heeelpppp!

[raainn]

i have plants in my room, so maybe thats why the humidity stays up? yes my bulb is UVB. whats "dusting"? the ppl at the petstore gave me this cage cuz they said i wouldnt need to upgrade it again or somthing... i have no idea where to get a dripper :C. i honestly havent seen poop anywhere. i have really looked. i took the plant out yesterday and have fake plants for her.

 

[jandie]

i would definitely not use the wax worms as a primary feeder....and most definitely more than 4-5 daily...our youngest eats anywhere from 15-20 a day... and he's about 4 months....and eating "small" crickets, not pinheads...

and definitely look at the responses posted above....that will go a long way in getting her husbandry set up and making sure she is healthy.... i was mainly trying to address some major points without overwhelming... lol.

i agree that i would check the gauge you're using for humidity....our cham room gets pretty humid but it's usually around 60 and we're in santee... (hi neighbor)

and i would definitely trade out the books for the cham.

with such a big cage it could definitely be a difficulty with finding the feeders so the cup feeding may help tremendously....

and maybe if you could post a picture of the cage with the plant and your whole setup, that would help us help you, ,too.

 

[raainn]

the bulb says this:
R-ZILLA
tropical series 25 microwatts UVB 18"
flourecent coil bulb
*provides UVB light for proper calcium development in tropical reptiles... etc
* 20 WATTS

 

[RAFASTAR23]

alright super thanksss! im going to try and put her on my desk, but since im nerdy and love school i keep all my books there BUUUUT ill do anything for my baby :b<3 so waxworms? someone told me crickets were better until about 4 months. but i dont want her to keep it up like this for another 2 months cuz she hardly eats. i havent SEEN her eat for 2 days.

crickets are the staple feeders and should take about 50% of her diet, but Chams need variety. So try to get her small meal worms, wax worms, fruit flys (for small Chams), etc...

 

[raainn]

im pretty sure the gauge works cuz it does change from time to its 50s, right now its at about 65. the highest ive seen was 70 but NO lower than 50. even if i did cup feed her she NEVER ever ever ever ever leaves the top of her cage. im going to move her tomorrow to my desk i took the plant out because ants invaded it, i have no idea how.

 

[RAFASTAR23]

the bulb says this:
R-ZILLA
tropical series 25 microwatts UVB 18"
flourecent coil bulb
*provides UVB light for proper calcium development in tropical reptiles... etc
* 20 WATTS

Ok,... you got the Uvb lighting covered. make sure she has branches/vines about 6-8 inches below the light to bask and absorb the Uvb, the lightbulb is really not effective past 10-12in.

 

[raainn]

mkay, i just moved her vines around. oh, also i see her relax on her leaves like flat out. is that normal?

 

[RAFASTAR23]

im pretty sure the gauge works cuz it does change from time to its 50s, right now its at about 65. the highest ive seen was 70 but NO lower than 50. even if i did cup feed her she NEVER ever ever ever ever leaves the top of her cage. im going to move her tomorrow to my desk i took the plant out because ants invaded it, i have no idea how.

If you really want a plant for her right now, go to home depot and buy a ficus benjamina tree. you can re-pot the plant with organic soild (fertelizer free). It is a relatively cheap plant that is safe for chams.

 

[RAFASTAR23]

mkay, i just moved her vines around. oh, also i see her relax on her leaves like flat out. is that normal?

Like jandie suggested, she may not be getting enough "dark time" to rest properly. do you keep the light on at night? ... make sure you turn off all the lights on her cage so she can sleep. I'm sure your house does not get too cold at night for you ...and her.

 

[raainn]

actually its FREEZING at night. its been around 49F at night time here. is that bad for her? i turn her lights off at 8 and my tv is on until 10. should i keep that off? i feel bad for her, she looks so skinny

 

[krknieriem]

If you want a simple solution to a dripper go to 7-11 and get a double big gulp cup and poke a small hole in the bottom and sit it on top of your cage so that the water drips on the plant that you are going to get

 

[jandie]

quite often they lean to the side a little when basking and absorbing the heat/digesting...they will also do that and sway back and forth (to look like leaves) when they feel threatened, but you can definitely tell a difference....lol.

one of the main things our vet told us is that maintaining the temps is one of the big stressers and a lot of the "support" they provide in vet visits is making sure that reptiles are warm enough.....and that's especially important at night. you don't want a light on at night, but if you have some way of keeping your room temp warmer, that would help....our "room temps" at night don't go below 65.

 

[raainn]

ok, that seems reaaaaly easy.

 

[raainn]

i want to take her to a vet but they seem expensive. how much do you pay?

 

[RAFASTAR23]

actually its FREEZING at night. its been around 49F at night time here. is that bad for her? i turn her lights off at 8 and my tv is on until 10. should i keep that off? i feel bad for her, she looks so skinny

Ok, is it 49F inside you house? ... a cham will be fine in 55f at night, but try not to let it drop more than that. you can put a towel, curtain or something over the cage so light does not go in when you are up whatching tv late at night.

 

[raainn]

okaay, ill put the towel on. how do i "dust" crickets?

 

[RAFASTAR23]

i want to take her to a vet but they seem expensive. how much do you pay?

It depends where you go. but a check-up visit should run you anywhere between $60-$100. just make sure the vet you see has had experience with chameleons. some are experinced with reptiles in general, but never treated a cham.... and that may nt benefit you or your cham.

 

[krknieriem]

i use an extra large dunkin doughnuts cup and take a small amount of my supliment and dump it in then I take my crickets and put them in the cup with the supliment and put the lid on and move it around, then i take the lid off the cup and dump it in my feed cup.......I use 3 kinds of supliments I dust with repcal calcium every day, I dust with repcal calcium with D3 twice a month, and I dust with repcal herpavitamin twice a month, this site has a search engine up top that if you have some questions on certain things you can use to search previous posts, I am a new cham owner myself and I have found that very helpfull

 

[jandie]

It depends where you go. but a check-up visit should run you anywhere between $60-$100. just make sure the vet you see has had experience with chameleons. some are experinced with reptiles in general, but never treated a cham.... and that may nt benefit you or your cham.

i really like our vet - office visit is between $60-65 and then of course, they give you an estimate for any recommended testing or anything like that....it's the "pet hospital of penssquitos" and they do specialize with reptiles.

as far as dusting....what do you keep your crickets in? you can buy Cricket keepers that have tubes in them to make dusting easier....any pet store probably carries them.... or you can put some in a bag and shake the dusting powder onto them....but make sure your primary supplement is a calcium withOUT D3.... there are some posts/threads specifically on supplements if you have a min to search...will give you a good run down of recommendations.

 

[RAFASTAR23]

okaay, ill put the towel on. how do i "dust" crickets?

You simply buy a powder supplement to boost the nutrient of the feeders (crickets). You put a little bit of that powder in a plastic bag (like the one the cricket come in), add about 10 crikets and shake them in the bag until they are covered with the powder. I use REPTI CALCIUM (plain), REPTI CALCIUM WITH D3, and REPTIVITE. (not all at once offcourse).