i got my little baby two months ago and i have tried to be the best parent possible. I've read everything there is on the internet and listened to everything the pet store told me. I moved from austin last week to go to school in dallas and it seems that since then he has gotten extremely weak. I took him to the vet yesterday, but he didn't give me much to go off. He prescribed me some antibiotics because there might be an upper respiratory problem and he suggested that i start dusting my crickets in calcium. I hadn't been doing this prior because the store told me it wasn't necessary if i was gut loading the crickets. Now i'm deathly afraid that he is malnourished, dehydrated, and has a calcium deficiency problem. I've been force feeding him water through a syringe - trying to hydrate him and i've been dusting his mealworms and crickets but he seems too weak to even hunt. Please please please help me. If i loose this little guy i'll be devastated.
Ezekiel isn't looking well
- Thread starter SammieZ
- Start date
camimom
New Member
Fill this out. https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/
SUpplements are vital to a chams health.
Do not force feed unless you know what you are doing. Especially if he aspirates water, he will die from it if its too much.
You can stimulate him to drink by placing him on a plant in the shower aim the shower head towards the wall, and let the mist that bounces off land on your chameleon.
No more mealworms. they are covered in a hard exo skeleton, that can cause impaction.
Post several pictures please.
What color are his urates? the none brown part of his poop. If its yellow or orange, or if his eyes are sunken in, he is dehydrated.
carol5208
Chameleon Enthusiast
Please fill out the form as Camimom asked. Unfortunately you are not the first and will not be the last to be misinformed by a pet store. Lighting is critical and often times they sell the incorrect products. Pics of your set up and your cham will be most helpful. Hopefully we can get your cham on the right track to healthiness.
the lowdown on Zek
1. Veiled chameleon, male, 2.5 months
2. i handle him about every 3 days
3. i feed him 3-4 crickets in the morning and 2-3 meal worms around 3 or 4 pm
4. i gut-load the crickets with flickers orange cubes and the calcium i just bought is flicker's calcium with vitamin d
5. i see Zek drink off the leaves lot. i have humidifier that i use for like 1 hour each day but it spread out on a timer, i mist his cage 3-4x a time and watch to make sure the humidity stays in good range
6. the irate is yellow and the brown part following is chunky
7. he lives in a glass, 10-gallon aquarium
8. i have two Exo-Terra lightbulbs. The first is a "SUN GLO" 120V, 60Hz, 50W. and the second is a"Reptile Glo 5.0UVB"
9. The average temp is 90 degrees in the basking spot and 55%-70% humidity
10. i use fake plants
11. The cage is on a coffee table in my living room which im always in
12. i live in dallas
hes pretty much just laying on one branch all day, he seems really lethargic and defensive.
i cant get the photos to upload either
1. Veiled chameleon, male, 2.5 months
2. i handle him about every 3 days
3. i feed him 3-4 crickets in the morning and 2-3 meal worms around 3 or 4 pm
4. i gut-load the crickets with flickers orange cubes and the calcium i just bought is flicker's calcium with vitamin d
5. i see Zek drink off the leaves lot. i have humidifier that i use for like 1 hour each day but it spread out on a timer, i mist his cage 3-4x a time and watch to make sure the humidity stays in good range
6. the irate is yellow and the brown part following is chunky
7. he lives in a glass, 10-gallon aquarium
8. i have two Exo-Terra lightbulbs. The first is a "SUN GLO" 120V, 60Hz, 50W. and the second is a"Reptile Glo 5.0UVB"
9. The average temp is 90 degrees in the basking spot and 55%-70% humidity
10. i use fake plants
11. The cage is on a coffee table in my living room which im always in
12. i live in dallas
hes pretty much just laying on one branch all day, he seems really lethargic and defensive.
i cant get the photos to upload either
camimom
New Member
you are not feeding him enough. he should be eating about 10-20 small crickets every day. and stop feeding mealworms so much. they have a hard exo skeleton that can cause impaction.
supplements- calcium without d3 every feeding, calciumwith d3 2 times a month, multivitamin 2 times a month.
NO AQUARIUM!!!!!!!!!! no no no. this is bad. those are meant for fish, not chameleons. ger thim out. get him a screen cage, that is at least taller than it is wide. i have my cham going into a 2ft by 2ft by 4 ft cage. your guy is too small for hat right now, but will need it as an adult.
you need to soack the cage with the mistings. humidifiers dont provide enough water.
He is deyhrdated, thats why his urates are yellow. up his mistings. now.
your temps are too high. baby veileds like 85 or cooler, more around 80 or less even.
KatiLemons
Established Member
Well you need to dust the crickets every day with Calcuim w/o d3 and Calcium w/ d3 twice a month and hertivite twice a month. I usually alternate every other Satuday on the vitamin d3. The 10g terrarium must be another "reccomendation" from the petstore. IMO they arent the best thing to use for a chameleon. Most people use screen cages that are tall due to the high demand for fresh air circulation (which if you are using a glass tank this does not have) A screen lid is not adequte enough for the exchange of fresh air. At 2.5 months thats not a bad size for him but you will definatly need to get a bigger(taller) sized cage. I would nix the meal worms and definatly get him on a plant in the shower for about 20 minutes. Point the shower head towards the wall and the water will bounce off and onto him. What are the exact temps? Ambient, basking, and floor of cage? Do you have substrate in the terrarium aslo?
he's in the shower now, ill go get a mesh cage today (where can i get one?), and ill buy all the necessary supplements. But how can i make sure he actually eats? when i come come from classes it looks like he hasn't moved and all the crickets have free reign over the whole cage. What can i do to make sure he's eating???
KatiLemons
Established Member
you can try to cup feed.
also is it okay to get a full-grown cage like this? so i don't have to buy a cage twice?
http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/group/440/product.web
http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/group/440/product.web
KatiLemons
Established Member
you should buy a cage from LLL Reptile. http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...ile-cages-and-vivariums/screen-reptile-cages/
Especially if you don't want to have to buy another cage. I would go with the either the 18x18x36 or the 24x24x48. He is young and small but they survive in the wild with no boundries so he should do ok with this! It would be nice to see the pictures of him and his housing.
Especially if you don't want to have to buy another cage. I would go with the either the 18x18x36 or the 24x24x48. He is young and small but they survive in the wild with no boundries so he should do ok with this! It would be nice to see the pictures of him and his housing.
Carlton
Chameleon Enthusiast
Basically, you confine the insects to a container so the cham can climb close to it and shoot them before they get lost in the cage itself. If you sprinkle a bit of gutload in the container the insects can keep eating before they GET eaten.
Your gutload isn't all that good. Feed your insects fresh dark leafy greens (leaf lettuce, dandelion stems, other veggies except broccoli or spinach), chunks of fruit (such as oranges), fortified cereal grains such as Total, bee pollen, spirulina. The feeder are only as good as what they eat. Or, there are better commercial gutloads available. I like Cricket Crack. You can get it from Tiki Tiki Reptiles a forum sponsor.
If you get the larger "adult" size cage you can either confine the feeders to a smaller container so he can find them, or partition off a section of the cage itself.
camimom
New Member
Yes you can. which means you should cup feed.
I am glad you are making the necessary changes. Good job!
Cup feeding is taking a deli cup, or a wide shallow bowl, and putting the feeder in it, put it in the cage near his basking spot. so he can eat find it.
KatiLemons
Established Member
If they buy this cage which is 18x12x20 they will end up having to buy another cage when the cham gets bigger. IMO the dimensions for this paticular cage are going to be way to small for an adult cham.
camimom
New Member
Hehe I didnt look at the link, it wouldnt work for me. yes, that wil be too small. 24x24x48 is good for adults.
KarmaChameleon1337
Avid Member
Did you say forcing it to drink through a syringe? That is a no no. It can go in it's lungs.
