Shedding?

[jsharai]

I have a young, what I think is a veiled chameleon. She was given to me as a gift after my bearded dragon died. I've crammed on the internet and have several books on the way. I know know that "if you build it, then they should come" is the byword. Unfortunately, I'm not able to convert from dragon to cham all at once. I'm doing it as fast as I can, as I've really become attached to her.

That being said, she has started to shed. I haven't seen anything on shedding and just would like to know if it is normal or am I doing something wrong to bring this on?

She is in a large glass tank (45 gal) temporarily. There is driftwood and flex vine covered in lots of fake ivy that she loves to hide and play in. I mist her twice a day and feed her live crickets. She is eating and drinking. (I almost dropped when I saw her eat the first cricket!) I have a UVB 10 coil bulb and a 75w basking bulb. Temp stays in the 80 degree range. Bulb does not get close enough at any point to burn her. Not dusting crickets yet, but am gut loading them. Trying to get it all together as fast as my finances will let me.

Your input would be appreciated. Thanks!

Jes

 

[SpinyFranky]

J,

Firstly shedding is normal and if anything means you are doing something right.
It means specifically that your cham has outgrown her skin (literally) and is getting bigger.
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Problems:

I know you said it was temp, but a glass aquarium is a bad thing for chams. They need proper ventilation, an aquarium is more of a frying pan. Go for either a reptarium ( glass but with a screened top, made specifically for reptiles ) or a full screen enclosure.

Suitable replacements:
http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...reen/-/zoo-med-xlarge-naturalistic-terrarium/
http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...-med-large-repti-breeze-aluminum-screen-cage/

Your UVB coil bulb needs to go. From what I have read here from others, it is a direct source of eye irritation and even blindness in chameleons. Replace this with a linear tube bulb

Suitable replacements:
http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...por-bulbs/-/zoo-med-18-repti-sun-50-uvb-bulb/
http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/reptile-supplies/light-fixtures/-/20-fluorescent-hood-fixture/
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When you speak about the temperature you said it stayed in the 80' range. 80-85 is suitable basking, however make sure she has somewhere to go to cool down. Mimicry of nature is best done by creating "thermal layers" with the top of the enclosure being the hottest and the bottom being coolest. Make sure to use a quality thermometer for accurate readings.

Since she is shedding, you can help make it easier for her by misting her 3 times a day - this increases the humidity and makes it easier for her to get the old skin off.

If the cham is young, supplementation needs to start soon. Calcium w/o d3 daily with feedings. this is standard and does not change until the cham matures. You will also need vitamin supps and calcium with d3. People will argue back and forth on the best schedule for these two. However while raising my young panther chameleon ( 4.5 months of age ) I have been using calcium w/o d3 daily 5 out of 7 feedings. 1 feeding I use vitamin supps, and other is calcium with d3.

How you do it is entirely up to you, however so far my cham has being showing excellent health and growth.

Finance wise you should go in order of importance.
1.Replace the UVB
2.Purchase 1 of the two recommended enclosures
3.Purchase your supplementation powders
4.Consider a visit to the vet to check for general health. Early diagnosis of improper care or health issues is the best way to ensure your cham a happy life/ speedy recovery and is also a great preventative for future money sinks such as medication/injections/operations.

 

[jsharai]

Thank you for the info. It 's almost exactly the plan I have mapped out. The one exception being getting this cage from LLReptiles. It does look like all the research, combined with browsing this forum, are healthy for my cham. I'd love confirmation that she is a veiled...

I attached a picture of her. You'll also note that I have calcium sand in the bottom of the enclosure. She doesn't go down there, but if there's any ill effects that anyone knows of, I'd appreciate a heads up.

I don't think I've ever been really exicted about having a pet such as this. At first I was apprehensive, especially after losing the dragon. Now I look forward to checking on her and misting, etc. I was blown away by that tongue! LOL! Thanks again!

 

[SpinyFranky]

J,

It indeed appears to be a veiled. I would say less than 5 months old.

are you cup feeding her or letting the crickets loose? I ask because of the calcium sand. If you allow the crickets to run loose, you run the risk of them being coated in the sand ( much like they get coated in supplementation powders ). She might also miss a cricket and strike the sand, some chameleons even fancy the sand and eat it plain. This is bad, because with a young chameleon such as yours it would become very easy for the sand to become impacted in the stomach/ intestines. Impaction often leads to a vet visit for a stomach pump, but can even lead to death of your chameleon. Even for larger chameleons substrate such as sand/bark/small rocks/pebbles are not recommended.

Replacements:
http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...er-substrates/-/zoo-med-eco-carpet-55-gallon/
http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...l-and-excavator/-/assorted-river-rock--10lbs/

Both of these will prevent your chameleon from accidentally swallowing anything she should not swallow. Both will also allow you to let loose some crickets and allow her the "thrill of the hunt", which can also be captivating for the owner (you) as well. With the river rock however, make sure that none of the rocks are smaller than the head of your chameleon.

Also, if most of the cage is the same as in the picture, you need more foliage. Your chameleon is an arboreal animal, and feels the most secure when surrounded by vines and leaves and such. That picture looks a little sparse.

Additions:
http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...rarium-accents/-/exo-terra-jungle-vine-small/
http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...um-accents/-/exo-terra-abutilon-jungle-vines/

Use the (brown) vine to create chameleon walkways. Always ensure that the thickness of the vine is suitable for the diameter of her feet. Simply put make sure the vine is not too big or too small for her feet to grasp. This will prevent falling/foot injury/sores & blisters. Remember we spoke about creating "thermal layers"? these vines are a great way to do it.

Use the (green) vines with fake leaves attached to create hiding spots and shade. This gives her somewhere to go if she is: overheating /threatened /tired. Make sure that the leaves are made of suitable plastic, so that when misting they will hold the water on the leaves ( not absorb ) and your chameleon will gladly lap the water off of them. The fake vine (green with leaves) that I linked you appears to be of the plastic I am talking about. However I would double check prior to ordering to ensure its what your chameleon needs.

On a side not, I do not work for LLLREPTILE. Their prices are just the best. The product + shipping will usually be half that of retail stores such as pet smart or petco.

Hope this can help,
S.F

EDIT:

I attached some pictures of my home setup so that you can see what I am talking about with this whole "thermal layers" and hiding spots and chameleon walkways ordeal. Pictures always explain better than words alone.

Notice the walkways go up and down with foliage covering every level. However even with this setup, I am considering purchasing more fake vines.

This is an example of how I was talking about the vines being proper size for your chameleons feet. Our chameleons are roughly the same size/age - the vine that I linked you is the vine I am using at home. When your chameleon matures, you can get a thicker vine, however the linked one is suitable for a long time to come.

 

[jsharai]

Thanks again for the excellent advice. I have got a boatload of fake greenery around a sm-med sized fake vine. Everything is hinging on getting my cage ordered, which should be tomorrow. I WILL get the sand out ASAP. I don't notice her down near it at all. But for now, it's a stop at PetSmart on the way home to get some stuff.... Again, thanks!