Q's on Senegal Cham.

[Mirage]

Just bought a Senegal Chameleon... I know they are hard to take care of... found this out afterwards... so far he seems to be doing ok... my main question is: The guy at the pet store said to feed him 3 crickets every 2 days... have had him 4 days, fed him twice and he doesn't waste any time eating (quite impressive!!!) Is this enough food??? (The crickets are powdered with vitamin suppliments).
Is misting with a water bottle a good idea? we are using the bog drip but not sure if he needs more water. Have been looking for more online info, but not tons on senegals and they all seem to say the same care stuff, and nothing in great detail.
Any advice anyone could give would be quite helpful as we would love to keep this little guy Happy & Healthy!!! Thanks! His name is Mirage.

[meow_mix450]

hey welcome to the site cause you seem new here. Senegal are awesome chameleons. Taking care of a chameleon is easier then you think. All you need is commitment and ready to care for it every day. Misting from the bottle is very important this is how they are gonna get there water, and it also increases the humdity. I do not know the tempertures for the senegals but someone else here might. You need a uv light and a uvb light. Also if you are using a tank i would get a mesh enclosure or make one your self, they need alot of air flow. As for feeding 2 crickets every other day is pretty much how much they get in the wild(so ive heard) But it all depends on the size of your chameleon usual a dozen every other day is good for sub adults and for babys everyday. Dust your crickets every other feeding and it should be a happy little guy. O ya vary your chameleons diet, this will make your chameleon healther and it wont get bored of its food. I may have miss some points and some people might have a different opinon on there care, but this is mine. Collide will probly fill in my holes lol

Post pictures hehehe, good luck
Meow

[Collide]

Congrats. I dont know if u have had a chameleon b4, if this is your first one senegal is a good choice IMHO. The only thing i would highly recomend if it is wild caught is gettin a fecal sample done alot of senegals come in with heavy paracites ect... It not a expencive thing to do and it will just to make sure that it is clear and healthy. If not u can take easy measures now to prevent any issues.

as for care check out the links in my sig, read general cham care and then look into species profile to find any species specifc info there isent that much specifc info on them out there on of the books i have says 74-88 F 60-70 ish humidity but id lookinto it more on your own.

Congrats on your new addition, oh male or female and approx how old?

[Mirage]

Thanks so much for the info... This is our first Chameleon, my husband had iguanas before, but fell in love with the senegal at the pet store... We have a 38 gallon mesh cage, the uv light, heat light, the dripper (though I haven't seen him drink... so I've also been misting a few times a day). Feed him 3 crickets every 2 days (and he eats well). He has vines and fake leaves to climb. The temperate is seems to be about right and the humidity is 60-70ish with help from a baby humidifier plugged in a few hours daily. We're trying to follow all directions and instructions possible (maybe a bit too paranoid ) Just wondering if there was anything we NEEDED to know otherwise. Mirage is a male, but pet store couldn't tell us how old exactly, though not too old as he is smaller than average adult size (we were told). Will try varying his diet - but what other than crickets... he eats what crawls up the mesh, so meal worms wouldn't work...
And he goes totally spotty once in a while... was told he does this when he's stressed... would he also do this to blend with the brown jungle vine?
Again, thanks for the info - I'm new to this site but love it already! Will post pics very soon!

[Collide]

silk worms, cirx, roaches, hornworms, grasshopers, mantis, all good choices. Im glad he is a male females need to be watched with food intake to controll weight. keep heat lamp on one side of cage so that the other is cooler so he can regulate his temps, try to leave him be as much as possible for the next week or soo let him adapt to his new environment and i strongly recomend that fecal. there are some others that come here that have a senegal although i havent seen them in a while.

read alot chams need knowledgable keepers, and be carfull they are addicting.

[CarlC]

Hi,
As Brandy suggested I would get a fecal test done asap. This species known for huge parasite loads. This is usually what killers them. This is a nervous species and if the parasites are not treated the stress breaks down their immune system allowing the parasites to take over. For the first few weeks try to leave it alone as much as possible and let it get used to it's new surroundings.

To keep this species happy and healthy you need to offer a very varied diet. They soon get bored with crickets. Try offering silkworms, grasshoppers, house flies(their favorite), butterworms, various species of roach and small stick insects. Just vary it as much as possible. If you can only get a few of the items listed rotate them at each feeding. If the pet store person was correct and you have a male feed every other day.

The species is not a big drinker. Keep up your daily mistings with luke warm water and offer the drip once or twice a week. If you notice him going for the mist immediately you might want to increase the drip to 3 times aweek.

I almost forgot- since you are using a humidifier make sure it is cleaned daily. Bacteria thrive in standing water and then add the fact that they are being made air borne you can run into respitory problems.

This can be a very rewarding species. It is by no means an easy species.

[Mirage]

Again, thanks alot... About getting the fecal sample done... I'll research in my area but who would do this (reptile vets???)
Thanks!

[Collide]

prefrably a reptile vet but any vet should be able to do a fecal.

[meow_mix450]

hmmm i never thought about a fecal check, but its not a bad idea when you buy a wild caught animal. Does anyone know on average the cost of that?

Meow

[CarlC]

In the states they run about $15.

Carl

[Kevin McRae]

Originally posted by Mirage
(though I haven't seen him drink

Chameleons can absorb water through there skin too, if you don't see him drink and you have been misting him and his cage, it's probaly cause you water him so often he isn't in a rush to drink.

Looks like your doing a GREAT job

[Brock]

Chameleons can absorb water in their skin??? I didn't know this. Have you ever sprayed a chameleon? It bounces right off their skin.

Most chameleons get distracted while drinking, their eyes focus on the water droplets and they are vulnerable to predators, so they most often will not drink in your presence until they've been in your care for a few months, or you hide behind a bush to watch them, or they're just really, really thirsty. I didn't see my female drink until she was about 18 months old. Just spray the cage thoroughly and they drink when you leave.

-Brock

[Dark_Angel_25]

Hi Mirage,
You must be Lysa's sister I'm Tracy, her friend from work who told her to give you this site! I hope you can find all the information you can! Unfortunately I dont know much about chams, so I am really pleased that you came here! Add me on your friend list and you can add me on MSN also, tracymayo22@hotmail.com.
Nice to meet you!

[dank7oo]

Brock. Chameleons do absord water through the skin. While it is minimal and wont redyrate or be enough for the chameleons to live off of, it is another means in which they obtain water.

Jason

[Kevin McRae]

I found that out in the REPTILES USA 02 magazine