infomation need..cham is acting weird

mouth open??

my 2 week old veiled is acting strange...im new to all this so im just goingthru the working practacies..i drench the tank 3 times a day..there is a drip for him to drink..and i feed him once day with about 5 - 7 bugs..

but noticed recently he sits at the top and yawns occasionally..

but he keeps his mouth open for ages and just sits there with his mouth open...

am i just being paranoid?? does he want summet???

temp is at 83

many thanks

He may be too warm, chameleons open and close their mouths as a way of thermoregulation, try and reduce the temps a little and see if this helps?

or... your basking bulb may be too close to him, how far away are the branches he perches on away from the bulb?
what kind of bulbs are you using? if you are using a coiled uvb bulb as opposed to a strip one, this may be the problem
What wattage of heat bulb are you using?

well iv just mited him..and lowered the temp..just see what happends

he has just shed his skin 2 days ago..still al ittle bit on him..

also he shakes occasionally aswell...which iv read on here is bad news????

he oves around the tank and hes eating nicely today..

just worried thats all... summet happends and u read on the net that hes dying..

thanks again

Do you dust your insects with calcium and vitamins?
Have you got him in a glass tank? if you are passing your UV lights through glass he wont be getting any because glass filters out uv radiation. Also if you have him in a glass tank, it may be concentrating the heat making it like an oven in the enclosure.
Shaking is not good, this may be to do with his calcium supplementation, either hypo or hypercalcemia, cant remember which!
He may act as if he is healthy although he may be quite sick, chameleons are very good at masking their deteriorating health, this is because in the wild they would not want to appear vulnerable to predators.
Have you got any pics of your set up or the chameleon?

oh and im using a repti glo

its a glass tank..but the bulbs are thru a mesh at the top..when im in i open his tank and leave it open for a while just allow it to breathe.

13w, 5.0 UBV its like a coil type bulb..

that sits about 2 inches from his basking spot...

the heat lamp sits about 6 inches from his basket spot..

he seems ok most of the time..just seen him dart straight down and hang upside down on a branch and zap a nice cricket

just worried bout the occasional shake he has.

just a note that all the bugs he eats are all calcuim dusted...

the wooden thing at the bottom has come out now and there are more vines in the middle of the tank now.. and another plant in the right side but this is the general layout..

thanks

I would definately get rid of the coil bulb. They can cause severe discomfort and blindness.
The best combination to use is a 5.0 uvb strip bulb. A long tube as opposed to the coiled up ones and a seperate heat bulb, Dual tops are fine, but not if a coiled uvb is used!
The coils are far to concentrated for the chameleon, and will most probably be doing more damage than good.

hmm..i dunno..wish i new more about more these atm...came in today..couldnt find him for ages then found him hidnig under a leaf curled up holding a branch

his colour is nice and green..but seemed sleepy..maybe it is time for bed for him..but never seen him do it before...he just wont come out..maybe that bulb is causing him some problems..so he hides under the leaf...????

his poo is brown and his urite is white just next to it... hes eaten today and hes been misted today also...

more info would be help full

thanks

I highly recommend a uvb 5.0 and a nice basking light. Get rid of the glass, and go w/ a screen and remove the bark on the bottom. However, chams do tend to hold their mouths open to regulate their body temps. if hot. So if he is hot he will do this. Invest in a nice digital temp. guage, and a guage for humidity. www.screameleons.com is an excellent place for information and housing guidlines. You can also visit my site listed in my signature for care information. Good Luck!

Chameleoco said:

I would definately get rid of the coil bulb. They can cause severe discomfort and blindness.
The best combination to use is a 5.0 uvb strip bulb. A long tube as opposed to the coiled up ones and a seperate heat bulb, Dual tops are fine, but not if a coiled uvb is used!
The coils are far to concentrated for the chameleon, and will most probably be doing more damage than good.

Click to expand...

I agree. Get rid of the coil bulb and lower the temps a little. Please fill out the ask for help form so we can try to see what's going on. https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

Any popping or wheezing sounds when it yawns?

Is the basking spot around 83F? or is that the middle of the cage? or? What is the temperature at the bottom of the enclosure? At the top in the basking/hottest/brightest spot?

Sleeping during the day is not normal.

The coiled UVB bulbs caused serious trouble (most noteably to eyes) in the past, and it is not yet confirmed that the bulbs of recent manufacture are any better. Best to switch that coiled bulb for a linear straight tube for UVB.

Occassional moving back and forth, especially when walking, as to mimic a leaf in the wind is not uncommon, but true shaking isnt usually a good sign.

Do you gutload the insects and if so what with? Are crickets the only prey option you are providing?

Cage Type - glass small tank with a dual top.

Lighting - use the coiled 15w, 5.0 uvb

Temperature - ussually stays between 80 and 90 during the day and 70 and 75 during the night

Plants - just fake plants

Placement - in the corner of my bed room...about a 1.5 meters from the floor is the top of the tank
Location - UK midlands

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - veiled, male, about 3 weeks old iv had him for 2 weeks

Handling - once a week

Feeding - 6 to 7 crickets once a day

Supplements - calcium dust

Watering - i have a water drip, which i see him drink from and i water the fake plants 2 to 3 times a day

Fecal Description - dark brown

History - he has jst shed about 2 days ago

Current Problem - since he has shed hes been behavining oddly...having funny tantrums at the top of his tank...where he ussually sits...
i have seen him eat and poo..havnt seen him drink today tho..
and he was sitting today with his mouth open..and he was shaking occasionally...i went out for a while came bk and found him hiding under a leaf..not wat he ussualy does...its latish but he ussualy goes to bed alot later than this...

so i got him out...and altho he has a strong grip he sat there and his eyes where shutting...while he was out of the tank..summet that i would never think he would do...
put him bk in to the tank and he goes stright bk under the leafs and he doesnt come out...

the uvb bulb sits at the bk about 2 inches from his basking point...i have swapped this round now so the heat lamp is nearer his basking point and the uv light is further away...

hes jst acting really weird..maybe cus hes just finished shedding..he still has a lil bit on his face tho...

my lil baby isnt going to die is he

i must apoligise fro my lack of knowledge...

gutload??? i dont know wat that means..

i dust the crickets in calcuim ..and yes thats all he eats..hes to small for locusts atm..as where i buy from dont do tiny locusts...

he doesnt sleep during the day..it was about 9 o clock at night when i found him..so quote late..hes quote active during the day
i have put a thread up in the heath clinic now

just hoping im worrying for nothing

Gutload is what you feed your feeders before your chameleon eats the feeder. Here's a link to a blog where you can get some great info for veiled chameleons: http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/

The lighting unit on your cage ... is it the compact top (houses coil UV bulbs)? There are two different ones. They also make the dual top which is the one I have. It houses the tube UV light bulb and the heat bulb. Also, do you turn your lights off at night? Chams follow daylight patterns as they happen outside. Amy will settle down to roost earlier if the weather is cloudy rather than sunny. If you order food online you can get small locusts from here: http://www.livefoodsbypost.co.uk/. Don't know if they would be small enough though. You could try Phoenix worms which are tiny and very calcium rich and also Silkworms. You can get these from here: http://www.butterworms.co.uk/index.html I specifically asked for the small mediums and they were very small.

Get rid of the coil bulb now and get a tube style bulb

Way too hot for a young veiled.....lower temps to no more than 80 in the daytime

Get a live plant as soon as you can

You need to gutload your feeders and dust with 3 supplements. Plain calcium at just about every feeding. Calcium with d3 twice a month and a multi vit. dust once a month

Pay a visit to good old B&Q - they sell cham safe plants there is several different sizes. The more common ones are Umbrella plant (Schefflera), Ficus (Weeping Fig) and Pothos (Devil's Ivy). Hibiscus are also very popular - my baby cham loves to eat hers! I bought my Hibiscus in a local garden centre - if you have a Thompson's near you they should have them in.

You will need to wash the leaves in soapy water and rinse well to get rid of any fertiliser/pesticide deposits. Also re-pot the plant in organic soil, or cover the original soil with large stones so that your baby doesn't accidentally eat any soil. Live plants give the cham something to drink droplets off and also help with keeping humidity levels stable.

Get rid of the coil bulb and replace it with a tube bulb.

Live plants are better than fake plants always.

What calcium supplement are you using? How often do you dust with the calcium?
How big are the crickets you are using to feed him?

As was already mentioned...the compact light may be causing it to shut its eyes...and the temperature for one so young should be in the low 80's IMHO.
The most often recommended light is the long linear tube fluorescent Repti-sun 5.0.