Veiled Chameleons

[ddvw123abc]

THere is veiled chameleons at petco and im wondering what i need and if an enclosure that is 36lx18wx17h is big enough

 

[Rick]

Google is your friend. I googled veiled chameleon care sheet and got all this. Pretty sure you can find your answer there somewhere.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rls...eet&spell=1

 

[Orin]

THere is veiled chameleons at petco and im wondering what i need and if an enclosure that is 36lx18wx17h is big enough

That enclosure is plenty big enough. Massive enclosures may be suggested by some but many have had no trouble rearing them in cages less than half that size. I've reared a number from hatchlings and have bred that species also. I think the most significant aspect of care is they should be fed and misted every day. Missing every so often is okay. If it's little you'll certainly require calcium with vitamin D and a full spectrum incandescent bulb (avoid fluorescent unless supplemented with incandescent).

 

[pohchunyee]

I have been breeding Veiled Chameleons for 4 years now. Here is the link that will help you the most

http://www.chameleonnews.com/

 

[Peter Clausen]

I didn't read the links, but I have two veiled chameleons. Orin taught me most everything I know about chameleons and they seem to be thriving.

Couple things experience has taught me:

1. Good to have a large self-sustaining feeder roach culture. It is so much cheaper in the long run than buying crickets from the pet store (I just bought another $150 worth of feeder roaches for our reptiles and bugs because I wasn't keeping my feeder roaches warm enough to reproduce quickly enough. Believe me when I say this is WAY cheaper than a regular cricket bill.).

2. A plant that fills most of the enclosure makes for a happy chameleon. The stems should be strong enough to support the weight of your chameleon. Umbrella plants are available at most stores and seem to be a pretty common choice.

3. Dust those feeder insects with the powder, just as Orin recommended. I'm surprised how many people I talk to do actually have problems with their veiled chameleons by not providing that mineral and lighting combination.

 

[harryallard]

surely you need a much more aboreal enclosure?

like one of those 4-foot tall mesh ones?

they're not very expensive

 

[Orin]

This young guy is sleeping. My adult female is a baby of my babies but I picked him up at 3" (he's 14" total now) since inbreeding is harmful to chameleons. He's big enough to mate now, and recently has. You can see the spotlight (off since it's nighttime). The cage is similar dimensions to a 10 gallon but 4" taller. He won't get too many inches longer but should get at least twice the bulk. I've only kept Veileds and Panthers, I'm always worried the other chameleons would pick up some strange disease if I brought home a wild-caught Senegal, montium, pygmy, etc. It probably doesn't happen much but I know someone who had that issue (it was caused by a wild Senegal I gave them as a gift a long time ago).

 

[shorty]

That enclosure is plenty big enough. Massive enclosures may be suggested by some but many have had no trouble rearing them in cages less than half that size. I've reared a number from hatchlings and have bred that species also. I think the most significant aspect of care is they should be fed and misted every day. Missing every so often is okay. If it's little you'll certainly require calcium with vitamin D and a full spectrum incandescent bulb (avoid fluorescent unless supplemented with incandescent).

Don't they need some kind of ultraviolet light? I know incandescent lights don't produce this, so what would they be used for, heat? Or doesn't it matter to reptiles if they get UV or not?

 

[Orin]

Veiled chameleons need UV for their bones to grow properly while montium chameleons don't, it depends on the environment or/and the type of reptile. I don't know of a single gecko that needs UV (maybe some day gecko somewhere). According to various manufacturers of "full spectrum" incandescents, these provide UVA while "full spectrum" fluorescents can provide UVA & UVB or UVC (usually only those made for c). There is some debate, UVA causes sunburn though longer wave UVB may be more dangerous and even longer wave UVC is certainly considered so. In my experience UVA is important for growing veileds and if you use only a regular incandescent you will see your babies get rickets. Most keepers suggest both an incandescent and fluoresecent 'full spectrum' that way you cover your bases. It's good advice since it avoids chances of being wrong. Nevertheless, the only time I had bad rickets on a batch of babies was when I went out and bought a $40 UVA &UVB flourescent since I read it was such a big break through and swapped out my "full spectrum" incandescent (didn't use both). Previously I had raised baby panthers to adults with only "full spectrum" incandescent and not a sign of MBD because I believed what the bulbs said on the boxes but later heard about the better "full spectrum" fluorescents. At all times I was using a vitamin D calcium dusting for the feeders. I do not manufacture, test or sell bulbs so I can only comment on how they affect growing my chameleons.

 

[Orin]

Here is the same male angry during the day. His colors are brown for a veiled but I knew that when I bought him (he's the only male I've ever seen that stayed brown till it was almost sexually mature, males usually color up at a few inches and he was pure brown at 3"). The female's father was absolutely stunning so I'm hoping the babies end up more like the mother's side.

 

[Katnapper]

Here is the same male angry during the day.

Orin! :angry: What did you do to make him angry?

Neat creature... I don't know anything about them, so it's interesting peeking in to your discussion. Thanks for including the pics. I was jk above... but I do wonder what makes them angry or change color?

 

[ABbuggin]

I find these guys VERY interesting, and have wanted them for a very long time. I'm working on getting to cages set up for the 2 veilds I going to get. B)

 

[Orin]

Make a Veiled angry? Get too near it or touch it.

The male actually has some color but he's always turning himself brown to hide, other males I've had just sit out with half to full color much of the time. Here he is hiding and then in full angry color. Most pictures you see of chameleons are when they're mad.

This is the female when she sees the male colored up (she doesn't normally look like that).

 

[Katnapper]

Orin, that first pic of him (in your last post) makes him look like he's got stilts for back legs! :lol:

So they don't really like being handled? And are they noisy? The male and female look like they're screaming at each other, lol.

Sorry about all the questions... I'm just curious.

 

[acerbity]

That guy's chin reminds me of this:

Anyways, I've only kept pygmy chams and they are a whole different mess

I would suggest checking craigslist or a reptile show as these will cost you a third of what you'd pay at a store and in some cases may already have an enclosure.

 

[shorty]

I would suggest checking craigslist or a reptile show as these will cost you a third of what you'd pay at a store and in some cases may already have an enclosure.

I was in a pet store in Erie today and they had veiled chameleons for $109.99. Is that overly expensive in comparison to a reptile show?

 

[Orin]

One thing I forgot to mention is none of these indoor bulbs even compare to a few hours outside in the sun. It's too cold here most of the year but during the ~5 months it's warm enough they spend a few hours out in the sun each week inside a screen cage. If you rear veileds you can see the difference from using various lights in how they grow, they almost seem like plants. One bulb I really like is the 'daylight' halogen spot, it seems far better than the standard 'full spectrum' incandescent.

I was in a pet store in Erie today and they had veiled chameleons for $109.99. Is that overly expensive in comparison to a reptile show?

It depends on how big it was and what sex, babies usually run $20-$45, females are cheaper than males and a nice adult male can be $150 or more at a show (or cheaper).

 

[Orin]

So they don't really like being handled? And are they noisy?

Some people handle them all the time and they become used to it, otherwise NO.

They hiss when really mad but otherwise are silent.

 

[Katnapper]

Some people handle them all the time and they become used to it, otherwise NO. They hiss when really mad but otherwise are silent.

Thank you.