Chameleon shed

[Tera_R]

Does this look like a healthy shed I’ve never owned a chameleon before and I’ve only had fig for a couple weeks and I noticed he had been rubbing his eyes on the branches I assumed it was irritation so I bought a fogger to increase humidity it’s been in there for two days and he started shedding so I just wanna be sure everything is okay he’s also been a bit inactive but I’m pretty sure it’s because my lighting was wrong (I now have the correct lighting)

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi. While adult chameleons do shed different parts of their body at different rates, your gut looks like he has an eye problem. Chameleons are dry shedders, so increasing humidity beyond 30-50% can actually make it harder for him to shed. Also, the black vine that you have is notorious for shedding off micro particles that can get into your cham’s eyes as they rub against them. Fluker’s has some nice foamy vines that don’t break off.

 

[Tkrd69]

I had to learn that too

 

[Tera_R]

Hi. While adult chameleons do shed different parts of their body at different rates, your gut looks like he has an eye problem. Chameleons are dry shedders, so increasing humidity beyond 30-50% can actually make it harder for him to shed. Also, the black vine that you have is notorious for shedding off micro particles that can get into your cham’s eyes as they rub against them. Fluker’s has some nice foamy vines that don’t break off.

Definitely going to look into new vines then. but what eye problem could it be? and currently his humidity is at 50%

 

[Lindasjackson]

He could have a piece of the vine in his eye or even a piece of skin in his eye irritating it.

Hi. While adult chameleons do shed different parts of their body at different rates, your gut looks like he has an eye problem. Chameleons are dry shedders, so increasing humidity beyond 30-50% can actually make it harder for him to shed. Also, the black vine that you have is notorious for shedding off micro particles that can get into your cham’s eyes as they rub against them. Fluker’s has some nice foamy vines that don’t break off.

 

[MissSkittles]

Definitely going to look into new vines then. but what eye problem could it be? and currently his humidity is at 50%

To my limited knowledge (what I see most often here) he could have something stuck in his eye, it could be a supplementation issue or possibly even related to his lights. So, what supplements (brand & type) are you using and how frequently for each? What lights are you using for basking and uvb?

 

[MissSkittles]

Looking at a couple of your recent posts, just for your guy’s all over good health I think it might be a good idea to review all of your husbandry. Since he had questionable care before you got him, it would definitely be of help to you both to pinpoint any areas that may need improvement. If you’d like to do this, copy/paste the questions below with your answers and be sure to include pics of your entire enclosure.
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.

--------------

Please Note:

1. The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.
2. Photos can be very helpful.

 

[Tera_R]

Looking at a couple of your recent posts, just for your guy’s all over good health I think it might be a good idea to review all of your husbandry. Since he had questionable care before you got him, it would definitely be of help to you both to pinpoint any areas that may need improvement. If you’d like to do this, copy/paste the questions below with your answers and be sure to include pics of your entire enclosure.
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.

--------------

Please Note:

1. The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.
2. Photos can be very helpful.

Chameleon Info: his name is fig

• Your Chameleon - Male veiled chameleon I believe he is about 8-10 months old not sure though I’ve had him for 2 weeks today
• Handling - the only tiny I’ve handled him was when we were redoing his enclosure
• Feeding - horn worms he’s only eaten 1 since I’ve had him
• Supplements - have not had a chance to use them since he’s not really eating
• Watering - I have a dripper that is constantly on and a mister that mists for 30 secs every 8 hours I also hand mist as well as I use a fogger at night and periodically through the day and yes he drinks in front of me quite frequently sometimes I’ll use water droplets and drip them into his mouth
• Fecal Description - his poop seems normal and his urate was white but his last poop it was white with bits of orange and he has never been tested
• History - not that I’m aware of no

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Screen and it’s 16x16x30
• Lighting - he has a Arcadia T5-HO 6%UVB as well as a Thrive 75 watt basking bulb his light are turning on at around 6:30am and turned off around 10 to 11 Pm
• Temperature - His basking is around 85 and his ambient is around 75 on the floor it’s about 71 I measure with both digital and non digital thermometers
• Humidity - His humidity ranges between 40 and 60 it stays at about 50 throughout the day and raises to 60-65 ish at night I use foggers/ misters and I use a digital as well as non digital hydrometers
• Plants - I have 1 live plant it’s a pothos
• Placement - It’s next to a window in my bedroom no one comes in here but me it’s sitting on a desk
• Location - I am located in Ohio

Also sorry the 2nd photo it’s night time so his lights are off also ignore the mess I haven’t had a chance to clean

3rd, 4th, and 6th photos are him when I 1st received him

 

[MissSkittles]

Chameleon Info: his name is fig

• Your Chameleon - Male veiled chameleon I believe he is about 8-10 months old not sure though I’ve had him for 2 weeks today
• Handling - the only tiny I’ve handled him was when we were redoing his enclosure Very good. You will eventually be wanting to build some trust with him. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/
• Feeding - horn worms he’s only eaten 1 since I’ve had him So he hasn’t eaten but one hornworm in 2 weeks? Not good. Veileds are very opportunistic eaters and will eat every chance they get. Attaching feeder and gutload graphics for when he does eat. They like variety as much as we do.
• Supplements - have not had a chance to use them since he’s not really eating The standard is lightly dusting every feeding with a phosphorus free calcium without D3. The easiest regimen for D3 and multivitamins is to use a good product like Repashy calcium Plus LoD or Reptivite with D3 at one feeding every other week.
• Watering - I have a dripper that is constantly on You want the enclosure to have a chance to dry out, so only use the dripper for about 20-30 minutes and a mister that mists for 30 secs every 8 hours It would be better to mist for at least 2 minutes twice a day plus the dripper once a day I also hand mist as well as I use a fogger at night and periodically through the day You don’t want to fog during the day or when temps are above 68-70 and yes he drinks in front of me quite frequently sometimes I’ll use water droplets and drip them into his mouth You shouldn’t be needing to drip water into his mouth and this can be risky. Their airway is in the front of their mouth and if not careful, he could aspirate water into his lungs.
• Fecal Description - his poop seems normal and his urate was white but his last poop it was white with bits of orange and he has never been tested As he isn’t eating, you’ll definitely want to have him checked for parasites.
• History - not that I’m aware of no

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Screen and it’s 16x16x30 I believe you’ve already been advised that the minimum size for him is a 2x2x4’. Males especially need as much space as we can give them.
• Lighting - he has a Arcadia T5-HO 6%UVB as well as a Thrive 75 watt basking bulb Perfect! his light are turning on at around 6:30am and turned off around 10 to 11 Pm I’d suggest having a 12 hour on/off schedule for lights. They do need their beauty sleep.
• Temperature - His basking is around 85 and his ambient is around 75 on the floor it’s about 71 I measure with both digital and non digital thermometers Very good!
• Humidity - His humidity ranges between 40 and 60 it stays at about 50 throughout the day and raises to 60-65 ish at night I use foggers/ misters and I use a digital as well as non digital hydrometers You’ll only want to increase night time humidity if your night temps can get below at least 68-70. Heat + high humidity increases risk for respiratory infection.
• Plants - I have 1 live plant it’s a pothos I know it’s difficult to hang plants in screen enclosures, but he does need some plants up higher. I’d suggest getting a taller center plant like a schefflera, weeping fig or similar and then as your pothos grows, guide the vines up and around branches. He’s also needing more branches or vines. I already told you about the black vine, but the mossy vine isn’t great to have either. Veileds nibble plants, so we need to have all safe live plants for them. The moss on the vine looks nice, but he may try to eat it which could cause impaction problems.
• Placement - It’s next to a window in my bedroom no one comes in here but me it’s sitting on a desk
• Location - I am located in Ohio

So really, you need to make some changes but you are definitely off to a good start. Chameleons are not the easiest to get set up and care for, but they are well worth it. I’m very glad that you’ve found the forum and are wanting to give this sweet little guy his best life.
Between his not eating, rough background and eye, I think your best bet is to take him to a good vet with experience with chameleons. Do take a fresh fecal sample of you can get one. Chameleons are known for not showing any signs of illness until it is often too late. It can be hard to find a good experienced vet and often we need to travel a bit to get to one. While many vets will see chameleons, they aren’t experienced or up to date with their proper care. There are a couple of helpful resources under the health clinic area of the forum.
I do hope you’ll keep asking whatever questions you have and sharing Fig’s progress. Love the name btw.

 

[Tera_R]

Chameleon Info: his name is fig

• Your Chameleon - Male veiled chameleon I believe he is about 8-10 months old not sure though I’ve had him for 2 weeks today
• Handling - the only tiny I’ve handled him was when we were redoing his enclosure Very good. You will eventually be wanting to build some trust with him. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/
• Feeding - horn worms he’s only eaten 1 since I’ve had him So he hasn’t eaten but one hornworm in 2 weeks? Not good. Veileds are very opportunistic eaters and will eat every chance they get. Attaching feeder and gutload graphics for when he does eat. They like variety as much as we do.
• Supplements - have not had a chance to use them since he’s not really eating The standard is lightly dusting every feeding with a phosphorus free calcium without D3. The easiest regimen for D3 and multivitamins is to use a good product like Repashy calcium Plus LoD or Reptivite with D3 at one feeding every other week.
• Watering - I have a dripper that is constantly on You want the enclosure to have a chance to dry out, so only use the dripper for about 20-30 minutes and a mister that mists for 30 secs every 8 hours It would be better to mist for at least 2 minutes twice a day plus the dripper once a day I also hand mist as well as I use a fogger at night and periodically through the day You don’t want to fog during the day or when temps are above 68-70 and yes he drinks in front of me quite frequently sometimes I’ll use water droplets and drip them into his mouth You shouldn’t be needing to drip water into his mouth and this can be risky. Their airway is in the front of their mouth and if not careful, he could aspirate water into his lungs.
• Fecal Description - his poop seems normal and his urate was white but his last poop it was white with bits of orange and he has never been tested As he isn’t eating, you’ll definitely want to have him checked for parasites.
• History - not that I’m aware of no

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Screen and it’s 16x16x30 I believe you’ve already been advised that the minimum size for him is a 2x2x4’. Males especially need as much space as we can give them.
• Lighting - he has a Arcadia T5-HO 6%UVB as well as a Thrive 75 watt basking bulb Perfect! his light are turning on at around 6:30am and turned off around 10 to 11 Pm I’d suggest having a 12 hour on/off schedule for lights. They do need their beauty sleep.
• Temperature - His basking is around 85 and his ambient is around 75 on the floor it’s about 71 I measure with both digital and non digital thermometers Very good!
• Humidity - His humidity ranges between 40 and 60 it stays at about 50 throughout the day and raises to 60-65 ish at night I use foggers/ misters and I use a digital as well as non digital hydrometers You’ll only want to increase night time humidity if your night temps can get below at least 68-70. Heat + high humidity increases risk for respiratory infection.
• Plants - I have 1 live plant it’s a pothos I know it’s difficult to hang plants in screen enclosures, but he does need some plants up higher. I’d suggest getting a taller center plant like a schefflera, weeping fig or similar and then as your pothos grows, guide the vines up and around branches. He’s also needing more branches or vines. I already told you about the black vine, but the mossy vine isn’t great to have either. Veileds nibble plants, so we need to have all safe live plants for them. The moss on the vine looks nice, but he may try to eat it which could cause impaction problems.
• Placement - It’s next to a window in my bedroom no one comes in here but me it’s sitting on a desk
• Location - I am located in Ohio

So really, you need to make some changes but you are definitely off to a good start. Chameleons are not the easiest to get set up and care for, but they are well worth it. I’m very glad that you’ve found the forum and are wanting to give this sweet little guy his best life.
Between his not eating, rough background and eye, I think your best bet is to take him to a good vet with experience with chameleons. Do take a fresh fecal sample of you can get one. Chameleons are known for not showing any signs of illness until it is often too late. It can be hard to find a good experienced vet and often we need to travel a bit to get to one. While many vets will see chameleons, they aren’t experienced or up to date with their proper care. There are a couple of helpful resources under the health clinic area of the forum.
I do hope you’ll keep asking whatever questions you have and sharing Fig’s progress. Love the name btw.
View attachment 324653View attachment 324654View attachment 324655

Thank you so much! I plan to look into all of this, and get his cage upgraded as soon as I can!

 

[Tera_R]

I got some better pictures of his eyes is there anything to like freak out about right now I’m going to call and set up a vet appointment tomorrow but I’m just wondering

 

[MissSkittles]

Having both eyes closed is a big indicator that something is very wrong and he’s ill. The sooner you can get him seen by a vet, the better. Having x rays and blood tested (if you can) will be ideal to determine what is going on and how best to treat him. Some vets will automatically prescribe antibiotics and treat for parasites without proper testing/diagnosing. As these can be very hard on the kidneys, do make sure your vet can tell exactly what the problem is before just accepting these treatments.
An x ray will be able to determine, among other things, the status of his bone density. Based on his casque, he appears to have some history of mbd or stunted growth and possibly a healed burn. His limbs look good though.
Basic blood tests will determine if there is an infection (white blood cell count will be high), organ function, etc.
If you aren’t able to get a fresh poo for parasite testing, some vets are able to obtain a sample from the cloaca.
If his supplementation was lacking, he may need some special supplements from the vet.
I always print out a copy of all of my husbandry to give to the vet to save time and 20 million questions. I also always take any questions I have written down and some paper to take notes of what the vet says.

 

[Tera_R]

Having both eyes closed is a big indicator that something is very wrong and he’s ill. The sooner you can get him seen by a vet, the better. Having x rays and blood tested (if you can) will be ideal to determine what is going on and how best to treat him. Some vets will automatically prescribe antibiotics and treat for parasites without proper testing/diagnosing. As these can be very hard on the kidneys, do make sure your vet can tell exactly what the problem is before just accepting these treatments.
An x ray will be able to determine, among other things, the status of his bone density. Based on his casque, he appears to have some history of mbd or stunted growth and possibly a healed burn. His limbs look good though.
Basic blood tests will determine if there is an infection (white blood cell count will be high), organ function, etc.
If you aren’t able to get a fresh poo for parasite testing, some vets are able to obtain a sample from the cloaca.
If his supplementation was lacking, he may need some special supplements from the vet.
I always print out a copy of all of my husbandry to give to the vet to save time and 20 million questions. I also always take any questions I have written down and some paper to take notes of what the vet says.

Thank you so much I really do appreciate it!