Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Here are a list of questions about the care of veiled chameleons.
1. i have heard spraying cham with hot or warm water is better than colder water. Is this true?
2. My cham is about 5 inches w/o the tail how old does this translate to?
3. for lighting and heating i have a completely normal flourescent light paired with a reflector lamp. the bulb is 100 watt and the basking spot is about 95 degrees. Is this adequate?
4. I live in the Bronx and im worried about keeping my cham outside for the summer months. Rain could drench the cage, rats may eat through,bees couldn't help, and bugs carrying pesticides could be dangerous. Should i consider keeping my cham outside at all?
5. How far do i put branches and leaves under the primary basking spot to avoid burns and overheating?
6. What is the best percentage of humidy in the cage?
7. Besides crickets what is best recomended as live prey? are house flies healthy?
8. what live insect has high levels of calcium yet is also healthy for a cham?
9. My cham is climbing on top of the cage under the screen lights upside down. it looks dangerous and im afraid he'll fall. what do i do?

Okay thats just about it. If any of the questions could be answered i will deeply appreciate it. Thankx a lot

o yea one more thing when you answer a question just number it so i know which one. thankx again

I don't have a chameleon yet, but i want to be prepared and have done a lot of reading (on and off for about a year). I can't give you first hand experience but i'll try my best.

1. It is true, by using hot water, it is better for the cham. They are cold blooded animals and regulate the temperature based on their surroundings. If you spray the chameleon with cold water, it drops its temperature and then it has to bask to warm up again. I assume that it will stress the chameleon. Also, unlike humans, chameleons prefer warm water to drink as opposed to cold. It simulates their natural environment better. Put hot water (not boiling, mind you) in a fine mister and then spray it on your hand, it should be warm but not hot.

2. It would probably be pretty hard to tell as juveniles grow at an amazing rate. (read: i have no clue)

3. You will need a UVB light so that the chameleon can produce vitamin D3. This is ESSENTIAL so that Metabolic Bone Disease won't develop. (you also need to gutload/dust feeders so it can get adequete calcium)

4. From what I read, you can keep your Chameleon inside, but natural sunlight is very beneficial (better than anything you can buy) for D3 production. If you're worried, take him/her outside on a nice day and keep him/her supervised. If it's in a screen cage, keep it elevated, that way rats can't get to it, and bugs shouldn't get in, but you'd have to make the call yourself.

5. I would not keep the lamp closer than 12 inches away, depending on how hot the bulb is, you may have to change it. Also, buy a thermometer!!! ensure that the basking spot is the right temperature and then keep your hand under it and see for yourself how hot it is.

6. you'd be safe between 50-60% i think.

7. House flies are too small, a juvie probably wouldn't go for them. Also, if you're concerned about pesticides in your area, it wouldn't be a good idea to use caught insects. I've read that chameleons really like silkworms (but they have a poor calciumhosphorous ratio so these should be given sparingly, like a treat) other than that, mealworms, superworms, waxworms, butterworms, roaches, moths, pinky mice (when adults, if they like them). You may also want to try giving them some fruits and vegetable. My friend's female loves tomatoes and strawberries! Cater to the animal's taste.

8. Unless they are gutloaded and dusted, most feeders are essentially empty food. They have no real nutritional value. You are what you eat!

9. I really don't know, sorry. My friend never had that problem but if the chameleon is climbing on the screen, make sure the mesh isn't tight enough to rip off a claw, it won't grow back.

I really hope that this helps. A reminder, I have never personally HAD a chameleon, but I do read a lot about them. I hope to get one myself soon, but it will be a few months before our petstore has any in stock.

You are asking the right questions. As for the basking temp, the best way to judge the actual temp is to measure the surface temp on the perch your cham would use to bask on. The most accurate way to do this is with an infrared non-contact temp gun. This will give you the exact surface temp of anything you point it at. ProExotics has them for about $25 which is a BARGAIN. It would be the only thermometer you'll need, as you can easily find out any temp around your cage. You can quickly point the thing at your cham also and find out just how warm he is. Then adjust your lights by raising or lowering them. The other thing to get is a decent electronic humidity gauge. Don't bother with the little analog gauges from pet shops as they are not very reliable. If you culture houseflies yourself you can gutload them easily. Check with Grubco.com about ordering. Most chams LOVE flies, but in your area I would be cautious about feeding wildcaught ones. The key to good diets is variety and good gutloading. Don't rely on dusting. Gutload with fresh dark leafy greens, leftover veggies, salad greens, cereal grains (I like Total), bee pollen, some fish flakes, fruit chunks. The dusting you do will sort of fill in the gaps. Juvenile chams seem to love climbing upside down in their cages. Just offer a lot of climbing choices around the cage to minimize screen climbing needed to get somewhere.