veiled chameleon

[boa_kid]

hey guys im new to the veiled chameleon,but im not new to herps at all.Ive kept monitors,boas,and geckos of all sorts,but i want to take on chameleons.There is a veiled chameleon at a local pet store that is fairley small,for 75 bucks,and ive been studying about them carefully for the past month.For now would a juvinile chameleon be ok with a 20 gallon high,and peat moss for a subtrate.i also want to add of course fake leaves and branches for climbing.For heat i plan on using a infared and basing bulbs.does this sound ok.also are these chameleons okay to handle once in a while. i also understand they need high humidity,from what i read.can some one give me tips before i purchase.

[GUYANAROB]

someone will answer you soon. Unfortunately I know nothing about them. Be patient. Alot of good info on this site.

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[jbd123]

Just have newspaper substrate. It's difficult to clean and if they go for a cricket at the bottom they will get a mouthfull of it.

High humidity is VERY important. Make sure you mist 2-3 times a day or install a mister. They do not drink out of a bowl, but off of the leaves and branches. They really like dripper systems as a source of drinking water.

They are very handlable when older but the males are the best ones. For now, I would handle very VERY minimally. When they are young, they are very fragile and can stress easily. Best thing to do would be to wait until they are about 1-2 years old before really handling them.

By the way if you ever go out of town get a babysitter for these guys. They are VERY high maintenance. lol

I only know this info, by the way, because my mom has a veiled. He's pretty awesome...and he loves attention.

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[boa_kid]

thanks,but would exo terra bulbs be okay for heating.

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[BlackLava]

we have a couple of veileds...its not all that hard to care for them we keep ours in screen cages, we mist at least 3X a day, and for water, we use ice cubes on top of their cages to drip down onto the plants and stuff. they will go and lick the leaves and such to get their moisture. mine will also lick the cage screen after we mist them. as far as bulbs...they will need something for heat, a reg bulb will be ok, but they need UVB lighting to help with their vitamin absorbtion stuffs....when it gets too cold, we use the heat bulbs, we prefer the ceramic bulbs cause they dont give off light, so they are great for nighttime or daytime heat, and during the day we leave the UVB lights on for them. mine seem to like being in the 75-79F heat range...any warmer or colder than that, and they start getting their dark brown stress colors get it within that range, and they turn their pretty greens again as far as food goes, crickets are actually the least nutritious food out of the typical insects that you find, but yet they are the easiest and most convenient food. butterworms, silkworms and superworms are better (according to the charts i have seen), but they can be hard to find locally. we cant get any butterworms during the warmer months cause its too hot to ship and the sellers wont ship them, but during the cooler months we can just order them online in bulk. some people even have success feeding their chameleons greens and even some fruit, but mine have never wanted to eat those

we have one that doesnt mind being held, shes actually the youngest of our chameleons. our male is a holy terror LOL, he hisses and tries to bite, so we only take him out of his cage when we clean it. hes the prettiest cham we have....figures LOL we have some other females that arent too bad, but we dont handle them all that much, but the younger one, we do

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[jason&stephany]

chameleon forums.com read thru those threads

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[leoares27]

if you do get one...u should really have a screen cage...glass ones are bad as they can see their reflection in it and will become stressed out.
Also, a male is better than a female! Good luck

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[kellymack515]

My veiled will not tolerate being held AT ALL. He gets snappy and really stressed out. I really think it's a personality trait in some of them. So when you're thinking about this consider the possibility that it may become a display pet only.

Always always always dust your crickets with a calcium supplement. Chams are very susceptible to MBD and it's a very painful disease. Mine has it because his previous owners didn't supplement his diet with calcium. Of course this won't do any good if they can't digest it which is why the UVB light is important.

Screen cages are best though decently sized ones are hard to find without spending an arm and a leg. Mine is in a 30"x30"x18" habitat right now and I have a 6'x4'x4' on standby in case he needs it.

VERY high maintenance.

Use red heat bulbs or ceramic bulbs for your heat source. The only thing here is that the ceramic bulbs tend to produce a dry heat. So if you live in a normally humid area or if you're only using the heat source during the winter months, a ceramic bulb is the way to go. But if you live in a cold dry area, I recommend a red heat bulb.

Good luck!!

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[mongoose5971]

As stated above, definitely use a screen cage. Cham's don't understand the concept of glass; they will end up on the bottom of the tank and paw at the glass for hours trying to climb back up which is very stressful, keeps them away from the heat source, and leaves them susceptible to be chewed on by crickets. Also, a very LARGE cage is necessary. For a "fairly small" chameleon (SVL 3" or so) the enclosure should be about 2 x 2 x 3. All this being said, they are one of the more hardy chameleon species and as long as you do your homework, don't skimp on anything, and give them attention every day you should do fine.

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[jvillereptile]

the best cage that works well for me with all my chameleons are the repterrium cages. exspecialy if you keep them in the house. becuase the black screen on the cage help them from getting stressed out

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[MidnightProwess]

definatly get a screen cage and you HAVE to keep the humidity high.
look on the internet for a good forum, I believe one was suggested above.

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[Stargazer]

I saw one of these in the most beautiful colors at a recent reptile show. It was so beautiful it was mesmerizing. I feel guilty saying this, but I couldn't help thinking what a great purse it would make. Good luck with your purchase.

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