Chameleon health questions

splodeybaloney

New Member
Hello, this is my first time posting here, and I come to you in need of assistance.

First off:

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Male, veiled chameleon (named Finn), about 5-6 months old. I have had him for 4 months
Handling - Almost every day, probably about 5 minutes at a time
Feeding - He is fed with crickets, 5 per day in the morning
Supplements - I use a combination of Rep-Cal Herptivite and calcium + vit. D at least once a week
Watering - I mist the cage with a spray bottle at least every couple hours, just until everything gets wet. His cage sits right next to my desk, and I see him drinking often.
Fecal Description - Feces have always been consistently normal, it seems. Nicely shaped little grayish-black pellets with a white bit accompanying it. He has not been tested for parasites, as he has never been to a vet (but I'm probably going to take him this weekend)

Cage Info:
Cage Type - I have an Exo-Terra reptile cage, all glass sides with a screen top and a vent towards the bottom. 12" x 12" x 18"
Lighting - I have an Exo-Terra Repti-Glo 5.0 bulb, and a Zoo Med 75 watt basking lamp
Temperature - The temperature at the bottom of the cage is about 75, and I don't know what it is toward the top. I did move the basking lamp higher and away from the cage the other day, because I think he was getting too hot. The one thermometer I have is mounted to the wall at the bottom of the cage.
Humidity - Humidity level is consistently around 50-60% in the day, regulated by my spraying the cage. I have a hygrometer stuck to the wall of the cage.
Plants - No live plants, just fake plastic ones
Placement - The cage is located on a table in a corner of the room, kind of hidden away (so my CA doesn't see it). The top of the cage is probably 4 feet or so from the ground
Location - Located in Ames, IA

Current problem:

I got back from class today and noticed a black spot on his mouth, right on the very front of his face. At first it just looked like a discoloration on his skin, but the more I looked at it, the more it seemed like a speck of dirt. My girlfriend and I tried rubbing it off (gently, of course), but to no avail. It seems to be something that has discolored his skin, as evidenced in the first picture.

I mentioned earlier that I had moved his light because I was afraid he was getting too hot. Within the past couple days, he had started standing around with his mouth open, and parts of his skin that would usually look either white or orange have started being a kind of brown-ish color. I tried to show this in the second picture. The spots on his neck, some of the spikes along his back, and along the top of his veil all usually look white, but have started looking brown.

He has just started acting funny the past few days. He still sleeps, walks around, eats, drinks, and poops fine, but I've seen him licking the glass twice in the past two or three days. He was doing great up until the last time he shed, on August 23rd. All of this seems to have come about since then.



 
Welcome to the forums btw! :)

Standing with his mouth open and being a pale color means he is overheating. Looks like he's in glass cage, which retain heat better than we want them too sometimes. You need a thermometer at the top because the basking temp is important to know. His lip might be burned if he got too close to the bulb, especially since it was hot enough for him to overheat. It's a small spot so I would just keep an eye on it at this point. If it gets bigger, starts oozing or just doesn't look good I would start putting silvadene on it (an antimicrobial ointment).
 
Last edited:
it looks like a small burn
i feed my baby veiled like 20 crix a day 5 is not even enough and people dont like glass cages and dont mix supplements use d3 twice a month multi vitamins twice a month and calcium w/o d3 evry other feeding
 
The only thing about it being a burn is that I moved the lamp this morning, when he didn't have any black mark, and got back from class and noticed the mark. I raised the lamp a good 4-5 inches from the top of the cage, where before it was just sitting on top.
 
IMHO I think 5 crickets a day is not enough at that age. He is still growing and needs more food.

12X12X18 is too small for a veiled. You're going to need something at least 48 tall.

Supplements should be calcium w/o d3 every feeding, calcium with d3 twice a month, and a multi vitamin twice a month.

His colors are going to change as he gets older. You will notice this each time he sheds.

Standing with his mouth open could be because he is too hot (you need to get the temp of the basking area). It could also be signs of a resp infection. Do you hear any noises when he is breathing?

The spot on his lip looks like it could be a burn or a bruise.
 
I'm planning on getting a bigger cage for him as he grows. I haven't noticed any noises while he is breathing, and he seems to close his mouth whenever he gets out of the cage (he never opens it while I'm handling him), or away from the heat (I tried moving the lamp away while he has his mouth open, and he closed it. I moved it back, and he opened it again)
 
you cant wait till he "grows" to get a new cage you need one like as soon as posible the sooner the better they like alot of room to crawl around
 
Back
Top Bottom