My Veiled chameleon is very dark all of a sudden when he is in the cage under the lights and he seems like he has very dry skin. If i take him out he gets lighter but still at parts he is dark what do I do?

Start by filling out the "how to ask for help form" that is stickied at the top of the health clinic forum. Fill it out as accurately as possible. This can be reached by clicking the forums link, then clicking on health clinic.

In all honesty, just by what you said no one is going to have any idea what is going on, so if you would want a decent and informed answer - fill out that form.

S.F

Forgot to add: Throw in some pictures as well. Please make sure they are of decent quality - can't tell very much if photos that are overly bright, or overly dark for that matter.

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Leonardo-Sambava-Male. Basil-Purple Bar Ambanja-Male

Yes, fill that out please.
Sometimes chameleons get darker when they're basking, to absorb more heat. And then they get stressed out if you hold them, so they may get dark patterning (their stress colors).

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Othello (Jackson's), Cobalt, Cerberus (Panthers) & Charlotte (Veiled) | Artwork Commissions at OlimpiaMartinotti.com

I note in your profile that you say your veiled and panthers are housed in side by side cages. Can they see each other or do you have a good visual barrier between the cages?

The dry skin could be that its getting ready to shed.

Questions on misters, food, water and temp.. New veilded and panther owner!! Help!!!

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species(veil chameleon), sex(male), and I am not sure on age i think around 6 months of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care (almost two weeks)?
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon( I take him out a few times a week )?
Feeding - What are you feeding your ( dusting the crickets with a mixture of reptivite,herptivite,and repti calcium with D3 and I feeed them meal worms also. I feed until they Don't eat anymory then i take the bowl of worms away I dust them every time I put them in , ? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? the feeders i use the orange blocks they sell at the store for crickets (flukers orange cubes)

Watering - this is tricky I never see him drink but i mist the cage three times a day and have a dripper in there I just ordered a pro mist and waiting for it to come!!!
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. the droping have been good I guess no yellow, just white and the poop looks good. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? (NO)
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. (NONE)

Cage Info: click on link for pictures and on my profile !!!
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
Temperature - What temp range have you created my cage is in the 70s and there is a basking spot with a 75 watt light (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
Humidity - this is weird it stays around 30s during the day and jumps to 50 at night when i mist it goes up to 60 -70%How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? (Digitial gauge)
Plants - Are you using live plants? YES LIVE FICUS) If so, what kind?
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? It is in my living room near a window but not right up against it ) At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? it is on a small table
Location - Where are you geographically located? I live in south Florida




Pictures are helpful

I think you are overdusting, especially with vitamins (two vitamin dusts every feeding???) Mealworms aren't a great feeder...too much chitin and not very nutritious. The Flukers gutload isn't great. Dark leafy greens, fruit chunks, fortified cereal grains, bee pollen is better. Or, try Cricket Crack offered by Tiki Tiki Reptiles.

What type (brands!) of lighting. You didn't say. For basking you can use an ordinary house light bulb. For UVB you need a linear tube fluorescent such as ReptiSun 5.0.

Your humidity jumps at night because the basking light is off. 30% all day is too low. You need to raise the level by misting more thoroughly, adding to the plants (adding surface area to hold water droplets), or running a room humidifier next to the cage in cycles. Also hanging some plastic sheeting on back and/or sides of the cage helps a lot.

I use for both cages reptisun 5.0 but honestly how do you know what kind of wattage to use for your heat bulbs ? Also WHAT IS EVERONE USING FOR LIGHT FOR THERE PLANTS?

wattage depends on how hot it gets at the basking spot. I don't use any additional lighting for my plants but you can get a grow bulb at home depot.

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RIP Molly 1.0 Veiled, 1.0 snow corn, ?.? Spotted salamander