No shed yet??

[sketchtone]

I’m not insanely concerned about Reginald’s lack of shed, but it is notable and I wanted to make sure it wasn’t so concerning to anyone else.
Context:

As previously posted, Reginald has not been the most fond of eating enough, and the last vet visit led to them giving me a powder to mix for syringe feeding, they said if the meds that they gave him worked, to use the syringe as a last resort. They recommended a shed spray for him that my mother ordered but we were skeptical to use. (I will NOT be using it since he’s a dry shedder, we never even opened it but I forgot to return it so I just have it now.)

He ate three silk worms that day, hand fed, and spaced out quite a bit. He was 14 grams at the vet, and is still 14 grams about a month later.

He has eaten more, hasn’t gained any weight, and barely gotten bigger, so I don’t think he would shed then, and if he doesn’t, then I will probably try the syringe.

Side note: he has an unrelated vet appointment to check his left eye, it is not swollen but he is constantly cleaning it/closing it a lot.

• Your Chameleon - Male Panther Chameleon. Unknown age but he's estimated 5-6 months.
• Handling - Handled minimally, but when necessary and/or when he wants. (almost never, for the ladder)
• Feeding - Small-Medium Crickets, silkworms, and wax moths. right now they[crickets] are eating store gut load, which i want to switch from, but my main concern for him is that he’s actually eating now.
• Supplements - ZooMed repti calcium is what im using for regular. for D3, I will have him on a schedule of 1st and 15th, starting on the fifteenth, as I do not know his original schedule and did not have him on the first.
• Watering - Mistking for five minutes before lights on and five before lights out, fogging from 1am-6am, misting 2 minutes every other hour from 9pm
• Fecal Description - his poops are good! his hydration has improved and his urates are grate.
• History - (i think i put it above? if i didn’t i can describe it correctly)

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - ZooMed 36-18-36 mesh enclosure.
• Lighting - Vivid Chameleons and Habitats 50W basking bulb, Arcadia JungleDawn Plant light, ZooMed ReptiSun T5 HO 24w 22in 5.0 UVB. All lights were put in on March first, I am saving for a solar meter but have one of the cards for UVB for now.
• Temperature - Cage floor is usually between 70-75. Basking is 82-85. I have one digital thermometer hygrometers combo nearer to the top but in the middle. I have a temp gun that I do not like since it is a few degrees off.
• Humidity - Ambient humidity in the house is around mid to high 30s. Day time humidity fluctuates from 70-50. Nighttime after misting is around 80+. he has a bioactive floor now as well.
• Plants - Philodendron, ivy, a few big ferns, philodendron at the top. (a few other plants at the bottom, that again, I can't remember the names of for the life of me, but I do not buy chameleon plants without checking the forums and chameleon academy for safety,)
• Placement - Cage is in my bedroom, which has two outer walls. It’s a low traffic area. The enclosure is lifted about 2.5 feet off the ground. I turn on both fans to lower the temp and turn off the floor fan when temps drop enough.
• Location - Nevada (desert)

Current problem: no shed (possibly causing eye problem??)

I will add pictures of Reginald’s eye tomorrow if anyone wants, however I think he will be fine once his eye gets flushed with saline or if I get drops. The pictures are on my mother’s phone. Pictures of the enclosure will be uploaded tomorrow, it is too dark for a decent photo.

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi. Your husbandry looks okay at a quick glance, but give me a bit of time to go thru it in depth.

 

[MissSkittles]

I’ll be putting my feedback in bold. Breaking this into two parts.

• Your Chameleon - Male Panther Chameleon. Unknown age but he's estimated 5-6 months. Do you have some recent pics of him? I’d like to see some as well as his entire enclosure.
• Handling - Handled minimally, but when necessary and/or when he wants. (almost never, for the ladder) good, but have you been working on building trust with him? https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/
• Feeding - Small-Medium Crickets, silkworms, and wax moths. right now they[crickets] are eating store gut load, which i want to switch from, but my main concern for him is that he’s actually eating now. What is ‘store gut load’? You want to keep your feeders well fed with a variety of fresh produce and you can add some quality commercial food, like Repashy Bug Burger. Well fed healthy bugs = more nutrition for your chameleon. Are your feeders the correct size? They need to be smaller than the space between the eyes. I like to go a bit smaller than mine can handle. Attaching graphics below.
• Supplements - ZooMed repti calcium is what im using for regular. for D3, I will have him on a schedule of 1st and 15th, starting on the fifteenth, as I do not know his original schedule and did not have him on the first. What about multivitamin? This is just as important as the calcium and D3. I would suggest getting Repashy Calcium Plus LoD (or Reptivite with D3) which is a combination D3 and multivitamin. You’ll continue the calcium without D3 at every feeding except when using the Repashy LoD at one feeding every other week. No other supplements needed. The Repashy and ReptiVite both contain preformed vitamin A, which is the fat soluble form of vitamin A and we know chameleons are able to utilize it. It is essential for eye health, but needs to be given cautiously just like we do with fat soluble D3.
• Watering - Mistking for five minutes before lights on and five before lights out, fogging from 1am-6am, misting 2 minutes every other hour from 9pm Ok. Good.
• Fecal Description - his poops are good! his hydration has improved and his urates are grate. Have you had him tested for parasites? This is often the biggest reason for poor appetites. Next vet visit, take a fresh poo (from within 24 hours - can store in fridge if needed) and have him tested. Even if you did have him tested already, try again. Sometimes the parasites aren’t shedding eggs and won’t show up in the poo.
• History - (i think i put it above? if i didn’t i can describe it correctly)

 

[MissSkittles]

• Cage Type - ZooMed 36-18-36 mesh enclosure. This is a bit small for an adult. The minimum size is 2x2x4’ or equivalent. I’m all for giving our chameleons as much space as we can (depending on space and resources) and suggest you get another enclosure of the same size as you have and join them together. https://chameleonacademy.com/double-wide-chameleon-cage-project/ Males especially appreciate having a larger area to patrol.
• Lighting - Vivid Chameleons and Habitats 50W basking bulb, Arcadia JungleDawn Plant light, ZooMed ReptiSun T5 HO 24w 22in 5.0 UVB. All lights were put in on March first, I am saving for a solar meter but have one of the cards for UVB for now. I’m afraid the uvb cards will only tell you if there is any uvb and doesn’t tell what the level of output is. Keep an eye on the classifieds here for someone who might be selling their solarmeter. They are super nice to have, but its high price makes it impractical for many. With a 5.0 or 6% uvb bulb in a T5HO fixture, the optimal uvb level of approx 3.0 should be at a distance of 8-9”.
• Temperature - Cage floor is usually between 70-75. Basking is 82-85. I have one digital thermometer hygrometers combo nearer to the top but in the middle. I have a temp gun that I do not like since it is a few degrees off. Temp guns are great, but they can’t measure the air.
• Humidity - Ambient humidity in the house is around mid to high 30s. Day time humidity fluctuates from 70-50. 30% is too low for a panther, so do make sure to monitor that he stays between 50-70% during the day. If needed, you could wrap the back or sides of his enclosure to retain humidity. Nighttime after misting is around 80+. he has a bioactive floor now as well. Yay!
• Plants - Philodendron, ivy, a few big ferns, philodendron at the top. (a few other plants at the bottom, that again, I can't remember the names of for the life of me, but I do not buy chameleon plants without checking the forums and chameleon academy for safety,) excellent
• Placement - Cage is in my bedroom, which has two outer walls. It’s a low traffic area. The enclosure is lifted about 2.5 feet off the ground. I turn on both fans to lower the temp and turn off the floor fan when temps drop enough.
• Location - Nevada (desert)

Current problem: no shed (possibly causing eye problem??)
As chameleons get older, they shed less frequently and by body parts rather than the full body quick ‘poor’ shedding that they do when young. Definitely do not use the shed spray or any other moisture. You are correct that chameleons are dry shedders. Unfortunately, many exotic vets lack experience and full knowledge about chameleons and treat them as they do a general lizard. Even some of the experienced chameleon vets will tell us to do wrong things, like soak them in a warm bath or bake them with super hot temps or high uvb. When in doubt, you can always ask the forum about what your vet has advised.
About your guy’s eye…without seeing it I can’t offer much comment. If he hasn’t been getting a multivitamin, that may be the whole problem and once you start one, his eye will improve over some time (weeks to months). He could have something trapped in his eye, or a keratin plug which needs a deep flushing by the vet to clear. It could be infection, something he was hatched with or any number of things. Do be very careful as eyes are delicate and we can harm them while trying to help.
I will add pictures of Reginald’s eye tomorrow if anyone wants, however I think he will be fine once his eye gets flushed with saline or if I get drops. The pictures are on my mother’s phone. Pictures of the enclosure will be uploaded tomorrow, it is too dark for a decent photo.
Yes please to current pics of Reginald and his entire enclosure please. I may not be back on line until later tonight, so hopefully someone else can continue helping you as needed.

 

[sketchtone]

I’ll be putting my feedback in bold. Breaking this into two parts.

• Your Chameleon - Male Panther Chameleon. Unknown age but he's estimated 5-6 months. Do you have some recent pics of him? I’d like to see some as well as his entire enclosure.
• Handling - Handled minimally, but when necessary and/or when he wants. (almost never, for the ladder) good, but have you been working on building trust with him? https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/
• Feeding - Small-Medium Crickets, silkworms, and wax moths. right now they[crickets] are eating store gut load, which i want to switch from, but my main concern for him is that he’s actually eating now. What is ‘store gut load’? You want to keep your feeders well fed with a variety of fresh produce and you can add some quality commercial food, like Repashy Bug Burger. Well fed healthy bugs = more nutrition for your chameleon. Are your feeders the correct size? They need to be smaller than the space between the eyes. I like to go a bit smaller than mine can handle. Attaching graphics below.
• Supplements - ZooMed repti calcium is what im using for regular. for D3, I will have him on a schedule of 1st and 15th, starting on the fifteenth, as I do not know his original schedule and did not have him on the first. What about multivitamin? This is just as important as the calcium and D3. I would suggest getting Repashy Calcium Plus LoD (or Reptivite with D3) which is a combination D3 and multivitamin. You’ll continue the calcium without D3 at every feeding except when using the Repashy LoD at one feeding every other week. No other supplements needed. The Repashy and ReptiVite both contain preformed vitamin A, which is the fat soluble form of vitamin A and we know chameleons are able to utilize it. It is essential for eye health, but needs to be given cautiously just like we do with fat soluble D3.
• Watering - Mistking for five minutes before lights on and five before lights out, fogging from 1am-6am, misting 2 minutes every other hour from 9pm Ok. Good.
• Fecal Description - his poops are good! his hydration has improved and his urates are grate. Have you had him tested for parasites? This is often the biggest reason for poor appetites. Next vet visit, take a fresh poo (from within 24 hours - can store in fridge if needed) and have him tested. Even if you did have him tested already, try again. Sometimes the parasites aren’t shedding eggs and won’t show up in the poo.
• History - (i think i put it above? if i didn’t i can describe it correctly)

View attachment 355246

I have built trust with him, he barely gapes at me, he hand feeds and climbs on me as an elevator sometimes and other times he climbs on my head. I decided to leave him alone for a while so he would hopefully eat, but I got him out yesterday and he seemed to enjoy it as much as he can.

I agree about the gut load and I am going to get fruits and veggies for the bugs but when I got him, the store recommended it so I got it.

He had a negative parasite test, but the vet gave him barium and panacur (sorry for the misspelling) since he wasn’t eating much. The results weren’t back before the appointment, so they texted us after the fact since we needed an appointment to actually get the results.

I had the correct measurements for the enclosure, but it was hybrid and it was having an issue with mold, so i bought the mesh one, and I had seen people say that the length can make up for the height, but it was an emergency switch due to the mold. (i haven’t switched it yet because he seems to really love it)

I have the lights raised off the enclosure again because when I lowered them, he started to have an eye problem and I hoped that would fix it, and I think it did for a bit, but now he’s going to the vet for it. (he screen climbs a LOT and I think it’s because I need more plants for him but I am getting rid of fungal gnats in them before I introduce the new plants)

I should have mentioned I have a hygrometer and thermometer at the top front and a hygrometer at the bottom back as well at the temp gun.

I also didn’t specify well, but the 30% is my house naturally. His daytime one is 60-70 (ish) during the day. His enclosure has a naturalistic wrap around most of it.

The multivitamin I use is one with D3 but no calcium. I use the Reptivite w/D3 every 1st and 15th, but sometimes he isn’t in the mood to eat, so he only gets it when he will.

His eye looks normal (to me) but he’s just cleaning it a lot and sometimes closing it and I wanted to get the appointment just to be safe. I’d rather be called crazy than him be sick or hurting.

(we do not have many trees with good branches for an enclosure, mainly palms, so I do have some bendy branches in there for the time being, i’ve been replacing them a few at a time whenever I go to get him something from a reptile shop.)

 

[MissSkittles]

He had a negative parasite test, but the vet gave him barium and panacur (sorry for the misspelling) since he wasn’t eating much. Ugh! I hate when vets treat blindly when they have no results. I can understand the panacur, but what was the barium for? Did they take x rays or something? The results weren’t back before the appointment, so they texted us after the fact since we needed an appointment to actually get the results. Has he been pooping okay since that appointment?

I had the correct measurements for the enclosure, but it was hybrid and it was having an issue with mold, so i bought the mesh one, and I had seen people say that the length can make up for the height, but it was an emergency switch due to the mold. (i haven’t switched it yet because he seems to really love it) What kind of mold and where was it growing? With bioactive set ups, some fungi and mold is natural to occur in the soil and as long as it isn’t a large amount, your clean up crew should be taking care of it. Actually having mushrooms grow is a sign that you’re doing it all right. What type of hybrid do you have…Dragon Strand, Zen, other brand? Having correct ventilation is everything. Some keepers will use small muffin type fans on the top, sucking air out of the enclosure to improve ventilation flow.

I have the lights raised off the enclosure again because when I lowered them, he started to have an eye problem and I hoped that would fix it, and I think it did for a bit, but now he’s going to the vet for it. (he screen climbs a LOT and I think it’s because I need more plants for him but I am getting rid of fungal gnats in them before I introduce the new plants) Little ones like to screen climb and walk upside down along the screen top, just because they can. So it is good to keep your lights raised off the screen until he gets too big for playing at being a spider cham. You could also try limiting the hours that your basking light is on too. Maybe have it turn off around 2-3PM and see if that helps any. Your uvb light is quite high off the top and I wonder if he’s able to get enough. The distance between the highest branch and the uvb light should be 8-9”. If it’s too far away, he isn’t getting enough uvb and that can affect his eyes. He does need more branches and vines to travel. I’m in Florida and know the palm tree struggle. lol Sometimes you can check with tree trimming companies to get some decent branches of oak or other appropriate wood…provided there is anyone who has some ‘real’ trees. The Fluker’s vines are good and if you can’t get branches, add more vines. Fungus gnats are a real challenge! I tried hatching out some mantis ooths for the babies to eat them, but my chameleons found the mantids first. I finally had to resort to mosquito bits, which are safe to use in the soil in your enclosure (careful not to get the leaves), but I think it killed off all of my isopods.

The multivitamin I use is one with D3 but no calcium. I use the Reptivite w/D3 every 1st and 15th, but sometimes he isn’t in the mood to eat, so he only gets it when he will. Okay. Reptivite with D3 is great.
It is odd that he is such a poor eater. How exactly are you feeding him? Do you let the feeders loose for him to hunt down or do you place them in a feeding station? Is that what the blue cup is for? I imagine the crickets will be jumping out of that. Ok, I’m sorry but I have to ask - you are giving him live bugs, yes? Maybe try a different style feeding station. I like/use the shooting gallery https://tkchameleons.com/products/shooting-gallery?variant=30018608595032 some like the Full Throttle style https://www.fullthrottlefeeders.com/ and there’s several variations of each that can be found in various places like Etsy. How much and how often are you feeding him? For his age I’d be giving him 12-15ish feeders daily. When you are dusting the bugs with your supplements, do they look like snowmen? If so, that might reduce his desire to eat. You want just a very light dusting. Also, do you watch when he eats? He may be one who wants privacy to eat.

His eye looks normal (to me) but he’s just cleaning it a lot and sometimes closing it and I wanted to get the appointment just to be safe. I’d rather be called crazy than him be sick or hurting. That’s not being crazy at all. It’s being a good keeper. It’s better to pay for some peace of mind than have a problem go untreated. I would say to take another fecal for testing if you can.

(we do not have many trees with good branches for an enclosure, mainly palms, so I do have some bendy branches in there for the time being, i’ve been replacing them a few at a time whenever I go to get him something from a reptile shop.)

 

[sketchtone]

He had a negative parasite test, but the vet gave him barium and panacur (sorry for the misspelling) since he wasn’t eating much. Ugh! I hate when vets treat blindly when they have no results. I can understand the panacur, but what was the barium for? Did they take x rays or something? The results weren’t back before the appointment, so they texted us after the fact since we needed an appointment to actually get the results. Has he been pooping okay since that appointment?

I had the correct measurements for the enclosure, but it was hybrid and it was having an issue with mold, so i bought the mesh one, and I had seen people say that the length can make up for the height, but it was an emergency switch due to the mold. (i haven’t switched it yet because he seems to really love it) What kind of mold and where was it growing? With bioactive set ups, some fungi and mold is natural to occur in the soil and as long as it isn’t a large amount, your clean up crew should be taking care of it. Actually having mushrooms grow is a sign that you’re doing it all right. What type of hybrid do you have…Dragon Strand, Zen, other brand? Having correct ventilation is everything. Some keepers will use small muffin type fans on the top, sucking air out of the enclosure to improve ventilation flow.

I have the lights raised off the enclosure again because when I lowered them, he started to have an eye problem and I hoped that would fix it, and I think it did for a bit, but now he’s going to the vet for it. (he screen climbs a LOT and I think it’s because I need more plants for him but I am getting rid of fungal gnats in them before I introduce the new plants) Little ones like to screen climb and walk upside down along the screen top, just because they can. So it is good to keep your lights raised off the screen until he gets too big for playing at being a spider cham. You could also try limiting the hours that your basking light is on too. Maybe have it turn off around 2-3PM and see if that helps any. Your uvb light is quite high off the top and I wonder if he’s able to get enough. The distance between the highest branch and the uvb light should be 8-9”. If it’s too far away, he isn’t getting enough uvb and that can affect his eyes. He does need more branches and vines to travel. I’m in Florida and know the palm tree struggle. lol Sometimes you can check with tree trimming companies to get some decent branches of oak or other appropriate wood…provided there is anyone who has some ‘real’ trees. The Fluker’s vines are good and if you can’t get branches, add more vines. Fungus gnats are a real challenge! I tried hatching out some mantis ooths for the babies to eat them, but my chameleons found the mantids first. I finally had to resort to mosquito bits, which are safe to use in the soil in your enclosure (careful not to get the leaves), but I think it killed off all of my isopods.

The multivitamin I use is one with D3 but no calcium. I use the Reptivite w/D3 every 1st and 15th, but sometimes he isn’t in the mood to eat, so he only gets it when he will. Okay. Reptivite with D3 is great.
It is odd that he is such a poor eater. How exactly are you feeding him? Do you let the feeders loose for him to hunt down or do you place them in a feeding station? Is that what the blue cup is for? I imagine the crickets will be jumping out of that. Ok, I’m sorry but I have to ask - you are giving him live bugs, yes? Maybe try a different style feeding station. I like/use the shooting gallery https://tkchameleons.com/products/shooting-gallery?variant=30018608595032 some like the Full Throttle style https://www.fullthrottlefeeders.com/ and there’s several variations of each that can be found in various places like Etsy. How much and how often are you feeding him? For his age I’d be giving him 12-15ish feeders daily. When you are dusting the bugs with your supplements, do they look like snowmen? If so, that might reduce his desire to eat. You want just a very light dusting. Also, do you watch when he eats? He may be one who wants privacy to eat.

His eye looks normal (to me) but he’s just cleaning it a lot and sometimes closing it and I wanted to get the appointment just to be safe. I’d rather be called crazy than him be sick or hurting. That’s not being crazy at all. It’s being a good keeper. It’s better to pay for some peace of mind than have a problem go untreated. I would say to take another fecal for testing if you can.

(we do not have many trees with good branches for an enclosure, mainly palms, so I do have some bendy branches in there for the time being, i’ve been replacing them a few at a time whenever I go to get him something from a reptile shop.)

The barium was to lubricate his stomach, I assumed that’s what would be best, so they gave him some.

His poops have been normal since, and his rates are even batter, so I am glad about that.

I am not sure of the type of mold, but it was most likely because we used grapevine and the hygrometer I had was incorrect, so we were misting for ten minutes every hour, and fogging the same fog schedule (at night) and confused why it wasn’t more than 70%. We didn’t know until we had the new enclosure set up that it was the grapevine, and he genuinely seems to like the new one a LOT more. He’s moving around a lot and has eaten better when he’s been in it (though it may be unrelated.) I just never got around to switching it yet.

I had a Dragon Strand with the acrylic door. I turned the over head fan on and a floor fan around 30 minutes before lights of to bring down temps and turned off the floor one when it got down. I turn on the overhead every night and sometimes turn on the floor fan and temps stay down.

I am feeding live bugs, and he loves hand feeding and hunting. even when though crickets don’t jump out, he doesn’t eat enough all the time with that. He kinda phases through hunting, hand feeding, and then cup feeding. I know letting them hunt can be bad, but he actually eats when he’s hungry that way. I was going to try tossing a bag of 30-40 every week for him to see if that would work and so far, I’ve seen him eat more.

I dust them lightly and don’t usually watch him eat, but when he is hunting, he has no problem eating in front of anyone in my family, even when he met a new person he hand fed while sitting on her. I gave him the crickets Sunday, it was a bag of ≈30-40 and he has eaten 1/2-2/3 of the bag.

I was going to grab another fecal for the vet, but I wasn’t fully sure since I have a poop that had an undigested worm in it (why she gave barium and panacur) but it was still negative.

For the gnats IN the enclosure, I use a water mix to mist the hanging plants. It’s 1 part water hydrogen peroxide to 4 parts water, it kills the live ones. The only reason I don’t pour it into the soil is for my pods.

 

[MissSkittles]

The barium was to lubricate his stomach, I assumed that’s what would be best, so they gave him some.

His poops have been normal since, and his rates are even batter, so I am glad about that.

I am not sure of the type of mold, but it was most likely because we used grapevine and the hygrometer I had was incorrect, so we were misting for ten minutes every hour, and fogging the same fog schedule (at night) and confused why it wasn’t more than 70%. We didn’t know until we had the new enclosure set up that it was the grapevine, and he genuinely seems to like the new one a LOT more. He’s moving around a lot and has eaten better when he’s been in it (though it may be unrelated.) I just never got around to switching it yet.

I had a Dragon Strand with the acrylic door. I turned the over head fan on and a floor fan around 30 minutes before lights of to bring down temps and turned off the floor one when it got down. I turn on the overhead every night and sometimes turn on the floor fan and temps stay down.

I am feeding live bugs, and he loves hand feeding and hunting. even when though crickets don’t jump out, he doesn’t eat enough all the time with that. He kinda phases through hunting, hand feeding, and then cup feeding. I know letting them hunt can be bad, but he actually eats when he’s hungry that way. I was going to try tossing a bag of 30-40 every week for him to see if that would work and so far, I’ve seen him eat more.

I dust them lightly and don’t usually watch him eat, but when he is hunting, he has no problem eating in front of anyone in my family, even when he met a new person he hand fed while sitting on her. I gave him the crickets Sunday, it was a bag of ≈30-40 and he has eaten 1/2-2/3 of the bag.

I was going to grab another fecal for the vet, but I wasn’t fully sure since I have a poop that had an undigested worm in it (why she gave barium and panacur) but it was still negative.

For the gnats IN the enclosure, I use a water mix to mist the hanging plants. It’s 1 part water hydrogen peroxide to 4 parts water, it kills the live ones. The only reason I don’t pour it into the soil is for my pods.

The only medical use that I’m aware of for barium is for radiographic studies…like to view the digestive tract in X rays. Maybe something got lost in explanation.
Dragon Strand is a great enclosure with good ventilation. Yeah…grapevine tends to mold with moisture and high humidity.
The problems with having him hunt for feeders is you never really know for sure how much he’s eating, the bugs will surely walk thru his poos and any uneaten crickets will get hungry at night and can/will bite him as he sleeps. You’ll need to put a small piece of something in the enclosure for them to eat, but careful as the clean up crew might be quicker to eat it than the crickets. Speaking of clean up crew, I wonder if your guy has been eating some of his isopods. All of mine who are in bioactive enclosures enjoy hunting down the isopods. Even my leopard geckos are hunting them down.
Definitely get another fecal done if you can, just to make sure.
For gnat control, I use Katchy’s, but nothing has been able to keep up with the dratted pests except the mosquito bits. In the past I had some drosera capensis sundews, around the house which also helped a bit. I have 5 chameleons, half of which have bioactive enclosures, plus back up plants so it’s been rotten with gnats.

 

[M&M]

The only medical use that I’m aware of for barium is for radiographic studies…like to view the digestive tract in X rays. Maybe something got lost in explanation.
Dragon Strand is a great enclosure with good ventilation. Yeah…grapevine tends to mold with moisture and high humidity.
The problems with having him hunt for feeders is you never really know for sure how much he’s eating, the bugs will surely walk thru his poos and any uneaten crickets will get hungry at night and can/will bite him as he sleeps. You’ll need to put a small piece of something in the enclosure for them to eat, but careful as the clean up crew might be quicker to eat it than the crickets. Speaking of clean up crew, I wonder if your guy has been eating some of his isopods. All of mine who are in bioactive enclosures enjoy hunting down the isopods. Even my leopard geckos are hunting them down.
Definitely get another fecal done if you can, just to make sure.
For gnat control, I use Katchy’s, but nothing has been able to keep up with the dratted pests except the mosquito bits. In the past I had some drosera capensis sundews, around the house which also helped a bit. I have 5 chameleons, half of which have bioactive enclosures, plus back up plants so it’s been rotten with gnats.

The drosera capensis is great for gnats. I also really recommend a pinguicula - their leaves are like sticky traps that catch basically anything that’s nearby. Just not mosquitoes

 

[Beman]

I agree with everything @MissSkittles said. A few notes. Your UVB is way too far away. With babies due to screen climbing you would only lift the fixture 4 inches from the screen top. The way you have it lifted now he is not getting what he needs. When they do not have the correct UVB they fail to thrive which includes lack of appetite, lethargy, compromised immune system, and the potential for MBD to develop. So you want the UVB fixture 4 inches off the top then a branch that is roughly 4-5 inches down from the screen right below the UVB fixture. This gives a total distance of 8-9 inches which is what you need for a T5HO fixture and a 5.0 UVB bulb. THen at the screen they are still below the max exposure limits because you have the fixture up 4 inches.

Now he should be gaining rapidly at this age. A baby that is 5-6 months should be more like 45-60 grams. So your boy is extremely underweight. You want to correct the UVB asap. And I would take another fecal in to be run to rule out a parasite issue.

I am a firm believer in misting in the morning just after lights kick on and at the end of the day roughly an hour before lights kick off. This is because the only way they can clean their eyes effectively is in this mist. If he is constantly cleaning an eye he has not been able to get whatever is bothering it out. This is why it is so important for them to have misting when the lights are on as well. They do not clean their eyes when they sleep. So your night time misting is only contributing to humidity levels and potential for higher humidity to aid in hydration.

 

[sketchtone]

I agree with everything @MissSkittles said. A few notes. Your UVB is way too far away. With babies due to screen climbing you would only lift the fixture 4 inches from the screen top. The way you have it lifted now he is not getting what he needs. When they do not have the correct UVB they fail to thrive which includes lack of appetite, lethargy, compromised immune system, and the potential for MBD to develop. So you want the UVB fixture 4 inches off the top then a branch that is roughly 4-5 inches down from the screen right below the UVB fixture. This gives a total distance of 8-9 inches which is what you need for a T5HO fixture and a 5.0 UVB bulb. THen at the screen they are still below the max exposure limits because you have the fixture up 4 inches.

Now he should be gaining rapidly at this age. A baby that is 5-6 months should be more like 45-60 grams. So your boy is extremely underweight. You want to correct the UVB asap. And I would take another fecal in to be run to rule out a parasite issue.

I am a firm believer in misting in the morning just after lights kick on and at the end of the day roughly an hour before lights kick off. This is because the only way they can clean their eyes effectively is in this mist. If he is constantly cleaning an eye he has not been able to get whatever is bothering it out. This is why it is so important for them to have misting when the lights are on as well. They do not clean their eyes when they sleep. So your night time misting is only contributing to humidity levels and potential for higher humidity to aid in hydration.

Would I still need to lower the UVB if his enclosure isn’t four feet tall? I have an enclosure a bit shorter and longer.

We had a vet appointment today where they flushed his eyes even though it was just the one eye, and gave me eye drops for both of them, again, even though it was just his left with the issue. They also showed me how to syringe feed him and I suggested mixing the syringe powder with calcium, which they gave the thumbs up to. He gained one gram in about a week, so he’s doing something. I am hoping he was just SIGNIFICANTLY younger than I assumed, but I don’t think that’s the case since he has had colors show the two months I’ve had him. The store said he was five months but I assumed three from his size and color showing.

I mist after lights turn on and after lights turn off, I’ll move the misting to before lights on, but during the day I mist him a bit when he’s cleaning the eye a lot, or when his hygrometer says sixty, so I do for a minute once or twice in the day as well.

I really wanted to take another fecal, but I didn’t find a fresh poop this time. She also confirmed that the barium was just used as a stomach lubricant, and wasn’t for an x-ray. I am going to take one into the vet when I do, however, I am going to look for a new vet.

Reginald was climbing on her stethoscope, and when he made it to her shoulder, I tried to get him back (he’s a bit clumsy), but she said it was fine. He then immediately reached to grab her face and then fell about four feet onto the cold, hard, bare floor. We usually catch him if he falls, and he never falls behind us if he does, but it was just an unfortunate situation.

I understand that it was an accident, but her reaction was just, “oh, did he fall?” Only after we all looked mortified, and then she basically just said “whoopsies!!” and took him back to flush his eyes a few minutes later. In those few minutes I watched his scales on the beginning of his tale (near his spine) turn dark, but when he came back out it seemed fine. I’m hoping it is just a bruise.

He took two silk worms by hand and his body language seems fine. She said they checked him out after the fall in the back and that he was fine, but they also said he was trying to bite them, which when we gave him drops and the syringe food, he barely even puffed up. I really hope he is ok, and I believe he is, but I am just angry at the whole situation.

I am pulling out the measuring tape and fixing the light right now!

Do you think it would be smart to use his vitamin supplements (reptivite w/D3) more, (maybe once a week?) and see if that helps, then go back to the usual schedule when his eye is better? I want to know what makes it better but I don’t want to wait for the poor guy. All I know is he is getting some extra treats tomorrow for being brave today. I just feel bad that he doesn’t understand it wasn’t malicious. Poor buddy.

 

[sketchtone]

The only medical use that I’m aware of for barium is for radiographic studies…like to view the digestive tract in X rays. Maybe something got lost in explanation.
Dragon Strand is a great enclosure with good ventilation. Yeah…grapevine tends to mold with moisture and high humidity.
The problems with having him hunt for feeders is you never really know for sure how much he’s eating, the bugs will surely walk thru his poos and any uneaten crickets will get hungry at night and can/will bite him as he sleeps. You’ll need to put a small piece of something in the enclosure for them to eat, but careful as the clean up crew might be quicker to eat it than the crickets. Speaking of clean up crew, I wonder if your guy has been eating some of his isopods. All of mine who are in bioactive enclosures enjoy hunting down the isopods. Even my leopard geckos are hunting them down.
Definitely get another fecal done if you can, just to make sure.
For gnat control, I use Katchy’s, but nothing has been able to keep up with the dratted pests except the mosquito bits. In the past I had some drosera capensis sundews, around the house which also helped a bit. I have 5 chameleons, half of which have bioactive enclosures, plus back up plants so it’s been rotten with gnats.

I just told the story in a reply to Beman, but I forgot to mention that his Dragonstrand was not bioactive.

 

[sketchtone]

She also confirmed that the barium was just used as a stomach lubricant, and wasn’t for an x-ray

She confirmed SHE used it for lubricant. Bad wording there on my part.

 

[Beman]

Would I still need to lower the UVB if his enclosure isn’t four feet tall? I have an enclosure a bit shorter and longer.

We had a vet appointment today where they flushed his eyes even though it was just the one eye, and gave me eye drops for both of them, again, even though it was just his left with the issue. They also showed me how to syringe feed him and I suggested mixing the syringe powder with calcium, which they gave the thumbs up to. He gained one gram in about a week, so he’s doing something. I am hoping he was just SIGNIFICANTLY younger than I assumed, but I don’t think that’s the case since he has had colors show the two months I’ve had him. The store said he was five months but I assumed three from his size and color showing.

I mist after lights turn on and after lights turn off, I’ll move the misting to before lights on, but during the day I mist him a bit when he’s cleaning the eye a lot, or when his hygrometer says sixty, so I do for a minute once or twice in the day as well.

I really wanted to take another fecal, but I didn’t find a fresh poop this time. She also confirmed that the barium was just used as a stomach lubricant, and wasn’t for an x-ray. I am going to take one into the vet when I do, however, I am going to look for a new vet.

Reginald was climbing on her stethoscope, and when he made it to her shoulder, I tried to get him back (he’s a bit clumsy), but she said it was fine. He then immediately reached to grab her face and then fell about four feet onto the cold, hard, bare floor. We usually catch him if he falls, and he never falls behind us if he does, but it was just an unfortunate situation.

I understand that it was an accident, but her reaction was just, “oh, did he fall?” Only after we all looked mortified, and then she basically just said “whoopsies!!” and took him back to flush his eyes a few minutes later. In those few minutes I watched his scales on the beginning of his tale (near his spine) turn dark, but when he came back out it seemed fine. I’m hoping it is just a bruise.

He took two silk worms by hand and his body language seems fine. She said they checked him out after the fall in the back and that he was fine, but they also said he was trying to bite them, which when we gave him drops and the syringe food, he barely even puffed up. I really hope he is ok, and I believe he is, but I am just angry at the whole situation.

I am pulling out the measuring tape and fixing the light right now!

Do you think it would be smart to use his vitamin supplements (reptivite w/D3) more, (maybe once a week?) and see if that helps, then go back to the usual schedule when his eye is better? I want to know what makes it better but I don’t want to wait for the poor guy. All I know is he is getting some extra treats tomorrow for being brave today. I just feel bad that he doesn’t understand it wasn’t malicious. Poor buddy.

So UVB lighting only penetrates so far into the enclosure. Even though you see light it does not mean the UVI level is where it needs to be. When you do not have aspects of husbandry on point they start to fail to thrive. This is what you are seeing. He simply is not getting the UVB he needs to promote health, raise immunity, and promote an appetite. You mentioned him being clumsy and you see this as well with chams that are not getting the proper UVB levels. They will also start closing their eyes during the day. His body is pulling calcium from his bones which then weakens the bones and starts them developing Metabolic Bone Disease. This is why both @MissSkittles and I told you on Saturday the UVB distance had to be corrected.

So yes you must change where the UVB distance is. You want the UVB fixture 4 inches off the top then a branch that is roughly 4-5 inches down from the screen right below the UVB fixture. This gives a total distance of 8-9 inches which is what you need for a T5HO fixture and a 5.0 UVB bulb. THis puts the branch at a 3 UVI and then at the screen they are still below the max exposure limits because you have the fixture up 4 inches.

Per supplements No... You can overdose a chameleon by giving them too much D3 and vitamin A. This is what your reptivite with D3 has in it. Both of these are fat soluble and store in the body. Additionally too much D3 can also pull calcium from the bones. So the reptivite with D3 would only be used 2 times a month. Then at every feeding when you do not use reptivite you will use the calcium without D3.

You need to be giving this boy at least 2 dozen small feeders a day. He has got to start getting down the amounts he needs for growth. At this age with him being so small he has a limited window to gain and become healthy.

I know you are leaning into what a vet will tell you. But I have seen more chams die in this forum because they were not taken to a vet that knows chams. Not only their husbandry but how to properly handle them. Getting fecals tested etc most vets are fully capable but husbandry you will get incorrect advice from 90% of the vets out there. You saw this with the vet allowing him to climb where he should not have been and then not thinking him falling that distance would have been dangerous.

This is where forums like this come in. We all teach the most up to date correct husbandry. Both @MissSkittles and I are experienced and have the knowledge to help you.

 

[sketchtone]

So UVB lighting only penetrates so far into the enclosure. Even though you see light it does not mean the UVI level is where it needs to be. When you do not have aspects of husbandry on point they start to fail to thrive. This is what you are seeing. He simply is not getting the UVB he needs to promote health, raise immunity, and promote an appetite. You mentioned him being clumsy and you see this as well with chams that are not getting the proper UVB levels. They will also start closing their eyes during the day. His body is pulling calcium from his bones which then weakens the bones and starts them developing Metabolic Bone Disease. This is why both @MissSkittles and I told you on Saturday the UVB distance had to be corrected.

So yes you must change where the UVB distance is. You want the UVB fixture 4 inches off the top then a branch that is roughly 4-5 inches down from the screen right below the UVB fixture. This gives a total distance of 8-9 inches which is what you need for a T5HO fixture and a 5.0 UVB bulb. THis puts the branch at a 3 UVI and then at the screen they are still below the max exposure limits because you have the fixture up 4 inches.

Per supplements No... You can overdose a chameleon by giving them too much D3 and vitamin A. This is what your reptivite with D3 has in it. Both of these are fat soluble and store in the body. Additionally too much D3 can also pull calcium from the bones. So the reptivite with D3 would only be used 2 times a month. Then at every feeding when you do not use reptivite you will use the calcium without D3.

You need to be giving this boy at least 2 dozen small feeders a day. He has got to start getting down the amounts he needs for growth. At this age with him being so small he has a limited window to gain and become healthy.

I know you are leaning into what a vet will tell you. But I have seen more chams die in this forum because they were not taken to a vet that knows chams. Not only their husbandry but how to properly handle them. Getting fecals tested etc most vets are fully capable but husbandry you will get incorrect advice from 90% of the vets out there. You saw this with the vet allowing him to climb where he should not have been and then not thinking him falling that distance would have been dangerous.

This is where forums like this come in. We all teach the most up to date correct husbandry. Both @MissSkittles and I are experienced and have the knowledge to help you.

His uvb is fixed, I’ve added another branch closer to us as well for him, I’m going to go get tons of crickets for feeding and the correct gut load and make ice cubes for them.

I am also making a solar meter a priority.

I am able to try any feeders other than Dubias, which are not allowed in my house. What are some good ones for weight gain? I heard supers and wax worms are, so I’m wondering if I should get some of those.

He does not like horn worms, he has only eaten one super, however he won’t touch them anymore. I can try again with them if needed. He’ll eat crickets, wax worms, and silkworms just fine. He ate two after the vet yesterday from my dad. I will try anything and everything to help him.

Should I still use the syringe food for him? I think it’s just chicken and egg powder, but it made me nervous since it’s not insects. What about the eye drops?

 

[CalamityCrow]

His uvb is fixed, I’ve added another branch closer to us as well for him, I’m going to go get tons of crickets for feeding and the correct gut load and make ice cubes for them.

I am also making a solar meter a priority.

I am able to try any feeders other than Dubias, which are not allowed in my house. What are some good ones for weight gain? I heard supers and wax worms are, so I’m wondering if I should get some of those.

He does not like horn worms, he has only eaten one super, however he won’t touch them anymore. I can try again with them if needed. He’ll eat crickets, wax worms, and silkworms just fine. He ate two after the vet yesterday from my dad. I will try anything and everything to help him.

Should I still use the syringe food for him? I think it’s just chicken and egg powder, but it made me nervous since it’s not insects. What about the eye drops?

If you haven't tried black soldier fly larvae (BSFL), they're GREAT! Full of calcium and good nutrients, and my guy LOVES them. If you let them pupate into flies, they're really good enrichment for your cham too. Offer tons of food for your guy and let him eat as much as he wants.

I haven't gone through the whole thread - are you cup feeding?

I'd avoid syringe feeding if he's eating on his own (especially since it's not insect powder and that sort of feeding can cause great stress), and avoiding wax worms and superworms. They're fatty, but not healthy and can be addictive. If he's eating his silkworms and crickets and will eat BSFL, that's the best way to get him healthy. FOr the eye drops, I'd PERSONALLY (not a vet) hold off on those. I suspect your vet didn't know what she was doing really, and medications of all sorts are rough on our little chams. Get that husbandry on point and he'll start feeling better.

 

[sketchtone]

If you haven't tried black soldier fly larvae (BSFL), they're GREAT! Full of calcium and good nutrients, and my guy LOVES them. If you let them pupate into flies, they're really good enrichment for your cham too. Offer tons of food for your guy and let him eat as much as he wants.

I haven't gone through the whole thread - are you cup feeding?

I'd avoid syringe feeding if he's eating on his own (especially since it's not insect powder and that sort of feeding can cause great stress), and avoiding wax worms and superworms. They're fatty, but not healthy and can be addictive. If he's eating his silkworms and crickets and will eat BSFL, that's the best way to get him healthy. FOr the eye drops, I'd PERSONALLY (not a vet) hold off on those. I suspect your vet didn't know what she was doing really, and medications of all sorts are rough on our little chams. Get that husbandry on point and he'll start feeling better.

Thank you! He hasn’t eaten BSFL, but I am wanting to try hand feeding them for him, since he tends to like that more anyway.

He hasn’t loved cup feeding, though he has done it. I’ve been trying all sorts of different feeders and such for him, but he mainly likes hand feeding. I’m working on getting him to cup feed/hunt and have been wiping down his branches (with NO harsh chemicals) to prevent as much contamination as possible.

I have had trouble keeping BSFL alive lone enough to pupate, and he ADORES flying bugs, so I’ll keep trying to get the larvae there.

I’ll hold off the drops for now! I think I’m going to wait a little bit for him to try to eat more now his UVB is better, but if he isn’t eating enough I am going to mix his calcium with the powder and possibly syringe feed as well. Thank you so much!

 

[Beman]

I personally would not force feed/syringe feed. Especially if he is taking insects. This is truly done only as a last resort. Waxworms for sure would be good and try small silkworms. I personally do not like superworms. They can bite and if they get in your cage they will chew through stuff.

 

[sketchtone]

I personally would not force feed/syringe feed. Especially if he is taking insects. This is truly done only as a last resort. Waxworms for sure would be good and try small silkworms. I personally do not like superworms. They can bite and if they get in your cage they will chew through stuff.

That’s exactly what I decided on!! I got two containers of small silks and one of wax and BSFL. I think the larvae were on their last legs so I’m ordering some for him. I tossed twenty smalls and in his cup I put a container of small silks with some wax’s. All have calcium but the cup has some of the protein mix on it. Hopefully he will eat soon. I am going to remove the worms at night. I figured if the cut was bustling he might go for it. My dad dusted it (he loves feeding reggie) so they’re a bit over dusted, but when he does eat, he never cares about it being dusty, so next time they will not be as caked but he’s got food and he’s already after the crickets.

I bought a bad of crickets and have them gut loading with oranges. I’m going to get vegetables for gut load and make cubed for them.

 

[CalamityCrow]

That’s exactly what I decided on!! I got two containers of small silks and one of wax and BSFL. I think the larvae were on their last legs so I’m ordering some for him. I tossed twenty smalls and in his cup I put a container of small silks with some wax’s. All have calcium but the cup has some of the protein mix on it. Hopefully he will eat soon. I am going to remove the worms at night. I figured if the cut was bustling he might go for it. My dad dusted it (he loves feeding reggie) so they’re a bit over dusted, but when he does eat, he never cares about it being dusty, so next time they will not be as caked but he’s got food and he’s already after the crickets.

I bought a bad of crickets and have them gut loading with oranges. I’m going to get vegetables for gut load and make cubed for them.

That all sounds great!

Just FYSA, in case you're not aware (and if you are, ignore me) the BSFL LOOK dead while they're pupating. They turn almost black and don't move. No need to throw them away. If they're brown and squishy, they're dead. If they're hard and black, they'll be flies in a week or two. Often I feed my BSFL until I stop finding the moving ones, and let the rest pupate and see what comes out.

Hand feeding is perfectly fine - just no tweezers or tongs. I'd honestly not encourage any hunting other than flying insects because it's way harder to track what your cham is eating if they're free-ranging. For my guy, the flies are an extra treat (Though I"m certain he eats all of them lol!).

Make sure your updated gutload is utilizing the options on the picture chart above. Fruits are good but you mostly want greens like chard, mustard greens, collard greens, etc. Be careful because spinach is a no-go and I think kale is too - they both bind calcium and prevent the cham from being able to get it out of their bugs. Crazy biological science stuff!

All in all, we're super happy you're listening to this guidance and I think as you make your improvements, Reggie is going to thrive!