Aging Veiled Advice!

[Dyesub Dave]

I have a male Veiled that's approx. 7-8 yrs. old. I keep thinking that he isn't going to last much longer but he keeps surprising me.

I don't see him eat crix very often and he will usually only take silk/butter/horn worms from a nearby branch or my hand. His tongue doesn't come out very fast and only extends several inches. When he chews his food the flaps on the back of his crest fold open and closed again .... so it seems to take a fair bit of effort.

I currently house him in a 175 gal. flexarium and he seems to have a hard time holding on to branches sometimes and will fall on occasion. I've been thinking of swapping enclosures with him and a younger male. The younger male's enclosure is 100 gal. flexarium. I don't want to punish him for getting old but I was thinking that he would be in closer proximity to his food and since he doesn't roam around that much I'm not sure that he needs the extra space.

Any thoughts or suggestions regarding this old fellow would be appreciated.

Thanks ... Dyesub Dave.

 

[chameleon guy]

I'd say go for it! Also you should be very proud of yourself for raising a chameleon to such a ripe old age!

 

[Dyesub Dave]

Thanks! However I've only had this cham for about 2-1/2 years. He was much livelier when I first got him. LOL. I just want him to be as comfortable as possible for his remaining time in my care.

Dyesub Dave.

 

[jojackson]

Absolutely amazing Dave, well done indeed. I suppose its matter of balance between making things easy for him and not wanting to upset him with a housing move.
Since you hand feed and he dosent eat much anyway, Id personally be inclined to leave him be in his castle.

Falling might a concern, maybe you could now add some padding to the cage floor? though substrate might be a risk, sounds tricky. Perhaps you could rig a soft net/s of some kind above the floor to catch him if he falls, though that might be difficult ith branches etc.

Dont hear much about the care of elderly chams here, would love to hear more about him. When he began slowing down, changes you noticed etc.
Hopefully folk here who have cared for older chams can provide some useful tips along with their own observations.

I wish you both well, Your post gives me hope for a longer than expected span for my animal.
cheers

 

[ToniandGizmo]

I recall that sometime back there was someone with a senior citizen veiled who rigged up a net of some sort (stretched out), by a window for their old man. They provided him with his necessary lighting and there he stayed. In fact they even posted a picture of his set up. He looked very comfortable. He didn't have any climbing vines but could navigate his net very well. Hopefully that poster can chime in.

 

[jannb]

Check out Gary's veiled Karma in this link. You may want to private message him if he doesn't see this post. He gave Karma more supplements as he got older and more vitamins. https://www.chameleonforums.com/members/luckykarma-albums-life-karma.html

 

[ToniandGizmo]

That's the one! Thanks Jann.

 

[Dyesub Dave]

Thanks for the advice and link everybody. I will contact the owner of Karma to see if they have any further suggestions.

Thanks ... Dyesub Dave.

 

[Eric Adrignola]

My old man started to spiral downward after 6 or 7 years. He was strong till the end, but not as strong. His last two years, things affected him that didn't do so in the past. He lost weight rapidly if stressed, took months to recover, never gained all his weight back... etc.

You'll see them start to have a hard time staying in their trees, their weight will drop. It's sad, but you can't help but be happy that they lived so long.

My old guy was about 8 years old when he died.

 

[kinyonga]

I would think that some extra calcium wouldn't hurt. I imagine that they can suffer from a lack of it when older just like people. I've seen the tongue issues and the inability to grip and wondered if it could be because of that.

I have used long pieces of tree bark to allow "oldies but goodies" a better chance to grip. I place them so that they are on a low slope...like ramps...each one reaching higher in the cage so that the chameleon can still get up near the UVB and the basking light. Sorry I can't explain it better than that....and I don't have any pictures of it either.

 

[summoner12]

I have seen people use plastic mesh used like a cargo net in a fasion like Linda is talking about.


You could use it to catch im if he fell....

 

[sandrachameleon]

I would think that some extra calcium wouldn't hurt. I imagine that they can suffer from a lack of it when older just like people. I've seen the tongue issues and the inability to grip and wondered if it could be because of that.

I believe this to be quite possible.

For my old panther (over 7) I started making parallel branches and vines. I mean running two vines side by side about an inch apart laterally. Everything on gentle slopes rather than hard vertical climbs. He found this a little easier, I think, when his grip started to weaken.

You could put a big fluffly folded towel on the bottom of the cage if he starts falling. A smaller cage with easy to grip branches and less distance to fall may be a good thing. I doubt he'd feel punished by a change in cage. If he doesnt stress easily, go ahead and switch.

You could also give him a feeding bowl, suspended under his favourite perch. Break the crickets jumping legs. He may find them easier to catch. Not that he needs crickets. nothing wrong with silkworms, buttererworms and hornworms, so long as he still occassionally gets a little chinton from a superworm or mealworm or crickets.

 

[luckykarma]

Dyesub.

Yes, as Jann said with some advice on the forum I started giving him supplements every other day as if he were a baby. He was no longer able to hold onto branches and I set up a trapeze at first and then eventually lost the tree. You can see the set up in my album on Karma.

Make sure he's well hydrated. Watch his weight. I think Karma being 350 grams added to his decline even though he made it to 7.5 years the last year of his life wasn't very quality.

Dave Weldon has set up a little netting to catch his elderly veil in case it fell. The just need to feel secure the more they lose motor functions. Feel free to PM me with any questions.