have been thinking seriously about getting a chameleon

[Leza]

ah that is a good thing to plan for. power outage! I was looking at a mister that can run on C batteries as well as normal ac adapter. But as far as light/heat for an outage? not sure how I would pull that one off. Thankfully we don't get many outages here, last one we had was last year for only about an hour. enough to kill my bristlenose in my goldie tank though

 

[waterfaller1]

Deep cycle batteries, a charger, and an inverter. Lots cheaper than a generator.

 

[Greycloud]

Titanis, besides being more difficult to keep, Panthers tend to be very aggressive. They also are very large as adults and need a lot of space.

Is Panther the larger variety? What's bad about them?

Leza, the red heat lights are good for night time warmth. A full spectrum heat light needed during the day. I used the ceramic warmer 24/7 and a full spectrum light during the day, no light at night.
Dusting will repti-cal is best but not needed for every single cricket or worm fed. Over medication of calcium can be harmful. Wax worms are a great source of protein but should be fed in limited amounts. They are a favorite with Chameleons. Pin head and baby crickets are used for baby chameleons.

 

[waterfaller1]

Judy, are they similar to geckos in nutritional needs? With them you alternate between dusting with straight calcium, and multi vitamins. You should also gutload the crix a healthy rounded diet.

 

[Greycloud]

Exactly Carole! It is important to feed your crickets and other worms super foods before feeding to the chameleon. So many just plop a potato in their and that is not beneficial to the chameleon.

Judy, are they similar to geckos in nutritional needs? With them you alternate between dusting with straight calcium, and multi vitamins. You should also gutload the crix a healthy rounded diet.

 

[expressmailtome]

Congratulations on your chameleon!

Matt

 

[MaximotheMacaw]

So small! And soo cute! Congrats!

 

[Leza]

We're back! And I'm leaving again for a bigger cage and live plants, and a real light

super foods--like greens(mustards) and cucumber, peppers... i'm confused on what to feed a cricket. lol. But i understand the concept of gutloading. Thank you for your help carole and Judy!!!

 

[Greycloud]

Leza, they make a vit just for crickets and such that you can feed them along with good food. Here is a great link:The Veiled Chameleon: Keeping Crickets and Gut Loading

 

[kcbee]

Can't wait to see his new home all set up!!

 

[Leza]

temporary setback- i couldn't find a good cage, not even a decent one he is in a 12 x 12 glass enclosure for now, which is not good for chameleons i guess. I am going to have to order one online, but i did get him a uvb light, meal worm treats, and suppliments to dust the crickets. I have never live fed a reptile before so this should be interesting.

 

[Leza]

thanks for the link judy
my cricket farm still need to get a little mesh for better air flow there.


i think its a boy, SO thinks its a girl. I see little notches on the back feet.



I tried to pick him up, and I got the cold shoulder

 

[Leza]

I think i'm going to get this enclosure, the large size.

Zoo Med Repti Breeze Aluminum Screen Cages are Great for Geckos, Chameleons, Anoles and More

 

[Greycloud]

I would add some cat food to the cricket container. Looks good though.aHe is a cutie patootie! Males have a larger casque or helmet them females. They also have a spur on the hind legs that grows as they mature. I like the large enclosure you posted very much. They do well with cross ventilation.

 

[Leza]

yes cat food too thank you for the reminder

 

[MaximotheMacaw]

Can't wait for more pics of him/her

 

[TITANIS]

Congrats Leza!!

 

[PeaceLoveDreamer]

Congrats! That cage you plan on getting is a great cage for a veiled. Boy is he cute! I am glad to see SOMEONE gutloading their crickets, it seems so many people just go to Petco, get some, and throw them in. I breed Dubia roaches for my leopard geckos and that switch was the best thing I have eve6r done. I have to replenish the colony every few months, which costs around 60-80 bucks for 300 roaches of assorted size (which I have to do soon) and they live in a big tupperware and are pretty self sufficient: they get roach food, water crystals, daily spray downs, and daily veggies (normally collards, carrots, skins of whatever I have sliced up, etc). I only need to replenish because I feed out over 100 roaches a week and they cant breed that fast. A 100 roach colony will self suffice if you are only feeding 10-15 a week. Best part is they cant climb plastic or glass so they never escape. Might want to think about looking into them because they WILL climb screen enclosures and I have had chameleons in the past that LOVED them, and they are much more substantial than crickets. I know roaches creep some people out but I figured I'd let you know about them .

Best of luck with your little guy.

 

[Keiness]

I love chameleons!

We've worked with panthers and melleri. Our current panther is not aggressive at all.
If your thinking male, I would go with the xlarge cage. Males will roam more then females and want the extra space.
For your UV get a tube light over a spiral as its harder on their eyes.

Handling wise, keep it to a minimum. Chams dont like being handled. If you want to get him a bit more use to people, hand feed him crickets while hes in the cage. When they hold one of their front arms out (like in a salute), it means they are defensive same with a open mouth or enlarged body. Keep the cage higher up, it will make them feel safer. Also try and look similar for the first while, chams can recognize their keepers but a change (hair cut, glasses) can upset them.

 

[Leza]

Yeah no chance I will do roaches. Lol! Great to know though, maybe I can work my way up to that one day. Thanks everyone! Good info Keri thank you