really worried,

[titchonw]

i have a veiled cham (comma) she was in a 60cm high by 45 deep n 45 lenth glass tank with a mesh top, she is i think around 6 months, we are in the uk and the weather is getting better, so i brought her a 122cm high mesh enclosure, and it all has gone wrong from there, she spent a few quiet days in there, not moving much, i did realise it wouldnt be a stress free exercise, but now i have moved her back in to her old home, as she has gone really lethargic, and has gone brown black in colour (she is scaring me), when i get her out she brightens up a bit, she prefers to be out with me more than in her enclosure, i diddnt change her lighting ect, she has a light uv box with a red heat lamp, she is still drinking but seems to have stopped eating, i have put sand in her enclosure now, as i am confused as to wether she may want to lay eggs, i have read so much tonight as whats the matter with her, i think i have over loaded my brain, any advice would be a great help, thanks in advance.

 

[ChrisnLisa]

Sorry to hear about this. First, fill this out with as much detail as possible. Secondly, posting a picture of her and her enclosure would also help.

Cage Info:

* 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 (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
* Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
* Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
* Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
* Location - Where are you geographically located?


Chameleon Info:

* Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
* Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
* Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
* Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
* Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
* Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
* History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
* Current Problem - The current problem that you are concerned about.

 

[jojackson]

It seems to takes chams a few days to get used to a new enviroment, but so long as it provides all its needs itll adjust.

 

[jannb]

I too have noticed that my guys do not like change. Do you have a large tree you can leave her in for awhile till she starts doing better?

 

[titchonw]

hi, its nerly midnight here
so here goes,
she was very happy in her exoterra glass tank thing 60cm high by 45 cm deep x 45cm wide
misting 3 times a day
she eats crickets black and green, dusted 3 tmes a week with calcuim powder and they eat bug grub, she went off eating the occasional meal worm,
her heatin the day is arounf 75 and night 65
infa red heat bulb 100watt i think,
a uv light unit with a day light bulb
fiscus plants
waterfall with fogger, water changed daily, although prefers the dripper.
she is on a high worktop in the dining room.

sorry im not sure if im replying right as i cant read the list that you asked me for.
her new cage is 122cm highwith mesh sides, more plants and sticks and vines, although i have put her back into her old cage as she was scaring me, she looked like she was dying or some thing going that colour, she goes a bit more green when i get her out though.
i will take a pic of her tomorrow as shes asleep now, and i dont want to wake her up, would be just my luck for her to fall off her pertch with the shock of a flash going off.
thanks again jo

 

[titchonw]

oh yea, she always wants to come out, and spends most of her time waving at the window to come out, she is handled alot, but she seems to like it and its her choice to come out, she diddnt want much to do with me in the new enclosure, and when i put her back in the old one, she was wanting to be handled again, strange.
and we are in the uk, not known for warm weather here

 

[hollypops]

Hi , i am also from uk and i could be writing your post.In fact my thread is here in health section "hunger strike when to worry".

Basically my male veiled cham (10 mths old) has also gone fron a glass an mesh viv to a mesh screen cage 4 ftx2ftx2ft.

I moved him 10 days ago and for first 3-4 days he hardly moved,was always dull in colour and went to bed really early(4-5pm).He also stopped eating and drinking from spray bottle.

He is now moving around the cage more and is green in colour,but he still wont drink when i spray (usually opens mouth and lets me spray and he will drink),and he is still not eating,or if he is it is hardly at all as i cup feed and can monitor.Except locusts which are still in cage.

I am hoping it is down to the move and the fact that he is shedding.I have not moved him back to smaller viv as he is needing the bigger one.

 

[hollypops]

Mine also was happier to come out.He too comes out everyday (his choice), he walks onto my arm when i mist and walks all around me and the sofa.He is green in new cage now and back to going to bed about 9-10pm,but still not eating drinking.Not even when he was showered earlier.

 

[sandrachameleon]

oh yea, she always wants to come out, and spends most of her time waving at the window to come out, she is handled alot, but she seems to like it and its her choice to come out, she diddnt want much to do with me in the new enclosure, and when i put her back in the old one, she was wanting to be handled again, strange.
and we are in the uk, not known for warm weather here

"wanting to be handled" could mean "desperate to escape"
and not wanting much to do with you (normal, natural behaviour) could indicate she's not eager to leave the new space.
Not saying this is the case, I just providing an alternate point of view on the behaviour.

Going dark may indicate stress (significant changes can do that - takes a while for them to settle)
or could be she's cold (screen cage would be significantly less heat retaining than glass)

could be something else all together, but I'd suspect one of these two things first.

 

[Docility]

shes the only one in there right? and do you have any other animals such as birds ect in the house? is she close to a window?

 

[titchonw]

hi, yes shes the only one, i do have other animals, snake tortiose ect but sha cant see them, up untill last week she could see them, and there was no problem with her then, she can see the dog, but that has never bothered her, and the dog can get nowhere near her enclosure.
my husband described her as looking like an old banana, which is a good description.
she doesnt want to escape, she really does like coming out, and seems to go a better colour when she is out at the moment, in the new enclosure she just sort of slobbed out ao an branch, with her stomach on the branch, and stayed in the one place.
thanks.

 

[titchonw]

i will put her plants back in the old enclosure with her today, i think the mesh one was prob a bit cold for her, she cant see any of my other animals, and she is the only one in there, she is my first chameleon, so this is all new, to be honest, if i went on the pet shops limited advice she would have died long ago, i found this site and it has been brilliant.

 

[summoner12]

Good luck and welcome!

I am concerned with your lighting. The red lamp is not needed swap it out for a normal household lamp. as for the "UV" lamp.. what brand and style is it? I think you should read up on the UV Guide website for ideas on UV.

You also want to give her some time to adapt to the new eclosure.

Also read up on Brad Ramsey's site for some good solid info.

 

[moody232002]

it took mine a good week to settle into his bigger enclosure,when i first put him in he rocked like a mad man and i thought was going to lose him,he was still rocking the next day but no where near as much and by the end of the week was happy exploring and now he loves it.
i too thought what have i done and was tempted to put him back in his old enclosure but resisted as he was going to need a bigger cage eventually.
maybe two moves in such a short time may have caused her to be more unsettled?

 

[titchonw]

now im more worried, her colour came back today to green, then she has gone brown again and her limbs seem to be shaking quite bad as she tries to move around, she looks like she has parkinsons, whats wrong with her, she hasent eaten today ans shes usualy good with food, im going to try to get her to the vets tomorrow, if i find one that deals with chameleons, thanks.

 

[hollypops]

What are her limbs like?

Shaking can be a sign of mbd.Are you supplementing her food? If so what with and how often.

What uv light are you using? % of uv and type e.g tube or compact (spiral bulb)

 

[titchonw]

hi, i took the red heat lamp out,
the uv lighting came with the set up, it has two uv light tubes (repti glo 10.0) and a daylight bulb, i supplement her food with nutrobal and feed the bugs, bug grub, it sais on the bug grub not to feed them any thing else except this, she hasnt eaten for a few days, and i am misting her more often at the moment as she doesnt seem to be drinking now, she did yesterday though,
her body movements are very wierd, it seems more her left side, although it is in her right side aswell, it looks like her leg is looking in thin air for a branch and seems to be rotating while fully open, and when that finaly settles the front will do it, her walking isnt too bad, it is more her setteling in one place, she is still a funny colour, but has been going green on and off all through the day,
when she first went into her new home, she was fine for the first few days, exploring and eating, i dont understand how all this has happened at once, i have put a large sand tub in there just in case as she does look a bit fat,
thanks again for you help
p,s she cant see any of my other animals, so i cant see that would bother her, especialy after these few months with them and no problem.

 

[titchonw]

i hope the pics came through ok, the first one is of her funny col, although she brightens up a bit when i get her out, and the second one is of last week, the more i have read here though, makes me feel the brownish spots ect on her green last week may mean that she may be ready to lay eggs, thanks jo