Lucky, some guidance please...

[Henre]

So, as mentioned in my intro, last week we adopted a veiled chameleon, named Lucky, about two years old.
He also came with a very nice enclosure, still needs some finishing but its got a nice size, 800X600X1900mm...

His previous owners bought him for their 9 year old boy and they have had him for about a year, they passed him on cause they don't have time to care for him.

Now my initial observations, he seems to have not taken the move very well, this is expected so he will need some time to adjust.
I also noticed that he needs a UVB lamp, if the spare bulb is anything to go by he is only getting UVA at the moment so Im hoping I realized this in time and the damage hasn't already been done.
He does not seem to like the fake vines much, I don't think they offer the best of grip for climbing?
He seems to prefer his crickets to be roaming the enclosure rather than from a bucket, the previous owners put a white 5l icecream tub in the base...
He looks scared and stressed but that could be from the move...

I would like to make the following changes to his cage:
Add the new post that I built, used a old guava stump with plants added into it, a dune crow berry, two cissus shoots and a spekboom. These are all non toxic and will in time form nice natural cover, at the moment it looks as in the pic...
The sides of the cage is from alu mesh and the door of Perspex, both needs to be trimmed to size. I would like to add a solid base of ply and perhaps a steel frame with castors so that I can move him outside.
Id also like to add a drip system for drinking together with manual misting.
Questions:
How does one best implement changes, gradually or all at once?
Substrate, some people say yes, others say no?
How can one best try and implement new feeding habits? I would like to try a tray around the enclosure mid level.
Will they find the food themselves or do you need to show them where, how would one show them?

Any additional advice or observations from the pros will be much appreciated at this stage...

Now for some pics:
The enclosure


The man


The mans new climbing post

[Ruan Stander]

Welcome to the forum Henre.

It is good to see so much effort and love going into someone's animals.

In response to your questions:

-Changes can be made all at once, it makes more sense to me to change the environment once and then allowing the animal to settle than to have it living in a constantly changing environment.

-Substrate is up to you, whether you want to use any at all, and if you do what you want to use. I always go for a natural substrate that can be spot cleaned because that's what I like and it works for me. Different substrates have different pros and cons. You can do your research there.

-I think the feeding tray is a very good idea. I would suggest giving it a very large surface area, since chameleons hunt by sight and react to movement. Also, that the feeders can't get out of it. This will make monitoring food intake very easy.

-He will find it. For a few days you can just position him so that he can see the movement and he'll catch on in no time.

Moving him outside so that he can get natural sunlight will be fantastic for him, as will the drinking system. His enclosure looks top class, I would suggest for time being just adding some more greenery for him to hide in. Think big and bushy.

Good luck and enjoy him

[Henre]

Thanks for the feedback predator, was starting to get kinda lonely in here hahaha

I've since put the post together with some of his old furnishings into the enclosure, had him climbing the screen for a day but yesterday afternoon we had a heavy drop in temp so I placed a heater in his room, half an hour later he was exploring the new surroundings and looking much happier than the past two days.
This morning he also started eating again and he has another permanent heat source for the enclosure so I'm feeling much better at the moment!

[Henre]

An update with some pics, Lucky is looking much happier at the moment.
This is what his enclosure now looks like, I still need to add the dripper


And a couple of close ups of him looking better than last time...




a Couple of things has me worried though, firstly on his beard, from the 5th to 9th protrusion looks a bit blackened. Is this normal?
Then in the middle of the back ridge theres a spot that does not change colour with the rest of him, he also has 3 smaller spots on his other side. What could this be? Lastly the top part of his cask bends to the side?

Thank you again for any replies!

[Ruan Stander]

The spots shouldn't be anything to worry about- just keep an eye on them if they increase in size or numbers.
The casque could perhaps be a genetic thing. I don't know if it could be due to a calcium deficiency or some other form of illness, anyone ?

[Henre]

Thanks again predator, also spoke to a vet and he basically said the same. Keep an eye on him till after his next shedding and take it from there.
Now I'm just waiting on him to settle into his new environment...