Furcifer pardalis crown discoloration (BLACK)

[Solid Snake]

I have been PMing with him to get things fixed, and I dont care if Im a 1 year "expert" I can offer sound advice! When I dont know somthing I say "I dont know" or " Im not sure" We just wanted to get the 8 uvb lights down to one for starters, I think he was just frusterated when he responded to melric...

 

[Cainschams]

I have been PMing with him to get things fixed, and I dont care if Im a 1 year "expert" I can offer sound advice! When I dont know somthing I say "I dont know" or " Im not sure" We just wanted to get the 8 uvb lights down to one for starters, I think he was just frusterated when he responded to melric...

Wasnt directing that toward you in any way. Not saying anyone else in this thread or someone who has only kept a cham cannot give sound advice. Just the attitudes in some threads lately have been irritating me. It just happened to come out on this one.

And looking at the pics again he looks pretty good. I was looking at the arm in the one pic but looks like he was just gripping hard now that I look again. The basking site does need to be raised though. This will help him digest his food adequately. Do you see any non digested parts in his craps?

 

[creddjobs]

Whats/up/with/you/typing/like/this/L/O/L!

 

[carol5208]

Has anyone looked at the pic of the cham? It looks to be in decent shape and he has had it for a while and it doesnt look like it will be on its death bed anytime soon. It does look a tad skinny however so if he needs the MV to keep temps up then why not give a little info on how to use one correctly? Of course there could be many reasons why the cham is a little skinny but has anyone noticed his basking temp is only 79? Improper basking temp can cause it not to be able to digest food properly yet you guys are telling him to get a lower wattage bulb to use? Hell, I give my montanes more of a basking site than that!!

I cant believe everything I am reading either. So much freaking attitude towards a person who is wanting to learn. Also no mention of the "ask for help form" to be filled out. Looks like he took it upon himself too. This happens over and over and without knowing his whole set up how can you even begin to help?

If you want to help someone how about do it with a little less attitude and get all the info before one starts spouting off what they think it may be. Not everyone are 1 and 2 year experts

OP, feel free to private message me if you want and I can give you some suggestions in a professional manner.

he did fill it out! And good for you catching the basking temp error! Don't know how that was overlooked!? I was more concerned with the 7 UVB lights! I did tell him to shoot for a 90 degree basking temp. We are not all perfect, that is for sure!

 

[laurie]

Crossfire, a 10.0 through a screen or raised high up is considered acceptable by some. I have used a 10.0 with no ill effect. The 10.0 radiates uvbup to 24" the 5.0 12" Uvb is lost through screen material, this coupled with raising it higher seems to be ok. 5.0 seems to work just dandy through a screen as well. If he already has a 10.0, I dont see a problem with him using it, instead of spending more money...

Just for reference, I have 2, yes 2 10.0 reptisun 48" bulb's above Lenny's free range. I also have a 250 watt heat light. But on the other hand, my lights are about 9ft in the air. But lenny could get close if he wanted. You are not out of line.

Has anyone looked at the pic of the cham? It looks to be in decent shape and he has had it for a while and it doesnt look like it will be on its death bed anytime soon. It does look a tad skinny however so if he needs the MV to keep temps up then why not give a little info on how to use one correctly? Of course there could be many reasons why the cham is a little skinny but has anyone noticed his basking temp is only 79? Improper basking temp can cause it not to be able to digest food properly yet you guys are telling him to get a lower wattage bulb to use? Hell, I give my montanes more of a basking site than that!!

I cant believe everything I am reading either. So much freaking attitude towards a person who is wanting to learn. Also no mention of the "ask for help form" to be filled out. Looks like he took it upon himself too. This happens over and over and without knowing his whole set up how can you even begin to help?

If you want to help someone how about do it with a little less attitude and get all the info before one starts spouting off what they think it may be. Not everyone are 1 and 2 year experts

OP, feel free to private message me if you want and I can give you some suggestions in a professional manner.

Jared I love you!! You do bring a breath of fresh air to things. if ever we should be gentle, it is with a new person who wants to help their chams.

I have been PMing with him to get things fixed, and I dont care if Im a 1 year "expert" I can offer sound advice! When I dont know somthing I say "I dont know" or " Im not sure" We just wanted to get the 8 uvb lights down to one for starters, I think he was just frusterated when he responded to melric...

You offer sound advice often. What you were trying to do is the right thing to do. Trust yourself. You have learned a lot and do a good job.

To the original poster, sorry if we were a bit abrupt. We are all wanting to help but people sometimes get carried away. You can pm Solid Snake for info, you can PM me, or anyone else you feel comfortable with. Just know we will help you get your cham set up for his health. Also welcome to the forum.

 

[Solid Snake]

The lights COULD be overkill as we are under the assumption you have 8 of them. This could be to much uvb, and could damage his eyes. A 10.0 is fine, if lifted off the top of the cage a little, I have used one right on top of the cage for months before though with no ill effect. If you fill out the form, it will hit all aspects of your current care info, them we can critique what you are doing with him, and fix it if neccissary. I recomend this because these animals are so fragile, and if theres somthing the matter with your husbandry, its better to correct it now than when you get your next chameleon. How far away from the basking spot is the basking bulb? Does the chameleon change color when its outside its cage? The bottom of the cage should sit at roughly 70, your basking should max out at 85ish. Please fill out the form.

It was not overlooked Jon Rich also mentioned it. I stated that the cham looks good as well, I think it looks great in the first two photos

 

[Carlton]

I assumed temperatures had to be higher from what the books have said. I also did not know you could fry your chameleon with UVB.

It can be confusing to interpret all the information out there, and some is definitely not great. One reason the whole UV requirements thing can be confusing is, chams don't spend all their time in direct sunlight. They obviously bask to raise their body temp, but once they reach "operating temp" they roam around under forest canopy most of the day. Their habitats are also humid tropical which means a lot of cloudy rainy days (though we know some UV does pass through cloud layers). They just don't get exposed to heat and UV all day every day and would avoid that situation anyway (with one or two exceptions, the species we keep are not desert exposure species). Also, consider that they may actually get more exposure in a confined space. We are trying to cram as much of a natural habitat into a small area using artificial equipment and much of their UV/vitamin/calcium phosphorus balanced metabolism isn't fully understood...so this ends up creating odd situations the cham wasn't designed to handle, such as focused beam heating from spotlights compared to general heating by the sun. Add to that, our method of measuring heat will really bias the results. If you really want to know the body temp your cham is reaching while basking you don't want to use a thermometer that can only react to the temperature of the air or its own materials. A cham's correct body temp will not be that of a mammal...so he should feel cool to YOUR touch. AFAIK, the best way to measure the cham's temp while basking is to use an infrared non-contact temp gun. Point it at whatever you want to measure, and it will record the surface temp to one or two degrees. You can check to see if he's getting too hot pretty quickly.

 

[carol5208]

It can be confusing to interpret all the information out there, and some is definitely not great. One reason the whole UV requirements thing can be confusing is, chams don't spend all their time in direct sunlight. They obviously bask to raise their body temp, but once they reach "operating temp" they roam around under forest canopy most of the day. Their habitats are also humid tropical which means a lot of cloudy rainy days (though we know some UV does pass through cloud layers). They just don't get exposed to heat and UV all day every day. Also, consider that they may actually get more exposure in a confined space. We are trying to cram as much of a natural habitat into a small area using artificial equipment and much of their UV/vitamin/calcium phosphorus balanced metabolism isn't fully understood...so this ends up creating odd situations the cham wasn't designed to handle.

Well said Carlton!!!!

 

[melric]

Uh thanks Melric, I guess...
More research... right. got it, write that one down. do what Carol says, yes check that one off. Next going to work on my Picture avatar like yours. What do you think of a red head instead of a blond? I was thinking of a fist full of rings instead of a gold chain, and an Ed Hardy Shirt. That way my shirt will be so loud I can take the party with me.

Hmm, I was a bit inebriated last night. I read a lot of things, but mostly how all the comments sounded to me. Then I came off as sounding rude. lol. Oh well, but yeah red head sounds good.

 

[xeonic]

Nice Melric. I figured you would retaliate from my post. Turns out you can take a joke.

As for the question about how my chameleons poop looks. It does look completely digested with a white tip and solid. Today though I had the plesure of watching him push brown. It had been a few days so it was quite large. Plus the urate was not white but clear. Not sure why.

 

[camimom]

Nice Melric. I figured you would retaliate from my post. Turns out you can take a joke.

As for the question about how my chameleons poop looks. It does look completely digested with a white tip and solid. Today though I had the plesure of watching him push brown. It had been a few days so it was quite large. Plus the urate was not white but clear. Not sure why.

Have you been feeding him worms lately? sometimes the juice from the worms can make the urate more jellly like.

 

[xeonic]

Haven't fed him any worms in over a week. Though I do feed him silk worms and horned worms and butter worms when I can get them.

 

[camimom]

Haven't fed him any worms in over a week. Though I do feed him silk worms and horned worms and butter worms when I can get them.

has he been drinking more nad eatng less? if so, thats prob why abotu the urates.

 

[xeonic]

Yes he has been drinking more. I have given him mutiple water sources in the last week. Pump water drip and a monsoon 400 which has the leaves moist all the time.

 

[camimom]

Then thats whats going on.
Since hes drinking more, but not taking in as many solids, his urates are a bit more jelly like.

 

[JonRich]

Uh thanks Melric, I guess...
More research... right. got it, write that one down. do what Carol says, yes check that one off. Next going to work on my Picture avatar like yours. What do you think of a red head instead of a blond? I was thinking of a fist full of rings instead of a gold chain, and an Ed Hardy Shirt. That way my shirt will be so loud I can take the party with me.

lmaooooo!! Im sorry. But this was funny!

PS: i know exactly the state you were in when you posted this too. lol

 

[xeonic]

So to put some closure to the Black Crown. His crown has been returning to a normal color. It seems to be related to the UVB output in the terrarium. Though his crown still does turn black under his MV Basking bulb. I also noticed the change when I placed in a 6500k fluorescent linear tube. Yes I'm still using the MV for basking, I forgot to get a regular bulb at the hardware store today.

Snickers also ate a giant Horned worm today. It must have been 3 inches long, and 3/4 of an inch thick. It shot juices out like Bear Grils when he eats grubs.

 

[carol5208]

good to hear! and yuk on the hornworm!!

 

[camimom]

Haha to the hornworm.
That happens when my guys eat them too.
green bug juice!!!!