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1191 Magnolia Ave. |
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Consider our
Veiled Chameleon Package
Note: Enclosures are sent in advance and once you've received your
complete package,
ENCLOSURE Why a small cage? When beginning with a baby chameleon, you will need to
provide 2 cages over his or her lifetime. The first cage is for rearing
your little one, the second is a permanent, adult sized enclosure. When
placed in an adult sized cage, a baby chameleon often finds it difficult, if not impossible, to find small prey as well as other
important resources such as heat and water. It's very important to provide
an enclosure that's relevant to your chameleon's current size, especially
when beginning with a little one.
For the cage interior, be sure to use safe, live plants (we highly recommend Ficus benjamina "Weeping Fig") and 4 or 5 natural branches for your chameleon to climb around on. Plants and branches should be cleaned in advance as described in the care sheet we provide. We use NO substrate on the cage bottom since chameleons are arboreal and the plants becomes your chameleon's "home." Clean, dry cage bottoms are easy to maintain and provide a sanitary environment for your pet.
LIGHTING
Your setup includes two forms of lighting. One provides for artificial UVA/UVB and the other is for heat and basking. For UVA/UVB exposure, we use a ReptiSun's 5.0 fluorescent lamp which fits inside a custom sized fluorescent fixture. The fixture is placed on top of the screened cage and runs the length of the enclosure, providing light throughout the environment. In one corner, we place a 5.5" Clamp Lamp fixture which contains a Zoo Med 75-wt. Basking Spot Lamp with beautiful bluish colored lighting. This provides the necessary heat your chameleon requires for proper thermoregulation.
Checking your chameleon's basking temperature & humidity
levels is an important part of chameleon husbandry. Proper temperatures
are essential to the health and well-being of your pet. It's best to
provide your chameleon with one spot that reaches his or her optimum basking
temperature and the rest of the cage should be cooler, all the way down to room
temperature. You can achieve this by providing a horizontal basking branch
5 - 6 inches just below the spot light beam. Measure the basking area
temperature by using the analog temperature gauge provided in your package.
To adjust properly,
if the basking spot is too warm, simply lower the branch and if it's
too cool, raise the branch. Recheck temperatures after each adjustment to
insure accuracy. Optimal temperature ranges for Panthers is 95-100F in the basking
area while other areas in the cage should be cooler at 70-80F during daytime
hours. During the night, temperatures can drop as low as 60F which is
perfectly fine for your chameleon. WATERING
Watering is a KEY part of chameleon husbandry and health. We recommend both misting and dripping to provide hydration for your chameleon. In the morning (once the lights have been on for a half hour or so) thoroughly mist the cage foliage with a simple spray bottle of tepid water. This will often elicit a drinking response from your chameleon. Once you've done that, you can fill the 70-oz. dripper and adjust the valve so that the water is coming out at a rate of approximately one drop per second. Place the dripper on the cage top, centered over your live plant so that the drops trickle down and water your plant at the same time. Chameleons are attracted to moving water, so this is how they prefer to drink. Be sure to place a catch plate under your plant to hold any runoff water. Misting your chameleon's foliage a second time, later in the day, is also recommended for another chance to drink as well as adding humidity to the enclosure.
SUPPLEMENTS
Supplements . . . one of the least expensive parts of your
purchase and yet perhaps the most important.
Not all supplements
work for chameleons. We've raised chameleons for years now and
have had excellent success using 3 different products . . . all of which provide
separate elements of nutrition to your chameleon's diet. Those 3 products
are: Herptivite, Rep-Cal w/D3 and Miner-Al-0. We don't just
supplement according to species type, but also according to live stage and
development. For example . . . babies, juveniles and breeding females have
higher supplement requirements than that of an adult male on a maintenance
diet. A recommended supplement schedule is included in our Veiled
Chameleon Care Sheet. "Dusting" our prey items is done lightly and routinely.
A supplement dusting cup is included in the complete package. FOOD ITEMS
The 3 food items our babies have been raised on are as
follows: Flightless Fruit Flies, Crickets and Domestic House Flies.
Flies and Fruit Flies will be sent along in the same box with your chameleon so
you'll have some of the right food for him or her, as soon as they arrive.
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