Norman has been a little shaky...

Your Chameleon - Veiled male, I have had him for 7 months

Handling - Roughly once a week. He has never been too interested in handling, but does enjoy sitting out of his cage.

Feeding - 10-12 crickets a day and 3-4 wax worms 3 or more times a week. Gut loading crickets with oat blend from local pet store and a gel calcium supplement. Also coating them in Zilla vitamin and calcium spray.

Supplements - Accidentally already answered above.

Watering - I use a Mr.Lizard Jr. Mister 3 times a day. He also has a dripper in the corner of his cage. I do see him drink from both. He really hates water and I have been considering giving him a standing bowl.

Fecal Description - Wet when first appear. Dries out from heat. Brow/white. Sometimes the white is yellow/orangeish. I know that means he isn't getting sufficient water and usually try to adjust until it is back to normal.

History - I got him from a reptile breeder. Other than that nothing.

Cage Info: Full of sticks and fake rope vines. Some plastic plants on the side. He got too big for his old stuff and kept falling off of it because he was too heavy.

Cage Type - Zilla all mesh cage. I believe the dimensions are something like 16x24x16...? It is rather small.

Lighting - It is Zilla brand. I am totally unsure of anything past that. It just came with him, as did the cage. There is also a UVB light at the back of his cage.

Temperature - Temp of the cage is around 80-85. Floor is around 70.

Humidity - Unsure of humidity levels. However the mist I am sure creates some/enough.

Plants - No live plants. I am unsure of what is safe so I avoid it.

Placement - Against a wall, across from a window. He is also across the room from an African Lovebird. He was not doing well next to him so I moved them apart. Seems to be fine now. The top of the cage is probably 3 feet from the ceiling.

Location - Spokane, WA

Ok now to the important stuff. He has been really shaky, which is what I intended to write this about. But now this morning I have seen him laying down in the cage. This cannot be normal.

I don't know if there are any vets in my area that deal with reptiles. I can post a picture of him.

He has seemed really healthy. Other than being a stinker over his water, he eats and everything fine.

I'm just really unsure of what is going on. This is my first time owning one and so I really just am always guess/checking.

These pictures are all from July 6.

I will try to take some now, though.

Im sorry hes struggling.

first your gutload is off. that store bought gel stuff is crap.

you should be gutloading with fresh fruits and veggies.

supplements- those arent the proper ones. you need a calcium without d3 for every feeding, a calcium with d3 twice a month, and a multivitamin for twice a month. these are all powders.

if he is dehydrated, then you should be upping the lenght and frequency of his mistings.

that cage is a bit small, as adults, they need a 2x2x4 foot cage. preferable screen or mesh.




can you post a photo of him please?

how old is that uvb bulb? they have to be replaced roughly every 6-9 months as their uvb output drops significantly after this time.

The UVB bulb is about 7 months old. I got him and the cage and everything as a packaged deal.

I had been gut loading with fresh fruit/veggies and my crickets were literally gut LOADED. They would eat until their stomachs puffed out and they couldn't move! Which is why I had switched.

I would get a bigger cage.
replace the uvb bulb.
get the right supplements.
start gutloading with fruits and veggies again.

I do have the powder with d3 and the vitamin powder. So I will have to find some without d3.

I just took some pictures of him.
He has gotten up off the ground now and is on the log seen in the picture.

thats not a good situation for him.

I would get him outside for some natural sun asap.

Also, stop using that spray supplement.

try to get some differnet kinds of feeder bugs for him.

as for live plants- pothos and scheffelara arbicola are good, as is hibiscus, and ficus.

he looks a bit thin, how big are the crickets you feed him?

The crickets I am feeding him are anywhere from 3/4 in to 1 in long.
They seem to be a good size for him, some end up being a little too large sometimes.

Do you think I could feed him meal worms? He really isn't as interested in crickets as he should be.

Also, I will definitely get him out in the sun.

He is also at the end if a shed right now. I don't know if that is important.

I think it is his 5th one.

mealies arent very nutritious, and have a hard exo skeleton that can be hard to digest.

I would try silkworms and dubia roaches.

I will definitely do the silkworms. He loves worms in general so I'm sure he will be pleased to be getting more hahaha.

Thank you for all the help!

Just wanted to second what camimom said about the supplements. That picture of him on the ground really concerns me, as it could be the start of MBD (metabolic bone disease). Here's a blog post about it: https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...requently-asked-questions-health-illness.html

that log in there is real wood?
if so does it get wet from mistings?
make sure its clean and mold free if its been in there 7 months

I think it's time for a vet visit. He doesn't look well. Could be a nutritional issue but you will need a vet to tell you for sure.

The log has only been in there three weeks. This is a brand new set up. I try not to leave too much of the same stuff in there for fear of mold/bacteria.

The prognosis is... dehydration.

So I just need to figure out some ways to deal with his disliking of water.

Did you take him to a vet? I agree that dehydration is part of the problem, but he looks extremely thin and while it might be just that picture, the one of him on the ground looks very bad indeed. There's a twist to that spine which is scary (like I said, might be just that picture).

You should replace the bulb. This board recommends replacing UVB bulbs every 6 months (yes, the box says once a year, people here with UVB meters have tracked the performance fall off and by 6 months it's enough to become a concern).

For getting him rehydrated, I think you're going to want to take him into the shower. Put a plant in the shower, put him on the plant. Point the water to the wall so it bounces onto the plant, the water should be on the warm to hot side. Close the door or pull the curtain and let him soak. If you can leave him in there for 20 minutes, do it.

Some chameleons need an extensive soaking before they feel comfortable drinking (others drink right from the dripper) and your boy might be one. It's not unusual for them to act like they are miserable when the rain first starts but you have to steel yourself and keep the water going.

I spoke to the vet on the phone this morning. He says he is pretty sure this is what the problem is. He doesn't have a twist in his spine, it was just the way he was laying down and he really isn't thin. I think he looked thin because he was hissing at the camera.

He does have an appointment in a few hours though just to be sure about everything. Because I haven't been using a good calcium supplement I am expecting he will end up getting some shots today.

I will try the soaking thing. Hopefully he will get over his hissing at the mister haha. I always mist him, mostly so he can clean his eyes and especially when he is molting.

Hopefully everything gets worked through today. I am also going to put some more foliage (just plastic) in his cage to try to encourage some more drinking.

Sounds great. Pictures, while helpful, can always be deceiving. Are you using warm water in your mister? It might help get him over the horror faster (it might not). How are you misting him? With a spray bottle, an automatic mister? I'm afraid I don't know what a Mr. Lizard Jr. sprayer is....anyway, try to mist at least a quart of water every time.

Is there a reason you prefer plastic plants? Real plants can help with humidity.

I do fill his mister with warm water. It is a pump sprayer. It holds about a quart and because of his smaller sized cage I usually do like half a quart at a time.

I used to use fabric plants. The water evaporated off of them so fast so I switched to plastic ones. I don't use real plants simply because I have kind of a black thumb. I also didn't know until recently what sorts of plants were safe. I have been thinking of adding one to his cage, just to start off with.

I'm a huge fan of pothos plants....I can't keep a plant alive under normal circumstances, but I swear pothos plants can survive on air, water and chameleon poop. Plus, as they grow, you can pin the vines around the cage to create crawl ways.

I would really try emptying that bottle. Get the cage dripping wet and then keep spraying. It really can take a long time for them to decide it's okay to drink.