- Your Chameleon - Rambo is a yemen chameleon, i didnt get told how old he was but i think around 2 months? got told hes a male and ive had him for around 2 weeks now. From the size of him and his casque, I’m not so sure he’s as old as 2 months. To verify his gender, look at his back feet. Males have pronounced nubs, called tarsal spurs.
- Handling - each day to feed, i let him climb onto my hand tho, i dont grab him or force my finger under him. Are you holding him while he’s eating? It’s best not to do that and just put his food in his enclosure and let him eat in a more relaxed manner. You do want to minimize handling at this age. Let him fully adjust and grow a bit more.
- Feeding - crickets size S, dubia roaches size S but he eats mostly crickets. He eats around 6-8 crickets and i try to offer him 3-4 times a day but he mostly only eats twice, i feed the crickets and roaches veggies and i put a small bottle cap with water in their container. The size of his feeders is very important. I would think he’s so tiny that he might be needing extra small feeders…maybe even as small as fruit flies or the next size up from pinhead crickets. Anything larger than the space between his eyes is too big. For his age, he should be eating as much as he wants and can within about a 15 minute period, and twice a day. He needs all the nutrition he can get. Yemen, or veiled chameleons grow very fast. If he is not wanting to eat more than 6-8 feeders, then you need to look for a reason why. Are they too big? Do they look like powdered donuts with too much calcium powder on them? Is he able to find and catch them? Maybe he has an intestinal parasite?
- Supplements - the only thing i use is arcadia earth pro calcium and i just dust them before feeding him. Your little man is also needing a multivitamin and vitamin D3. The easiest way to add these are with a combination product. I suggest Repashy Calcium Plus LoD or ReptiVite with D3. You’ll lightly dust every feeding with the plain calcium except for one feeding every other week(or twice per month if you prefer) you’ll use the multivitamin D3 combo.
- Watering - i have a dripper system. i mist around 4 times a day and for about 20 seconds? i have never seen him drink. It’s not at all unusual to never see him drink. They are secretive about it. It would be better to mist for about 2 minutes, right before lights go on and off. You can use the dripper for about 15-20 minutes during the day if his urates look orange.
- Fecal Description - His poops are white of color and some are a lightish yellow The white or yellow part is the urate, or urine. He should be passing some solid little brown turd logs with it. I do strongly suggest collecting a fresh one and having it tested for parasites by a vet. Usually you will need a wellness visit in order for the vet to test and treat for parasites.
Cage Info:
- Cage Type - mesh cage, 76x42x122 cm Unusual size
- Lighting - i use an arcadia pro uvb lamp i believe it’s 6%? Perfect. Your uvb should be about 20-22 cm above his basking branch. His heat light really needs to be placed outside of his enclosure, preferably a few cm above the screen top. Little chameleons are very curious and climb everywhere. He is at a very high risk for getting burned. i also use a heating lamp, i put them both on when i wake up at 6 in the morning and i put thdm off around 9 when im going to sleep. Ok. A 12 hour schedule would be ideal, if you can manage that.
- Temperature - basking temp is around 30-35 This is much too hot for a baby! His basking temp shouldn’t get any higher than around 25-26c. Adult males basking temps are best kept around 29. and bottom of the cage is 22-25 and at night it gets no lower than 18. Wonderful cool night.
- Humidity - between 60-70% This is also too high for daytime and can increase risks for respiratory infection. Ideal humidity should be between 30-50%. It should come down quite a bit if you reduce the unnecessary mistings. With the screen front, your ventilation is great, which makes a huge difference too.
- Plants - i have a live monstera plant. If you have any artificial plants, you should replace them with safe live ones. Our friends from Yemen like to nibble their plants and so fake ones can be a risk for bowel obstruction. Pothos is one of the best plants for chameleons and is super easy to find and grow.
- Placement - my cage is on my floor in my room next to my desk and window, during the day the sunlight gets in. If possible, I would suggest placing it up on something. For chameleons, height is safety. Do be careful about the sunlight overheating him during the day.
- Location - netherlands
Current Problem - he closed one of his eyes a few days ago ago and since today hes closed both of them, he walks and climbs around normally but with his eyes closed, same thing while feeding, he only opens one.
Your husbandry needs some changes and it’s very hard to determine if any of them could be responsible for him not feeling good. It’s very difficult with tiny chameleons. They can be very fragile and have zero reserves to fall back upon if something isn’t right. Usually it’s best that they aren’t sent to their new homes until they are at least 3-4 months old. Not only does it give them time to grow bigger and stronger, but sadly there are some that for unknown reasons just don’t survive.
Make the changes in your husbandry as soon as you can and make a vet visit to get his poo tested for parasites. I would also suggest removing the bark on the floor of your enclosure. If not bioactive, then an empty floor is easiest to keep clean and hygienic.
@kinyonga has a wealth of knowledge and experience well beyond my own and may have a clearer answer for you.
