworms are high in fat, and the later two of the three have a tough exo-skeleton that is hard to digest, so that is why they are only treats. Read this article on food if you have not already www.chameleonnews.com/year2002/sept2002/nutrition/nutrition_sept_02.html

Your light should be on for a 12 hour cycle. Both the UVB bulb and the basking bulb. You should have a gradient temp. in your cage, high @ the basking spot(95F-105F) and lower temps as you work down the cage. If you a temp gun it works great for checking this type of thing, if not use you thermometer and get reading from different spots in the cage. If the cage is all one temp you will need to adjust your basking bulb. Also make sure to keep an eye on the humidity veileds need around 60%. If you don't already have a digital gauge, I would recommend getting one, you can find them at Wal-Mart.

Hope this helps!
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John
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