Color questions, new owners!!!

[Chris78]

i added a couple of pictures, we have only had him since saturday. he stayed light green all day saturday and sunday, monday and today he has been brown. is he unhappy, i dont believe he is to hot or cold. i did add 2 live plants that were on the safe list that he has picked at, could he have a belly ache. he eats crickets and we have a drip in the cage that he occassionally drinks from. just need some thoughts from vetern owners.

 

[SaintJimmy]

You have a nice looking chameleon.

Brown doesn't necessarily mean that he/she is unhappy.

My chameleon turns darker colors when he is basking to get more heat from the bulb, then turns green and walks away to regulate his body temperature.

He changes color quite a lot.

The only colors you should REALLY worry about are
1) VERY pale green during the day time with spots (this means stress)
2) VERY dark black/brown.

Your chameleons colors are fine for now.

Also you will start seeing some other colors (maybe blue, yellow, more dark green) later on when the chameleon is older.

How old is he/she? Can you take a picture of the entire tank?

 

[Chris78]

thanks for the quick answer, this site pops up for like any question you can ask on a browser and obviously has proved pretty usful, i am glad i signed up! attached is a pic of the setup we put together for him.

he has the spines on his heels, i heard that means he is male and the petstore, Petsmart - thought he was 6 months.

continue with your thoughts, they are greatly appreciated!

 

[deadhd5]

He is a cutie, but definitely no where near 6 months. Welcome to the forums, you will learn a lot here that will keep your little buddy happy and healthy.

Is that his permanent home? Unfortunately, it has some inadequacies that could result in health issues if not addressed.

1.) Make sure he is getting good airflow. Stagnant air will lead to a respiratory infection pretty quickly. I would get a very small fan to circulate air into that tank. Most people use all screen cages, which I highly recomment.

2.) I do not see a UVB light. You must add one immediately or your cham will begin to develop MBD. If he cannot absorb adequate calcium to his bones while growing he will be permanently deformed.

3.) I would remove the substrate. He can accidently ingest some, leading to impaction. He could also intentionally ingest some, equally leading to impaction.

These are all pretty important issues to be addressed in the very short term. Please don't take this as nagative criticism, it is meant to be constructive. Please ask any questions, we are here to help !

 

[Chris78]

thanks again, i have read about the substrate. i will remove it immediately when i get home as well as stop and grab a bulb, what is the buld exactly? is it a black light, i do have one of those, so to speak...
as far as the calcium, i can just dust my crickets right?

 

[deadhd5]

thanks again, i have read about the substrate. i will remove it immediately when i get home as well as stop and grab a bulb, what is the buld exactly? is it a black light, i do have one of those, so to speak...
as far as the calcium, i can just dust my crickets right?

You will want to pick up a UVB light, most forum members prefer a reptisun 5.0, expecially for young chameleons. The linnear flourescent bulbs provide the best UVB distribution.

For calcium, yes, just dust the crickets prior to feeding. I put them in a cup with a small amount of powder and shake.

Please be sure you have 2 types of calcium, one with vitamin D3, and one without (all phosphorus free). Use the plain calcium at every feeding and the calcium with D3 twice a month. You will also want to pick up a multivitamin like Herptivite, which is addionally used twice a month.

 

[Chris78]

how much ....

can you shoot me some prices? should he have the uvb light along with the light that is currently ontoop of is cage? can it be shut off at night?

 

[Chris78]

UPDATE changes!!!

We removed bark substrate, added a UVB light and dust crickets with calcium d3 and herptivite multivitamin.

Intialally we changed the bark out with a dirt/soil substrate, it was very fine.
except he (Sneakers) started eating the dirt, we decided to remove it and go with the plain old pad on the btm.

How much should he be eating everyday, i have heard mixed suggestions, we give him a couple crickets in the morning, a couple in the afternoon and a fairly hardy dinner - 2-4 crickets and a couple mealworms. Also i have a couple live plants he nibbles at. they have been washed and are on the safe list.

Check out the pictures i have attached, my girlfriend was vaccuuming and we think it spooked Sneakers!

Please feel free to comment and make suggestions, as i now know, no this will not be his permanent enclouser....

 

[AnvilsHammer]

How much should he be eating everyday, i have heard mixed suggestions, we give him a couple crickets in the morning, a couple in the afternoon and a fairly hardy dinner - 2-4 crickets and a couple mealworms. Also i have a couple live plants he nibbles at. they have been washed and are on the safe list.

Personally I don't feed my chameleon past 3 o'clock. They need time to bask and digest the food before they go to sleep or they can get indigestion. Usually I feed him around 11 because by that time he would have warmed up by then, i'll hand feed about 7 crickets that are 1/2" and put another 6 in for him to eat when he wants.

Some days I have to put more in for him, and some days I take 2-3 crickets out at night. Rule of thumb for a baby is, if they are hungry let them eat. More they eat the stronger they are and the faster they grow.

I have a 5-6 month old Faly.

 

[ReptileLove18]

are you dusting the crickets with calcium d3 and multivitamin everyday?
the schedule for dusting should be, everyday with calium without d3 in it, twice a month calcium with d3 and on the alternating weeks twice a month the multivitamin.
also, many keepers dont suggest feeding your cham in the evening because it takes time under the basking light to properly digest. most keepers feed in the morning or early afternoon!

 

[deadhd5]

We removed bark substrate, added a UVB light and dust crickets with calcium d3 and herptivite multivitamin.

Intialally we changed the bark out with a dirt/soil substrate, it was very fine.
except he (Sneakers) started eating the dirt, we decided to remove it and go with the plain old pad on the btm.

How much should he be eating everyday, i have heard mixed suggestions, we give him a couple crickets in the morning, a couple in the afternoon and a fairly hardy dinner - 2-4 crickets and a couple mealworms. Also i have a couple live plants he nibbles at. they have been washed and are on the safe list.

Check out the pictures i have attached, my girlfriend was vaccuuming and we think it spooked Sneakers!

Please feel free to comment and make suggestions, as i now know, no this will not be his permanent enclouser....

Kudos to you for taking quick action on the suggested changes. Veilds of his age should receive 10-15 appropriately sized bugs a day, dusted with plain calcium. Really, at this age, he can't eat too much. It is best, as others have recommended, to feed him earlier in the day. I only feed once a day, in the morning.

You will need to pickup calcium without D3, to be used daily. The calcium with D3 should be given only twice a month. The vitamins should also only be given twice a month. I would recommend picking a weekend day to supplement with either the D3 or vitamins, and alternate between the two (One Saturday give D3, the next give vitamins).

Here is a picture of the plain calcium you will need to pick up. It is confusing because most petstores like Petsmart only carry calcium with D3. I bought mine online.

 

[carol5208]

Hi Chris and welcome to the forums. I hate to be a downer here but you are using a fish tank to house your chameleon and that is really a no, no. Terrariums are ok as they have vents on the bottom to allow for air circulation. I would not continue to house your chameleon in there. Misting and drippjng water can cause stagnant water that has no where to breathe. Your chameleon can get a respitratory infection. I would either switch out to a screen a cage or get yourself the proper terrarium

 

[Chris78]

Dusting . . .

we have only had the cham for 5 days now, yesterday was the first time i dusted the crickets or was aware of it. I told the person at the pet store i need both calcium powders and she told me i only needed to do the one. Are there side effects of using just the d3 calcium and th multivitamins every feeding?

Calcium (no d3) every feeding?

Calcium w/ d3 twice a month?

Multivitamins twice a month, but every other week per the calcium d3?

This is a proper regiment? How many crickets do you suggest i have on hand?

We are new to reptiles, we intially were going to buy a bearded dragon, but they are boring, then we saw this guy and now hes part of our family!

Thanks . . .

 

[ReptileLove18]

too much d3 can present problems, an overload of vitamins and minerals. yes what you just listed is the proper regimen i always get at least 50 and put 5 in a cup or free range in the enclosure every feeding. if your cham eats them all, you can put a few more in. its recommended to take any left over insects out of the enclosure in the evening time. also, its good to get a varied diet going for your cham, you could try mealworms, hornworms, roaches as it gets larger, and superworms as a treat(they sometimes get "addicted" to superworms and dont want to eat anything else if you give them too often lol)
this blog has great feeder ideas https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/74-feeders.html
and this one has all you need for gutloading your insects before feeding them to your cham https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/75-feeder-nutrition-gutloading.html

welcome to the forum also lol glad to have you! cant wait to see more pics of your new friend!

 

[ReptileLove18]

this blog is all about veileds, has great info! https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/chameleonsinmyhouse/395-veiled-chameleon-care-sheet.html

 

[deadhd5]

we have only had the cham for 5 days now, yesterday was the first time i dusted the crickets or was aware of it. I told the person at the pet store i need both calcium powders and she told me i only needed to do the one. Are there side effects of using just the d3 calcium and th multivitamins every feeding?

Calcium (no d3) every feeding?

Calcium w/ d3 twice a month?

Multivitamins twice a month, but every other week per the calcium d3?

This is a proper regiment? How many crickets do you suggest i have on hand?

We are new to reptiles, we intially were going to buy a bearded dragon, but they are boring, then we saw this guy and now hes part of our family!

Thanks . . .

Yes, if you use D3 at every feeding your chameleon will develop edema, a painful condition that will lead to deterioration of your cham's health. He will need a lot of crickets in his youth, and will probably eat 15 a day. I usually keep a minimum of 50 on hand and replenish to around 200 when I hit 50. It is also important for his health that he get a variety of feeders, that are themselves well fed on veggies, fruits, and quality commercial gutloads (cricket crack, dino fuel, bug burger, to name a few). Different types of insects you can use are phoenix worms, silkworms, butterworms, mealworms, waxworms, superworms, dubia roaches, hornworms, blue bottle flies, among others.