Crooked Casque in my Veiled

[Blake25]

So Napoleon has gotten bigger. I’ve noticed his Casque is crooked. Is that normal? It doesn’t seem to affect him negatively in any way. He is very healthy and active. He has normal fecal and urate. Normal appetite. Nothing has changed for him. He went through a major shed that took him, 2-3 days max with no issues. I have replaced both his heat and his UVB bulbs even though I didn’t have to until September. Any advice helps!

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Veiled Chameleon, Male, not sure of age, has been in my care for about three months.
• Handling - Daily at his own request.
• Feeding - 8-10 crickets daily. 3-4 Wx Worms, every other day. 4-5 mealworms, every other day. 6pm feeding time.
• Supplements - Repti calcium (without D3) Crickets are dusted every feeding, wax and mealworms dusted every other feeding.
• Watering - Dripper/Fogger. Hand mist, 3 minutes multiple times a day. Yes I see him drinking.
• Fecal Description - Brown feces, white urate with slight yellow on the end. Sometimes with mucus. Always solid. Twice daily.
• History - Rescued from a pet store.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Zoo med Reptibreeze Chameleon kit 16x16x30, currently building bigger.
• Lighting - Zoo Med 100w Tropical UBV and Heat Lighting Dual Kit, 60w zoo med daylight blue reptile bulb, and 5.0 reptisun UVB zoo med bulb. Heat & UVB Lights from 9am-9pm sometimes 10pm.
• Temperature - Cage floor 70- Basking spot 86. Overnight temp 64. Digital thermometer.
• Humidity - Level usually stays around 80%. Could range from 55-80. Misting and fogger. Also live hibiscus plants and zoo med Eco Earth compressed coconut fiber substrate. Zoo med humidity gauge.
• Plants - Live Hibiscus Plants x2
• Placement - Cage located in sitting area, non high traffic. No fans/air vents. 6.5 ft from the floor.
• Location - Pittsfield, Illinois

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[Blake25]

Another picture of my boy

 

[PabloTheCham]

Ditch the dual lighting kit. He doesn't look like his MBD is bad yet, but you still need changes asap. He needs a linear t5 ho bulb, and the supplement routine changed. You need calcium without d3 daily, and multivitamin and calcium without d3 every other week. for example:
week 1: without d3+1 day with d3
week 2: without d3+1 day of multivitamin
week 3: without d3+1 day D3
week 4: without d3+1 day of multivitamin

 

[Blake25]

Ditch the dual lighting kit. He doesn't look like his MBD is bad yet, but you still need changes asap. He needs a linear t5 ho bulb, and the supplement routine changed. You need calcium without d3 daily, and multivitamin and calcium without d3 every other week. for example:
week 1: without d3+1 day with d3
week 2: without d3+1 day of multivitamin
week 3: without d3+1 day D3
week 4: without d3+1 day of multivitamin

I’m glad you laid it out like that. In my last thread someone named Amanda suggested the d3 and without d3 so I did switch that but I forgot to change it in my care chart. So basically I need to switch to the linear bulb as quick as possible. Thank you!

 

[Beman]

Hi there see my feedback in red bold. You got very complete detailed feedback in your last thread as well with your help form.

• Your Chameleon - Veiled Chameleon, Male, not sure of age, has been in my care for about three months.
• Handling - Daily at his own request.
• Feeding - 8-10 crickets daily. 3-4 Wx Worms, every other day. 4-5 mealworms, every other day. 6pm feeding time. He should be fed in the morning so he has all day to bask and digest. Also mealworms should not be fed. See feeder sheet. Are you not gutloading? See gutload sheet.
• Supplements - Repti calcium (without D3) Crickets are dusted every feeding, wax and mealworms dusted every other feeding. You should be using a multivitamin and calcium with D3 as well. You can buy Reptivite WITH D3 and give this two times a month every other week. Then the calcium no D3 would be used at all other feedings.
• Watering - Dripper/Fogger. Hand mist, 3 minutes multiple times a day. Yes I see him drinking.
• Fecal Description - Brown feces, white urate with slight yellow on the end. Sometimes with mucus. Always solid. Twice daily. IF there is mucus you need to get a fecal done to rule out parasite issues. Mucus is not a normal thing.
• History - Rescued from a pet store.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Zoo med Reptibreeze Chameleon kit 16x16x30, currently building bigger.
• Lighting - Zoo Med 100w Tropical UBV and Heat Lighting Dual Kit, 60w zoo med daylight blue reptile bulb, and 5.0 reptisun UVB zoo med bulb. Heat & UVB Lights from 9am-9pm sometimes 10pm. So you are still only running compact bulbs? Did you not get the T5HO long linear fixture with a 5.0 bulb? Compact bulbs are the most common cause for MBD. This shows in bowing of the bones and the casque being malformed. Once they start showing signs in their bones that you can see the MBD is progressing. This is really not a good thing. And can leave them disfigured and make it harder for them to move around.
• Temperature - Cage floor 70- Basking spot 86. Overnight temp 64. Digital thermometer.
• Humidity - Level usually stays around 80%. Could range from 55-80. Misting and fogger. Also live hibiscus plants and zoo med Eco Earth compressed coconut fiber substrate. Zoo med humidity gauge. 80 is high for the daytime.. Should be 30-50%. Are you running the fogger during the day? It should not be run during the day only at night when the lights are off and temps have dropped.
• Plants - Live Hibiscus Plants x2
• Placement - Cage located in sitting area, non high traffic. No fans/air vents. 6.5 ft from the floor.
• Location - Pittsfield, Illinois

 

[Blake25]

Hi there see my feedback in red bold. You got very complete detailed feedback in your last thread as well with your help form.

• Your Chameleon - Veiled Chameleon, Male, not sure of age, has been in my care for about three months.
• Handling - Daily at his own request.
• Feeding - 8-10 crickets daily. 3-4 Wx Worms, every other day. 4-5 mealworms, every other day. 6pm feeding time. He should be fed in the morning so he has all day to bask and digest. Also mealworms should not be fed. See feeder sheet. Are you not gutloading? See gutload sheet.
• Supplements - Repti calcium (without D3) Crickets are dusted every feeding, wax and mealworms dusted every other feeding. You should be using a multivitamin and calcium with D3 as well. You can buy Reptivite WITH D3 and give this two times a month every other week. Then the calcium no D3 would be used at all other feedings.
• Watering - Dripper/Fogger. Hand mist, 3 minutes multiple times a day. Yes I see him drinking.
• Fecal Description - Brown feces, white urate with slight yellow on the end. Sometimes with mucus. Always solid. Twice daily. IF there is mucus you need to get a fecal done to rule out parasite issues. Mucus is not a normal thing.
• History - Rescued from a pet store.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Zoo med Reptibreeze Chameleon kit 16x16x30, currently building bigger.
• Lighting - Zoo Med 100w Tropical UBV and Heat Lighting Dual Kit, 60w zoo med daylight blue reptile bulb, and 5.0 reptisun UVB zoo med bulb. Heat & UVB Lights from 9am-9pm sometimes 10pm. So you are still only running compact bulbs? Did you not get the T5HO long linear fixture with a 5.0 bulb? Compact bulbs are the most common cause for MBD. This shows in bowing of the bones and the casque being malformed. Once they start showing signs in their bones that you can see the MBD is progressing. This is really not a good thing. And can leave them disfigured and make it harder for them to move around.
• Temperature - Cage floor 70- Basking spot 86. Overnight temp 64. Digital thermometer.
• Humidity - Level usually stays around 80%. Could range from 55-80. Misting and fogger. Also live hibiscus plants and zoo med Eco Earth compressed coconut fiber substrate. Zoo med humidity gauge. 80 is high for the daytime.. Should be 30-50%. Are you running the fogger during the day? It should not be run during the day only at night when the lights are off and temps have dropped.
• Plants - Live Hibiscus Plants x2
• Placement - Cage located in sitting area, non high traffic. No fans/air vents. 6.5 ft from the floor.
• Location - Pittsfield, Illinois

View attachment 271735View attachment 271736

Here recently I’ve been feeding him in the mornings instead of afternoons. I should have updated his husbandry before I posted. That is my fault.

I gutload with carrots, oranges and cricket gut load dust from the pet store I can’t remember what it’s called.

I have switched his d3- vitamin intake since speaking in my last thread to a member here. I didn’t know he had to go a week without, I started that and a vitamin for a week. Again, my fault for not updating.

He no longer has mucus in his feces. Hasn’t for a while. I think what I was seeing was his feces was in the water bowl. Now that it is on the bottom of the cage it no longer has looked s


I do still have the compact bulbs. I switched the bulbs before recommended, but I am in the process of getting the t5 light. The only problem with him I have seen is in his casque. I interact with him daily and he does fine walking/climbing. I will definitely make his bulb more priority.

His humidity ranges from 55-80 more around 55 during the day and around 80 at night. His fogger is only run at night For a few hours from 12am-3am.

Thank you for your reply! I really appreciate it!

 

[Blake25]

Hi there see my feedback in red bold. You got very complete detailed feedback in your last thread as well with your help form.

• Your Chameleon - Veiled Chameleon, Male, not sure of age, has been in my care for about three months.
• Handling - Daily at his own request.
• Feeding - 8-10 crickets daily. 3-4 Wx Worms, every other day. 4-5 mealworms, every other day. 6pm feeding time. He should be fed in the morning so he has all day to bask and digest. Also mealworms should not be fed. See feeder sheet. Are you not gutloading? See gutload sheet.
• Supplements - Repti calcium (without D3) Crickets are dusted every feeding, wax and mealworms dusted every other feeding. You should be using a multivitamin and calcium with D3 as well. You can buy Reptivite WITH D3 and give this two times a month every other week. Then the calcium no D3 would be used at all other feedings.
• Watering - Dripper/Fogger. Hand mist, 3 minutes multiple times a day. Yes I see him drinking.
• Fecal Description - Brown feces, white urate with slight yellow on the end. Sometimes with mucus. Always solid. Twice daily. IF there is mucus you need to get a fecal done to rule out parasite issues. Mucus is not a normal thing.
• History - Rescued from a pet store.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Zoo med Reptibreeze Chameleon kit 16x16x30, currently building bigger.
• Lighting - Zoo Med 100w Tropical UBV and Heat Lighting Dual Kit, 60w zoo med daylight blue reptile bulb, and 5.0 reptisun UVB zoo med bulb. Heat & UVB Lights from 9am-9pm sometimes 10pm. So you are still only running compact bulbs? Did you not get the T5HO long linear fixture with a 5.0 bulb? Compact bulbs are the most common cause for MBD. This shows in bowing of the bones and the casque being malformed. Once they start showing signs in their bones that you can see the MBD is progressing. This is really not a good thing. And can leave them disfigured and make it harder for them to move around.
• Temperature - Cage floor 70- Basking spot 86. Overnight temp 64. Digital thermometer.
• Humidity - Level usually stays around 80%. Could range from 55-80. Misting and fogger. Also live hibiscus plants and zoo med Eco Earth compressed coconut fiber substrate. Zoo med humidity gauge. 80 is high for the daytime.. Should be 30-50%. Are you running the fogger during the day? It should not be run during the day only at night when the lights are off and temps have dropped.
• Plants - Live Hibiscus Plants x2
• Placement - Cage located in sitting area, non high traffic. No fans/air vents. 6.5 ft from the floor.
• Location - Pittsfield, Illinois

View attachment 271735View attachment 271736

I will also cut mealworms from his diet completely!

 

[PabloTheCham]

I gutload with carrots, oranges and cricket gut load dust from the pet store I can’t remember what it’s called.

Gutloading is a lot more important than you or I originally thought... Some more vegetables would be appreciated.

 

[Beman]

Here recently I’ve been feeding him in the mornings instead of afternoons. I should have updated his husbandry before I posted. That is my fault.

I gutload with carrots, oranges and cricket gut load dust from the pet store I can’t remember what it’s called.

I have switched his d3- vitamin intake since speaking in my last thread to a member here. I didn’t know he had to go a week without, I started that and a vitamin for a week. Again, my fault for not updating.

He no longer has mucus in his feces. Hasn’t for a while. I think what I was seeing was his feces was in the water bowl. Now that it is on the bottom of the cage it no longer has looked s


I do still have the compact bulbs. I switched the bulbs before recommended, but I am in the process of getting the t5 light. The only problem with him I have seen is in his casque. I interact with him daily and he does fine walking/climbing. I will definitely make his bulb more priority.

His humidity ranges from 55-80 more around 55 during the day and around 80 at night. His fogger is only run at night For a few hours from 12am-3am.

Thank you for your reply! I really appreciate it!

The importance of the T5HO fixture and 5.0 UVB bulb is quite extreme. I do not know if you have seen pictures of what they look like once the bones collapse but it is horrific. You are seeing signs now with his casque. Which means the strength of his bones are compromised. I can not express enough how important it is to provide the correct lighting. What you pay now for the correct lighting is nothing to what the on going vet bills from MBD will be. And worse then the expense IMO is that the bones never return to normal it is a permanent deformity for them to live with.

Gutload is extremely important as well. We do not gutload to simply feed the insects. We gutload to pass on all those nutrients to the chameleon. To make the feeder the best it can be. Think of it this way. It is the difference between us eating top roman and a balanced meal with protein and veg. Both will fill you up but which gives your body energy and nutrients better? Same for feeders. If they are eating only carrot and fruit then that is all the nutrients your cham gets. They become a less then adequate feeder which in turn impacts your cham shedding cleanly and living a healthy life.

So you are wanting to provide a variety of 3-4 leafy greens from the image and 1 or two fruits. Then each time you go to buy your gutload switch out the ones your getting with different ones on the image. Save the image to your phone for easy reference.