pics of Harvey, my new veild

he is 4 months old, and my first. so here is Harvey. let me know what you think, is he healthy looking and whatnot.

 

He looks great but he won't be looking so great in that glassed enclosure soon...

 

i beg to differ, but thats not the point. its only a temperary housing. i will be building a new enclosure in a month or two, as soon as i move into my new house. on the matter of the aquarium, i know someone who has kept theres in there for years with no problems.

 

He is cute TCR. My George was in a glass viv when he arrived with me but I must agree that they are not very good for chams. I know it is only temporary housing for Harvey, just a George's was only temporary for him. harvey should come on in leaps and bounds once he is settled in his new home

 

He looks good

 

Amen, Opti.

Unfortunately, there are personalities out there who choose to ignore the combined knowledge of experienced cham keepers in preference of the "I know someone who.." Such good research methods, the "I know someone who.." After all, it offers such a catalogue of success. No one can say, "But your animals only live a year or two?" Or, "They don't reproduce." Or, "But you spend hundreds at the vet because they continually have a URI," because this mysterious person is not someone who can be questioned. What I know is that people who have successfully (successfully being the operative word) kept chams for many, many years use screened cages and endorse screen cages. The reasons are to avoid bacterial growth, minimize stress from reflection, reduce URI's. What happened to your tree anyhow?

Oh, darn it.. off the topic and I really don't care. Yes, he looks healthy... for now, the poor little guy. I am afraid some people just refuse to do proper research, and the poor animal is the inevitable victim of such stupidity. It is frustrating, the AMOUNT of animals that die in captivity because their keepers are arrogant enough to assume that they know a better way. Those better ways generally involve things that have been tried in the past, with poor results, but they don't open a book or search a single site to discover that. Usually, they "know someone who did it."

Heika

 

I have also read on every care sheet not to put them in aquariums. This is because the chameleons dont get enough ventilation in them.

 

well arent you arogant. if you would have read what i said, its a temperary setup. as in a month or two. the cham will be fine, he is still young. and i do remember reading in care sheets that its good to keep young chams in aquariums to start off with. they even say that a 10 gal tank is ok for several young. well i have one young one in a 29 gal tank and only for a month or two. there was no reason for you to come on here and talk down to me about my husbandry and say that i didnt do any research. i probly did more research than 90% of the cham owners out there. ive been asking questions and doing research for about 2 months before getting him, and still read everything i can find on the subject.

 

No, I am not arrogant. I am angry that you are doing this to your poor cham. I am frustrated, and have been around enough to see people come into these forums full of hot air about keeping a chameleon. At 4 months, he is too old to be kept in an aquarium. 1 to 2 months is not temporary housing. You have blatantly argued and ignored every bit of common chameleon keeping advice, thinking you know a better way. Now, you have him in an aquarium. Do what you want. It is your cham. But, I feel sorry for it. Maybe your buddy who has kept and bred chams for 10 years without UVB lights and in glass aquariums knows how to cure a URI also, or can convince your little cham not to become stressed over his own reflection. If you don't have the $35.00 or $40.00 to buy a temporary screened cage, then what are you doing with a cham in the first place? If you did your research, you should have an idea of how much it costs to keep them well.

What it really comes down to is this: I am tired of seeing jerks like you walk into the forum, ignore every bit of advice given to them, and then disappear. On another forum sometime down the road, you notice that the same idiot posted that their cham died, and they just don't know why. Perhaps it was the breeder's fault.

Heika

 

http://www.veiled-chameleon.com/care-sheet.html
Chameleons require a full screen enclosure in order to facilitate continual fresh air. In addition, seeing their reflections in the glass of an aquarium type enclosure will stress the chameleon. The enclosure should be at least 3' x 3' at the base and at least 4' high - 6' high is preferable.

http://www.martinsreptiles.co.uk/ukchams/c...s_caresheet.htm
Chameleons can either be kept in purpose built Chameleon enclosures or normal vivariums (height needs to be about 20 inches plus for adults). If a normal vivarium is used, one of the glass doors should be replaced by a mesh panel as all Chameleons require a lot of ventilation (have the remaining glass door the same side as the basking lamp). Poor ventilation, like that found in a typical glass aquarium, will allow the air to become stagnant and provide an opportunity for fungus and bacteria to grow which in turn will effect the health of your chameleon (and may even kill it). The cage should be furnished with branches of different diameters so that the chameleon can easily navigate the entire cage. Live plants will provide good hiding places and add to the beauty and humidity of the enclosure. Because some chameleons are known for eating vegetable matter, only non-toxic plants should be planted in their enclosures. The most common choices among chameleon breeders are Pothos, hibiscus, Umbrella plants or Ficus benjamani, Ficus "Alii", and Ficus natidia. Plastic plants can also be used with or instead of real plants and have the advantage that they are easily cleaned. The arrangements of lights, plants and branches should be such to allow for at least one basking site where the temperature will reach the upper limits of the animal's comfortable temperature range. The temperature in the rest of the enclosure should be lower allowing the animal to thermoregulate (chose its own temperature) by moving around the cage.Do not use substrate with chameleons as it can sometimes get it stuck in their digestive track causing problems.

http://www.reptileforums.com/care_sheets/l...d_chameleon.htm
ype: Because of the moisture that Chameleons require, they need to be kept in screen cages to allow plenty of ventilation. This ventilation helps prevent bacterial as well as fungal infections.

Size: Veileds hatchling to 2 in (snout to vent): 24"x 16" x 16”
Veileds 2 in to 4 in 24"x 16" x 16”
Veileds 4 in to adult 36” x 18” x 18” or larger

http://members.aol.com/Cool6180/veiled.html
Choosing the correct enclosure for your Veiled chameleon is very important. From recommendations and strong opinions I have heard and been told, I would too myself recommend you house your chameleon in a cage that contains wire mesh or some other kind of wiring used for the sides and top. If you house your chameleon in an aquarium, your chameleon will get stressed over time and may even die. Aquariums, from the inside, act like mirrors and if your chameleon sees his reflection, he/she may mistake it for a different chameleon.

How much more do you need. I am not trying to be mean in any way but am posting what every caresheet I can find says about housing.

 

And I have not read anyting about housing for 1-2 months. Personally I would have got the enclosure that is right FIRST. Set it up, then buy the chameleon. It is in the best intrest of the animal, and your self (spend more money on a temp then buy another which would be more then if someone were to just buy the right enclosure.) There are pre-made ones that you can buy at petstores that assemble then dissassemble.

 

thanks for all your input.

im not trying to agure with anyone. i live in an apartment. i am getting a house in january. i will be building a cage 3x3x5 when i get into the house. i have been keeping a very close eye on harvey, and have seen no signs of stress. trust me, the minute he looks like he is getting stressed the problem will be corrected. at the moment he is having the time of his life. his color is great and he is eating wonderful.

 

You could for the time being put some paper on the inside over the glass to reduce the amount of reflection.

 

trust me if he is getting stressed out things will change.

 

I'm glad this is only a temporary situation and you're going to build your cham a nice enclosure but waiting till something is already a problem to fix something you know is inadequate is not an intellegent way to keep a chameleon. If you continue to maintain mediocrity until it becomes a problem, only then to fix it, you're setting yourself, and worse yet, the animal, up for failure. I'm glad you are confident in your abilities but from what I've seen based on the threads I've read from you, I don't have much confidence in your ability to detect a problem before it became life threatening. I would recommend spending the $22 or whatever it'd cost you to get a small repterium and set your cham up there until such a time where you can set this animal up correctly. At this point, you don't have (and still aren't sure if you are going to get) a UVB lighting source, want to use a substrate, even against recommendations from those who have experience with it and you have your cham in a tank. As you said, a tank is fine for chams until they are a couple months old but your cham is fast approaching/past the mark where a screen cage is greatly prefered. I'm glad you know someone who raised veileds without UVB and in glass tanks, etc., but since your husbandry currently includes a 112F basking spot in a 29 gallon tank, I think you'd be much better off going with practices known to be much easier for new keepers or you could run into serious problems. Obviously you yourself are responsible for the conditions you are setting up for your animal and similarly any resultant issue but as with the UVB discussion, if you aren't trying to save a few bucks, why do you repeatedly insist on subpar conditions? Just a trend I'm starting to notice...

Chris

 

you guys have to calm down.it`s christmas.and you have to trust that tcr03 will do the right thing and get an adequate setup for his veiled.for now just calm down

 

You do know veilds are a bad beginner cham. dont you? you shoulda got a panther

 

from what i hear, veilds are the easiest chameleons to own. and no, i dont believe in uvb lights. do you really think we can harness the power of the sun into a 24in light bulb. my cham gets all the suppliments he needs, and the only thing that is wrong now is that he is in an aquarium. and that will be corrected in due time. i dont know how many times i can stress this, MY CHAM IS NOT STRESSED. his colors are bright green all the time. if i were to see any signs of him getting stressed, i would do somthing about it.

 

Veileds are just as good of a beginner cham as a panther. Each has its downsides and its benefits but each of these two species are considered just about equal as far as beginner level.

Anyway, trusting someone to do something they've already expressed no desire to do is a little pointless IMO but like I said, tcr03 is ultimately the one who needs to decide on the conditions he supplies for his animals. Hopefully he/she will make the right decission.

Chris

 

With all due respect, we are not able to completely harness the power of the sun into a lightbulb but it does one heck of a better job providing the needed light wavelengths then nothing at all does. Let me lay out a couple facts for you:
1) Providing a $20 UVB light if properly maintained and positioned will allow for proper D3 synthesis.
2) D3 synthesis with UVB exposure is not fatal.
3) Dietary D3 supplementation, if given in the wrong doses is fatal or will lead to MBD.
4) You do not know the proper supplementation requirements to provide for a healthy chameleon without UVB, over the animal's entire life with varying nutrient requirements.
5) Unless you are going to spend the money every month (or more) to get the blood test done to verify your chameleon is getting the correct supplements, you are setting your animal up to a high probability of suffering.
6) I doubt you have the experience to recognize the more subtle symptoms of stress so saying definitively that your cham isn't stressed is simply short sighted and careless.

Have fun setting up your chameleon in substandard conditions-thats exactly what they are.

Chris