color ok???

[xpowellsk8]

hello i have a young i believe male veiled chameleon and when i first see him at the beginning of the day he is green and when he sleeps he is green but when he wakes up he is fine for a bit then turns brown but he moves around and eats very well and if i open his cage he tries to get on me he is very friendly which i think is odd since i have read they shouldnt be handled much...im not sure of his age i just bought him...he is about 3.5 to 4 inches from nose to tail. I think it is a male i keep saying he but he does have a small spine or whatever you want to call it on the back of his feet on the back legs. I just want to make sure he is ok i have only had him like 2 days and ive already gotten attached. I also have a problem with the humidity i get it up to about 50 but then its drops back to 30 and stays there until i mist again. Im new to this so sorry for all this info and questons...everwhere i read says som many different things its hard to know whats right and whats wrong...any info on my situation and good info would be great.

 

[chameleon97]

Please fill this out: https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

 

[justjumpit621]

The spur means he is a male, as for the color he may not like his enclosure. Are there any hiding spots and shaded areas? Also, do you have any live plants? Live plants will both provide comfort and shelter to your cham and keep the humidity up. If you do not have plants already here are a few lists of some safe plants:

https://www.chameleonforums.com/live-plant-database-2632/

http://www.flchams.com/safe_plant_list.asp

try filling this out so we can help you if there is a problem with your setup that is making your cham unhappy:

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?

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.
Current Problem - The current problem that you are concerned about.

 

[xpowellsk8]

currently he is in a 10 gallon glass tank with a screen lid and i have already got a new 65 gallon screen one on order since the pet store said this was ok i believed them until i read some more...i have a 75w heat light but i thing its too hot it gets up to 95 to 100 degrees in the corner i have it in...i have a coiled uvb light which they say is bad...at night it stays around 70 degrees F and the humidity is about 60 to 70% at night. I have no live plants yet but i do have a lot of green fake plants that he likes to hang out in and a big branch. I will get more things once my new enclosure arrives. i keep the tank on the kitchen bar where no one ever sits or goes around and it is not near a vent or fan. I am located in southern maryland. I have been feeding him very small crickets and fruit flys...he eats a lot of fruit flys and i have only given him about 5 crickets since i got him. I have no supplements yet i am looking onto that the pet store in this area is limited. I mist his enclosure with a spray bottle every few hours. his fecal matter has been a brownish black and i saw a white thing on it. and for the rest i posted above...sorry for all the confusion.

 

[pssh]

It's probably best to buy a screen cage. Bring the basing down to 80 and he'll probably brighten right up. Buy a long linear reptisun 5.0 UVB bulb and get a calcium supplement without d3, a calcium suplement with d3, and a multi vitamin. Feed him well gutloaded crickets as his main diet and flies as more of a treat. You can gut load with a dry store bought gut load and crab veggies and fruits like kale, collards, apple, and oranges. Anything high in calcium is usually good. Make sure that when you spray him you spay for a good minute+. A dripper is usually good too! Also make sure that his cage has lots of plants and vines for him to hide in.

You can buy all of these items at lllreptile.com for a very low price.

 

[xpowellsk8]

thanks for the info...Ive already found lllreptile.com and its an awsome site i plan on getting many things from there....

 

[Dave Weldon]

...i have a coiled uvb light which they say is bad...

Howdy,

ZooMed CFL UVB lamps have been recently re-formulated. If it is a ZooMed UVB CFL, please tell us which model (5.0 or 10.0) and what the date code (2006=dangerous and 2009=ok when used properly) is printed at the bottom right-hand corner of the instruction sheet. If it isn't ZooMed, tell us who does make it and what model it is and we'll sort it out from there. If you decide to convert to a linear tube, you can't go wrong with a ZooMed Reptisun 5.0 unit.

 

[xpowellsk8]

on the bulb it says zilla 13 watt tropical 25...

 

[justjumpit621]

no good, I would go with a linear tube to be safe, my chameleon went blind from the wrong UVB lighting.

 

[Dave Weldon]

on the bulb it says zilla 13 watt tropical 25...

Howdy,

In the past, the R-Zilla 50 and to a lesser extent, the 25 have been the direct cause of illness and even death (search the site for Zilla). There is not a final report out yet on any improvements in their product and you may have one of the early, original culprits anyway . Get the Reptisun 5.0 linear (18" is fine) tube and a fixture to go with it. That way you'll be able to cross that whole issue off the list .