Veiled Chameleon Care
Setup
Housing
-A veiled chameleon should be held in a full screen enclosure in order to facilitate continual fresh air. If a chameleon is housed in a glass tank, seeing its reflections in the glass will stress it out. The size should be appropriate.
Heating & Lighting
- Place a low-light heat lamp on top of the enclosure. Remember not to use bulbs that produce a very bright light. Temperatures during the day should be 80F to 95F. At night time, the enclosure can be 70F to 85F Place a thermometer in the enclosure, this helps you keep the temps right.
Like any other diurnal animals, veiled chameleon need UVB lighting.
Substrate
-Reptile carpet, reptile bark, paper towels, and newspaper can be used as substrate.
Decorations
-This IS necessary, decorations can make your chameleon’s home more nice and comfortable. It can also keep the stress down. You can get bark and branches from your backyard; just make sure you clean it very well before using it. Plants can be used, too. Personally, I think artificial plants work better than real plants. If you use real plants you must make sure that it is not harmful to you chameleon, you also have to water it.
Food and Water
Types of Food
-Live Crickets, mealworms, waxworms, and superworms are the most common food source for pet chameleons. Waxworms are very fattening, so you shouldn't feed them to your chameleon very frequently.
How to Feed
-Crickets should be "gut loaded" 24 hrs before you feed them to your chameleon. Basically, you have to feed them high quality foods like carrots, orange, apples, and special cricket food, bought at pet stores.
You can give your gecko mealworms by putting 5-8 of them in a shallow dish. But you can't do the same with crickets, or anything that can get out of the dish. You can use tongs to feed insects to your gecko. Leopard geckos need vitamins and minerals to stay healthy. You must buy a vitamin powder and a calcium powder. To give these powders to your chameleon, you have to "dust" the crickets before you feed them to her. To do so, dump some powders into a small bag and put some crickets in it. Close the opening and SHAKE!! Shake the bag until the crickets are covered with powder. Dust the crickets with vitamin twice a week and calcium three times a week. I don't mix the powder, I do it separately. Juveniles eat everyday with around 5 insects, the adults eat everyday with 5-8 insects.
Water
-Veiled chameleons will need fresh water everyday. You can use bottled water or tap water with one or two drops of dechlorinator. Chameleons will not recognize still water so you must spray the enclosure down frequently so they can lap up the movie water droplets.
Cleaning
1. Take your chameleon out of her enclosure; put her in a small container.
2. Unplug all the heat sources, take off the heat lamp.
3 Take all furnishings out and wash them well with a diluted bleach solution, and rinse it very well with water. Dry all furnishings. Don't wash anything that is made out of wood; they can be hard to dry...just give them a good shake outside.
4. Dump out old substrate. Reptile carpets can be used again. Just wash it with water and dry it.
5. When there is nothing in the enclosure, wipe it down with very diluted white vinegar and water , scrub it well, and then rinse the enclosure with lots of water.
6. Dry the enclosure with paper towels.
7. Add in all the materials when the aquarium is dry, including the new substrate.
8. Put your veiled chameleon back in her home.
9. Turn on the heat source and close the lid.
Handling
Veiled Chameleons are more of an observing pet than a handling pet. Handle your chameleon only when necessary. Be aware that this animal may bite.
All info are self-written
Housing
-A veiled chameleon should be held in a full screen enclosure in order to facilitate continual fresh air. If a chameleon is housed in a glass tank, seeing its reflections in the glass will stress it out. The size should be appropriate.
Heating & Lighting
- Place a low-light heat lamp on top of the enclosure. Remember not to use bulbs that produce a very bright light. Temperatures during the day should be 80F to 95F. At night time, the enclosure can be 70F to 85F Place a thermometer in the enclosure, this helps you keep the temps right.
Like any other diurnal animals, veiled chameleon need UVB lighting.
Substrate
-Reptile carpet, reptile bark, paper towels, and newspaper can be used as substrate.
Decorations
-This IS necessary, decorations can make your chameleon’s home more nice and comfortable. It can also keep the stress down. You can get bark and branches from your backyard; just make sure you clean it very well before using it. Plants can be used, too. Personally, I think artificial plants work better than real plants. If you use real plants you must make sure that it is not harmful to you chameleon, you also have to water it.
Food and Water
Types of Food
-Live Crickets, mealworms, waxworms, and superworms are the most common food source for pet chameleons. Waxworms are very fattening, so you shouldn't feed them to your chameleon very frequently.
How to Feed
-Crickets should be "gut loaded" 24 hrs before you feed them to your chameleon. Basically, you have to feed them high quality foods like carrots, orange, apples, and special cricket food, bought at pet stores.
You can give your gecko mealworms by putting 5-8 of them in a shallow dish. But you can't do the same with crickets, or anything that can get out of the dish. You can use tongs to feed insects to your gecko. Leopard geckos need vitamins and minerals to stay healthy. You must buy a vitamin powder and a calcium powder. To give these powders to your chameleon, you have to "dust" the crickets before you feed them to her. To do so, dump some powders into a small bag and put some crickets in it. Close the opening and SHAKE!! Shake the bag until the crickets are covered with powder. Dust the crickets with vitamin twice a week and calcium three times a week. I don't mix the powder, I do it separately. Juveniles eat everyday with around 5 insects, the adults eat everyday with 5-8 insects.
Water
-Veiled chameleons will need fresh water everyday. You can use bottled water or tap water with one or two drops of dechlorinator. Chameleons will not recognize still water so you must spray the enclosure down frequently so they can lap up the movie water droplets.
Cleaning
1. Take your chameleon out of her enclosure; put her in a small container.
2. Unplug all the heat sources, take off the heat lamp.
3 Take all furnishings out and wash them well with a diluted bleach solution, and rinse it very well with water. Dry all furnishings. Don't wash anything that is made out of wood; they can be hard to dry...just give them a good shake outside.
4. Dump out old substrate. Reptile carpets can be used again. Just wash it with water and dry it.
5. When there is nothing in the enclosure, wipe it down with very diluted white vinegar and water , scrub it well, and then rinse the enclosure with lots of water.
6. Dry the enclosure with paper towels.
7. Add in all the materials when the aquarium is dry, including the new substrate.
8. Put your veiled chameleon back in her home.
9. Turn on the heat source and close the lid.
Handling
Veiled Chameleons are more of an observing pet than a handling pet. Handle your chameleon only when necessary. Be aware that this animal may bite.
All info are self-written