Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok so ive always wanted a chameleon i finally bought one this weekend. i def did research about what they need. reptisun 5.0 tube light not a compact. the recomended cage size. 3foot tall by 2 wide and 1ft deep. screen no tank. heat bulb with dome. plenty of vines and leaves to hide and climb on. not too much. varied perches. i bought crickets and meal worms. i plan on buying a auto mister so i dont have to worry about him getting deyhdrated while im a work. ok so i found after the fact that the guy i bought it from was an idiot. i knew i had to have a uvb bulb and said no i didnt. right there i should have walked away but whatever. i bought him. he seems healthy. he drinks fine he was a little thirsty when i first got him home. i guess from being at the show all day. drinks right from my sprayer. i do not directly spray on him. i just put it to the branch and he licks from in between. so i havent seen him eat. i kno he sees the crickets or meal worm but just wont eat it. i only got him saturday. so is he still adjusting? and i hear conflicting advice on whether to shower him or not? also what is a good heat bulb? i bought a red glass night bulb so that if it gets too cold at night i can turn it on. but i was reading someone elses post and it said no incandescent bulbs... im not sure if this is one. please specify for me so i know im not going to hurt him.. also i hear varied advice on dusting crickets. how often should i dust food. sorry so long i just wanted to give plenty of info so i can get good responses.

i attached some photos so u can have your own opinion.

For uvb you can use Zoo-med 5.0 or 10.0 flourescent...for a HEAT bulb you can use a regular house bulb...it provides the heat while the flourescent provides the uvb...they need both.A red bulb is un natural,I wouldn't use it,the cage stays too bright...if you need heat at night,go to a home-improvement store and get a DARK blue bulb..the red is much too bright and in my opinion completely useless.As for showers,I don't know,see how he reacts to lightly being sprayed.Hope this helps and hope he starts eating.

PLEASE NOTE:Incandescent house bulbs are fine to use for heat and light.You probably need a 75-100 watt.They are used in conjunction WITH a flourescent uvb.Otherwise you need a mercury vapor bulb which provides heat AND uvb but the problem is that the mercury bulb MUST be at least a foot half distance from the animal[which can be achieved outside the cage but not inside] so they are more difficult to adjust use.I have used house bulbs for 16 years on beardeds and veileds,along with the Zoo-med or other flourescent and have successfully raised 1000's.The type of light fixture will also factor in to the amount of heat your bulb throws...a black fixture will throw less heat than an aluminum reflector.

You won't need heat at night unless the room drops below 60 F at night. Chams need at least a 10 degree temp drop and NO light at night.

As for dusting, depends on the cham's age and what you are gutloading with. This cham looks like an adult or close to it. Dust with calcium once a week. If kept indoors under UVB lighting use a calcium dust with added D3. Don't over do the dust. Dust with a vitamin such as Herptivite once a month to every 6 weeks. Gutload your insects with fortified cereal grains, fresh leafy greens (not iceberg lettuce, spinach or broccoli), and fresh fruit. Chams often don't show much interest in mealworms as they don't move around much. A healthy cham can go without eating for a week, so give him time and privacy. Don't fill the feeder cup with too many insects at once. All the movement can make it hard to single out and shoot at any of them.

my guy has started eating and is drinking pretty regularly. i removed the red bulb and got a daytime bulb. and no light at night. it never drops below 60 in the room. hes eaten only mealworms out of my hand. its almost like the crickets jump off my hand way too fast but i kno hes adjusting. thanks alot for all the detailed info.