YOU WILL NEED:
- Cage
- Branches and plants
- Heat source
- UVA/UVB light
- Dripper or misting system
- Food - insects and some vegetables
- Calcium/vitamin supplement
- Timer and thermometer
1. Your chameleon will do best with its cage elevated as high as possible. They are arboreal animals and feel safest at the top of the tree. Their cage must have good ventilation with screen on at least two sides. A small baby chameleon will need a smaller cage as they get “lost” easily, and may have trouble finding food and water in a cage that is too large.
2. As mentioned, veiled chameleons are arboreal animals. They will need vines and branches to climb on. The chameleon should also have at least one area in their cage where they feel they can hide. Fake plants work well for this. Chameleons can stress easily, so they appreciate this place of security. Be careful when adding a new plant (real or fake) as they will usually try to eat them.
3. Veiled Chameleons like to have a basking spot of about 90 degrees, with a daytime ambient temperature of 70-75. Most veiled chameleons will do fine with a nighttime temperature as low as 65.
4. All chameleons are diurnal (active during the day.) They require a bulb with both UVA and UVB rays. This bulb should be replaced every 6-10 months.
5. Veiled chameleons won’t recognize standing water, such as a water dish, as water. They MUST have a misting and/or drip system. A dripper should run at least twice per day (morning and evening) and your pet and his cage should be “sprayed down” at this time also. Be careful, a chameleon can dehydrate very quickly!
6 & 7. Veiled chameleons will eat a large variety of spiders and insects. They also enjoy a salad of chopped greens. All baby veiled chameleons purchased from us will be well started on the following: appropriately sized crickets, mealworms, grasshoppers and houseflies. I also feed them a salad every other day of one or more of the following. Collard greens, mustard greens, romaine lettuce, dandelion greens and flowers. All greens should be chopped into bite size pieces. I dust all insects with calcium for every feeding, and all greens are dusted with a calcium with D3 supplement.
8. It will be much easier for you, and greatly appreciated by your pet, if their heating and lighting system is on a timer. You will also need a good thermometer to monitor your pet's cage temperature regularly. You may need to make adjustments in your heat setup seasonally.
VEILED CHAMELEONS
BASIC CARE INFORMATION
BASIC CARE INFORMATION