Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon.
-Veiled chameleon. Female. Approx. 8 weeks.
How long has it been in your care?
-About a week.
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
-Every other day for about 10 minutes. She never turns color like she is distressed and just walks around on my hands.
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
-Typically crickets. I threw in some strawberries which she ate. I tried mealworms but she didn't seem to understand the concept. I feed about six and she eats all of them. I feed her every morning. Right now I have some orange cubes to feed the crickets and I threw in some strawberries and some greens.
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
-I'm not home but I believe it's called Reptivitamin or something to that effect. One day I dust with calclium with d3 and the next day I dust with a multivitamin. I was told to do this by the reptile store I bought her from but I'm concerned that's too many nutrients..
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
-I spray her cage usually 3-4 times a day until the plants are dripping. I don't ever see her drink, but her eyes aren't sunken in like she's dehydrated, either. I figure she's drinking when I don't notice or she's somehow getting water maybe from her food.
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
-When I bought her she had paper from being tested for parasites. I honestly don't see much droppings. For her being in her tank for a week I thought I'd see more but maybe not since she's a baby. The only one I saw was dark brown.
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
-She was the smallest out of her entire clutch that hatched. The pet store actually told me to not buy her because her chances aren't good, but since I'm a biology major I decided to give her a chance espicially if that's how they're advertising her. She's small, yes, but she's very colorful usually. I live in south florida and I would worry that her cage is too hot (about 85) except that she'll climb to the top of her cage and be up there directly under the lights for a few hours at a time and then crawl back down. From what I've read that should be too hot, but she was hatched here where we're usually around 90 outside and she seems to like it, she never hides under leaves or anything like I've read.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
-My tank is a glass and screen combo. The tank is rather large, I believe its 27" high, by 24" wide, by 18" deep.
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
-I have an ExoTerra hood I know for sure.. I couldn't tell you the exact brand of the bulbs. I got them from the reptile store. I have a uvb light and a heat light although she doesn't like the heat light I think because of her size still from what I've read. I usually turn the light on around 8-9 am and off around 8-9 pm.
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
-I have a temperature gauge in her tank to measure the temps. During the day it's highest is 85 and at night it usually only gets to around 75-78 at lowest.
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
-I have a humidity gauge in her tank. Usually the humidity stays at 50 without me having to mist (we're really, really humid unfortunately!) And if I mist it usually bumps up to 60.
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
-No live plants. I've read some great things but they seem like there's a lot of work to prepping and caring for them and I'd hate it if I somehow messed it up. Right now she has a fake plant in there that's vine like and goes all over her branches.
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?
-It is located a few feet away from my window which faces east so mainly gets morning light. Not near any fans or vents or high traffic areas. The top of the cage is about 4 feet off the floor.
Location - Where are you geographically located?
Ft.Lauderdale, FL (south) but tonight I'm actually moving up to Pensacola where the little one will be traveling with me.
Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.
She's digging.. A lot. And she only started today. She's generally not on the floor a whole lot since I have a lot of lower branches. I don't see a lot of feces. In fact I see exactly 1 dropping. Granted, there could be more in there that I can't see. It's just weird that out of nowhere she's having these problems. The first day she was in the tank two sides are glass and she was getting frustrated at her reflection so I moved her and she was fine. At the bottom of the tank, though, I noticed before I left she had begun to notice herself again. Would it help if I bought some of that aquarium backing and tape it in there so it eliminates her reflection? But I still have the digging problem. I'd agree it may be too hot except she's just started it and typically hangs up at the hottest part for a few hours a day.
That's the image I took two days ago. Just imagine her at the bottom trying to dig.
*****I posted a few days ago about different substrates at the bottom. Some people agreed, others said use paper towel. The tank she was raised in had the same chunky substrate I have in her tank now. She's never had a problem with it and I planned on throwing it away and replacing it monthly. I liked the natural look, and I hate to be redundant, but it hasn't been a problem thus far.
