Condition of my veiled.

T

Tobykun

New Member
On April 7th 2006 I took home a baby veiled from a local pet store. Since the moment he was put in his cage, he's been a big eater. I'm a bit concerned he may be on the path of being an overweight chameleon. I'm also concerned about his jaw. I've made sure to dust his crickets as a baby every other day and three times a week as of recent. He has a UVA/UVB strip light and has displayed zero signs of being ill. He is extremely active to the point lately he's been willing to come out of his cage on his own to simply climb on my chair and head. I'm just concerned because the senegal I had before him passed and I was extremely attached to her. I want my Toby to be around for many, MANY years to come. I'm just curious if he looks to be in good health. I'm just being paranoid I suppose.

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He looks to be in very good health. You've done a nice job raising him, especially considering that he was purchased from a Pet Store; If you decide to make another chameleon purchase in the future, I'd recommend reputable breeders over the internet/herp shows.

Naturally, Chameleons are short lived. I would say the maximum life-span of a healthy male Veiled would be upwards towards 8 years or so, but that usually isn't the case. As far as obesity goes, I think he's in good weight. He's a juvenile and still has a lot of growing to do, so it's very normal for him to have a healthy appetite. How old is he? An overweight chameleon usually refuses to move around a lot, and has a very bulbous casque. Yours seems to be just fine- He has very nice coloration! :D
 
I'm not sure of his age. I've had him for over 3 months now and he was just a baby when I got him. The pet store claimed he was captive breed and I received a free vet visit coupon when I purchased him. I took him to a local vet that deals mostly with birds and exotics to have him checked for parasites. The only problem I've had with him is he hates to be misted. I had this problem with my senegal who would drink from "the little dripper" as its called and also from a dropped by hand. He does the same thing and I've seen him drinking off the leaves after misting, but he puffs up and runs during the misting. Lately I just spray the leaves and leave him alone.

Edit: This is a picture of him about a week or so after I got him.

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He looks good to me, maybe a very slightly tad bit pudgy, but hardly worry for becoming obese. A weight measurement and size measurement would be useful to compare to others for curiosities sake. Its easy to cut back. Just remove one cricket from each feeding, if you are micromanaging his diet. If he starts to loose weight to the point that he looks sickly, simply add the cricket back in. If he still looks just as healthy as he does now, then you will have done the right thing.

About the hair, personally, I believe the "Climbing to the head" bit is all to do with "getting to the highest point" in the room. Usually the keepers head. It only makes sense for them to go to you shoulder or head if you are standing in front of their cage.
 
He looks like a beautiful healthy Veiled chameleon to me:) His tail suggests he is a good weight, the only thing that could indicate he is slightly heavy is his casque is starting to bulge a little. Very beautiful specimen you have there.
BTW, why do you worry about his jaw?
 
Toby looks to be in excellent condition! He has a little fatty deposit around the jaw area and a bulgy casque, but other than that, he looks awesome!!! My male tends to put on a bit of weight every now & then too, but with a little regulation of the diet, he does just fine. My female is the one we have to watch weight-wise....she's a piggy!!

IvorySerpent
 
Hey... in my opinion, Toby is overweight.... why? if you look at the casque...it is very plum and juicy plus the tail is big too. He is in good condition but if you want him to stay longer and live longer, you might wanna consider to feed him slightly less than before. When reach adulthood, i feed my chameleon every other day. Hopefully this might help!!
 
I agree - he looks a bit overweight - which is fine for young ones, as we all try to make sure they don't get stunted. I woudl put him on a diet about now - he's clearly getting more food than he needs as evidenced by the puffieness of his casque, the meatieness of his back and tail,a nd especially his legs and feet. Veileds should have very thin, gracile legs and feet. This guy's arms are very robust.

Veileds can live from 5-10+ years in captivity, but they will usually live 3-4 years if they are fat. They just do not do well with obecity.

how much does he eat per day? For comparison, my big male, at 17", eats every other day, 2-5 insects, plus supplemental fruits and veggies. That is enough to maintain his body condition. If I fed him just 5-6 insects every other day, he starts to get pudgy.

He looks fantastic otherwise - how long is he? Really nice veiled you got there, good balance of colors.
 
Well the problem is, he LOVES to eat. I usually feed him a few in the morning and he'll wait around his food dish until I feed him more. If I don't, he'll continue to sit and wait, until eventually he'll start thinking he's seeing food in the empty container and will attack it.
 
And that;s the reason so many people have fat (and short lived) veileds - they love to eat, and WE love to feed them. Given the chance, they'll eat all day. My veiled wille at 30 crickets a day if I let him - he doesnt' get that in a WEEK.

A healthy veiled should always be hungry, and never go on a hunger strike. Never had one refuse food in over a decade. It used to happen all the time when I was first getting into the hobby - I fed them about 10 crickets/superworms a day. They get full, blocked up, and tired of the same insects.

Try to cut his food back so that his casque is not bulging, so that it's either flat, or slightly concave. Also, his feet should be thin in cross section, not padded like boxing gloves (his arent' too bad, though).

I've seen some chameleons that were grossly fat, with rolls and rolls of meat bulging out of their necks and joints.
 
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