New Cham owner

I just picked up a few chams at the taylor show today, and I was hoping for a few pointers. I already have a tank setup for them. I'm just hoping for some basic tips, I'll be reading the book I picked up tonight.

Tonya,

Congrats on your new chams. What kind are they? I am sure you will have read in your book, but most cham species in US climates do much better in screen enclosures than glass tanks. They are quite prone to developing respiratory infections in enclosures that have poor air circulation. There are tons of threads on this forum that talk about basic cham husbandry stuff. Also some good websites to check out are:

-chameleon information network at http://www.animalarkshelter.org/cin/
-the chameleon journals at http://www.chameleonjournals.com/
-the chameleon's dish at http://www.chameleonsdish.com/

Also, there are some breeders that have great info, some of which include
-Kammerflage Creations at http://chameleonsonly.com/
-The Chameleon Company at http://www.chameleoncompany.com/
-Screameleons at http://www.screameleons.com/portal/a...opDefault.aspx

Good luck!

-Julie

thanks, they're veils, and I have one of the front opening cages that has the screen top so the air circulation is pretty good...there's a natural plant in there, but I don't think it's proper for them. It was for my cresteds I had in there. But it has ledges and hanging plants as well. I also have a jungle bed bottom, due to the natural plant in there. LOL, I accidentally just woke up my male, I cleared my throat, and he hissed at me....he's so cute when he does thatshe looks like she's going to be a turquoise and he's prolly gonna look like his dad, when I woke him up he just turned real bright and the stripes (are they called bars in chams?) popped right out!!. he's a bit bigger than she is. I'll prolly be getting them a bigger tank soon and I'll get a screen enclosure for them. But for now, this ones gonna have to do.

Originally Posted by perefalcon

I have one of the front opening cages that has the screen top so the air circulation is pretty good...

Those ExoTerra Terrariums are a pain for chameleons, I'd only suggest keeping Pygmy chameleons in them. You should move your chameleons to something more appropriate a.s.a.p, in my opinion.

In addition, the heat lamps will melt the top lid, and there is hardly sufficient top space to utilize UV lamps.

actually I've always had a heat lamp, I don't have an exo terra, I have a tank that's made by aquatic america. He makes them locally, they're all handmade to order. It's a 24 W 12 D 30 H

Ah I seee. Well, I see lots of websites with the location of his business, but I couldn't find a website.

as far as I know, he doesn't have a site...he deffinately needs one, his tanks are awesome! I've got a 4' L 12" D 20" H that houses all my female leopard geckos. Plenty of room for all 5 of them. And it's so much fun to see them get all riled up at feeding time. I hand feed them a little, so they surround my hand.

Oh I read in my Cham book, that veils like grapes and kiwi cut up...does anyone have any info on the success with that?? I bought them some romaine and mustard greens today and chopped some up. But if they can have fruits like those 2 I'll vary it a bit more. It doesn't really say too much about exactly which greens are good for them except the romaine and mustard greens. Can they have turnip greens or spinach leaves?

oh I bought them a vine to roam on, my male got real mad when I put it in and changed color in like 2 seconds, he scared me lol

All those fruits and vegetables are fine, but they wont' show interest in the m until they're approaching adulthood - usually. Use them as an addition to their diet when they're older. It helps add bulk to their diet, providing them with water, vitamins and nutrients, without all the fat and protein of insects. Veileds will overeat like crazy, resulting in massive clutches of eggs in females and shorter lifespans in both sexes. Feedign some vegetables every few days helps keep females' clutches from becoming too big.

Definatly get anopthe rcage soon - the biggest problems with that one is that it's too small for a chameleon over a couple months old. By their second or third month, they'll need to be separated anyway.

The best plant matter to feed them are flowers - especially hibiscus. They eat acacia blossoms in the wild, and seem to go crazy for any bright, sweet flowers.

I had read about the hibiscus flowers.....but I don't think my mother would like me ransacking her tree LOL, that's the only person I know that has a hibiscus. I'll try to find an acacia.....is it a tree??

And about the cage, I'm not going to buy a new one, EVER......I want to build one lol. Is there anywhere out there that has suggestions? I read that as long as the cage is big enough that the male and female could be in together while adults.
I plan on making the new cage about 6' tall and 3' x 3' at the base, maybe 4' x 4'. Does that sound big enough?

oh yep it is a tree LOL, would it be a good one to put in an enclosure?