Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, I have been reading caresheets and this forum to get ready for a baby chameleon. I am going to buy a veiled cham. I am going to build it a cage and I have a couple of questions. How big should it be? I want the cage to be big enough for him when he gets full grown. I read that uvb lights are only effective for 12". So if my cage is going to be tall should I put a light in the middle of each side? (left and right) My plan is to use a plexyglass front and mesh sides and top. Is that enough ventilation? Any advice?

I'm not very familiar with veilds, but I just wanted to say that it is super wonderful great that you are doing the research first! I thank you and your chameleon will for sure thank you. I wish you the best! Sorry I couldn't help with your questions, I'm sure someone else will.

Hello, most people would say they prefer all sides screen but usually atleast 3 sides is ok. You might want to construct a cage thats about 4x2x2. This will be far too large your a baby veiled but you could put a divider in the cage and cut the rest of the cage of for the moment and make the cage about 2x2x2. But thats just my suggestion. =)

That's what I would suggest. Build your cage as large as you have space for, and in the mean time you can either divide it for your baby or get a smaller Reptarium for it to grow up in. You can always use the Reptarium for a portable outdoor basking cage later. Some screen and some plexi can work, but you may have problems with the cham seeing reflections of itself in the plastic. Also, chams don't "get" glass. They aren't rocket scientists. They can spend hours pacing and pawing at the surface trying to get through it. You could use the plexi on the back side against your wall, and use a type that is not completely clear or very shiny. It would protect the wall from overspray, keep a bit more humidity in, but not cause as much stress.

When you select your baby don't get one younger than 3 months. Really tiny babies are touchy and often they are sold much too young to handle stress of shipping, being in a shop or show, etc. Also, some percentage of most clutches are not destined to survive for congential reasons...and if you buy one too young you just might get one that will not survive for unknown reasons.