New veiled owner..i know nothing! :)

Thank goodness for this forum!!! I have a baby vieled that I've had for about 2-3 months and i couldn't really find any GOOD advice pages (just the basics). Everything is going good so far, but i have a few questions still.
1. I read somewhere that they need a lg tree for climbing and hiding. I have her/him in a 22 gal repterium with 2 of the climbing vines and 2 small live plants that i got at the pet store. I went to a local nursery to find some of the plants the site suggested to be safe and they were all HUGE! Some of them had pots that wouldn't even fit in the cage So my question is...what type of plant/tree do i need that will fit in her cage?
2. Could some of you post pics of your setups so i can see how you have everything set up? I have a problem with getting all the lights and heaters on this small little cage!
3. Water! How do you guys keep water dripping ALL DAY & NIGHT?!?! I have a drip cup, but it runs out all the time. And were does all the extra water go? Now i have it dripping into the live plant thing.

I know,it's a lot to answer, but i really don't know anything about these guys. Thanks for your time

I don't have chameleons anymore, but I'll try to help.

First of all, if you already have two live plants in there, I'd leave it at that. a 22 gallon Reptarium isn't really big enough to need more than that. If you want to add some plants for the sake of climbing and hiding places, I would just get some plastic plants from a pet store. Those don't need to be watered, and won't die.

It was my experience that veileds didn't need as high of a humidity as other chameleon species, and once mine passed the 2-3 month mark, I quit using a dripper and just misted them 3-4 times a day. Drippers can be a real pain--especially the cheap, commonly available ones that just work off of gravity. They usually use airline tubing and have a control valve to regulate the water flow. That's all fine and good, but the rate at which the water drips through is directly related to the column of water above it (assuming it's one of those gravity reservoirs) and once the water level starts to drop, the pressure through the valve changes and it might slow way down, or stop completely.

Do you have the Reptarium set up horizontally or vertically? You should be able to fit an 18" striplight (UV fluorescent) and a 6" dome lamp (heat source) on top of it if you have it sitting horizontally, but if you have it set up vertically, you might need to replace the striplight with another dome lamp and put a compact fluorescent coiled UV light in there. However, a veiled isn't going to fit in a 22 gallon for too long, though.

When I used drippers on Reptariums, I had the plastic "soft trays" on them and had them filled with an inch of coconut fiber as substrate. The water just dripped into there, keeping the substrate damp and helping the humidity a little. You can also just use folded paper towels in the bottom, but make sure there's something under the cage so that it doesn't get the shelf (or whatever it's sitting on) all wet.

Hope that helps.

I have the soft tray in but i just have rep-ti carpet as a substrate so I'll switch it. Thanks I think she's fine without a hide spot, she never really changes color so i guess she's fine for now. I forgot to ask about the cage size, when does she get to have a lg one? I've had her for a couple months so she's probably about 3-4 months(?).
Another thing (sorry), she doesn't like the mealies so what (besides crickets) are good things to offer her? Thanks

Originally Posted by Leogirl

I forgot to ask about the cage size, when does she get to have a lg one? I've had her for a couple months so she's probably about 3-4 months(?).
Another thing (sorry), she doesn't like the mealies so what (besides crickets) are good things to offer her? Thanks

I have my 3 month old in a 2ft x 2ft x 4ft screened cage . You need to start looking for a bigger cage ( or build one yourself ) real soon .

OK, thanks! My husband surprised me with her one day and they sent him home with a tank so i didn't have time to research. Anyways, a care sheet told me to get a small cage for the babies so they can hunt for food and when it grows to get the one you have, but i didn't know WHEN to get the big one so thanks.
What so you feed yours? Do they like to be held?

Originally Posted by Leogirl

OK, thanks! My husband surprised me with her one day and they sent him home with a tank so i didn't have time to research. Anyways, a care sheet told me to get a small cage for the babies so they can hunt for food and when it grows to get the one you have, but i didn't know WHEN to get the big one so thanks.
What so you feed yours? Do they like to be held?

Yeah I had mine in a tank for about a month , month and a half . I was afraid he wouldn't find anything to eat in the big cage but he proved me wrong right away . They have great vision , he saw crickets I didnt know were there until he shot his tongue out and grabbed them . Most of what I have read says they can stay in a small enclosure until six months of age , but I was worried about him getting a URI in the tank so I made the move to the big enclosure at 3 months of age . I am glad I did , because he is happy and healthy as he can be . He gets alot more exersize now and has to hunt and shoot his tongue accurately to get his prey, so it is more like living in the wild for him. I have a Scheffelera (sp?) bush that is about 3 ft tall in his cage and some bendy vines that are on the screen around the bush . Nice and comfy with alot of privacy for him .

They dislike being held , but will tolerate it for a bit . I would keep handling to a minimum . Mine is in the hissing phase when you try and handle him . He doesnt seem to mind people watching him though .

I feed mine crickets that are fully gutloaded and I dust them 3 times a week . I will be giving him other insects that I can find in the summer months , plus some silk worms .

Great, thanks for all your help :eatpointe

Howdy,

A few more sources of info just in case you haven't seen them:

http://www.chameleonnews.com/ especially http://www.chameleonnews.com/ref.html
http://www.chameleonsdish.com/
http://www.chameleonjournals.com/

Good Luck,

Dave Weldon