Roxy3000
Member
Hello
I have a female veiled chameleon named Roxy I am very concerned about. Six days ago I noticed strange black markings on her back leg, hips, and front leg. It was only on the right side of her body. The black markings continued to spread so I took her to our emergency exotic vet. We were told the vet was experienced in exotics but she didn’t seem well versed in chameleon care (the care sheet she printed out for me said to gut load my bugs with dog food or fish pellets). She told me the markings were probably from stress and to up her temperatures to 94-100 degrees, feed her every day, and keep the humidity in the high 70s all day. The vet said she looked dehydrated and gave her some fluids but she has been passing urates frequently and lately they’ve all been white (before there might’ve been a little yellow at the end). They took x-rays that confirmed she has a clutch of eggs, but the vet said they didn't look fully developed. They also took some blood to see if her calcium levels were normal and they claim they are normal. I was also given some calcium glubionate to give her once a day because the vet felt that and extra hydration might help her lay eggs. The vet didn't suspect a fungal infection or bruising but since Roxy has been so clumsy I won’t rule out bruising. I had some crickets escape before so it’s possible they might’ve gotten into her enclosure and bit her but I’m not sure why the markings haven’t been getting better.
I cannot see the black markings during the day because she has been showing her gravid colors all day for about a month. I can only see them at night so the pictures with the markings were taken while she was asleep (she does not sleep during the day). However, I noticed her tail and legs look a little dull, along with the upper part of her back. She is due for a shed so I suspect the dull colors might be from that.
I am aware of the egg laying process; she has laid eggs twice before with no problems. I have a laying bin set up in her enclosure that is 12 inches in diameter and 15 inches tall. It is filled with 12 inches of washed play sand mixed with eco earth and Reptisoil. She has used this bin before the last time she laid eggs. I’ve lately been keeping her cage covered with a black sheet but have a gap at the top to allow airflow. I like the gap so most of the time I can peek through the windows of our garden house (where she is kept) and make sure she is still moving and not lethargic. However, today I changed it so the whole upper part of her cage is covered and there is a gap at the bottom. I cut a peep hole in the corner. Roxy used to climb all over her cage, top to bottom, side to side, but for the last month she’s spent a lot of her time basking and less time traveling. She is still moving around but not as much as before. She mostly climbs along the top branches, I have not seen her on the bottom branches unless there is a cricket down there to eat. Her eating has been fine and I made sure to squirt water in her mouth when I misted her in case she is a little dehydrated, like the vet claimed.
I will fill out the “ask for help form” and include pictures of her black markings and how they are spreading, her enclosure, bloodwork, x-rays, urates from this morning, and a picture of her this morning with the green mark on her tail.
Chameleon - Roxy, Veiled chameleon, female, maybe 2 years 9 months old (unsure of exact age). Been in my care for 2 years, 6 months.
Current Problem - Black marks on right side of body that seem to be spreading. I saw some on the left side of her tail last night. She has also been a little clumsy when she climbs. I attributed this to her being so large because of the eggs she’s carrying. However, I won’t rule out bone weakness especially because of the horrible compact UVB I was using.
This morning I noticed strange coloration; she was displaying her gravid colors but one patch on her tail was bright green (picture included). I have never seen markings like this, the black patches OR being entirely black with one bright green part. The green patch is still there. I apologize for the long post but I wanted to include as much information as possible. I greatly appreciate any advice or input anyone has.
I have a female veiled chameleon named Roxy I am very concerned about. Six days ago I noticed strange black markings on her back leg, hips, and front leg. It was only on the right side of her body. The black markings continued to spread so I took her to our emergency exotic vet. We were told the vet was experienced in exotics but she didn’t seem well versed in chameleon care (the care sheet she printed out for me said to gut load my bugs with dog food or fish pellets). She told me the markings were probably from stress and to up her temperatures to 94-100 degrees, feed her every day, and keep the humidity in the high 70s all day. The vet said she looked dehydrated and gave her some fluids but she has been passing urates frequently and lately they’ve all been white (before there might’ve been a little yellow at the end). They took x-rays that confirmed she has a clutch of eggs, but the vet said they didn't look fully developed. They also took some blood to see if her calcium levels were normal and they claim they are normal. I was also given some calcium glubionate to give her once a day because the vet felt that and extra hydration might help her lay eggs. The vet didn't suspect a fungal infection or bruising but since Roxy has been so clumsy I won’t rule out bruising. I had some crickets escape before so it’s possible they might’ve gotten into her enclosure and bit her but I’m not sure why the markings haven’t been getting better.
I cannot see the black markings during the day because she has been showing her gravid colors all day for about a month. I can only see them at night so the pictures with the markings were taken while she was asleep (she does not sleep during the day). However, I noticed her tail and legs look a little dull, along with the upper part of her back. She is due for a shed so I suspect the dull colors might be from that.
I am aware of the egg laying process; she has laid eggs twice before with no problems. I have a laying bin set up in her enclosure that is 12 inches in diameter and 15 inches tall. It is filled with 12 inches of washed play sand mixed with eco earth and Reptisoil. She has used this bin before the last time she laid eggs. I’ve lately been keeping her cage covered with a black sheet but have a gap at the top to allow airflow. I like the gap so most of the time I can peek through the windows of our garden house (where she is kept) and make sure she is still moving and not lethargic. However, today I changed it so the whole upper part of her cage is covered and there is a gap at the bottom. I cut a peep hole in the corner. Roxy used to climb all over her cage, top to bottom, side to side, but for the last month she’s spent a lot of her time basking and less time traveling. She is still moving around but not as much as before. She mostly climbs along the top branches, I have not seen her on the bottom branches unless there is a cricket down there to eat. Her eating has been fine and I made sure to squirt water in her mouth when I misted her in case she is a little dehydrated, like the vet claimed.
I will fill out the “ask for help form” and include pictures of her black markings and how they are spreading, her enclosure, bloodwork, x-rays, urates from this morning, and a picture of her this morning with the green mark on her tail.
Chameleon - Roxy, Veiled chameleon, female, maybe 2 years 9 months old (unsure of exact age). Been in my care for 2 years, 6 months.
- Handling - Rarely, maybe once a month.
- Feeding - 3-4 feeder insects every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Occasionally I will give her raw vegetables or little bits of apple or grape. All bugs gut loaded with Repashy Bug Burger and fruits and veggies, mostly mustard/collard greens, bell pepper, squash, apple, papaya, bee pollen, carrot.
- Supplements - Zoo Med plain calcium with every feeding, Reptivite with D3 twice a month. Note: Supplement schedule was, unfortunately, wrong for quite some time; she would get Reptivite twice a month and calcium with D3 twice a month as well.
- Watering - Use The Little Dripper and mist twice a day. I mist once in the morning and once in the afternoon. I often see my chameleon flicking tongue at little dripper and water usually squirts into her mouth during misting.
- Fecal Description - Brown stool, solid. Mostly white urates, sometimes with some yellow at the end. She has passed urates every day for the past week, which is a little odd. Last bowel movement was April 11. Never been tested for parasites.
- History - Has had compact UVB for most of her time in my care. I’m thinking very serious MBD was prevented because ever since I got her I made sure to bring her outside for natural sun for a couple of hours as often as possible. The D3 four times a month might’ve helped too. The first time she laid eggs was 12/18/18, laid 39 eggs,
- 9/30/19 laid 39 eggs again. I used to feed her 4 times a week but recently found out it needs to be three times a week.
- Cage Type - Screen cage 16x16x30 (I am planning to upgrade to 18x18x36 or maybe even 2x2x4 once she has laid her eggs)
- Lighting - 75w reptile basking bulb, Reptisun T5 linear 5.0 UVB bulb Note: Had been using compact Reptisun 5.0 UVB bulb and 60w daylight blue bulb until March 11 2021 when we replaced with lighting stated above.
- Temperature - Basking spot controlled by thermostat, gets no higher than 80 degrees, ambient temperature 72-77. Nighttime temps can drop down to 53 lowest but lately has been in the high 50s.
- Humidity - Daytime 40-60, nighttime 50+.
- Plants - Fake vines/leaves, live Bromeliad.
- Placement - Cage located in our garden house, low foot traffic. Placed in corner of room between two windows.
- Location - Southern California
Current Problem - Black marks on right side of body that seem to be spreading. I saw some on the left side of her tail last night. She has also been a little clumsy when she climbs. I attributed this to her being so large because of the eggs she’s carrying. However, I won’t rule out bone weakness especially because of the horrible compact UVB I was using.
This morning I noticed strange coloration; she was displaying her gravid colors but one patch on her tail was bright green (picture included). I have never seen markings like this, the black patches OR being entirely black with one bright green part. The green patch is still there. I apologize for the long post but I wanted to include as much information as possible. I greatly appreciate any advice or input anyone has.