Veiled acting strange.

GreenAngel

GreenAngel

New Member
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Veiled, male, approx. 10 months old, been in my care about 5 months.
Handling - Once a month.
Feeding - 5 large crickets once a day, gut loaded with Fluker's.
Supplements - Once a week Rep-Cal Phosphorus Free Calcium w/ Vit D3
Watering - I mist the cage 2x a day and have a drip bottle so he can drink from the leaves.
Fecal Description - His fecal matter looks normal, white with some yellow in it.
History - Came from Petsmart.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - 12"x15"?, about 20x his size, fully screened
Lighting - Exo-Terra
Temperature - between 70-80F during the day and 60-70F during the night
Humidity - never gets below 60
Plants - No live plants.
Placement - Near window, seems happier than more enclosed area.
Location - Central Virginia, US.

Current Problem - In the past week he's not been eating as well. he's been eating 1 cricket a day. He's also been hanging around the bottom of the enclosure a lot, but he will move to branches or the top of the cage I guess when he feels like it. I'm concerned about him being near the bottom, he has also been a darker green than normal, and he keeps getting his claw stuck on him. It looks like he's scratching almost. Also he seems to try to move using his elbows instead of feet.

I have not taken him to the vet yet, I wanted to see what everyone here says first.

P.S. Sorry about the crappy pictures.
 

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I would suggest filling the "ask for help" form on here. Then some really smart person who knows a lot more about the issue then I do will answer it.

They are also going to ask you to post some pictures of you cage and chem too so get those ready. :)

The only thing I can think of would be that he is not getting the correct UV light... Or if he is shedding he can act strange too. That might be the claw thing.

Rest assured... Smart people will help you out:D
 
HerbsForMyChameleon said:
How old is he? not a verry big casque..
Click to expand...

looks like a boy to me. color wise. when the last time he's shed? anythign happen prior to this that could have caused a problem (new plant new cage new bulb ect) how old is your uvb?

honestly he probally wants a bigger cage and a few trees. i bet if you did that he'd perk right up. his actions are just like mine when she outgrew her cage.
 
okiroo said:
looks like a boy to me. color wise. when the last time he's shed? anythign happen prior to this that could have caused a problem (new plant new cage new bulb ect) how old is your uvb?

honestly he probally wants a bigger cage and a few trees. i bet if you did that he'd perk right up. his actions are just like mine when she outgrew her cage.
Click to expand...

He shed not about a month ago, but when he gets ready to shed he doesn't act like this. His cage is fairly big still for his size...he has lots of room to climb, move, etc. Nothing new has been added. The bulb is maybe a few months old.
 
kinyonga said:
Its quite possible it has MBD. Can you post some clearer pictures please?
Click to expand...

He is sleeping right now, so I will try to take better pictures tomorrow when I have time. I know what MBD is, but do you know things that I can look for? Thank you!
 
GreenAngel said:
He is sleeping right now, so I will try to take better pictures tomorrow when I have time. I know what MBD is, but do you know things that I can look for? Thank you!
Click to expand...

Things like difficulty moving, or bowing of the leg bones, getting his legs stuck, swelling of joints ....
Things like loss of appetite and staying at the bottom can be symptoms of lots of things.
KatiLemons posted a standard vitamin schedule for you - the one you posted looks lacking in calcium....you should really gutload better with high calcium foods......that's why the concern about MBD.....
Also, an adult Veiled should bask at about 88F
 
DavidBuchan said:
Things like difficulty moving, or bowing of the leg bones, getting his legs stuck, swelling of joints ....
Things like loss of appetite and staying at the bottom can be symptoms of lots of things.
KatiLemons posted a standard vitamin schedule for you - the one you posted looks lacking in calcium....you should really gutload better with high calcium foods......that's why the concern about MBD.....
Also, an adult Veiled should bask at about 88F
Click to expand...

Thank you. His basking area is between 85-90F. I am going to try supplementing him more and see if that helps. Should I take him to the vet now or wait and see if better supplements take care of it?
 
Yes, I think it would be well worth checking in with the vet - they can give emergency calcium injections, which could potentially be a life saver.....if you can post some better pictures or even better take a film then we could be pretty sure if it is mbd
 
GreenAngel said:
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Veiled, male, approx. 10 months old, been in my care about 5 months.
Handling - Once a month.
Feeding - 5 large crickets once a day, gut loaded with Fluker's.
Click to expand...

You really should try to gutload with something other than this. You can buy premade dry food like Bug Burger or Cricket Crack and add in fresh fruits and vegetables or make your own using recipe ideas from Sandrachameleon's blogs. What your insects eat is just as important as what your chameleon eats (think "you are what you eat.") So the better your crickets are full of yummy food, the more nutritious they are for your chameleon.

Also, variety of insects is just as important. Try to get your hands on other insects like roaches, hornworms, butterworms, superworms, mantids, stick bugs, grasshoppers, locusts... etc.

GreenAngel said:
Supplements - Once a week Rep-Cal Phosphorus Free Calcium w/ Vit D3
Watering - I mist the cage 2x a day and have a drip bottle so he can drink from the leaves.
Fecal Description - His fecal matter looks normal, white with some yellow in it.
History - Came from Petsmart.
Click to expand...

As others have mentioned, you should be supplementing more than this. The calcium you have is perfect, but used lightly just twice a month. Buy a second phosphorous-free calcium without D3 for use every day, and a multivitamin for twice a month as well.

You might have to mist more often or something, there should be minimal to no yellow in the poop. Perhaps another misting a day or increasing the length of the mistings will help.

GreenAngel said:
Cage Info:
Cage Type - 12"x15"?, about 20x his size, fully screened
Lighting - Exo-Terra
Temperature - between 70-80F during the day and 60-70F during the night
Humidity - never gets below 60
Plants - No live plants.
Placement - Near window, seems happier than more enclosed area.
Location - Central Virginia, US.
Click to expand...

His current cage is much too small, he will require something 4'x2'x2' in size for the rest of his life. And live plants will help maintain the humidity in the cage, so you might consider getting a few now before winter sets in, because your cage might dry out with the heating on.


I hope this helps!
 
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