Abnormal colors?

[Edamame]

I went on a vacation for 4 days but left her with someone to check on her. When I came back she had these tan spots on her that she didn’t have before. She’s also been in more aggressive colors just randomly since then. She does have a little cut by her eye but it seems to be fine and doesn’t bother her. The first pic is when she was sleeping and I was switching her enclosure.

 

[Edamame]

(She is a rescue mind you) And this is a couple of weeks after I got her. The top pictures are as of now, 1 month after I found her.

 

[CalamityCrow]

I'm not an expert, and I hope that those that are come in to comment too, but I BELIEVE those are her receptive colors - which means she's getting ready to lay eggs. Do you have a lay bin set up for her?

 

[Edamame]

I'm not an expert, and I hope that those that are come in to comment too, but I BELIEVE those are her receptive colors - which means she's getting ready to lay eggs. Do you have a lay bin set up for her?

No I don’t, anything to recommend?

 

[Edamame]

I'm not an expert, and I hope that those that are come in to comment too, but I BELIEVE those are her receptive colors - which means she's getting ready to lay eggs. Do you have a lay bin set up for her?

Her spots have become a little darker, light brown.

 

[CalamityCrow]

No I don’t, anything to recommend?

This is a good video to look at. All female veilds will lay eggs, regardless of whether they've mated. It's a lot like chickens. They NEED to feel safe in laying their eggs, and so you'll want to set up a lay bin made of watered down play sand (like what you put in a children's sandbox). The container should be fairly large, probably 12"x12" length/width, and around that deep, with 5-6" of play sand. The sand should be damp enough to hold a tunnel, but not too wet, and not too dry.

You want that to generally be a fixture in her cage, because you won't really know when she's going to lay. I'd get that in there ASAP, even if she isn't ready to lay just yet.

You also want to have some sticks/pathways for her to get in/out of the lay bin. And, preferably, a sheet or something to cover the cage while she does her laying. Most of them are super shy and so they don't want to be seen laying - they may stop, and that can lead to some pretty hefty medical issues like being egg-bound. That usually requires surgery, and can kill them.

Folks like @MissSkittles @Beman and @kinyonga are far more expert than me, and can also give you further advice/graphics/etc.

I'd also suggest, if you haven't yet, putting in a husbandry form. You can find that below. That'll help give the more experienced folks here a good idea of how you have things set up, to make sure all is well! You've come to a wonderful place to learn about great husbandry to help your lovely rescue have the best life she can.

Here's the form:
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.

--------------

Please Note:

1. The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.
2. Photos can be very helpful.

 

[kinyonga]

Welcome to the forum!

Definitely her receptive colors.
How much have you been feeding her...please be specific...how many of which insect and what size insect in a week?

 

[Edamame]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Veiled Chameleon, female. Not sure how old she is, she’s a rescue. She’s been in my care for a month and a half.
• Handling - Maybe 2 times a week, she usually sticks out her arms if I’m close enough.
• Feeding - Superworms, mealworms, Dubia roaches, crickets. Definitely depends on the day but I feed her 2-3 superworms, 4-6 crickets, 4-6 Dubia (they’re super small), 4-6 mealworms. I make sure to gut load her food w orange cube or this Mazuri gut-load powder I got. And then with leftover veggies from my meals. Superworms are more of a treat and not an everyday thing.
• Supplements - I dust her food about twice a week with Repta Calcium and sometimes with Repta Calcium w D3. Other than that, the mazuri gut loading food covers a lot of the vitamins she needs.
• Watering - I use both a fogger and a handheld spray bottle to mist her, I work quite a bit so I turn the fogger on if I know I’m not gonna be there when she’s up. My timer goes on for about 2 hours but I have the fogger on the lowest setting. I see her drink whenever I spray her, when I’m gone of course I can’t but I assume she is.
• Fecal Description - Light brown with white. Never tested for parasites.
• History - Her previous owners wouldn’t feed her for weeks and would forget about her. She was very pale in color when I first found her, almost white. They kept her in one of the glass enclosures with little to no plants.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Mesh screen enclosure, 30x16x16 (I work at a pet store and that’s the biggest I could find in such a short time)
• Lighting - Zoo Med double light, 10 uvb and a daylight heat bulb. Her lights turn on from 7 to 7
• Temperature - 90 to 70, lowest overnight is probably 69. I measure using a thermometer.
• Humidity - 60-80 percent humidity. There are no fans going on in the room where she is and the vents aren’t pointing towards her.
• Plants - She has a couple of pothos in her enclosure, I was a little worried to put anything else as I’ve heard way too many disapproving opinions on which plants.
• Placement -Not near any fans or vents, she gets some natural sunlight through the window but she isn’t terribly close so she doesn’t get the draft. Her enclosure is set on a 3 foot table in the corner, she’s in my bedroom but I’m hardly ever in there. So there’s little to no traffic.
• Location - Goodyear, Arizona.

 

[Edamame]

Welcome to the forum!

Definitely her receptive colors.
How much have you been feeding her...please be specific...how many of which insect and what size insect in a week?

Thank you! I filled out the husbandry form.

 

[Beman]

@MissSkittles do you have time to do a husbandry review today for this new member?


@Edamame welcome to the forum. You want to get a lay bin in there asap... She is showing signs of egg laying now.

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi. Give me a little bit of time and I’ll go thru your husbandry.

 

[MissSkittles]

I’ll be putting my feedback in bold, and since I tend to talk too much, I’m splitting this into 2 parts.

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Veiled Chameleon, female. Not sure how old she is, she’s a rescue. She’s been in my care for a month and a half. Impossible to tell age other than she is full grown
• Handling - Maybe 2 times a week, she usually sticks out her arms if I’m close enough. I wish this was her being friendly, but more likely it’s her not being happy inside her enclosure. More on this later.
• Feeding - Superworms, mealworms, Dubia roaches, crickets. Definitely depends on the day but I feed her 2-3 superworms, 4-6 crickets, 4-6 Dubia (they’re super small), 4-6 mealworms. I make sure to gut load her food w orange cube or this Mazuri gut-load powder I got. And then with leftover veggies from my meals. See below Superworms are more of a treat and not an everyday thing. Are you feeding her all of this each feeding? If so, that is way too much. She should be getting about 3-4 feeders, every other day to 3 days a week. We have to be careful not to overfeed our ladies to prevent them from producing large numbers of eggs.
• Supplements - I dust her food about twice a week with Repta Calcium and sometimes with Repta Calcium w D3. Other than that, the mazuri gut loading food covers a lot of the vitamins she needs. Supplements are one of the key points of chameleon/reptile keeping and it’s essential to get it right. There are so many different supplements and regimens to go with them, but I’m going to tell you the 2 basic ones. Regardless of which you use, you’ll need to use a phosphorus free calcium without D3 lightly dusted at every feeding (except when using a different supplement).
  #1 - Use a calcium with D3 at one feeding every other week, alternating with a multivitamin, so that each is given twice a month. They should not be given together.
• #2 - One feeding every other week use either Reptivite with D3 or Repashy calcium plus (or calcium plus LoD)

I personally prefer the second method as it fits my life and memory best. I also prefer Reptivite or Repashy for my chameleons/reptiles as they contain preformed vitamin A for healthy eyes.

• Watering - I use both a fogger and a handheld spray bottle to mist her, I work quite a bit so I turn the fogger on if I know I’m not gonna be there when she’s up. My timer goes on for about 2 hours but I have the fogger on the lowest setting. I see her drink whenever I spray her, when I’m gone of course I can’t but I assume she is. When you say fogger, you do mean a humidifier type? If so, this should only be used at night and only if your night temps are well below at least 68-70. During the day you mist, not fog. It’s best to mist for at least 2 minutes right before lights go on and off. For mid day, you can either mist again or use a dripper for about 15 minutes or so. Many chameleons are secretive about drinking and it’s ok if you never see yours drinking. We go by urate color to determine hydration.
• Fecal Description - Light brown with white. The white is the urate and white is great. If there’s a little yellow on one end, that is ok too. Never tested for parasites. It’s always best to have a veterinary wellness visit with a fecal check.
• History - Her previous owners wouldn’t feed her for weeks and would forget about her. SMH What is wrong with some people?! 🤬 I really hope karma catches up with them. Well, bless you for saving the poor girl. Because of the conditions and neglect she suffered with those scumbags, it’s extra important for you to have everything as perfect as possible to promote her complete recovery. She was very pale in color when I first found her, almost white. They kept her in one of the glass enclosures with little to no plants.

I’m too lazy to scroll up and see if anyone gave you these already, but they’re graphics for feeders and ‘gutloading’. I don’t specifically gutload. I do keep my buggies well fed and as healthy as possible at all times. The orange cubes are really only good for hydration. The Mazuri is good stuff from what I’ve heard.

 

[MissSkittles]

Part 2
Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Mesh screen enclosure, 30x16x16 (I work at a pet store and that’s the biggest I could find in such a short time) She needs much larger than that. At minimum a 2x2x4’…larger if you can. Usually the XL enclosures have to be bought on line. Being in too small of an enclosure is one of the reasons/main reason that she is putting out her little arms to be held.
• Lighting - Zoo Med double light, 10 uvb and a daylight heat bulb. Her lights turn on from 7 to 7 The double dome is a great little light, but not for uvb. Put a basking bulb in one side and a plant bulb in the other and get your girl a linear T5HO outlet with either ReptiSun 5.0 or Arcadia 6% uvb. Having the correct uvb is another absolutely essential item to have for a healthy animal. The screw in (cfl) bulbs are useless any farther away than 2-3”. With the T5 with correct strength uvb bulb, the ideal distance between light and basking branch is then 8-9”.
• Temperature - 90 to 70, lowest overnight is probably 69. I measure using a thermometer. 90 is too hot. You want to keep your basking temp no higher than around 80. This works with ‘the diet’ to help reduce egg production.
• Humidity - 60-80 percent humidity. Too high. The ideal range for daytime is between 30-50%. High heat + high humidity is a big risk factor for respiratory infection. There are no fans going on in the room where she is and the vents aren’t pointing towards her.
• Plants - She has a couple of pothos in her enclosure, I was a little worried to put anything else as I’ve heard way too many disapproving opinions on which plants. Pothos is a cham keepers best friend. 😁 Even though it’s not on the list, heart leafed philodendron is just as good and the toxic properties are similar. Having clean safe live plants is best. Veileds like to nibble their plants and I find some of the ladies really go to town. This is a very trusted source for plants (and all things chameleon). https://chameleonacademy.com/plants/ The more plants you have, the happier your chameleon will be. To mount plants inside a screen enclosure, Dragon Ledges are awesome. https://dragonstrand.com/dragon-ledges/ Some craft their own versions of them, while others use things such as garden trellis, craft a frame, etc.
• Placement -Not near any fans or vents, she gets some natural sunlight through the window FYI: uvb doesn’t pass thru glass but she isn’t terribly close so she doesn’t get the draft. You’ll want to make sure not too much sunlight hits her enclosure so she won’t get overheated. Her enclosure is set on a 3 foot table in the corner, she’s in my bedroom but I’m hardly ever in there. So there’s little to no traffic. Very good. Height = safety for chameleons.
• Location - Goodyear, Arizona.

Now, since I haven’t talked nearly enough 😁😂 I’ll give you my ‘laying 101’ in another post.

 

[MissSkittles]

Since your girl has developed her colors, that means she has reached her sexual maturity and is most likely currently in her first receptive phase. She’s gotten all prettied up and is now ready and looking for a handsome boy chameleon. I’ll guess that she is more active than usual, patrolling every inch of her enclosure repeatedly. She probably got the cut by her eye due to her restlessness. Something in her enclosure is sharp and you’ll need to find and remove it. Just an FYI - more than likely she will retain her colors and never return to being all green again. The receptive phase can last a few weeks.
Once she’s over the receptive phase, you’ll start seeing her plump up and maybe even start looking lumpy. Anywhere after a few weeks from the end of the receptive period is when she can lay eggs. Hopefully you’ve prepared the lay bin and put it in her enclosure as soon as she was receptive.
My girls prefer larger bins of at least 12” wide and long (deep too). I drill several tiny holes in the bottom for excess water to drain and fill to about 6” deep with play sand. The play sand needs to be kept moist enough to hold a tunnel without collapsing. I’ve realized my girls have a particular pooping area and I put their bins away from that. Provide at least a couple of stable ways in/out of the bin.
She knows the bin is there and when she’s ready, she’ll find and use it…or she’ll decide a plant pot is better. 🤷‍♀️ They follow the beat of their own drummers. Signs that she is getting near to laying - her colors usually will darken. For some it’s obvious and others are so very subtle. They also become more interested in the bottom of their enclosure and explore down there more. Some have their appetites decrease or don’t eat right before laying.
One morning you’ll go to greet your little beauty and will find she’s started digging. Back away and be careful that she doesn’t see you. Cover the lower half of her enclosure with a light sheet and do not disturb her for anything less than your house being on fire. I poke little holes I can peek thru in my cover sheet, but I mainly listen carefully for the sound of mitten paws moving sand.
The whole process from start to finish may take a couple of days. She may sleep in her tunnel. She’ll dig maybe a few tunnels until she likes one. When she’s satisfied with the tunnel she’s dug, she’ll turn around and lay her eggs. When done, she’ll carefully cover everything up so that there is no sign of any tunnels. When happy with that, she’ll return to her branch and bask. You’ll want to feed and hydrate her very well for a couple of days. Silkworms and hornworms are my favorites to give my hard working girls after their labors. Then you’ll start or return to their diet of 3-4 feeders, 3 days a week (plus occasional treats). At some point you’ll need to remove and count the eggs. Hopefully there will be less than 20-30. You’ll need to be alert that everything is going along well. Signs that there may be a problem are: lethargy, staying at the bottom of the enclosure, eyes closed during the day, not eating/drinking, ‘dropping’ eggs randomly and anything else that just doesn’t seem right. Listen to your gut. You’ll need to get your girl to the good vet that you’ve already researched without delay.
With correct husbandry, the risks of complications are small, but do still exist. Being anxious at laying time is what I think is a normal part of keeping of our beautiful ladies. There is lots of support for us here at the forum though. 💗

 

[Edamame]

Since your girl has developed her colors, that means she has reached her sexual maturity and is most likely currently in her first receptive phase. She’s gotten all prettied up and is now ready and looking for a handsome boy chameleon. I’ll guess that she is more active than usual, patrolling every inch of her enclosure repeatedly. She probably got the cut by her eye due to her restlessness. Something in her enclosure is sharp and you’ll need to find and remove it. Just an FYI - more than likely she will retain her colors and never return to being all green again. The receptive phase can last a few weeks.
Once she’s over the receptive phase, you’ll start seeing her plump up and maybe even start looking lumpy. Anywhere after a few weeks from the end of the receptive period is when she can lay eggs. Hopefully you’ve prepared the lay bin and put it in her enclosure as soon as she was receptive.
My girls prefer larger bins of at least 12” wide and long (deep too). I drill several tiny holes in the bottom for excess water to drain and fill to about 6” deep with play sand. The play sand needs to be kept moist enough to hold a tunnel without collapsing. I’ve realized my girls have a particular pooping area and I put their bins away from that. Provide at least a couple of stable ways in/out of the bin.
She knows the bin is there and when she’s ready, she’ll find and use it…or she’ll decide a plant pot is better. 🤷‍♀️ They follow the beat of their own drummers. Signs that she is getting near to laying - her colors usually will darken. For some it’s obvious and others are so very subtle. They also become more interested in the bottom of their enclosure and explore down there more. Some have their appetites decrease or don’t eat right before laying.
One morning you’ll go to greet your little beauty and will find she’s started digging. Back away and be careful that she doesn’t see you. Cover the lower half of her enclosure with a light sheet and do not disturb her for anything less than your house being on fire. I poke little holes I can peek thru in my cover sheet, but I mainly listen carefully for the sound of mitten paws moving sand.
The whole process from start to finish may take a couple of days. She may sleep in her tunnel. She’ll dig maybe a few tunnels until she likes one. When she’s satisfied with the tunnel she’s dug, she’ll turn around and lay her eggs. When done, she’ll carefully cover everything up so that there is no sign of any tunnels. When happy with that, she’ll return to her branch and bask. You’ll want to feed and hydrate her very well for a couple of days. Silkworms and hornworms are my favorites to give my hard working girls after their labors. Then you’ll start or return to their diet of 3-4 feeders, 3 days a week (plus occasional treats). At some point you’ll need to remove and count the eggs. Hopefully there will be less than 20-30. You’ll need to be alert that everything is going along well. Signs that there may be a problem are: lethargy, staying at the bottom of the enclosure, eyes closed during the day, not eating/drinking, ‘dropping’ eggs randomly and anything else that just doesn’t seem right. Listen to your gut. You’ll need to get your girl to the good vet that you’ve already researched without delay.
With correct husbandry, the risks of complications are small, but do still exist. Being anxious at laying time is what I think is a normal part of keeping of our beautiful ladies. There is lots of support for us here at the forum though. 💗

Thank you so much for all your help!! <3 Cant wait to improve on all the things you listed.