i just got a new baby veiled chameleon about a week ago. she doesnt tend to move around very much. also, her eyes are closed a lot of the time. it looks like shes sleeping almost all the time. sometimes the fruit flies will be all over her and she wont move to get them off. also sometimes one of her eyes will swell up and it will look like its bulging out, and she starts rubbing it on a branch or leaf, then it goes back to normal. she drinks water every time i mist her. usually she eats 2 or so fruit flies when i add them, but not always. but i dont think she eats any crickets. is she sick? why does she rarely open her eyes?
baby veiled eyes closed a lot, rubbing them
- Thread starter megan325
- Start date
jannb
Chameleon Enthusiast
Please fill this out with as much detail as possible and post a few pictures of her.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/
My blog for new keepers.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/
My blog for new keepers.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon -female veiled, 3 months old, have had it about a week and a half. got from local reptile shop.
Handling - very rarely, only probably 4-6 times since we got her, including moving her into tank
Feeding - feeding her fruit flies, and crickets.
Supplements - dusting the crickets with flukers calcium with vit d, although i dont think she is even eating the crickets.
Watering - mist with 8oz spray bottle, with a couple drops reptisafe instant terrarium water conditioner 3-4 times a day.
Fecal Description -
Cage Info:
Cage Type - 16"*16"*30
Lighting - reptiglo 5.0 26watt bulb. and 60watt zoomed blue. 8-7
Temperature - 71-93 night is never lower then 68
Humidity -60-80. misting 3 times daily. zoo med hydrometer
Plants - photos
Placement - Where is your cage located? top of dresser bedroom. about 7ft is were the top of the cage is.
Location - Michigan,
She has seemed this way from the time we got her??
I also have a male 3 months old in same enclosure. When i came home last night I seen her on bottom of it. 6 or so fruit flies where on her and i thought she was dead, i blew the fruit flies off and she moved. So i moved her into a 20gallon tank to get her out of the fruit flies and i don't know if the male had anything to do with her being bottom but i never seen her or any chams sleep on bottom. He is doing good.( Ordered the male offline got female at local pet store. they were in cage for 3 days together, seemed to be doing fine.
Your Chameleon -female veiled, 3 months old, have had it about a week and a half. got from local reptile shop.
Handling - very rarely, only probably 4-6 times since we got her, including moving her into tank
Feeding - feeding her fruit flies, and crickets.
Supplements - dusting the crickets with flukers calcium with vit d, although i dont think she is even eating the crickets.
Watering - mist with 8oz spray bottle, with a couple drops reptisafe instant terrarium water conditioner 3-4 times a day.
Fecal Description -
Cage Info:
Cage Type - 16"*16"*30
Lighting - reptiglo 5.0 26watt bulb. and 60watt zoomed blue. 8-7
Temperature - 71-93 night is never lower then 68
Humidity -60-80. misting 3 times daily. zoo med hydrometer
Plants - photos
Placement - Where is your cage located? top of dresser bedroom. about 7ft is were the top of the cage is.
Location - Michigan,
She has seemed this way from the time we got her??
I also have a male 3 months old in same enclosure. When i came home last night I seen her on bottom of it. 6 or so fruit flies where on her and i thought she was dead, i blew the fruit flies off and she moved. So i moved her into a 20gallon tank to get her out of the fruit flies and i don't know if the male had anything to do with her being bottom but i never seen her or any chams sleep on bottom. He is doing good.( Ordered the male offline got female at local pet store. they were in cage for 3 days together, seemed to be doing fine.
hinoco1225
New Member
The male and female *definitely* need to be separated, both physically and visually. He is probably stressing her out, although that certainly may not be the entire problem. He also may not be allowing her access to the basking spot, food, etc. They both need their own cages, lights, plants, etc., and they shouldn't be able to see each other. Chameleons are solitary and territorial animals, especially veileds.
Is your UVB bulb a compact or tube?
You should be dusting the crickets with calcium without D3 every day, calcium with D3 once every other week, and a multivitamin once a month. Too much D3 can cause a buildup in their systems, and they make most of their own D3 with the UVB light.
Is your UVB bulb a compact or tube?
You should be dusting the crickets with calcium without D3 every day, calcium with D3 once every other week, and a multivitamin once a month. Too much D3 can cause a buildup in their systems, and they make most of their own D3 with the UVB light.
Last edited:
Pilotman800
New Member
93 may be a bit too hot. She MAY be hanging out at the bottom to get away from the basking light. Also, has she shed recently? She may have a piece of dead skin in her eye(s), which would explain the closing and rubbing. You also should provide calcium with d3 twice a month, not every day. Calcium without d3 should be used every day.
You should also keep the two housed separately.
Good luck with your baby!
You should also keep the two housed separately.
Good luck with your baby!
hinoco1225
New Member
Also, they both need a white basking light. Chameleons like bright light during the day, and the blue light isn't going to cut it. Remember that we often don't realize how dark it really is indoors compared to the natural sunlight chams would be getting in the wild.
At this age you probably only need a 40 Watt white house bulb for basking. Basking temps for babies should only be about 85.
I hope your UVB light is a tube, because it is well-documented that the compact lights can cause a lot of problems. Plus, they only emit UVB for 2-4 months, while linear tube lights emit UVB successfully for 6 months.
More than likely, your little girl was not given proper care at the pet store. If you make the changes we've suggested, she will more than likely recover and begin thriving in no time.
At this age you probably only need a 40 Watt white house bulb for basking. Basking temps for babies should only be about 85.
I hope your UVB light is a tube, because it is well-documented that the compact lights can cause a lot of problems. Plus, they only emit UVB for 2-4 months, while linear tube lights emit UVB successfully for 6 months.
More than likely, your little girl was not given proper care at the pet store. If you make the changes we've suggested, she will more than likely recover and begin thriving in no time.
She has not shed lately. Been like this from the time we got her i thought the male might of had something do to with her being on bottom that's why i moved her. Ok ill keep them separated and order the 2'2'4 for the male soon. We are using a florescent bulb.. Not the tube one.
SamanthaElle
New Member
I havent heard anyone mention this...but she also looks a bit dehydrated. Her eyes look sunken.
Maybe its just me?
Maybe its just me?
Thompson
Chameleon Enthusiast
Your male could be eating all the food before your female has a chance to get some. Separate them for good. All my answers are in red.
Elizadolots
New Member
I havent heard anyone mention this...but she also looks a bit dehydrated. Her eyes look sunken.
Maybe its just me?
No, I agree, though it might be because she's overheated. I would mist more, cut the temps back.
The thing on the coil bulbs: several years ago some were manufactured that caused problems for chameleons' eyes. Those are off the market, but it's possible a store might have an older, bad bulb in stock. However, many people here use coiled bulbs very successfully so suggestions that all are automatically bad are a bit over the top.
ok thanks. Ill go get a 40watt white bulb see if that helps. and mist a little more.
Maybe she is dehydrated. I got her Tuesday after labor day. He had her and 1 another female left(I had my eye on them for awhile. He had at least 8 in same tank i wanted a male but he sold out. They looked great active and eating the other times i seen them). The other female looked really dehydrated and he words to me were "I'm not sure if my kids watered them over the weekend, i was out of town"..
I probably should of red flagged that and waited.
Maybe she is dehydrated. I got her Tuesday after labor day. He had her and 1 another female left(I had my eye on them for awhile. He had at least 8 in same tank i wanted a male but he sold out. They looked great active and eating the other times i seen them). The other female looked really dehydrated and he words to me were "I'm not sure if my kids watered them over the weekend, i was out of town"..
I probably should of red flagged that and waited
.Elizadolots
New Member
You know what? They are resilient...for all they can be fragile, they bounce back to a remarkable degree. Just get things on the right path and this will be a blip in the road and a lesson learned, nothing more.
jannb
Chameleon Enthusiast
There's some good info in this thread that should help with your baby.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/newly-hatchling-sleeping-during-day-62975/
Also some good info for babies in the blog I posted for you in post #2.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/newly-hatchling-sleeping-during-day-62975/
Also some good info for babies in the blog I posted for you in post #2.
Dawniegirl
New Member
Curious and maybe wrong but you said in your form.. Plants- "photos" do you not have plant(s) in there?
lizzleberry
New Member
hi,
her eyes being closed might be a result of bites from the fruit flies that hang around her. chances are it is this, or something to do with your husbandry. my baby chameleon has a problem with one of his eyes and this is effecting his eating habbits, he will eat a wax worm (a bit of a naughty treat so dont feed her them too often) with no hesitation but sometimes he will hang around his crickets for hours and only eat about 3. there is not much you can do about her lack of interest in crickets except keep offering them and she'll eat when she can.
my advice, and you may not like it, is definitely go to the vets. when Pascals eye suddenly went bad i hung around on this website panicking and trying to get advice and trying everything suggested because i did not think i could afford the vets. then a week ago i thought sod it, and took Pascal to my local vets, they were not experienced with chameleons, but they did not make stuff up in order to feel clever, they told me straight out that they would only be able to tell me so much, gave me some watered down iodine and the details of another vet, it was also a fun trip because they had not seen a baby chameleon before and you could tell everyone (inc pascal) was enjoying the experience. the consultation and iodine cost me £25. this didnt work so i went to the other vet, the specialists will be able to tell you LOADS of stuff that is the opposite of what people say on the internet but then you realise that the vet is right, he looked at pascals eyes and knew what to do, showed me how to put in the drops and how to hold Pascal properly whilst doing it etc, and £45 and 30 minutes later we were on our way home with the correct medication and confidence that Pascal will get better, and he has. he is eating again, and due to all the vets handling he no longer seems to mind being handled.
i cannot stress it enough, that if you don't know, dont ask for advice on here as it is a waste of time, particularly with eye problems as it could be anything, get to the vets, it is not that expensive and you will feel so much better knowing exactly what went wrong, how to heal it, and how to prevent it.
her eyes being closed might be a result of bites from the fruit flies that hang around her. chances are it is this, or something to do with your husbandry. my baby chameleon has a problem with one of his eyes and this is effecting his eating habbits, he will eat a wax worm (a bit of a naughty treat so dont feed her them too often) with no hesitation but sometimes he will hang around his crickets for hours and only eat about 3. there is not much you can do about her lack of interest in crickets except keep offering them and she'll eat when she can.
my advice, and you may not like it, is definitely go to the vets. when Pascals eye suddenly went bad i hung around on this website panicking and trying to get advice and trying everything suggested because i did not think i could afford the vets. then a week ago i thought sod it, and took Pascal to my local vets, they were not experienced with chameleons, but they did not make stuff up in order to feel clever, they told me straight out that they would only be able to tell me so much, gave me some watered down iodine and the details of another vet, it was also a fun trip because they had not seen a baby chameleon before and you could tell everyone (inc pascal) was enjoying the experience. the consultation and iodine cost me £25. this didnt work so i went to the other vet, the specialists will be able to tell you LOADS of stuff that is the opposite of what people say on the internet but then you realise that the vet is right, he looked at pascals eyes and knew what to do, showed me how to put in the drops and how to hold Pascal properly whilst doing it etc, and £45 and 30 minutes later we were on our way home with the correct medication and confidence that Pascal will get better, and he has. he is eating again, and due to all the vets handling he no longer seems to mind being handled.
i cannot stress it enough, that if you don't know, dont ask for advice on here as it is a waste of time, particularly with eye problems as it could be anything, get to the vets, it is not that expensive and you will feel so much better knowing exactly what went wrong, how to heal it, and how to prevent it.
