Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi All,

I use to (about 6-7 years ago if not longer) had a male veiled chameleon. I have been out of chameleons since and as a result have a few questions when considering getting back into them.

First off, cage suggestions. I know has to be screen. I have a homemade cage that is 2x2x4 but considering getting a better looking cage. I have seen the chameleon canopy and this intrigues me any opinions?

Are Reptisun 5.0 UVB lights still the main recommendation?

What vitamins are best for cricket dusting? I do not recall what I used with my old veiled but I have Reptical and Herpative now from when I had beardeds. Also I have been reading about feeding silkworms....what is best stable diet for the veiled?

What is the best/most economical drip system that you guys recommend?

Lastly, any ideas where to get a veiled from? I want a nice colored very established male. What are the better breeders of veileds?

What care is different between the Panther chameleon and the veiled? I must say looking at the pics of the panthers and wow sure are beautiful.

Is there a good book/site that someone would recommend for learning a little more about the different panther chameleons I am seeing advertised? Are they just different colorations from different regions of the earth?

Thank you - sorry for so long just been out of the loop for a while and figured this would be the best area to find the best answers.

Scott

Hi Scott,
I can't answer all of your questions, b/c i'm relatively new to the cham world & prefer to leave that up to the people who know more... however I can throw in my 2 cents on some of it:

Screen cages are great, and the size you have is adequate. I don't know much about the cham canopy, but I have recently read a few posts/articles/sites on free-ranging chams. I like the idea better than the cham canopy only b/c of asthetics: I hate that terracotta color of the planters they used for it... Anyway, here's a link to one of the free-range articles (I hope I remebered my HTML for that). I think there are links to others if you scroll down a number of posts, or run a search.

As for lighting, the Reptisun 5.0 is great, and so is the ZooMed 5.0 (I just tired this one out recently, it is supposed to be better than the reptisun). Tho free_ranging might require a mercury vapor bulb, depending on how you set it up & how close the cham can get to the bulb for most of the day...

The most economical dripper you can get is one you make yourself. Pick up a package of aquarium "air control valves" (like $3 at Petco, so must be cheaper elsewhere). Drill a hole in a cleaned-out juice bottle & silicone in the valve. Just make sure that the valve is in a position that it will not be wiggled around too much (like at an angle at the bottom of the bottle) as it will tend to leak... If you need to buy the aquarium sealant (silicone), it's only about $5, and you get the whole thing for under $10, plus you can make as many drippers as you have valves in the package.

I'm still figuing out the best diet for my veilds... I think it largly depends on what the individual cham prefers... mine like variety, but it's hard to get here in the winter, so they live on mealies & crickets that are well-gut-loaded with fruits, veggies & grains. In the summer, I supply more of a "field sampler" caught in an area I know that no pesticides are used. Definatly use a vitamin supplament (I too use reptical) and a Ca supplament (I'm still a little confused on which is the best one to use).

Lastly, there is def. a difference btwn veilds & panthers, but I only know of the veilds. You can try chameleonjournals.com or do a search for CiN (Chameleon Information Network) & for Chameleons! Online newsletter (they have some good articles, there is a post about it towards the bottom of the page).

Ok, hope that helps somewhat... Good luck, and let us know what you get & how things are set up, I always like to get new ideas from people.
-----
1.1 Crazy dogs (Sandy & Gizmo)
1.2 Vacationing Kitties (Puddy, PeeWee & Mikey)
1.1 Veiled Chameleons (Charlie & Emma)
0.1 Collard Lizard (Jimmie)
0.1 Leopard Gecko (Lily)
0.0.1 AWOL Leopard Gecko (Eddie)
0.1 Amazing Fiance =o)

guess my HTML didn't work... the article I was referring to can be found on chameleonnews.com, search for "Free Range Set-Up"
-----
1.1 Crazy dogs (Sandy & Gizmo)
1.2 Vacationing Kitties (Puddy, PeeWee & Mikey)
1.1 Veiled Chameleons (Charlie & Emma)
0.1 Collard Lizard (Jimmie)
0.1 Leopard Gecko (Lily)
0.0.1 AWOL Leopard Gecko (Eddie)
0.1 Amazing Fiance =o)

Hi Scott, welcome back to chameleons.

Like Midnight Rain said, I'm no expert, but I can weigh in with my opinions.

If you want a nice looking cage, your best bet would be to build one yourself out of screen and wood. I have a really nice looking one that my boyfriend built, it cost about $100. I don't know of any place that sells cages made of anything but screen and metal, not as nice looking, but definately a lot cheaper.

As for the chameleon canopy, I'm not sure it provides enough cover/vegatation/runways/perching areas. Making your own free range setup would be cheaper and nicer looking than the canopy.

Reptisun 5.0s are the favorite, for larger cages some of us use Mercury Vapor lamps. They are about twice as expensive as Reptisuns, but last twice as long.

For dusting I use RepCal calcium with D3 4 times a week and Herptivite once a week. I'll cut back when my cham reaches a year old.

Silkworms are very healthy but some people's chams tire of them and therefor they cant be used as a staple. You could get a few and try them to see how your cham likes them.

I use a ZooMed Big Dripper for my cage. It holds a gallon of water and cost 10$. I imagine you could find the appropriate size nozzle and airline tubing at an aquarium supply and make one for next to nothing. Just use a gallon jug.

Look on the classified section to find a breeder. Good luck!
-----
~Melissa
1.0 Ambanja Panther (Diesel)
0.1 African Hegdehog (Kaimah)