Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just want to start out by saying that CHAMELEONS RULE!! Not that other pets aren't cool, but these guys are simply amazing!

secondly, my "ruling cham" has surprised me this morning by starting to shed his skin. It started on his back legs and quickly his whole backside was full of white skin. Now i know this is normal behavior for most (if not all?) reptiles...BUT, was just wondering if there were any "special things" i should be doing right now or looking out for??

Also, curious as to how long this shedding period lasts...

As you can probably notice, this is my first chameleon. So i want to be sure i have all the knowledge i need for the little fella. OH yes, he's abooout 5 months old or so. This is the first time he's shed in my care and i want to know if i should do anything or just leave him alone!?

Chime in if you have anything to share, thanks!

Best Regards,

Mike

First of all, I must agree with your 'chams rule' comment. As for special things... you really don't need to do much. Just be sure he has lost of humidity, and watch for stuck sheds (happens if it is too dry). My veiled would shed in a day when he was just a little tyke. But now he is 6 months old and takes about 2 or 3 days to get every little piece off, although most is off or falling off by the end of the first day. Good luck with your cham! BTW, the second picture is of him at 5 months old - I think that is how old you said your cham is.

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1.1.0 Leopard Geckos (Booger & Gimp)
1.0.0 Veiled Chameleon (Lucutis)

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1.1.0 Leopard Geckos (Booger & Gimp)
1.0.0 Veiled Chameleon (Lucutis)

Nice looking chameleon! That's pretty much what mine looks like, except not quite as "fat". I'm not sure i'm feeding my cham enough...He has been consuming about 30 crickets in a week. Nothing else so far. I plan on buying some silkworms if i go into town tomorrow. How much does your cham eat each day? Does he eat everyday? Sorry i'm getting off topic here, but it's been in the back of my mind, and now i'm really starting to question his eating habits.

I just don't want him to start eating like a pig and then have to keep supplementing to an overweight chameleon. But i'm starting to worry whether or not he's getting enough as a minimum. My routine of late has been to throw about 8-10 crickets every other day. Sometimes i would throw 3-5 small-medium crix in there between those days but not every time. Does this sound like i'm trying to conserve my crickets too much?...which i sorta am, i guess. Plus, like i said i don't want Leon to get fat and poop everywhere.

Thanks for the reply, best of luck with you're chameleon!

Mike

Thank you for the compliment! I feed mine about 10-15 crix every day. When I have the chance I feed him superworms as well. I will be switching his main food source to roaches soon, as they seem to be much less of a pain in the neck to keep.

From what I have heard, it is hard to overfeed a growing chameleon. I don't think any of the food will make him obese, but will just make him grow faster. I dont think he will get overweight until he stops growing (if fed too much).

Hope this helps, and post some pics of your cham!

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1.1.0 Leopard Geckos (Booger & Gimp)
1.0.0 Veiled Chameleon (Lucutis)

You will be able to tell if you are overfeeding him. Look at his feces, if you see big whole undigested peices of cricket...then you are over feeding. I feed my adults about 7-10 crickets a day. Occasionally adding a roach, wax worm, kale greens, flowers, or apple slices for variety.

LOL i keep close eye on his poop then...btw, seems like something that would come out of an alien! Black on white...seems strange to me, lol. I guess chameleons are 'out of this world' ;so to speak.

Thanks for the info

Take Care,

Mike

About 10 every day...wow. It just seems like so much for my little guy, idk. The dealer told me he was 5 months old and 6-7 inches when i purchased him. Which doesn't seem quite right to me because i've read of them being close to 10 inches by 6 months...i guess every cham is different. Maybe the last owner was light on feeding too, heh. Unfortunately i haven't been able to keep in touch with him so i'm sorta left hanging in that sense. I sent a couple emails requesting more info, (e.g. feeding schedule, handling, etc.) but still have not heard back. Anyway, this morning i went to my lps and picked up as many small-med. sized crickets as he had in stock. Which happened to only be 90 because its the end of the week and he's supposedly waiting on a shipment this coming wed. So to make-up for my "margin of error" Leon gets 15 crickets today. I'll see how he does with that and decide where to go from there.

Thanks for the helpful response!

Regards,

Mike
(i have a few 'decent' pix, how do i post them?)

if you keep buying at the pet store. If you order them online and are not 4 weeks or older they will "keep" for a long time. Also, when you buy them from the lps they have not been properly gutloaded (I think I mentioned that in other post). Even paying the shipping cost still they are much cheaper!

lele
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Chameleon Help & Resource Info

0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna. She's now hanging from her big jungle gym in the sky
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.1 Mad. Hissers and she is on the loose!
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha
?.? Pinktoe Tarantula - no name yet

Hi - "conserving your crickets" at the expense of your cham is not a good idea. You can/should feed him pretty much all he wants as he is still growing. If you are getting your crix from a pet store you are probably paying 15-20 cents/cricket. Order them online and you will save a lot! Premium Crickets in GA has a "contract" offer for folks like you (and me) who do not keep a lot of animals and do not want/need 1000 crickets at a time. I HIGHLY recommend him - excellent service and quality.

You mentioned getting silkworms when you are in town - are you thinking of superworms or mealworms? Pet shops do not generally carry silkworms because they can't just be stuck in the fridge (like mealies) and require some work to breed and/or keep. There are several places online who offer silkies. Check out the article "Silkworms" on www.chameleonnews.com and at the end of it resources are linked.

You should be offering him a selection of feeders if you can. You can also try some greens. What is a very important component of feeding is the gutload your crix are getting. What do you feed them? Think of the cricket as the "vehicle" of nutrients to your cham. Also, what are you using for supplements and how often? As he grows his need for Calcium is pretty high, but should also not be overdone.

here is Premuim Crickets site

lele
Premium Crickets

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Chameleon Help & Resource Info

0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna. She's now hanging from her big jungle gym in the sky
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.1 Mad. Hissers and she is on the loose!
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha
?.? Pinktoe Tarantula - no name yet

Hey LeLe, thanks for the recemmendation. I'll look into that for the near future...Premium Crickets...

Oh, and yeah i was speaking of silkworms, my lps only carries them and not wax or mealworms...which i find sorta strange. But either way, i forgot to buy some when i was just there today picking up crickets. The owner there is such a nice guy its easy to get caught up. I'll haev to start thinking of a varied diet as you and Veiledbrian have mentioned.

Gosh darn these creatures are demanding! The challenge is fun!

Thanks again for your help!

Mike