help! chameleon dark colors/tongue wont extend

Toober

New Member
Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon -veild chameleon, Male, around 1 year. i just got him from a friend recently
  • Handling - So far i have handled him once and he was fairly calm.
  • Feeding - so far gave him 1 horn worm the first day i got him, recently hes ate crickets. i put around 6-12 in his feeder every other day. the crickets are in a vented box and fed/have quenchers. i dust them in vitamins for him before they go into his feader.
  • Supplements - i dust his crickets before i put them into the feeder. he eats them every other day so far.
  • Watering - dropper that drips on both sides of his cage. i mist twice a day. iv only seen him drink once and that was the first day i got him.
  • Fecal Description - first couple days it was white. most recent poop was yellow and watery. im not sure if hes ever been tested before.
  • History - was never really handled alot. mainly was kept in 70degrees

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - a wiremesh type of cage. dont know exact mesurements but it is fairly large!
  • Lighting - i had a uvb strip on top. 75w plant light on the basking side. lights go off around 9-10pm and go back on around 9am
  • Temperature - basking spot is around 80-85 atm. 65 ? i have a thing in the habitat that messures the temp
  • Humidity - im not sure what my humidity lv is. i do not have anyway of currently messuring.
  • Plants - i have some fake plants/branches on the sides and at the moment i only have a smaller but longer viny plant.
  • Placement - cage is in one of my corners of my room away from the fan. it is on a stand so its fairly high off the ground.
  • Location - im in NY. right now its fairly cold outside.

Current Problem - so far he is always a darker color. also his tongue does not extend past a inch. first day i had him he extended his tongue really far to get the water dripper that was too far away (i fixed the distance issue) but now when he goes to eat he has to stick his head in the feeder. Also his pop from early was like yellow and slimey.
 

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Welcome to the forum!
You only need one thread about the same problem. Starting more about the same thing leads to confusion.

I've never seen that type of colour difference before.

Why did your friend give him up? Can you ask if the tongue was a problem and what supplements your friend used, etc.


You said..."Feeding - so far gave him 1 horn worm the first day i got him, recently hes ate crickets. i put around 6-12 in his feeder every other day. the crickets are in a vented box and fed/have quenchers. i dust them in vitamins for him before they go into his feeder"...

you need to feed/gutload the crickets and other insects you use well so they will be a nutritious food for the chameleon. You need a proper setup for the insects if you're going to keep them for a few days before they are fed off. More about that later...remind me if I forget.

You said..."Supplements - i dust his crickets before i put them into the feeder. he eats them every other day so far"..what are you dusting with? Be specific...brand...etc.

You said the poop was yellow and watery...it should have a brown poop part and a white urates part. If the white is quite yellowish then the chameleon is likely dehydrated and that might be why the tongue isn't working.

I would replace the fake plants with non toxic well washed (both sides of the leaves) plants. Veileds often chew on their plants.

Other than the hydration this has not solved your color issue with the chameleon or the tongue issue.

Tongues can be injured, infected, weak from improper nutrients in the chameleon's diet, etc. Until we get more information we can't even give you our best "guess" at why it's happening.
 
Could be dehydration, but I’m putting my money on something more neurological. The very strange coloration, yellow poop, and tongue issue have to be intertwined in some way...

How is his overall coordination?
 
his coordination is ok. when i pick him up he has a strong grip, walks fairly normal not wobbly or anything
 
im thinking hes dehydrated and maybe not warm enough but i wanted to post here to make sure and see what u all think cause im fairly new to this. i dont want him to suddenly die or something bad to happen
 
i was just able to make him drink some water, he was near his feeder and theres a fake branch with leaves that drips water and i took the dripper part and put it towards his mouth and he drank some.
 
i forgot to mention he randomly goes all green like how a normal chameleon looks. usually when he wakes up/eats or just randomly when basking.
 
is it possible that since he was always kept at 70degrees that he adapted to it and thats why hes dark, since hes trying to keep warm since darker colors help to absorb heat????
 
Yea idk he was bright green this morning before i went to work. Like i said im fairly new to all this but i think hes just trying to keep warmer. And with the tongue issue i believe he is dehydrated. His poop was brown but then there was some yellow stuff next to it. Yesturday he drank alot i watched him. Ill keep posted
 
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