Any chameleon owners out there...

bada-bing

hope someone can offer some knowledgable advice..

My boyfriend is getting a Chameleon (veiled i think) next week. It is our first reptile so we have alot to learn. We have researched alot of information on the internet, have read a few books and have also asked in pet shops and i think we have the terrarium fiarly well kitted out now- we have plenty of vines which we wrapped foliage around, two wooden climbing posts again covered in greenery, a water fall, a cup dripper system, and the back is covered in bark. Our main concern is the lighting and heating as we want to make sure we get this perfect. The general consensus seems to be have one lamp to provide heat and have another to provide UVB. I know that a man in one of the pet shops told me that an ordinary household bulb will suffice for one of these but i cant rem which. The top of the cage is mesh, and we have one clamp lamp. The terrarrium is 45x45x60. We are very unsure which types of bulbs, and which wattages would be appropriate as there are so many differing opinions out there..
Is there any boards users out there who actually own a chameleon for some time and have a system that they know works??
We also have a thermometer and a hygrometer and would appreciate if anyone could tell us the ideal ranges for these?

Any advice greatly appreciated.

2qk4u

If its your first time you might be better off with something a bit more hardy like a bearded dragon, cams can be very difficult to look after.you need to get the humidity right....

bada-bing

already have the deposit paid on her, and the viv is only really suited for a cam, all set up for ample climbing!
I know it will be tricky as first time owners, but hopefully if someone can offer us advice on what needs to be done we can keep her happy:)

have you had experience of one?

Mc Love

Such an amazing species

Brian_Uckfast

2qk4u wrote: »

If its your first time you might be better off with something a bit more hardy like a bearded dragon, cams can be very difficult to look after.you need to get the humidity right....

So you DONT have any advice on lighting or heating? :mad:

bada-bing

Brian_Uckfast wrote: »

So you DONT have any advice on lighting or heating? :mad:

why.... do YOU:mad:?!!!!

tallus

You can buy a combined UVB heater/light.
I suppose the safe temperature range would be from 22c to around 32c. That applies to most tropical species.
Found this link after one search on google.
http://www.kingsnake.com/rockymountain/RMHPages/RMHveiled.htm
Even thought the animal has been purchased, I would agree with 2qk4u's sentiments. It's a hard reptile to start off with.

Duff

Just to add, make sure your viv is VERY well ventilated and make sure the heatlamp in the viv is coverd by a cage so the chameleon doesnt climb onto the bulb.

bada-bing

thank you all for taking the time to reply.
just to clarify, i have googled this, read books, asked in pet shops and have alot of information. but opinions seem to differ.
so what i am asking is if there are any people out there who actually own a chameleon, or have owned one, and have had a successful routine.
I need to know the specific requirements for lighting and heating our 45x45x60 (60 is the ht) viv. Ie the wattage for the basking lamp, if the UVB source needs to be a cage length bulb or another small one, and if i need to heat the viv using any other methods, such as heat mats. I know that a chameleon will not use a heat mat, or rock, as they like to remain in the branches, but how is it best to maintain the temperature of the rest of the enclosure. Also if any one has bought plants in a local garden centre for their chameleon i would really love to know the species of plant, as the ones suggested in the books I have read are not well known.

thanks again,
hope there are some owners out there who can help..

Duff

Heatmat/rocks are useless for a Chameleon as they associate heat with light. Hence why I said make sure the heatlamp is caged.:)

leopardus

Hey,
I have a Veiled (yemen) chameleon in a slightly larger viv and experimented with various heat source and wattages. At the moment I'm using a 100 w ceramic heater (bulb), which I leave on top of the mesh lid (in the clamp). 50 w ceramic used inside and he would get too close despite the protective wire around the heater and outside the mesh the 50 w wasn't adequate.
I bought the biggest uv bulb that would fit in the viv and ensured that lots of the branches were in cose proximity to it.
I also kitted out the tank with some safe plants (ficus; but lots of other safe plants listed on line) these help keep the humidity up a bit and look good. I also mist the foliage a couple of times a day with warm water, and I'll mist the chameleon if he's shedding.
I got rid of the bark substrate because it's difficult to keep clean and because of the risk of ingestion and intestinal blockage. Newspaper doesn't look great but is really easy to keep very clean. I place all the food in a white (not clear) plastic tupperware container, this prevents AWOL crickets and it's easy to monitor his intake. I also gutload the crickets with a vitamin and mineral supplement, as well as fruit and veg.
Chameleons really don't apreciate being handled and get pretty stressed by it.
Good luck

Harris

If you contact www.reptile-community.com there's a fantastic guy there called Mat who rescues reptiles and he is an absolute mine of information.
Good luck with the cam!

tallus

If you specify that you only want to hear from people who have kept chameleons then you won't exactly be inundated with replies.
They aren't exactly widely kept, and that's partly because they are pretty specialised.
One could say that all reptiles have exacting needs but some are more tolerant of varying conditions than others but there are certain constants.
IE, temperature range from around 23c to 32c
If the reptile is diurnal then you will need an ultra violet light to duplicate the uv spectrum of light they need. They always need to have a cool spot and a hot spot as they need to thermoregulate.
If the reptile is female and of an egg laying disposition then calcium intake is very important.
As other posters on this thread have already mentioned, gut loading the crickets/locusts is very important for the long term health/husbandry of the animal in question. Hiding places are also very important as Chameleons can become easily stressed.
If the natural habitat is tropical, then spray the vivarium regularly with tepid water.
I can't think of anything else at the moment but.......
I'm sure the shop you're buying her from can inform you about the general husbandry and upkeep.

bada-bing

hey to all,
I would "thank" you all individually if i knew how!
Some good information there, as well as some practical advice!
i wasnt looking to be inundated with replies:rolleyes:!!! just some relavent info.

So today we bought a UVB bulb (5.0) and a holder (with reflective sides to project the light into the viv) and a 100w basking spot lamp. We are going to try this set up for the first few days and observe the temp carefully to check that it remains within the acceptable ranges.

Picking her up tomorrow.. im so excited I wont able to sleep!!
post up some picks of your chameleons here, any owners out there:)...

oh i just saw the giant thumbs up!!! obvious!!

paulinereidjda

bada-bing wrote: »

hope someone can offer some knowledgable advice..

My boyfriend is getting a Chameleon (veiled i think) next week. It is our first reptile so we have alot to learn. We have researched alot of information on the internet, have read a few books and have also asked in pet shops and i think we have the terrarium fiarly well kitted out now- we have plenty of vines which we wrapped foliage around, two wooden climbing posts again covered in greenery, a water fall, a cup dripper system, and the back is covered in bark. Our main concern is the lighting and heating as we want to make sure we get this perfect. The general consensus seems to be have one lamp to provide heat and have another to provide UVB. I know that a man in one of the pet shops told me that an ordinary household bulb will suffice for one of these but i cant rem which. The top of the cage is mesh, and we have one clamp lamp. The terrarrium is 45x45x60. We are very unsure which types of bulbs, and which wattages would be appropriate as there are so many differing opinions out there..
Is there any boards users out there who actually own a chameleon for some time and have a system that they know works??
We also have a thermometer and a hygrometer and would appreciate if anyone could tell us the ideal ranges for these?

Any advice greatly appreciated.

my advice to you is to get a leopard or a b dragon, chamelon,s can,t be handled alot ,some won,t let you handle them at all , , i know its your chose but some thing you,ll enjoy would be better , or do you just wnat to look at your reptile through a glass viv .

Rory123

paulinereidjda wrote: »

my advice to you is to get a leopard or a b dragon, chamelon,s can,t be handled alot ,some won,t let you handle them at all , , i know its your chose but some thing you,ll enjoy would be better , or do you just wnat to look at your reptile through a glass viv .

Sorry to go OT but I think your keyboard is broken.

dbrock

there is some pics of some i have kept, ill put up some more later, when i get them out, ive had jacksons and veiled to

Busta Hyman

i think chams are beutifull and amazing but they are a LOT of work and if youve never kept any sort of reptile before i think you may have issues. I love to look at chams but i know how much work they can be so i wont be getting one soon