getting worried, and losing my confidence

[crablady]

i did read the box saw all those temps on it. But i swear, i wasn't getting even 80 about 4-6 inches from the top of the cage. i didn't see the not recommend for reptiles part. Why would they sell that in the reptile section of a pet store then?? you just use a regular for your house light bulb?? i'll see what i have in the basement.

thanks

 

[Dave Weldon]

Howdy Laura,

To be on the safe side, stick the back of your hand right at the position where your chameleon might be spending time. If, after a minute or so, your hand feels too hot then it will likely be too hot for him too . A fun gadget to get is an infrared digital temp gun ($10-$50). That way you can directly measure the skin temp of your basking chameleon .

 

[crablady]

lol... i have one, on sale at Canadian tire a few weeks ago. 29$ instead of 99!

i never thought to measure their skin temp though. What should that be?

i do love it. lets me easily check temp in different areas. Can walk through house and quickly check temps on all my critters.

 

[moody232002]

have you tried small locusts thats all mine will eat

 

[crablady]

i've no idea where to get those here. i'll ask when i'm at the store

 

[jojackson]

It dosent look evenly slightly dehydrated to me, its a yemen not a popeye goldfish.
But if the urates are starting to go yellow you need to install a dripper with a large resevoir that will drip from lights on to lights off. Whatever it takes to ensure it has ample opportunity to drink while its awake.
Ensure a good branch beneath the dripper spout to ensure it can reach it close up with its mouth. Shooting droplets with their tongue is fine but they dont get much and soon give up.

Your cham should learn to drink directly from the dripper if you feed it the occasional treat while its perched there, better still have the dripper nozzel drip past the basking spot, where your cham will spend much time.

A satiated cham will throw its head back and swallow after drinking. Thats a good drink, mine gets his good drink (several minutes usually) every morning. No doubt your animal will develop a routine that suits it, but this requires a consistant approach on your part.
Turn the dripper on/mist at the same time/s each day.

Take the light off the cage top, please! Your cham can and will be burnt. They just are not that smart (to move if too hot) [evidenced by the common issue of chams not moving from the basking spot but gaping to cool off], dont credit them with that much intellect.

Suspend the light atleast 4 inches above the screen. UV is different since these tubes just dont put out high heat.

The cage isnt too big either, its fine, your cham is male and will require a 48x 24x24 later anyway. Just make sure it eats something, even if you have to put a branch in a bare tub to make it easier. Finding food is the main 'issue' with cage size/small chams, But folk forget ,chams hunt, and need to thermoregulate too. The larger the enclosure the better the gradient (top to bottom) .Temps are fine.

Mealworms are fine and mine is quite fond of them, but gutload them in salad mix, keep at room temp so they can metabolise it and feeed very few, infrequently.
Crickets are near impossible to container feed without a huge tub like yours.
A big white tub with 'intrude' on his space.A smaller, clear tub, suspended from the ceiling works well, But I only use it for roaches and worms etc.

You can buy teflon paint, paint the inner rim of the feed cup and they cant climb out, crickets can still jump and are best 'free-roamed' I think they call it here, just let go inthe enclosure, but not too many and add some food for the crickets.

Everythings ok but double time on the hydration and ensure feeding. Young chams eat alot and grow fast, make sure crickets are not too big. If IT THinks they are, it may simply avoid them.

He looks good so far.

 

[kinyonga]

Just comments that I hope will help...
You said you feed the crickets "flukers cricket food or carrots and lettuce"...you could improve your gutload/food for them. Crickets can be fed a wide variety of greens (dandelion, kale, collards, endive, mustard greens, escarole, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.).

You said you use reptoLife...I can't find a list of the ingredients in it....so I don't know what the calcium, D3, vitamin A and phosporous content is...all of which are important for bone health and play other important parts in the system too and need to be in balance.

The temperatures are a little low as has already been suggested. I would have the basking area in the low 80's and the rest of the cage in the mid to high 70's during the day. This could be part of the reason he's not eating enough for his age.

 

[jojackson]

Just comments that I hope will help...
You said you feed the crickets "flukers cricket food or carrots and lettuce"...you could improve your gutload/food for them. Crickets can be fed a wide variety of greens (dandelion, kale, collards, endive, mustard greens, escarole, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.).

Agreed on the Gutloading!

The temperatures are a little low as has already been suggested. I would have the basking area in the low 80's and the rest of the cage in the mid to high 70's during the day. This could be part of the reason he's not eating enough for his age.

Thats fine for little cham, but remember you need to increase the basking temp slightly as your cham grows, If its spending too much time at the basking spot, or never leaving it, then the temp there is too Low.

 

[crablady]

okay... will work on the gutload!

re: the Reptolife multivitamin. will try to post the ingredients tomorrow. They're so tiny and i'm too tired and frustrated with ontarios medical system to try to focus right now.

calcium.... have been to two stores now looking for calcium powder with out D3. no luck. i did find a spray today. any one use/try it? by Zilla. Says Calcium supplement -prevents metabolic bone disease. - quick and easy spray application. ingredients, Calcium gluconate, cal carbonate, cal Chloride, potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Xanthen Gum. (those ones are soo tiny to read) Says can be sprayed right on reptiles food!

heating... i now have one bulb 75 watt and have a basking area with temps between 84 and 89 There seems to be a difference of opinion on whether the lamp is safe on top of the screen or not! There is about 3 inches from the bulb to the end of the lamp, and at least 4 from there to the nearest branch. i keep trying to think of what i could use to prop the lamp up with but have no idea really. There's nothing with which i can clamp it too right there either. What do others do to raise their lamp above the screen?? i certainly do want what's best for the little guy.

Good news is... i was out for a good part of the day and when i came back there were three crickets missing out of his feeding cup. Could not find them anywhere around his home, so i'm assuming they were eaten. maybe the little bugger is just sick of me sitting here day after day checking on him every 10 min

Well if he likes to not have me keeping an eye on him, maybe he'll thrive when i go away next week. We'll be gone for 4 days. Don't worry, i have an awesome petsitter. i have cats and geckos so he'll be here at least twice a day. he's very attentive and has called my cell before so i'm sure he would if he were uncertain about something. just want to make sure i have my temps etc. stable on a timer before i go.

oh, and jojackson. We are a very routined house. with four kids, you have to be, so misting times have been more or less consistent. At least, the first and the last mist of the day. Today is day 2 for my dripper. Seems to be a big enough cup to last from lights on to lights off.

And once again. Thank you all for your helpful advice and pointers. i am ever so greatful, and do want to do the best i can.

 

[crablady]

okay... i don't know if you want the short version or the long of the Reptolife vitamins. here's the short. Guaranteed analysis min calcium 4.6%, phos .6%, potassium .3% sodium .1%, chloride 1.3%, magnesium .03%.

Will try to get a pic up of my revised (improved?) setup.

 

[jojackson]

i keep trying to think of what i could use to prop the lamp up with but have no idea really.

something that wont burn and isnt heavy!

 

[chambabysitter1]

Like I was explaining earlier, you can screw a piece of wood to the wall or the table the cage rests on. Then use the clamp for your light to adjust the height/temperature.

Like so:

Just paint if you want it to be more visually appealing. On cold rainy days where my ambient temperature might be lower, or I want to open the window, I can move the lamp nice and close to give him a warm basking spot. On hotter days I can move the lamp nice and high to prevent overheating.