Need Info. Please

[drewlowe]

I know the questions i'm going to ask you guys probly answer all the time. Sorry for you having to repeat yourselves.

A good friend of mine (that keeps iguanas) Has just recieved a veiled cham. from a guy that had 2 but one died. He gave the cham. and the cage to my friend. The thing is my friend doesn't know alot about them and niether do I. That's where i come to you for help. I'm trying to find out the basics for this species so my friend can take care of him properly. If my friend feels like he can't do it then i have offered to take him. If he does come to me i want to be prepaired. I'm going to look over the forum to find any info also.

I just seen the cham. today for the first time. He's a male (very aggressive). He's housed in a Very big reptarium. With a plant that goes at least half way up and a few fake plants at top with a few of those bendable limbs. and a water bowl on the bottom. I know he mist him 3 times a day and feeds him crickets. I'm sorry i don't know what temps he is kept at. Please feel free to tell me anything about this species. What their temps should be??? What they eat??? The humidity??? Any thing else you think i should know.

The cham seems a little stressed to me... When you walk into the room he tries to hide and if you open his enclosure he leans to the side trying to hide. Is that normal??? also he looks a little skinny to me... I also don't know his age. The person that gave it to my friend didn't know the age either.

Thanks
Jamie

[dank7oo]

i am a little short on time right now so here are a few links to some care sheets :

this one is by john (cham_paradise)

http://groups.msn.com/ChameleonParadise/veiledchameleon.msnw

This one by Chris Anderson (trace ... i REALLY gotta talk to you, about chris pertaining to parsons :))

http://www.geocities.com/ccicenter/ccalyptratuscs.html

Here is a list of everything you need for a veiled set up by Liddy and Ed Kammer (the most beautyful animals in the world - Kammerflage Kreations)

http://www.calumma.com/Setup%20Checklist.htm

i should also tell you .. remove the water bowl now .. #1 it could cause drowing if her were to fall in, and chameleons RARELY drink from still water. I know trace has trained a few to drink from a bowl, but it is rare ... better to provide a dripper system and spray often

hope this helps!

Jason

[drewlowe]

Thanks alot!!!

[Trace]

Hi Jamie!

Wow, you've asked a lot of questions! Most of which I'm not going to answer, but I will give you a link for a good caresheet and that should take care of the basics for you.

Click here (http://www.adcham.com/html/taxonomy/species/chcalyptratus.html) for it.

I also like www.chameleonjournals.com for good general information on chameleons. Set-ups. Food. Plants and the like.

Basking Spot Temp: 90-95F
Humidity: 50-80%
Food: Various nutritious insects and fruits and veggies

As for his strange behaviours, yeah, that sounds like stress to me. Being in a new environment he will likely be scared for the first little bit. He will settle in, just try and ignore him for the first few weeks. Only go into the room to feed and clean etc. Hey, you've got experience with other reptiles so you know the reasoning behind that!

Good luck! Keep me posted, and don't be shy if you've got questions.

Trace

[drewlowe]

LOL yes trace I hate springing all those on you guys but I know you know what your doing. Even though he's not mine i still want the best care for him. i'm also guilty of wanting to bring him home with me lol. All i can say is WOW i can't belive i wasn't attracted to this species sooner. I want one some time in the future (when i'm ready). If i somehow obtain this guy i will do my best and come to you guys for help. I did get to hold him for a bit (he's got a nice strong grip by the way) . Just to help my friend out and check him over (he asked me to look him over since i keep other herps). I just checked for mites, bad shed, and apperence.

I'm going to print out those care sheets and give to him. If i have anything else to ask i will be back.

Thanks again for all the help

Jamie

[Trace]

Jamie...

I'm warning you right now... chameleons are highly addictive. Are you sure you really want one? LOL! Honestly, I'm too lazy to type out all the information that I know about Veiled Chameleons (not that I'm an expert by any means), but sometimes it's just easier to give a link to a good site. Thanks for your understanding on that matter. One of these I'll get the caresheets I've written posted on this site. You've got lots of good reading ahead of you, but I will say one thing; chameleons are hard to care for, they require a lot of daily dedication, but they aren't impossible to deal with. You can do it.

I've re-read your first post in this thread and the set-up sounds pretty good. Not the best, but not wrong either. After you read a few of those sites, there might be a bit of tweaking you guys may have to do. Maybe not! Get a decent thermometer and a hygrometer and double check those variables. Give him lots of different bugs too. Does he have a UV light?

Post pics when you've got a chance!

Trace

[drewlowe]

I understand about typing out info. It does get repetative and takes a while to type out. i'm perfectly fine with looking at various caresheets. I've heard that they are hard to take care of (time requirement) thats why i never have given getting a cham. a chance (until now). I have the time but i didn't want a cham. for a first reptile. I have 3 years of keeping under my belt and i think i might be ready. I have the basic skills I just need that fine tunning LOL. As far as the addiction thing goes I'm long passed that I have already admitted to my self i have an addiction. LOL

Yes he does have a uv light. Don't know what kind though but my friend told me it is a uv light. One thing i'm concerned about is he doesn't have a heat bulb in there (for a basking site). Told my friend he needed one though. Tomorrow when he comes over i'll be telling him all the info i can and giving him the caresheets. I have this strange feeling though that somehow this cham will be coming to me. I don't think my friend has enough time to properly care for him.

Right now the dig. camera is out of town. But when it comes back i will take a drive to his house to take a pic.

Thanks
Jamie

[drewlowe]

LOL well heres my update.... This little guy will be mine. Just talked to my friend and i'm going to pick him up tonight. I will get pics up next week cause the camera is out of town. I'm going to be leaving him alone so he can settle in and i'm going to go to the petstore tonight to pick him up some crickets and waxworms(he's going to get mealies also but i breed my own.) I'm going to be giving him some dark greens (i already have them cause my beardies) Since I'm just now getting him i'm not sure what he likes. So i'm leaving all options open to him. Adding more folige into his cage removing the waterdish. Getting him a basking light also. Do they need a regular bulb or an actual basking bulb??? Anything else i may be forgeting or not doing right. Is there something that i can set up to automaticly mist them or should i do it myself. Mist 3 times a day right for a few mins. each time???Time to stop at borders and find or order some good books any suggestions???

My friends not home long enough to take care of him. Plus he's at my house all the time so it works out great. He'll still get to visit with him. That also means time to go back to home depot for another timer. LOL When will the addiction stop...

[doenoe]

Oh wow, thats great. Chams are wicked creatures. I havent got any but i saw lots of em at trace's house. Really cewl. Good luck with the little fellow :D

[Trace]

Jamie!

First off, let me offer my congrats to you for taking him in. Welcome to the chameleon addiction my friend! :D

Do they need a regular bulb or an actual basking bulb???

I use regular household 60 watt bulbs for all of my chameleons. They last just as long or longer as the fancy pet store ones at a fraction of the cost. Turn on his lights in the morning, turn them off in the evening. You DO NOT need one of those nocturnal red light bulbs either. Veiled's can tolerate a temperature drop at night.

Is there something that i can set up to automaticly mist them or should i do it myself.

Yes, there are automatic misting systems you can buy, although I am completely unaware of the price of those things. I mist by hand myself. I have one of those 4 gallon plant sprayer thingies that I use. I also have empty sour cream containers with a pinhole in the bottom that I set on the top of my cages. I fill these with water daily and because of the hole, a slow drip of water comes out and into the cage. This is very helpful for providing water when you are at work, or in school etc.

Mist 3 times a day right for a few mins. each time???

Yeppers. About 5-10 minutes each time. I have a few different species of chameleons and I find the Panthers will drink small amounts every time when I mist, whereas the Veiled's may not drink every time, but when they do, they drink A LOT! Make sense? You'll very quickly figure out when he wants to drink, thus you may have to make that session a bit longer.

Everything you are doing sounds pretty good. You are right, give him a wide variety of foods and see what he likes. You can put the veggies in a bowl or attach the whole leaf to one of his sticks in the cage. See what he prefers.

Male Veiled's are notoriously aggressive, so once he's settled in you may notice that.

Books? I've got a pile I could recommend, but a good beginner (no offense) one is "The care and breeding of Chameleons" by Philippe de Vosjoli and Gary Ferguson. ISBN: 1-882770307. I paid $18CAD for it, so it's reasonably priced and filled with good basic information on husbandry. You might be able to find this book at your local pet store too.

Again, good luck! Keep us all posted.

Trace

P.S. Thanks Daan! :D

[drewlowe]

HAHA no offense taken I'm deff. a begginer with chams... Thank you so much for your help.

Yea!!! i think most of my questions are answered for now that is lol.

[meow_mix450]

wow i jsut got home from school, and read this theard, those are the same questions i use to ask:P, but its good to ask, then not ask at all.
Drewlowe: Hey, ya trace is right you are gonna get addicted, i bet your are already, but once i got my nosy b, i wanted more!!!!!
congrats on the chameleon, i hope you have lots of fun with him. Hmmmm about the misting system, i wouldnt bother getting one, since you just got one right now, i would go to a store and get a bottle that mists, im using one right now and its working great, it would save you money.
We just had a talk about how soemtimes chameleon looks skinny. i heard that if there asleep thats really now big they are, im not sure if im right but ya.
hmmm i also heard that you should dust 3 times a week, correct me if im wrong. thats about it, if you ahve mroe questions feel free to ask

Trace: lol if you have time, i think you should write care sheets for these guys, save it on your computer, and if someone needs one you can send it to them. just a suggestion.

Meow

[drewlowe]

Thanks meow mix i completely forgot about supplementation. Yikes!!!! I was going to do the same as my other lizards If i'm wrong please correct me. BUt i was going to give him 6:1 ratio of calcium no phospherous : herptivitamin. 3 times a week. supplements by rep-cal.

Thanks again
Jamie

[betsyjean79]

Congrats on your new friend! I just wanted to give you a little advice on the sprayer. I realize Trace has a lot of chams, therefore, she needs a huge sprayer, but only have one chameleon, so I got a smaller one at home depot for $7, and you pump it up to pressurize and it will spray for a few minutes straight. It is a real must have. Save you from getting carpal tunnel syndrome. You can order one online or go pick one up. Mine looks kind of like this one:

[drewlowe]

Thanks Betsyjean i'm going to home depot tonight i will look into them. I do have a pretty good spray bottle though and i belive i have a drip thing from trying to use it with one of my other herps.

He's in my care now:D . My boyfriend and I went and picked him up last night. We set his cage up but i think it will be too active for him so we are going to take it back down and put it into an unfinished shower we have. That way he's a little more secluded and hopefully he won't be as stressed. He's already growing on me. He's a pain to get out of his cage (very nippy :medbottom ) but once he's out he's great. He was giving me kisses(i know thier not real kisses) and walking all over me without a problem. He would wait til i put my hand or arm in front of him until he would walk. He's so great!!! He's very attentive also. Oh and last night he drank for me YEAH!!!!!!

We're going to the petstore and home depot Maybe the craft store tonight, all for him... We are going to get him somemore bendable vines and hopefully some more fake plants. We are going to try and see if they make clips for the reptarium ( the person before us and our friend would just punch out little holes then when he didn't use them anymore he would put a little duct tape over them.) I'm going to see if i can find any dishes (probly bird dishes) that i can attach to the side for his greens. Then off to home depot for a big pot (i'm replanting his ficus plant cause it has miricle grow in it. ahhhhh) i bought top soil for it last night. We are also getting him a timer (makes it easier for me.) :zi:

I really don't want to use the ficus because of what i've read about the sap. I know you can use umbrella plants are they sturdy enough for adult veileds. Or would you recommend another tree type that would be good???

Thanks again

Jamie

Oh we kept the name our friend gave him...Neo

[J-Man]

I'd go with pothos definitely.

Perfect for chams... non-toxic and they're good for climbing and that sort of thing. They're a hanging plant so I'd say put a little stool inside the cage and have it sit on there.

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