cham rookie

[Dmoody]

Ok people ive been in the marine reef and FOWLR hobby for a few years now and i want to try something a little different. Ive been reading on veiled chameleons for a week now and i have seen a few at the local pet shop. I really want to get one i understand they do not do so good in pairs and other stuff but i wanted to get some info from people with any experience at all. i was thinking maybe a 100 gallon terrarium with plants and water hole and basic stuff i understand they need UVB and full spectrum lighting along with basking lamps. Is there any important information i need to know? I know a little about misting them and making sure they always have enough water. I dont want to mess up and end up killing one of these amazing creatures. any help would be appreciated thanks

[dank7oo]

tank?! i hope you mean a SCREEN ENCLOSURE ... a veiled chameleon will not do too well in a tank ... only cetain dwarf and pygmy types can live in aquariums ... to start (for the first 6 or so months) and aquarium is a not bad idea ... but after that your veiled should be moved into a screen enclosure ... now, when you are using the aqurium, make sure you buy a new top for it that has bars instead of the metal mesh ... your cham will climb upside down one the aquarium top, and if the mesh remains, this can severe the toes of your cham which is never good .. my enclosure is 48h x 30w x 18d to give you a good idea of the size of cage you will need ... mine is fairly large, but for chameleons ... bigger is usually better
secondly, you said water hole ... a cham will not drink water that is staning still ... you need to set up a dripper system (which i dont not do .... optional) and spray your cham with a plany mister for about 5 minutes 2-4 times a day ... this will wet everything, and make it so the water drips off the plants, so your cham can see it and will drink it ... my veiled rarely drinks, but they do absorb water through their skin, so just make sure that you get your cham nice and wet when you spray him
if you plan on using live plants, go to this website to make sure the plants you are using are safe for your cham ... many plants ae toxic, and will kill your chameleon if he/she eats them :
http://www.calumma.com/Plants%20and%20Branches.htm
this web site provides links to other weibsites whth plants that are ok to use, and plants that are toxic for your cham
feeding is veery important, and varying a diet is equally important ... check out this web site for some help with nutritian
http://www.chameleonnews.com/year2002/sept2002/nutrition/nutrition_sept_02.html
to start your cham will eat everyday ... and just let him eat as much as he wants ... i know my cham now wont eat everyday, and will only eat once every two days, but in large portion .. the best way to make sure that he is not underfed is to cup feed him, and offer him food several times a day (i offer my veiled food 5 times a day, and my dwarf pantehrs have a perminate feeding bowl in their cage, where they can eat whenever they want as much as they wants all day) the best way to cup feed is to take one of those maccoroni salad containers from your supermarket, wash it out, and put the bugs in there ... from there you can either attach the container into the cage foreveer ... or put it infrony of your cham and let him eat till he stops, then remove the container when he is finished .. i hold the container in from of him, because the bugs sometimes crawl u his body, and get lose, ad therefore i can help to minimize that ... you really do not want the bugs to roam loose because duing the night, they can cause serious bite damage to your cham ... wild caught grasshopers, 'butter flies' and other insects are fine to use, just make sure the area which you get them from are pesticide free
on to the lighting ... you need 1 heat lamp and one UV lamp ... the UV lamp goes on when you wake up, and off when you go to sleep, and can sit right on the top of your cage ... the heat lamp goes on when you wake up, and gets turned off in about 12 hours ... if the species, such as my dwarf panthers, do not need a heat lamp, the UV lamp should runs on a 12 hour cycle ... my parents help me out a lot with my chams while i am at school etc etc etc ... if you are doing this alone, you my want to invest in a timer ... this ensures the lights go on at the same time everyday, and get turned off at the same time ... this is a good 5$ investment if you are vey busy - i think it is easier to just turn them on when i wake up, and off when i sleep, but that is just my opinion ... you want the heat lamp suspended about 12-18 inches, depending on the heat, above the top of your enclosure ... if it is not, the heat can cause serious heat burns to your cham ... when i bought my heat lmap, it had a 'cage' build onto the bottom, to the could not be less that a foot from the top of the enclosure ....
i think i have covered everything ... i might have forgotten something, so just keep reading the posts - LOL

here are some pics of my chams ... enjoy!

these are my dwarf panthers .. the one in the front in toki, then one in the back is mike ... unfortunately, their eggs died as they were not fertile, but i AM currently looking for a male - LOL
http://www.boomspeed.com/war2ain/Mika3toki3_WEB.jpg

this is my male vieled ichiro ... the is hurrying back to his house - :)
http://www.boomspeed.com/war2ain/Ichiro2_WEB.jpg

[dank7oo]

oops ... LOL ... the one is the backs name is MIKA not mike .... LMAO (sorry girl)

[Charm_Paradise]

Dmoody-

I use to be in the reef hobby to. I kept acropora, maxima clams, anthias and True black jacket percula clowns, among many other fish and coral in 125gal. custom cubes, and breeding racks of xenia. I had wholesale access and see things people only dream of getting. Those were the days, now its chameleons all the way!LOL

In the US we do things different then in Canada, aquariums are BAD, do not use them for ANY chameleon over 3 months of age other then pygmy chameleons or you will have problems. I can go on and on here with good info, but I have a website that has everything you need to know, with link to all the best chameleon sites. It should answer all your questions! just click the link to the left of the screen under my picture. Hope this helps!