Healthy?

Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? She is a veiled, and I *think* she is about 3-3 1/2 years. I have had her since Aug 3, 2021.
  • Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? I usually only pick her up to put her in her tree. I approach usually to say hi, to spray her cage, or to feed her.
  • Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?I have been feeding my chameleon Super worms, crickets, and wax worms. I range from 3-5 every other day, and dust them in calcium 2 times a month. i gut load the bugs non poisonous vegetables and fruits.
  • Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? I use the "Fluker's repta calcium" that has d3 in it, and dust the bugs 2 times a month, so about every 2 weeks.
  • Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?I spray her cage, and use the betazooer humidifier at the low setting. I use the humidifier until before she goes to bed and spray 2 times a day, and she *LOVES* drinking and eating.
  • Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? I don't know if she has been tested for parasites, but her poop is dark brown/black, and her urates are white or yellow.
  • History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. I am cheking to see if she has a burn on her casque or not, and if she has gular edema, but other than that, everything is fine!

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? Currently, she has the medium reptibreeze cage, but we just got her the extra large. The current cage is 16-16-30.
  • Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? So my supposed to be "UVB" light is actually an led, but her mclanzoo heat light does produce UVB. I always keep her heat lamp on, and her light turns on from 10:30-9:00. She is a heavy sleeper!
  • Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? I have a thermometer, and the usual temperature is between 80-85, and the bottom is around 70. The lowest overnight temp is 68-75.
  • Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? I am still trying to get a hygrometer, but I make the humidity with her humidifier.
  • Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? I don't currently have any live plants, I only use fake silk plants.
  • Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? Her cage is not near anything risky or annoying. It is located next to my dresser. A super cozy spot for it!
  • Location - Where are you geographically located? I am located near SLC utah.
Hopefully she is healthy!
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I’ll be putting my feedback in red.
  • Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? She is a veiled, and I *think* she is about 3-3 1/2 years. I have had her since Aug 3, 2021. Where did you get her from? Do you know any history of her?
  • Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? I usually only pick her up to put her in her tree. I approach usually to say hi, to spray her cage, or to feed her.
  • Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?I have been feeding my chameleon Super worms, crickets, and wax worms. I range from 3-5 every other day, and dust them in calcium 2 times a month. You should be lightly dusting every feeding except one per week with a phosphorus free calcium without D3. For that one weekly feeding you’ll need to alternate between using a calcium with D3 and a multivitamin so that each is given once every other week. Some multivitamins do contain D3 (Reptivite with D3, Repashy Calcium Plus, etc). If you use the combined ones, then you’ll use that one feeding every other week along with the daily calcium without D3. i gut load the bugs non poisonous vegetables and fruits. Attaching feeder and gutloading graphics just FYI.
  • Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? I use the "Fluker's repta calcium" that has d3 in it, and dust the bugs 2 times a month, so about every 2 weeks.See above.
  • Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?I spray her cage, and use the betazooer humidifier at the low setting. I use the humidifier until before she goes to bed and spray 2 times a day, and she *LOVES* drinking and eating. No humidifiers should be used during the day and when temps are above around 70F. This greatly contributes to respiratory infections. Ideally you should mist for at least 2 minutes, 2-3 times daily - right before lights on and off and for mid day, you can either mist again or use a dripper for about 20 minutes.
  • Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? I don't know if she has been tested for parasites, but her poop is dark brown/black, and her urates are white or yellow. Wellness vet visits with fecal check for parasites is always a good idea.
  • History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. I am cheking to see if she has a burn on her casque or not, and if she has gular edema, but other than that, everything is fine! Can you post some more pics please?

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? Currently, she has the medium reptibreeze cage, but we just got her the extra large. The current cage is 16-16-30. This is too small for an adult. The minimum recommended size is 2x2x4’ or equivalent.
  • Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? So my supposed to be "UVB" light is actually an led, but her mclanzoo heat light does produce UVB. I always keep her heat lamp on, and her light turns on from 10:30-9:00. She is a heavy sleeper! I’ve never heard of mclanzoo light. Can you post a pic of her lights? Correct uvb is essential so let’s make sure it’s right.
  • Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? I have a thermometer, and the usual temperature is between 80-85, I suggest keeping basking temp no higher than 80F. and the bottom is around 70. The lowest overnight temp is 68-75.
  • Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? I am still trying to get a hygrometer, but I make the humidity with her humidifier. Ideal humidity for veileds is between 30-50%, which is actually much dryer than you’d think. I use these. https://www.amazon.com/ThermoPro-TP...400&sprefix=digital+hygrometer,aps,201&sr=8-5 Some use these. https://www.amazon.com/Govee-Thermo...jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ== There’s lots of different types. Just stick with digital ones.
  • Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? I don't currently have any live plants, I only use fake silk plants. Veileds like to nibble their plants, especially our girls. It only takes one nibble of a fake leaf to become impacted. Switch for safe washed live plants and hang your fake ones on the outside of the enclosure for added privacy. Attaching safe plant list.
  • Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? Her cage is not near anything risky or annoying. It is located next to my dresser. A super cozy spot for it! The higher your chameleon is, the safer she’ll feel.
  • Location - Where are you geographically located? I am located near SLC utah.
With our sweet girls, we need to make certain all of our husbandry is as perfect as possible to prevent egg laying problems. Whether mated or not, our girls do lay eggs and it shortens their lives greatly. As this is already long, I’ll cover that separately.

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Now let’s get down to the business of egg laying. Do you know if your girl has laid eggs before? If so, how many eggs were there?
First, you’ll need to provide a suitable lay bin. It’s a good idea to make it a permanent part of the enclosure to avoid stress and guessing when it’s needed. You’ll need a plastic bin that is at least 12” wide and long. Depth isn’t as important as you’ll only need to fill it to around 5-6”. Washed play sand is best to use, although you can add no more than 50% organic soil if desired. The bin will need some tiny drain holes at the bottom to prevent it from becoming mud. Then you’ll need to keep it moist enough to hold a tunnel without collapsing. When your lady needs it, it’ll be there and be ready for her.
Once she enters it and starts digging she’ll need complete privacy. If she sees you and doesn’t feel safe, she’ll stop digging. I cover just the lower half of my enclosure with a light sheet and have made little peek holes so I can check on my girls progress. She may dig a few different sites until she’s happy with one. She’ll dig down to the bottom and when she’s ready, she’ll turn around and deposit her eggs. Then she’ll very carefully cover up all of her holes. When she’s done, she’ll return to her basking area looking much thinner. The whole process from start to end can take a couple of days and she may sleep in her tunnel. Keep your light and misting schedule as is.
When she’s all done, she’ll be hungry and thirsty. I like to give hornworms and silkworms to help rehydrate along with other nutritious feeders. Feed and hydrate her well for a couple of days. Then you’ll want to start her on limited feedings of 3-4 appropriately sized feeders, 3 days a week. The limited food intake combined with lower temps will help reduce her egg production, and effectively help prolong her life. It’s not an exact science and it may take a couple of cycles before you notice any effect. The goal is to have infrequent laying of no more than about 20 or less eggs. In my 2 girls, it has pretty much stopped them from laying at all. One has gone 2 years and the other 1 year without laying.
 
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