Health check

[ldowney]

So, per advice from here, I started feeding my young veiled all his bugs in the morning. I also give him a small waxworm early afternoon as a treat, which he'll eat out of my hand!! He spends the rest of the day looking around for more, nibbling on his plants and generally looking grumpy. Great appetite for sure. His color got a little muted but apparently it's time for a shed. He shed on his belly and a little on the sides right above the belly yesterday but it's not coming off anywhere else. Just checking to make sure all is well with Chad. Thanks!

 

[elizaann2]

Hello and welcome!

How old is your veiled and what are your humidity and temps at? If they are growing chameleons they should shed all in one go I believe. Adults, since they are no longer growing may shed in 'sections'.

 

[ldowney]

I'm not sure how old he is. I got him from petsmart a month ago. Humidity is between 50 and 70% most of the time. Temps are 80-82 basking and around 70 in the lower portion.

 

[JaCoCham]

What is your supplementation like? It's important to get the vitamins and calcium right when they are young to prevent MBD, gout, or other issues from developing. Do you have a dripper? Make sure he is adequately hydrated. He looks really healthy from the photo, but I do see some potentially sharp plastic plants in the back, and if he is nibbling on plants, you might want to remove the sharp plastic one as it could puncture him. Best of luck with him. I would estimate his age at 4-6 months.

 

[ldowney]

Sorry. That picture was a couple weeks ago before I replaced all the plastic with live plants. I've attached a new picture showing the shed in progress. He gets calcium every day and the reptivite with D3 once a week. Photo of that attached as well. He doesn't have a dripper but I do have a misting system that sprays for 45 seconds every 8 hours.

 

[JaCoCham]

45 seconds sounds like it could be a little short, although if his stools look good and the humidity reads well, it's fine. Does the humidity collect on the leaves and drip down? If so, he should be good. But if it only fills the air, he might not be getting enough water.

 

[ldowney]

Poop looks like poop and the urates are nice and white. No sunken eyes or anything else i thought i should be looking for to make sure he was not dehydrated. I tried running it for 60 seconds and it turned into a swamp at the bottom. The leaves on the plants do a good job of collecting water. It ran 2 hours ago and there is still a good amount of water on them.

 

[JaCoCham]

Sounds good--it seems like you have a good system nailed down, and your chameleon seems happy and healthy. If he sheds well (completely and in a day or two, as he is young), it is a telltale sign of good health. Congratulations on him!

 

[Flick boy]

I'm not sure how old he is. I got him from petsmart a month ago. Humidity is between 50 and 70% most of the time. Temps are 80-82 basking and around 70 in the lower portion.

Hi and welcome, humidity is a bit high for a yeman 30to 50 % there can be high points but 30 to 50 are the reccomended ambient humidity

 

[ldowney]

So 2 days later, he has not shed anywhere except his belly. Should I be doing anything?

 

[elizaann2]

Try lowering your humidity, chameleons are try shedders. Most of us use some sort of computer fan or something like that to help move air and dry out the enclosures.