Does my veiled look healthy?

[cswan19]

I've had my male veiled chameleon named Malibu for almost a month and a half and so far have absolutely loved having this little dude! I was told he is about 2 months old. I may be just a worrier but I think he seems kind of skinny /: I feed him about 8-15 1/4" crickets a day or more if he will eat them, which I'm gutloading with orange peels, strawberries, cricket crack and cricket quencher cubes. I shake the crickets in calcium powder every other day. He always eats the crickets right away and is pretty good at hunting the down lol he is comfortable around me so I can usually see him eat, which is pretty cool to watch I also have a dripper for him and mist his 18x18x24 cage a few times a day. This is my first chameleon and I'm just curious, am I doing everything right? Does he look healthy?

Thanks to anyone who responds, you guys have always been so helpful. This forum is great!

 

[Ta2Smitty]

So far, he looks good to me, good job

 

[ChrisZ]

On the second picture he has closed his eye(s), is this because of the flash or did you notice him closing his eyes during the day before ?

Besides the closed eye he looks perfect, give him LOADS of calcium!

 

[cswan19]

He's asleep in that pic it was taken after lights out haha that's why his eyes are closed, glad to know he looks alright though thanks

 

[ReptileLove18]

he looks pretty good, maybe a bit skinny. at that age they will eat like crazy! i would put 15-20 crickets in, if he eats all of them fairly quickly put another 5 in. babies can eat 20 + crickets a day! if he doesnt eat all of the extra dont stress you just want to give him plenty to eat as he is willing make sure he is done eating at least 4 hours before lights out as they need about that much time basking to properly digest

 

[Cainschams]

He looks fine to me.

Personally, I dont agree with giving him loads of calcium or feeding 25 crickets a day if they are appropriate size. Both are overkill. Over supplementing can cause internal issues. You want a good healthy gutload, which yours isnt bad, along with light supplements. Over feeding can also cause issues. Chams are better off a little skinny if you are feeding them well gutloaded crix. Over feeding even with a good gutload is a bad idea. There are reports of young veileds being overfed and getting MBD because their bones cant keep up with the growth. Once he is older you dont want him all fat like I see many of the chameleons on this forum. Its not good and they wont live a long time.

You should keep doing what you are doing. Everything sounds good but make sure your temps are good and he has a nice basking spot.

 

[ChrisZ]

He looks fine to me.

Personally, I dont agree with giving him loads of calcium or feeding 25 crickets a day if they are appropriate size. Both are overkill. Over supplementing can cause internal issues. You want a good healthy gutload, which yours isnt bad, along with light supplements. Over feeding can also cause issues. Chams are better off a little skinny if you are feeding them well gutloaded crix. Over feeding even with a good gutload is a bad idea. There are reports of young veileds being overfed and getting MBD because their bones cant keep up with the growth. Once he is older you dont want him all fat like I see many of the chameleons on this forum. Its not good and they wont live a long time.

You should keep doing what you are doing. Everything sounds good but make sure your temps are good and he has a nice basking spot.

I dont agree with your statement, it is almost impossible to give him an 'overkill' of pure calcium carbonate in powder form. Most people don't offer enough calcium for their veiled and then you get smaller animals for instance. Most of the excess calcium will leave the body through the holes in their nose. (how you call those in English? Nostrals or so?)

 

[Hakai]

I dont agree with your statement, it is almost impossible to give him an 'overkill' of pure calcium carbonate in powder form. Most people don't offer enough calcium for their veiled and then you get smaller animals for instance. Most of the excess calcium will leave the body through the holes in their nose. (how you call those in English? Nostrals or so?)

nostrils is the correct term.

 

[Cainschams]

I dont agree with your statement, it is almost impossible to give him an 'overkill' of pure calcium carbonate in powder form. Most people don't offer enough calcium for their veiled and then you get smaller animals for instance. Most of the excess calcium will leave the body through the holes in their nose. (how you call those in English? Nostrals or so?)

Ive had quite a few chams get gular edema because of over supplementing with just plain calcium. Granted I keep montanes which are more prone to over supplementing but their bodies still have to absorb it through the organs even if it is getting pushed out the nostrils. I see no reason in supplementing to the point that it does come out of the nostrils either. That is just overkill to me. Obviously their body doesnt need that much so why give it that much? I guess what works for some doesnt for others. I still say a better gutload regimen and light supplements is what is best. Mother nature doesnt supplement them.

OP, whatever route you go, just keep an eye on him. If he is getting gular edema (fat neck) lay off the supplements and give him plenty of water to flush his system out. Ive even had problems with using cricket crack for montanes. Some animals could have it in a regular schedule and some couldnt. Its a great product but you want to watch it too.

 

[midcoastchameleon]

That last picture is absolutely adorable!!, muppet face

 

[ChameleonMom]

Without wanting to get into a debate on your thread about the virtues of supplementing vs. over supplementing I would follow this general forum supplementation schedule:
- dust with plain calcium at every feeding
- dust with calcium w/D3 twice a month (I alternate this on Sundays)
- dust with multivitamin twice a month (I alternate this on Sundays)

I have been keeping veiled chams for 6 years now and have not had any problems following this schedule. Once your cham is a bit more grown and you are more familiar with the supplements and why you need them you can 'tweak' your supp's according to the need at that time. Right now, as your cham is very young it would be best to lay the foundation for correct supplementing for a healthy life ahead.

He otherwise looks good and the only other critique I would have would be to get rid of the cricket quencher and offer your feeders oranges, apples, blueberries, canteloupe, etc for the 'water' portion of their gutload. I give fresh fruit every second day to my feeders and it seems to work best for me.

Good job...does your little guy have a name?