bought my first cham. looking for a little guidance?

[ruru]

So yesterday i bought my first chameleon! It is a female vieled chameleon her name is ruru. I have done all my research on chameleons and im making sure i have everything she needs. but i still have a couple questions! since i own a bearded dragon, and i know its not safe to let crickets run loose in his cage over night because they will try to nibble on him. does this also go for chameleons to? also i was wondering what the "normal" coloring is for a healthy cham? i know they change due to temp changes and mood but when i first got her she was a light green color and now that i have her in her home she seems to be staying more of a brownish color.. can anyone tell me if that is normal?

 

[justjumpit621]

Please fill out this help form so we can try to pin point the problem and any other possible problems there may be:

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.


Also, please take that substrate out, they can accidentally ingest it and become impacted. Even if you may not think this would happen it does and is fatal.

 

[tkilgour]

That is correct, It is best to not leave crickets inside the enclosure. They could bite on your chameleon. Also, your chameleon could be dark colored from the stress of being in a new environment. After it settles in it should go back to being a nice lime green.

However, it may be best to fill out the how to ask for help form. This will help us to point you in the right direction with your husbandry.

Best of Luck!

 

[xplicitelem3nt]

Looking at your photos, I see only a glass cage. They belong in a screen cage. This could be a reason why she is brown. I hope I'm wrong and thats your bearded dragons cage.

 

[Monkeykungphu]

If you got her yesterday, I'd imagine it's probably relocation stress, I bet she'll start doing better in a couple of days.

 

[kinyonga]

Welcome to the world of chameleons!

Since she is fairly big, I would recommend that you have an opaque container of washed playsand in her cage for her to dig in should she produce eggs. Veiled females can produce eggs even when not mated...and you don't want her not to lay them and become eggbound.

Supplements, temperatures, gutloading/feeding the insects a nutritious diet, exposure to UVB (that does not pass through glass or plastic), etc. are all important for your chameleons health. If you fill out the suggested questionaire we will have a better idea of whether you need advice about these things or not.

I live in Ontario and I have used glass/screen combination cages for years and they are not a problem because of the climate here....as long as there is no water left stagnant on the floor of the cage. Pennsylvania shouldn't be much different.

 

[ruru]

help form

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - [female] vieled chameleon, im not sure of her age.she has been in my care for only about 24 hours now.
Handling - iv only handled her once when i first got her to get her cage situtated.
Feeding -crickets [gut loaded with flukers' cricket gut loader] about a dozen a day. (dusted with rep-cal with d3)
Watering - i mist her. for 5 mins about 3 times a day. yes i see her drinking.
Fecal Description -i just got her and havent seen any in her cage yet.
History -no history. the old owner just handed her to me.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - she is in a 20 gallon tank with a screen lid.
Lighting - repti-sun uvb compact fluoresent light. for uvb and a regular 75 watt bulb for hear. turn lights on at about 9 am. and shut them off before i go to bed around 9
Temperature - the bottom of her cage is about 75 degrees and the top towards the light is about 95 degrees. last night her overnight temp was about 70. i mesure with a hygro therm humidity and temp controller
Humidity - humidity is about 70-75
Plants - no live plants plastic.
Placement - cage is in living room in the corner by snake on a stand not a high traffic area but there is a fan in the other side of the room but it doesnt point towards the cage
Location - pennsylvania [east]

 

[ruru]

substrate

the people i got her from had been using coconut fiber so that is what is in the bottom of her cage. should i take it out?

 

[kinyonga]

She should be in a bigger cage IMHO.

You said you use a repti-sun uvb compact fluoresent light...some of the compacts can cause eye issues...so the most often recommended UVB light is the long linear Repti-sun 5.0 fluorescent light.

You said the top towards the light is about 95 degrees...I keep my veiled females in the mid to low 80's to help keep their appetites down and feed them less than they would like to eat to keep them from producing large clutches.

IMHO real plants are better because some veileds have been known to try to eat fake ones.

If the chameleon can see the snake, I would try to change that. Some chameleons view snakes as predators.

I would take the substrate out...some substrates can cause impactions.

You said you feed her crickets [gut loaded with flukers' cricket gut loader] about a dozen a day. (dusted with rep-cal with d3)...
I gutload crickets, superworms, etc. with a wide variety of greens (dandelions, collards, kale, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, squash, zucchini, celery leaves, etc.)

Since many of the feeder insects we use have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorus, I dust at most feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder to help make up for it.

I dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcim/D3 powder to ensure that the chameleon gets some D3 without overdoing it. I leave it to produce the rest of the D3 from its exposure to the UVB light. D3 from supplements can build up in the system and cause problems. D3 from exposure to UVB light should not build up as long as the chameleon can move in and out of it.

I dust twice a month with a vitamin powder with a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A. Beta carotene won't build up in the system but its controversial as to whether all/any chameleons can convert beta carotene...so some people give a little prEformed vitamin A once in a while. Excess prEformed may prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the chameleon towards MBD...so you need to be careful with it.

Calcium, D3, vitamin A and phos. are all important players in bone health and other systems in the chameleon and they need to be in balance. When trying to balance them, you need to look at the supplements, what you feed to the chameleon and what you feed to he insects.

Hope this helps!

 

[ruru]

She should be in a bigger cage IMHO.

You said you use a repti-sun uvb compact fluoresent light...some of the compacts can cause eye issues...so the most often recommended UVB light is the long linear Repti-sun 5.0 fluorescent light.

You said the top towards the light is about 95 degrees...I keep my veiled females in the mid to low 80's to help keep their appetites down and feed them less than they would like to eat to keep them from producing large clutches.

IMHO real plants are better because some veileds have been known to try to eat fake ones.

If the chameleon can see the snake, I would try to change that. Some chameleons view snakes as predators.

I would take the substrate out...some substrates can cause impactions.

You said you feed her crickets [gut loaded with flukers' cricket gut loader] about a dozen a day. (dusted with rep-cal with d3)...
I gutload crickets, superworms, etc. with a wide variety of greens (dandelions, collards, kale, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, squash, zucchini, celery leaves, etc.)

Since many of the feeder insects we use have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorus, I dust at most feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder to help make up for it.

I dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcim/D3 powder to ensure that the chameleon gets some D3 without overdoing it. I leave it to produce the rest of the D3 from its exposure to the UVB light. D3 from supplements can build up in the system and cause problems. D3 from exposure to UVB light should not build up as long as the chameleon can move in and out of it.

I dust twice a month with a vitamin powder with a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A. Beta carotene won't build up in the system but its controversial as to whether all/any chameleons can convert beta carotene...so some people give a little prEformed vitamin A once in a while. Excess prEformed may prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the chameleon towards MBD...so you need to be careful with it.

Calcium, D3, vitamin A and phos. are all important players in bone health and other systems in the chameleon and they need to be in balance. When trying to balance them, you need to look at the supplements, what you feed to the chameleon and what you feed to he insects.

Hope this helps!

thank you!! i will definately be making some changes!! from what i hear chams. can get sick or die easily and i would never want that <3 what size cage would u recomend she be in? and if she does lay eggs will they be fertile? im really not ready for that. lol i want to prevent that at all costs.

 

[kinyonga]

Cage..minimum 24" wide x 24" high by 18" deep/long.

The eggs will be infertile if the female is not mated.

This might help...
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/2007/12/keeping-female-veiled.html

 

[ruru]

update

now that iv had her for a couple days iv made the suggested changed got her a bigger home took substrate out and made minor changes to the lighting. she seems to be a little more stressed out but i think its just b/c of her new home. so i moved here to a higher stand so she feels safer and its in a more peacefull place with out activity im going to wait a couple more days and see if she starts going back to her normal happy lime green self.

 

[ruru]

ruru

so i made all the changes and gave ruru a few days to get used to it and she is still a dark color like in the 3rd pic. idk if its taking her longer to get used to her new home or what? iv had her for about a week now and she still isnt her happy lime green color the only time i get to see her pretty green is when shes sleeping and just wakes up in the morning! anybody else have some other suggestions?

 

[jamncristian]

did you get her the screen cage yet??

 

[ruru]

...

yes i went out and bought her a $ 300 home made mesh/screen cage no substrate live plans tons to climb on still have fake plants 2 tho and i mist her a few times a day for 5 mins bought a new uvb. she eats about a dozen crickets a day sometimes a few more...idk what else to do that will make her happy.