Veiled Care?

[SerpentLust]

Funny situation, my father LOVES Chameleons, but hates having pets of his own...so the solution...he wants ME to pick myself up a Cham so he can oggle at it whenever he comes home. lol

Now, I don't mind this at all. Hahaha

I have two questions though, as I have been reading caresheets, two things boggled my mind...

1. Housing. Everything I go to says "SCREEN CAGES ARE A MUST"...is this true? I would have thought as long as I have a nice arboreal cage, it would be good.

2. Water. They stated that Chams don't like stagnant water, so to give them water, have an ice cube melting on the top or spray the enclosure, etc. What are the ways that you guys do this?

The rest I think I'm pretty much set on :)

Thanks,
Jenn

[BigPlaya]

1. My understanding is that your better off keeping a baby up to about 5 or 6 months inside a small aquarium. Then move them to an all screen cage because the glass stresses them out and there is no air movement in an aquarium.

2. Its not that they dont like stagnant water, its just that they cant see water that is not moving. So its best to have a dripper of some sort inside the cage so they can see the water moving. Usually you have this dripping into some sort of water dish.

I have seen this site before but I think it would help you get a good understanding of what is needed for your soon to be new veiled.

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

[maiden_canada]

chameleons need screen enclosures because they can suffer from respiratory damage. they are pretty fragile, you really shouldn't handle them much either. veileds are usually pretty aggressive to start with, have you thought of a panther? theyre a bit more expensive, but nicer looking and a bit calmer/tamer

[SerpentLust]

maiden_canada: Actually looking at pics, I like the panthers too :) I don't really like Jacksons I know that much.

I'm VERY new to the Cham world, as my only experience was at that pet store when I fixed up their enclosure as best as I could.

Jenn

[SerpentLust]

Another Question:
I read that Panther's prefer Humid Conditions and I've always wanted to try a Fogger in one of my enclosures. Like the ones by Exo Terra

Would it be worth the money or a waste of my time?

Jenn

[SerpentLust]

Also, what about something like this: http://animalark.eapps.com/animal/CIN/Catalog.nsf/427b87d8f485afc686256a370080a7df/350e8603c7a76e4285256af30015edb4?OpenDocument

[maiden_canada]

you don't NEED a dripper, spray the cage 3 times a day, if you want a dripper get a styrafoam cup or plastic and poke a pinhole in the bottom really tiny and let it drip down onto a leaf

[Trace]

Hi Jenn.

I use foggers in the wintertime here on all of my cages. I find they work very well for keeping the humidity up as well as they add extra water droplets that the chameleons will drink.

Here's another tip though... Lee Valley Tools sells the exact same fogger, but at a better price than you will find in a pet store. Their code number for it is DB421 I believe. It's in the gardening section.

Cheers!

Trace

[Collide]

Chams will drink water off of leaves ect.. spraying the cage about 2 times a day so the can drink and foggers are great I need to get some lol. I would also sugest a male o prevent egg laying issues. Although veilds can be very grumpy I wouldent rule them out I love them, now panthers are much more tame and they have a great variety in color but much more expencive. Well good luck and take lots of pictures;)

[lizardmom]

Where or who - is a good place or a good -reputable breeder to get a panther cham or a nosey b.cham
would like to find out as much info on one ?
have 2 veiled chams-love them dearly.
lizardmom

[meow_mix450]

o lizard mom, my best is to go to connie, if you would like her e-mail me PM me i would gladly give it to you, i got one from here and im loving it right now, the nosy b is perfect, 2 years old and cost me about 200 bucks, but i think its worth it.

Use screen cages, i suggest you make one, but if your not a good bulider, you can always go big one, i would suggest that you get a sub-adult, for beginners, about mayb a year old??? i good size.

I suggest getting a panther, thats just in my opinon, as for water, get a water bottle or a container thats plastic, get a pin and poke a whole, water would poor out and drip into the cage, or like you said you can use ice cubes, dont have to worry about the water part, as long as you spray, and fill the dipper up, every day its sorta a must thing. One thing my cham really likes is, when im having a shower, i bring him with me put him on a tree, and while i take a shower he enjoys the moist humdi air. After im done i would let water run for 5 mins, and bring him back to his cage, he seems to love it.

price ranges around 150-400 depends what you want, like trace said i would use a fogger, it really does help the humdity. The price at lee valley is 39.99 and pet store is 49.99, but about 2 weeks ago they had it for 39.99 at the pet store, i think its over now.

But if you have anymore questions i dont mind answering

Meow

[gfisher2002]

I just have 1 thing I'm wondering about. The ice cube thing. I've been told NOT to use melting ice cupes because the cold water turns the chameleon off it. I was told to drip hot to warm water and mist with hot water as well. Makes sense to me. What do the rest think?

[Collide]

yea if u put hot water in your mister the chams love it its not hot when it comes out just spray it on your skin. I find that my chams will drink like mad if i spray them with warm water just an observation i have noticed.

[J-Man]

Yeah I don't think any herps like cold water...

[Wuntu Menny]

An ice cream bucket with 2-3 pinholes works great. Stick with a veiled as they are far more tolerant of temp and humidity changes than panthers. Get a female if you want one that is more sociable and interactive. Veileds are more likely to be trained to recognize standing water, but almost all chameleons respond better to dynamic, ie. moving, water as a source of hydration.

WM

Oops, PS. MESH cages are a must. 3 sides minimum.

[meow_mix450]

hey i never knew bout te te temp, i always wondered about tat cause since tere cold blooded

Meow

[gfisher2002]

My ambanja panther drinks lots out of her water dish(standing water) but she also likes catching hot drops from her dripper and loves getting under the mister. Ya I know, still water dish, drip system for 1 hour a day and automated mistings might seem like overkill, but I was freaked about the whole chams not drinks from still water thing. Especially since she was my first cham. The articles I read made it sound like a challenge to get them to drink. But she drinks lots from all three methods. So why change whats not broke? If she doesn't want to drink out of the dish she can use the leaves when the mister is on. No way this girl will ever be thirsty. (she was dehydrated a couple times in the poor care of her previous owners)

[joer]

How can you tell if she is dehydrated.

[Trace]

Their eyes will sink into their heads.

That's usually a sign of a severly dehydrated chameleon though.

Trace

[chamitch]

i just drip the water on his nose ontill he puts his head up to teh dripper. then he chugs teh water right out fo the dripper.

[gfisher2002]

Ya once a cham has sunken eye syndrom they are so dehydrated they are probably beyond saving. I'm not sure what other symptoms they show before that stage though. Most likely become listless, poor balance, loss of appetite, and general signs that would tell you something is wrong. Trace, any input ?

[Wuntu Menny]

Not necessarily so, gf. I've seen many chameleons nursed back from dehydration, its probably the easiest ailment to deal with. Balance does get affected as their muscle and motor control suffer. Many keepers have reported that their cham can't seem to use it's tongue properly. Often you'll find they change to more dramatic stress patterns and commonly look quite colorful as they suffer. If you have a grazer, like a veiled, they may try to slake their thirst by consuming more vegetation.

WM

[gfisher2002]

Thanks Wuntu. I never claimed to be sure. Now I know though. I hope I never have to treat my girl.