Dehydration and bug problems

Evello

Evello

New Member
My male veiled chameleon is about a year old (or at least that's what the pet store told us) and he's always been kept outside and been fine. We recently moved though, and we found out that we can't keep him outside anymore because there's too many bugs that get into his cage, and he started acting really weird, so we brought him inside.

Now he's dehydrated (I think) he keeps his eyes closed all the time and he's black most of the time. I tried spraying his cage with water and giving him more water in his dripper than usual, and I saw him drinking it but his eyes still aren't open.

I'm just wondering am I doing something wrong with drip-watering him or is he just dehydrated from the humidity not being as high in the house? And do I need to get a vet's help?
 
Hello and welcome, to Chameleon Forums. :)

A vet visit is always a good idea, eyes closed during the day is not a good sign. (Im not saying he is about to die, it just indicates an issue.)

Where were you located before, and after the move? (generally speaking)

Id recommend you fill out this form, it will help give everyone a good idea of his care, and what may be causing the issue, and if anything needs to be changed.


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.


Pictures are helpful
 
fill out the form as requested so we can help you. Also, I am curious where you live that you can keep him outside? Is that year round? how long have you had him?
 
Chameleon Info:
Gender - Male
Breed - Veiled Chameleon
Age - Was told he was about a year old. I've had him for about two months now.
Handling - I haven't held him since the first day I got him, he turns black and hisses whenever I put my hand in his cage.
Feeding - I feed him 6-7 crickets a day usually around 4. I gut-load the crickets by giving them a little potato to eat and also some jelly-water that I got at the pet store.
Supplements - I don't give him supplements, I'm kind of new to owning a chameleon and I didn't do anything that the pet store didn't say he needed.
Watering - He's watered with a dripper, and for the past two weeks I don't know how many times he gets misted during the weekdays (weird home situation) I'm only with him on the weekends and then I mist him about once a day. I've seen him drinking before but sometimes when I fill the dripper he gets irritated at it and gets as far away from it as he can.
Fecal Description - I can't find any feces in his cage right now.
History - I bought him from a pet store about two months ago, I don't know much about him.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Screen cage, 28 in. high 18 in. long and 18 in. width
Lighting - http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2012/139/8/d/light_by_evello-d50dx63.jpg it's a 50 watt but I'm not sure what type it is, I lost the box. I keep it on during the day and turn it off at night.
Temperature - Under the light its probably about 76-80 degrees F and at the bottom its around 72 degrees F. I don't have a thermometer or anything to measure it by, 72 is the temperature we keep the house at.
Humidity - Humidity is about 45-50, I have a little meter beside his cage that tells the humidity of it.
Plants - Yes, he has a small ficus tree in his cage.
Placement - His cage is in my room, just under a window but no sunlight gets in through the window because its placed weirdly. There is a fan in my room but I've checked and even when it's on high little to no breeze gets to his cage. I could fit about two more cages of that size on top before it reached the ceiling.
Location - Florida, USA

Current Problem - He's looking dehydrated, he's black all of the time and his eyes are always closed. He's also kind of wrinkly and he stretches out more than he scrunches up.

I live in Florida, and I always took him inside if it dropped below 65 or was raining too hard. We moved about four weeks ago, and the move is only an hour away from where we used to be, so there wasn't much of a difference. We moved from the suburbs to a place with a forest in the backyard, so more bugs got into his cage and my mom noticed he was stressed all the time and there were weird bugs in there. We cleaned out his cage and moved him inside and I noticed he was looking a little drier than usual and he was keeping his eyes closed all the time. It's been about three days now I think.
 
 
Evello said:
Chameleon Info:
Gender - Male
Breed - Veiled Chameleon
Age - Was told he was about a year old. I've had him for about two months now.
Handling - I haven't held him since the first day I got him, he turns black and hisses whenever I put my hand in his cage.
Feeding - I feed him 6-7 crickets a day usually around 4. I gut-load the crickets by giving them a little potato to eat and also some jelly-water that I got at the pet store.
You will need to change your gutload, a lot.
Potatoes are really not providing any nutrition whatsoever.
I recommend ditching the water crystals, for orange slices. ;)
For the BEST info on gutloading, look at sandrachameleons blog:https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/636-food-diary-april-2012.html
Id also recommend getting a good dry gutload, like Cricket Crack, if you dont want to make your own.

Supplements - I don't give him supplements, I'm kind of new to owning a chameleon and I didn't do anything that the pet store didn't say he needed.
Your chameleon will need every feeder dusted with plain, phosphorous free calcium powder. Rep-Cal brand is good.
It will also need calcium with D3, if kept inside, every other week.
It will also need a multivitamin, like Rep-Cal's Herptivite, every other week.
Or...
Repashy makes a product that is called: Repashy Calcium Plus, it is an all in one that takes care of all of the above, you just use it everyday. It is for indoor animals though.
If your guy is outside all the time, you will need to still dust with plain cal. all the time. This is to balance out the calcium/phosphorous ratio of the insect, from 1:2 to 2:1 , which allows for proper absorption of the calcium.
Then, you will still need to give the multi every other week.

Watering - He's watered with a dripper, and for the past two weeks I don't know how many times he gets misted during the weekdays (weird home situation) I'm only with him on the weekends and then I mist him about once a day. I've seen him drinking before but sometimes when I fill the dripper he gets irritated at it and gets as far away from it as he can.
He will need to be misted 3 times a day. This is for drinking, humidity, eye maintenance, and health of the skin. I recommend a dripper going all day.

Fecal Description - I can't find any feces in his cage right now.
If you can locate it, it should be brown, with a white urate attached, similar to bird droppings. If the urate is yellowed, or orange, this means he is dehydrated.

 History - I bought him from a pet store about two months ago, I don't know much about him.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Screen cage, 28 in. high 18 in. long and 18 in. width
This is a bit small, an adult chameleon needs a 24"x24"x48" enclosure. A little smaller is fine though.

 Lighting - http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2012/139/8/d/light_by_evello-d50dx63.jpg it's a 50 watt but I'm not sure what type it is, I lost the box. I keep it on during the day and turn it off at night.
Its very important you know what lights you have.
He needs heat, and UVB. If hes not getting UVB, he cannot process calcium. If he cant process calcium (for any reason) he will develop MBD.
Temperature - Under the light its probably about 76-80 degrees F and at the bottom its around 72 degrees F. I don't have a thermometer or anything to measure it by, 72 is the temperature we keep the house at.
You HAVE to know what temps you are giving him. He needs an ambient temp in the mid to low 70's, and a basking site of 90-95F. As well as a smooth gradient between the two.

 Humidity - Humidity is about 45-50, I have a little meter beside his cage that tells the humidity of it.
What type of meter? Digital? Analog?

Plants - Yes, he has a small ficus tree in his cage.
Great. :)
Placement - His cage is in my room, just under a window but no sunlight gets in through the window because its placed weirdly. There is a fan in my room but I've checked and even when it's on high little to no breeze gets to his cage.As long as its not blowing on him. I could fit about two more cages of that size on top before it reached the ceiling.
Location - Florida, USA

Current Problem - He's looking dehydrated, he's black all of the time and his eyes are always closed. He's also kind of wrinkly and he stretches out more than he scrunches up.

I live in Florida, and I always took him inside if it dropped below 65 or was raining too hard. We moved about four weeks ago, and the move is only an hour away from where we used to be, so there wasn't much of a difference. We moved from the suburbs to a place with a forest in the backyard, so more bugs got into his cage and my mom noticed he was stressed all the time and there were weird bugs in there. We cleaned out his cage and moved him inside and I noticed he was looking a little drier than usual and he was keeping his eyes closed all the time. It's been about three days now I think.
Click to expand...

How long was he outside at the new place? It may take them a while to feel comfortable, after any changes.

My chameleons eat all kinds of weird bugs from outside. They are out there 24/7. I cant tell you that this is completely safe, but it happens to anyone keeping them outside. You could try sealing any areas that are allowing bugs in though.

If you need anything Ive posted clarified, let me know. ;)
 
Oh my gosh I'm going to kill the pet store that sold him to me! I asked all these questions but they said most of it wasn't necessary. They also said to gut-bust the crickets by giving them potatoes.

I'm probably doing everything wrong right now. Guh. I'll see if I can get the vitamins and things soon and I'll start misting him more often and see if that helps. But I have a problem with my dripper, it runs out in 2 hours even though I have it going at a drop a second, how do I find one that goes all day?

As for the cage we're hoping on building him a new one since he's getting bigger, I'll remember the dimensions.

Lighting; what kind of UVB should I get? I don't know exactly what it is. And how long/when do I turn it on/off?

The humidity measure looks like this: http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2012/139/2/f/humidity_by_evello-d50eq0i.jpg

He lived inside for about a month when I first got him, and then we started putting him outside during the day and then we just left him out there at night if it was a nice one. After we moved, he was outside for about two and a half weeks before we noticed a bunch of little weird bugs and a few ants near the bottom of the cage, and we learned from a different pet store we had been getting his crickets from that he could be eaten alive by the bugs if too many got in his cage, and there were definitely too many in his cage, they were all over the bottom and the tree trunk. We had him out on the lanai when he was outside, and it was okay but we're in a more forest-y area and there seems to be a lot more bugs all over the place.

I'm so sorry I can't be more clear about everything, I realize that the pet store I bought him from misinformed me on so many things and I hope he doesn't get sick because of it...
 
I found some of his feces this morning and most of its white. I can't tell if he's eaten any crickets though, he hasn't moved much from his sleeping spot since last night and I saw a cricket in the cage. Last night he was sleeping and he turns really pale when he sleeps so I took another picture to show how black he is all the time.

http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2012/140/2/3/rell__s_sick_5_by_evellophotos-d50g2xo.jpg

He has a couple of black things in his cage but even when he's sitting right in the middle of the tree he's black. He's also not moving around as much anymore.

I filled the dripper and he walked over to it and put his face under the drip, but he won't open his mouth and drink it, he just sits there with it dripping on his face.
 
Last edited:
Found out he was sick before we even got him. He had metabolic bone disease and we had to put him down today...
 
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