Help! :(

im new to reptiles! i bought a baby veiled female chameleon last week, she was doing great this whole week, a beautiful bright green color, until today when i got back from school she was DARK brown or blackish. i got frightned!! she walks super slow and has been closing and opening her eyes slowly for hours. she never sleeps upside down and right now that's what she's doing. please help me !!!!!

will you do us a favor and fill this form out? it helps us out tremendously when giving advise or seeing what is wrong. thank you


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.


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?


Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.


Pictures are helpful

Sleeping upside down is not that abnormal when they are babies and when you first get them. If it is night time you should not be disturbing him. There should be no lights on to wake your chameleon up in the room or in the cage. If your chameleon is sleeping during the day then that is a different story. I noticed your post said 10:29pm so I am assuming you were just noticing this behavior. When they sleep they will display brighter colors but if you disturb them they will get darker very quickly. Fill ou the ask for help form just in case so we can make sure there are no problems with you set up.

You should have done your research before getting a cham, especially a baby. If your new to reptiles, start with a bearded dragon

Its too late for that DChalo, lets focus on helping him

DChalo said:

You should have done your research before getting a cham, especially a baby. If your new to reptiles, start with a bearded dragon

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Well I think that's a bit harsh! This person already has the chameleon and is asking for help, so why don't we do that? FYI, we all don't want bearded dragons. My first and only reptiles are chameleons.

ChameleonsInMyHouse said:

Its too late for that DChalo, lets focus on helping him

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good idea

* Your Chameleon - Baby Veiled Chameleon, Female , not so sure about age probably between 2-4 months. i've had her for one week.

* Handling - i don't usually hold her but i've let her walk around my desk a couple of times..under my full supervision.

* Feeding - i feed her crickets, baby crickets. and i have no idea what gut-loading is...is it important?

* Supplements - i feed her usually everyday, about 4-5 crickets.

* Watering - i mist her with drinkable water. mist her 3 times a day for about 20 seconds. I've seen her drink a few times but im usually at school so im not sure if she does everday.

* Fecal Description - i've had her for a week, im not sure about any issues she may have..

* History - no history :/

Cage Info:

* Cage Type - screen, full size cage. its about 33 inches tall.

* Lighting - flourecent coil bulb 20 W, heat lamp (red) zoo med 75 W approx. 4 inches above top screen.

* Temperature - the area is huge, but she can bask where she feels like it. the closest is about 14 inches from branch but when she climbs to the corner about 6 inches. lowest, 65-70. highest, 85. i measure them with thermometer like thingys (circular) and a humidity one too.

* Humidity - they average around 50-60. i maintain these by having a live plant.

* Plants - im not really sure what kind of plant but i cleaned it in my bathtub from bottom to top, every inch and leaf. it looks very safe. but i'll find out soon

* Placement - its actually on the floor, i had no other spot for her cage.. it's so huge.

* Location - San Diego, California.


Current Problem - i feel like she has a bone problem because thats what ive been reading in articles. but she's been black and brown latly when she usually is a beautiful rich green! she usually sleeps on a vine or branch with a curled tail but today she has gone to the top corner and is sleeping there. have i done anything wrong? please help me!!!!!!

* its too late for pictures but i will post some in the morning ASAP!

lisa h said:

Well I think that's a bit harsh! This person already has the chameleon and is asking for help, so why don't we do that? FYI, we all don't want bearded dragons. My first and only reptiles are chameleons.

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My first and only reptiles are chameleons as well. I've only owned chams for 4+ months and I've noticed people are quick to shoot down beginners. People need to calm down and stop trolling and comment to help people, not be jerks.

Sorry for the rant...Anyways, my chams have slept upside down at one time or another and its not abnormal.

There are quite a number of things wrong with your husbandry. I will start with lighting. You should have a UVB bulb. Most use a Reptisun 5.0 linear tube. This is important for the production of calcium. Your heat lamp should not be colored. A 75w regular light bulb is sufficient. You can experiment with higher or lower wattage to attain the proper temps.

Next is your question about gutloading. It is important. For chams, its like the old saying but with one more line. They what they eat and what THEY eat. Gutloading is giving your crickets good food which is passed on to your chameleon.

You could use longer misting sessions. This helps keep the humidity up for them. Your sessions seem short and the enclosure will dry out way too quickly.

Fecal description is their poo. There should be a white part (the urate) and then a brown part. Those are normal colors.

You want to figure out what your plant is. It may be toxic and veils are known to chomp on plants.

Anyways, all the things I've listed have been posted before. Do some searches for more details or ask more questions!

is the florescent bulb a uvb bulb? You have to have a uvb. Get a Zoomed Reptisun 5.0 uvb tube. They are the best. Gutloading, that means feeding your feeders and feeding them well. If you have crickets then you should be feeding them a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. Also, are you offering more crickets than 4 or 5 or is that all your cham is eating? A young cham of that age should be eating about 15 crickets a day (1/4 inch) Also mist for more than 20 seconds. More like 3-4 minutes so the cage is drenched with water. I would also suggest a dripper on the top of the cage if you are gone most of the day. And find a way to raise your cage up of the floor.

about gutloading, what would i feed the crickets? vegtables?
and i cant really mist her for so long b/c i turn her lights on at 6, mist her at 6, then i dont mist her again until 4 in the afternoon. will this be a big problem? will she be ok?

yes the bulb is a UVB. and all i feed her is about 5, should i offer her much more? oh! and there has been a comple of ants in her cage, is that bad?!

raainn said:

about gutloading, what would i feed the crickets? vegtables?
and i cant really mist her for so long b/c i turn her lights on at 6, mist her at 6, then i dont mist her again until 4 in the afternoon. will this be a big problem? will she be ok?

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Thats a long time to go without misting, tell your parents to mist him when you are not home. And at that young of an age, he should eat as much as he can (8-10)

raainn said:

yes the bulb is a UVB. and all i feed her is about 5, should i offer her much more? oh! and there has been a comple of ants in her cage, is that bad?!

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WOW, dont put ants in her cage!!!!!!!!!! They will bite her and that could have something to do with your problem!

no i didnt put them! they just come and go. when i first saw them which was last sunday i took everything out of her cage and cleaned EVERYTHING.. but they're back again. is there anything i could do for that ?

DChalo said:

WOW, dont put ants in her cage!!!!!!!!!! They will bite her and that could have something to do with your problem!

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I don't think she was saying she puts ants in the cage, I think they were just noticed in the cage with her cham. And I don't think that ant bites would really cause the problems described.

But ants should be avoided. Don't leave any uneaten food, feces or dead crickets in her cage to attract ants. But don't use pesticides anywhere in the cage either because the crickets could get to it. You could try diotomaceous earth if there's an ant problem. It's an all natural pest deterrent, just don't put a lot of it in or put it anywhere where your cham could accidentally shoot it with her tongue. In fact it would be best to put it around the perimeter of her cage instead of in it.

raainn said:

no i didnt put them! they just come and go. when i first saw them which was last sunday i took everything out of her cage and cleaned EVERYTHING.. but they're back again. is there anything i could do for that ?

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Yes...take your cage off the floor.

raainn said:

no i didnt put them! they just come and go. when i first saw them which was last sunday i took everything out of her cage and cleaned EVERYTHING.. but they're back again. is there anything i could do for that ?

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Post a picture of your entire setup with the chameleon so we can judge it. Ants could be getting in through cracks in the cage and if one ant bites your cham, that can stress it up to the point of serious health problems

If you are not home all day then get yourself a dripper and that will provide him water for a good period of time. You can feed your crickets kale, collard greens, mustard greens, romaine lettuce, carrots, apples, melons etc. You need to be feeding your chameleon way more as stated, like 15 crickets a day depending on the size which should be around 1/4 or so. You can also feed some silkworms, or SMALL supers, waxworms, phoenix worms, mealworms. You don't have to feed just crickets. Variety is best!

carol5208 said:

If you are not home all day then get yourself a dripper and that will provide him water for a good period of time. You can feed your crickets kale, collard greens, mustard greens, romaine lettuce, carrots, apples, melons etc. You need to be feeding your chameleon way more as stated, like 15 crickets a day depending on the size which should be around 1/4 or so. You can also feed some silkworms, or SMALL supers, waxworms, phoenix worms, mealworms. You don't have to feed just crickets. Variety is best!

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Don't forget butterworms!