(Part 2) Top products from r/Chameleons

The dark green is stress coloration, and you should work to get her to a much less stressful environment ASAP. Like Flip said, chameleons are almost entirely tree-dwelling and as such require a lot of vertical movement options. Not having that is stressful to them, but don't worry. It's quite inexpensive to fix that issue. You can build in basically everything you need tomorrow in less than an hour and spending less than 20$. There are also a couple minor issues that I can see, but they're simple to solve.

Your three most vital points to hit (from what I consider most important to least based on what your current situation is), explained below, are:

• Get a vertical, 3 dimensional structure into the middle of the cage ASAP
  
• Get a lot of foliage woven into that structure so that your chameleon has places to hide and leaves to drink from
  
• Get a basking area and a top-to-bottom temperature gradient set up
  
  First thing you need to do is get some lateral structure in the cage. Go to a hardware store tomorrow and get a few small wooden dowels like these and then go nuts with structure. They're cheap, easy to cut to length, and can be secured with florist wire to the screen sides of the enclosure. For an idea on what kind of structure you need, you can check out what I did with my terrarium. A basic structure, especially with flat horizontal or gently sloped perches, will make it much easier for her to feel at ease. She's up high because that's where she feels most comfortable, but she doesn't have anywhere good to sit or sleep. It's really important to have a lot of climbing structure to give the enclosure a bunch of 3rd dimensional area for her to explore and hide in. Use the entire space.
  
  Once you've done that, you can weave in real or fake ivy or some other vine-y non-toxic plant. This kind of thing, for example. This provides much needed cover and a water source. Spray the ivy down and chameleon will lap it up from wherever it happens to be. You can bunch some foliage up in certain places to provide a deeper cover area. Not only will that let you somewhat control where the chameleon will spend much of its time, this will quickly give more security in the environment and will lower stress considerably - giving you the room (after a week or two) to begin attempting gentle socialization.
  
  Misted leaves are where it should be getting her water. Water should typically not be given in a glass. Standing water is not something chameleons run into in the tree tops, and while they can be trained to take water from the glass it is a major source of contagion. Crickets can jump in and drown, the chameleon can defecate in it, and standing water just kinda becomes bacteria soup after a while anyway. Diseases suck, so avoid possible infection vectors. The syringe method works, but can really stress a chameleon out a lot if it's not socialized with you. I'm assuming you're just giving a drop on the nose and letting it run down to its mouth where it will lap it up. Be aware that in doing that you've shoved massive hands into its face and then poured water on it, in essence showing yourself to be a large threat to be feared. Also if it's trying to scare you off by opening its mouth and you drop water in that way there's a possibility it may accidentally inhale the water, which can easily kill it. Having the vertical structure to feel more comfortable and possibly some (real or plastic) vegetation providing cover in that structure will go a long way toward making your chameleon feel secure while also giving it leaves to lick water off of. I think that you should go for fully plastic plants (rather than plastic-coated fabric ones) or real plants.
  
  Without being comfortable in the environment, it'll be reluctant to move from its relative safe spot up at the top there, so it's likely going to ignore the food you have in the pot. Once the chameleon feels secure and starts moving around the cage more, a more shallow feeding dish may also make it easier to spot food when it is offered. That can wait for now, though.
  
  Lighting aside, giving a lot more vertical space to climb is really important to get done ASAP. A household incandescent may work as a heating lamp in the short term, but having a directed light source is important to get fairly quickly. A reflector dome with a heating lamp is great for targeting a basking area, and will also give a heating gradient from the top to the bottom, allowing the chameleon to sit where it is the most comfortable. Heat bulbs are fairly inexpensive, though in my experience the incandescent bulbs almost never last as long as they should. I prefer halogen lamps, which are slightly more expensive to set up, but are a little more energy efficient and last much longer.
  
  When you plan your basking area, be very wary of the general "85-95^o" rule. Your chameleon can burn itself if it's too cold outside the basking spot but too hot inside it. Give it room to get closer or further away as it wants to. Juveniles especially need this because they can't thermoregulate (control their body temperature) very well and are often too "dumb" to get out before they're burned if their basking spot is too hot. I've seen cases where the chameleon will singe its entire belly by hanging upside down from the ceiling under the light because the spot was too cold and that was the next warmest option. Giving plenty of space both horizontally and vertically helps them learn to thermoregulate with much less risk of harm. In the tour of my setup, I show the basking area that I have created for Pasquale, and she uses all 3 dimensions when she's picking a spot to get comfy in. Sometimes she'll be up as high as she can be on the stick (a spot that hits almost 100^o !!!), sometimes she'll be almost entirely out of the spotlight on the downward-sloping stick at the back (about 80^o).
  
  You mentioned that you've ordered your UVB source, so that's good. If you have an exotics vet you plan to visit you can take it there to get the UVB output tested to make sure it outputs enough, if you want. If you don't have access to an exotics vet, if the vet you have available treats birds they should have a UVB meter. I would recommend testing myself, but it's probably not necessary if you don't want to. Like Flip said, placement of the UVB source is important, and I think your idea to open up the top of the cage is a good one! If you replace the solid top with something like window screen (metal or fiberglass), it will be strong enough to support things like lights while keeping the chameleon safe from possible contact burns (using what you used for the sides of the cage, the chameleon can possibly reach through and touch things. Very unlikely to happen, but I would personally take the precaution because I can't be sure.) and still letting the needed light through.
  
  The cage size should be fine for quite a while, though having more room to roam as an adult can't hurt. For now, though, it's very important to build an internal structure for the chameleon to climb on, lots of leafy foliage to hide in and drink off of, and a directed lighting source to provide a temperature gradient and a basking spot.
  
  I know that was a lot of information vomited at you through my fingers, so let me know if you get stuck anywhere or need some more clarification. Environment is like 3/4 of what goes into taking care of a chameleon, so I want to help you get yourself set up however I can. My brain is yours to pick :)
  
  Good luck!

First, let me share with you my little/HUGE hiccup I put myself and my chams through the last month.

I had to leave Florida in a hurry, and I had time to take my two boys' enclosures apart, and in my rush, I forgot their lighting (at least $180, easily), their supplements (Pfft, the ones I had weren't the best, but that was at least another $15), their live plants (which I wouldn't have taken them in the car anyway, but there's another $25), and then their fake vines and bendable vines ($37), total? $257, and why I know that is because I had to pull from all of my resources to make sure they had this set up today, and here is another view. BTW, THE PLANTS THAT I GOT THEM ARE TOO SMALL! But, they have them, and it's better than nothing at all.

Mind you, I'm talking about two chameleons, but what I had to spend to make sure that they were set up for this winter (I moved to Washington state), I had to do it, otherwise, I'm s shitty cham owner. I'm lucky there was already a humidifier here because I'm going to need that as the air is dry here and my Panther chameleon has already proven to be susceptible to respiratory infection as we took a trip to the vet this past year to get him some Baytril (antibiotic/oral), cost to the vet? $76.

I'm going to do a break down of everything that you're going to need for your Male Jackson (which I recommend that you start with a male Veiled. The Veiled are so much more heartier, they can take more abuse from a new owner, more forgiving for a better word..., I DO NOT suggest a Jackson for a first cham, and for that matter, someone who has never owned a reptile in their life). Anyway, here I go...

Set up:

• Repti-Breeze 24 x 24 x 48" enclosure $115
  
• Zoo Med t5 UVB hood, and this is the cheapest I found $50
  
• Zoo Med 5.0 24" bulb $29
  
• Live safe plant, I'm just going with an Umbrella for now... $15
  
• Fake vines, just one set $5
  
• Plant like vine, one set $10
  
• Repashy supplements $10
  
  Your total there is at $234, and you haven't bought the chameleon yet, but that is everything that you should have BEFORE you get your cham... Also, you're going to need...
  
  
• Feeders
  
• Food for feeders (low acid fruits and veggies, apples, carrots, dark fruits/veggies, etc. High acid fruits and veggies will kill your feeders faster)
  
• Container for the feeders to live, basically, you have additional pets to take care of. You HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF THE FEEDERS!
  
• Clear water glass to provide water for your cham
  
  Because you are new to this, having a temp/humidity gauge is something you might want to get as an aid to getting use to what their living environment should be like... so that's another $8
  
  Prices my vary, depending on where you get all of your things. Getting stuff online can be cheaper, I randomly picked stuff on the internet and think I did pretty good for you, but you're looking at a nice little chunk of change just to make sure that you have the right set up to bring your cham home to, and I do hope that you'll take that and roll with it.
  
  If you've NEVER OWNED A REPTILE BEFORE, I actually suggest that you start with something else. Bearded Dragons are awesome, AWESOME, reps, THOUGH, they are totally different than the care for a cham, it's a great way to start, and Dragons are even more hearty than a Veiled chameleon.
  
  LASTLY, read through EVERYTHING on the sidebar -------------->
  
  I would also avoid a lot of information that you'll find on the internet, and YES!!! That includes that one web site that probably is the first choice for you to go to when you're looking for chameleon advice. That site is horrible, save yourself the heartache, I started there, and I quickly learned that the site is a hot mess. There is never a straight and same consistent answer, too many myths, just no...
  
  Hope all that helps, and thank all of the coffee I drank today. Lol! Good luck and welcome to the sub.

> it's best to use calcium and supplements separately?

Both calcium and "vitamins" are all supplements.

To clear things up, the vitamin supplement I've recommended will "cake up" if it's mixed with a calcium powder. That's why it's sold separately


Second (usual follow up question)
Then why do some other supplements call themselves "complete mixes" and don't cake up.

Well, that's due in part to the forms those vitamins are in.
The herptivite uses beta carotene vs a fully formed version of vitamin A. That's important in a number of ways - one of which is that it allows for the cham to self regulate it's needs to avoid vitamin A toxicity.

Also, it allows someone to better tailor their animals intake according to need.

> We've been sold Repton insect dusting supplement which is apparently an all in one solution.

I'm suspicious of any product that doesn't make it's contents publicly available. It's impossible to really be a "all in one" for all kinds of reptiles. We deal specifically with chameleons here and the Minder-All is chameleon specific and has been in the industry since the 1990's. Hell Linda wrote one of the formative books on captive chams (It was a significant advancement in the field at the time)


> 1) How often do you dust the feeders with calcium?

This largely depends on age. They do require additional levels of calcium to keep their bones strong (among other things) but you don't want to over supplement either.

So I tried to give a general suggestion for the most common species out there in the pet trade.

___
This is what I wrote:
"4-7 month sub-adult / rapid growth stage: supplementation should be increased to once every 3 days (alternating) This is when a young male panther will devour two dozen medium sized to large crickets and sit under the heat source digesting - growth will be noticeable and their adult colors will start to emerge. Don't be afraid to let them go without supplementation a week or so without supplement if the diet is well varied (different feeder types of insects) and there's been insect gutloading with fresh fruits and grains. REMEMBER: two dozen dusted crickets is a lot of calcium and vitamins for an animal that size.

Adults: Once every 2 weeks to once a month for adult males .. Females will require more according to their needs when they cycle for pre and post egg/ ovulation cycling. Calcium is stored in the bones and withdrawn for producing egg shells.. this will leave her bones brittle and open to fracture. Supplementation should be increased to offset this before and after laying before returning to a lower maintenance dosage until the cycle repeats itself in 4 months time.

Old Age: 7 & 8 years old will also require some adjustments based on their condition and I'll leave that up to the owner to best judge their animals needs. (These will only be the males as the females have much shorter lifespans.)"
____


So to put it another way...

For your small cham (3months old?)
dust it lightly 1x every week or two It should have all the callcium it needs from it's eggshell absorption.

When ti started entering it's rapid growth stage ... use calcium once every week and supplement with vitamins once a week.

at 6-8 months you can slow down to supplementing once a 2+ weeks to a months time.

Females need more calcium depending on where they are in their reproductive cycle.

> Besides gutloading feeders (small brown crickets atm), do you sprinkle any calcium or supplements into the insect box?

No. dust by placing the feeder insect into a sandwich bag and giving it a shake to cover the insects with. A good supplement dust will stick and "powder" the exoskeletons

Here are the pics https://imgur.com/a/c82oDhl

Before the barrage of hate like I got from my vet. Please read the below.

I moved him from the cage due to him falling since he was growing weak.

He like to drink water from the medicine cup. I still do mist but I noticed when he was young the misting systems and the dripper bothered him.

I do have lights but they are over him in the plastic tube as you can see that it is lit. I use the following light for sun and a 40 watt for warmth. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000255OSG/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_6?smid=A2A02U6YIW6LGE&psc=1

I usually have more branches and leaves but I moved them to a smaller enclosure when he started to appear ready to fall so that if he did it would be a shorter fall and I threw in t shirts at the bottom so that would help too. After awhile he wouldn't even try to climb on branches so I moved him to the tupperware container he is now in and I have a water dish in there for him. I still spray him lightly but I do watch him drink.

The branches and leaves are

https://www.amazon.com/Exo-Terra-Jungle-Vine-Large/dp/B003PAY0B2/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=exo+terra+vine&qid=1567192478&s=gateway&sr=8-1

https://www.amazon.com/Flukers-Repta-Vines-Pothos-Reptiles-Amphibians/dp/B0009YEB70/ref=pd_sim_199_1/134-6895899-2549434?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B0009YEB70&pd_rd_r=a6bf8eaf-e407-48fa-884e-3e58b35e5c38&pd_rd_w=5ivkF&pd_rd_wg=ohIaT&pf_rd_p=5c130f77-a5ef-4ffd-9db1-c29a354f52f9&pf_rd_r=FTR0ZJFA7S1MNKNTNNJK&psc=1&refRID=FTR0ZJFA7S1MNKNTNNJK

​

I have used the Zoo Med Reptibreeze Open Air Screen Cage since I got him first starting out with small when I received him then moving up to Medium then Large. As get got older I moved him down to the Medium as he wasn't exploring as much.


When moving in the past I have not noticed him to get stressed.


Also let me be more clear. I moved and I noticed that he didn't eat many crickets the first two weeks. Then I got him a new batch and he usually eats a few when they hit the cage. He didn't go after a single one. I know they can be picky eaters so I didn't panic. I order some Green Horn Worms and waited but he did not eat those either. By this time he started to show that he was losing weight rather fast. I called the vet the said they could see me the next week. I went they cave me calcium drops and carnivore care. I tried it for 2 weeks and now not sure what to do. I know Panther Chameleons grow to be 6 to 8 years old in captivity but that's usually just a best guess from my understanding.

I am currently using a UVA/UVB pair of bulbs, but will upgrade to a single florescent bulb soon. What I believe they were referring to is this. It provides a bit more UVA and heat. For my UVB, I have a CFL 5.0 bulb. The combo is OK, but it still "beams" light just a bit too hard. I know how to prevent burns with this setup, so it's totally fine for now.

70F is on the lower end so no less than that. Outside temperature has little effect on what spectrum of light is being put out by the sun, however. As long as its not too cold, the Cham will benefit from getting full-spectrum and natural lighting. (For those paying attention, yes. The lighting spectrum does change through the seasons, but it's only a thing for photosensitive plants.. Not necessarily animals.)

OK so this is my plan. I intend to have my led strip in the back with the uvb bar facing the middle of the tank so uvb will be accessible to my chams from everywhere, then heat lamp toward the front with different levels of grapevine wood for thermo-regulating. 1 photos plant in the back under the led in each side, with https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002DJ0QA/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I8VFJK2Z4Z68G&colid=1YYL895WRD22R for moisture on the plants and hopefully enough water to drink, this will be connected to a hygrotherm controller https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0019IHK9Q/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I3OKFSUVNZ1GZW&colid=1YYL895WRD22R. I was planning on having a normal basking light (daytime) in a double light housing and a red night time basking light also connected to the controller for night. After reading some of the info in the side bar i may just do a normal household bulb, no day and night but im worried about it being too cold at night and not using my controller feels scary. I live in NV so summers are warm winters are cold(snow) i keep my house at 74 pretty much year round but my ac does point in the direction of the enclosure though its across a large room it does concern me a little. Also i want to feed roaches but the wife insist there will be no roaches in her house, I work at a petstore so crickets are always available but im willing to feed what ever is best (outside of roaches) whats the next best choice.

Imgur won’t let me use it on my phone but i can find a link to the exact calcium supplement we’re using for the chameleon. We feed him kale, mealworms, strawberries and bananas as well sometimes to get him some vitamin A and calcium.

https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/reptile/reptile-health-and-wellness/zoo-med-repti-calcium-with-d3-reptile-supplement

This is the calcium that we powder his crickets and mealworms with occasionally.

https://www.amazon.com/Flukers-Orange-Cube-Complete-Cricket/dp/B000634JJE

This is what we occasionally feed the crickets, but we normally prefer to give them carrots and strawberries as well.

Okay, the cage size is a bit small if you're getting a male, an 18x18x36 would be better. But I also have one that size that I use while they are 3-5 months old. When I am not using it that way I keep it in my car with a couple vines so I can take one out to a park or to the vet if needed.
The plant seems to be taking up a bit too much room, what type of plant is it? I prefer pothos because it's ivy that require very little care and you can shape them around your vines. If the plant is safe you may be good just pruning some leaves off to open the cage up a bit however.
go to a hardware store and get yourself a regular 10" dome light, shouldn't cost but around 10 bucks and put a cheap incandescent light bulb in it, somewhere around 70 watts, depending on the temperature in your house. also get yourself a shop light fixture, but not this one that you can find a 5.0, not 10 uv light. keep in mind those are examples of what to look for, not exactly what you should buy, as they wont fit together.

Fountain

I don't use the rocks it comes with. And my cage is tall so I have it sitting on a planter stand.

https://www.amazon.ca/Simple-Deluxe-Brooder-Aluminum-Reflector/dp/B06XD1PK37/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=31E775FZ2CXZI&keywords=clamp+light&qid=1556669544&s=gateway&sprefix=clamp&sr=8-3

https://www.amazon.ca/Satco-Products-S3929-Incandescent-Shatterproof/dp/B000V52X7C/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?keywords=100+watt+incandescent+light+bulbs&qid=1556669767&s=gateway&sr=8-5

Is this one good for me? https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0013TFL1U/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1500146871&sr=8-1&keywords=mineral+calcium

That's for a T5 bulb, you want a hood for a T8 bulb. Then pick your size how long you need it. Then buy the T8 bulb that's 5 or 5.0 which means it's 5% UVB.

Here are some examples. If there is a plastic cover over the bulb you obviously run the light with the cover off, otherwise it blocks the UVB which is the whole reason for the bulb. You can get the bulbs at petsmart or petco if you are in the USA for around their normal price of around 20 USD just get them to price match their website price, otherwise they price gouge and literally double the price at the retail store.

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https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L1OKNCO/?coliid=I3C699EJ1G5CZ2&colid=11G1DAPZDOOGK&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002QI86U/?coliid=I2PKG6AS6V1AL8&colid=11G1DAPZDOOGK&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Labs-Reptisun-Terrarium/dp/B06XYWQJDK/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=reptisun+t8&qid=1572724972&s=pet-supplies&sr=1-1

https://www.amazon.com/ReptiSun-5-0-UVB-Fluorescent-Bulb/dp/B000255OS6/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=reptisun+t8&qid=1572725015&s=pet-supplies&sr=1-5

My basking bulb is this

https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Repti-Basking-Spot/dp/B000O5DXPU

Should I remove the fake plant in there and just get another small potted plant?

He also was green this morning and stayed green even after I misted the cage and put a few crickets in (which a few he ate) so that’s good.

OK I removed the wood.

I live in St. Paul, MN

Zilla Night black 100 watt heating lamp on during the day for 16 hours with a timer

And this exo terra 2.0 UV lamp

Hydrating using flukers mini dripper and i recently put a glass of water filled to the brim in the corner of the cage, ive yet to see him drink from it though.

i took him to the sink he did drink a good amount of water which sadly means your probably right Im really torn up over this because i thought i was a good owner. IM making a video right now but he isnt moving around at all, i put my phone in the cage because thats all i have to record video, i know that if i take him out and put him on the floor of my room he will start to walk around alot so i think ill record that for you if he dosent start to move in the cage. I turned the heat lamp off and set the uv light to ten hours, (buying a 5.0 today at my lunch)

edit: ill wait for him to move at his pace i dont want to put him on the floor just to get a video of him moving i dont like the feel of that, might take a few tries since my phone can only record for so long