HELP ME

[Macy&Pixie the chameleons]

I have a chameleon that is just very stressed all the time and everytime I post a thread asking for help, people will give me one or two tips then I ask them to specify and they ghost me.
I'm having to force hydrate and feed her, I hate having to force her but if I don't she'll die.
She's very dehydrated and I got some more plants and turned the misting time up and she's been moving around more.
What can I do to help her??

 

[nightanole]

Ok well she is underweight, so what has she eaten this week? Most dont drink much, so forcing "just water" isnt going to help much other than replace the hydration from the food she should be eating.

Other than that you have a double dome CFL setup, which is not very good and will need more D3 supplements, especially with a girl.
You also have substrate, which is not recommended for a beginner, as you could have a "dirt eater" or mold/etc if its not kept clean.


But lets start with food. If she is eating and getting a good D3 Calcium, and kept in the 70's, that is like 90% of the battle.

 

[Beman]

Did you order the fixtures I gave you information on? The UVB ones were the ones that I told you were extremely important.

 

[Macy&Pixie the chameleons]

Ok well she is underweight, so what has she eaten this week? Most dont drink much, so forcing "just water" isnt going to help much other than replace the hydration from the food she should be eating.

Other than that you have a double dome CFL setup, which is not very good and will need more D3 supplements, especially with a girl.
You also have substrate, which is not recommended for a beginner, as you could have a "dirt eater" or mold/etc if its not kept clean.


But lets start with food. If she is eating and getting a good D3 Calcium, and kept in the 70's, that is like 90% of the battle.

I did feed her too, well today is Monday so this week she hasn't eaten anything but, last week maybe 10 dusted mealworms I just got the D3 calcium yesterday.
She has never eaten dirt and neither has my other chameleon and I clean it out pretty often.

 

[Macy&Pixie the chameleons]

Did you order the fixtures I gave you information on? The UVB ones were the ones that I told you were extremely important.

I have a 60 watt incandescent and a uvb, not the one you told me to order, but a lot of people are saying what I have is fine as long as she gets a lot of vitamin d and d3

 

[PlanetRemulak]

I have a 60 watt incandescent and a uvb, not the one you told me to order, but a lot of people are saying what I have is fine as long as she gets a lot of vitamin d and d3

Are the same people giving you this advice experienced chameleon keepers themselves?

I genuinely am not attempting to sound condescending or argumentative. I would just hate for you to take that advice seriously - you will lose your chameleon over it. Just getting her “a lot of vitamin D and D3” isn’t going to fix the issue. In order to keep your chameleon healthy and prevent her from getting metabolic bone disease, you will need a linear T5 UVB bulb. Coil UVB bulbs are not suitable. So long as you continue to use a coil UVB bulb instead of a linear T5 5.0 or 6% bulb, you will continue to see a decline in the health of your chameleon. It is entirely possible to overdose your chameleon on vitamin D3, and simply offering her a lot of it to make up for what she isn’t getting from her coil bulb isn’t the solution. She will get sick from this. Supplementing vitamins like D3 is done so (and on a strict schedule, so that you don’t overdose your animal) in conjunction with providing a proper source of UVB for 12 hours a day.

@Beman really goes out of her way to help out people new to keeping chameleons, and has quite a bit of experience herself. I would definitely take her advice to heart and get either that T5 Reptisun 5.0 or Arcadia 6% bulb. If you need help finding a T5 fixture, here’s a link (I’m assuming your cage is the 16“ x 16“ x 30“? You will need a 24” x 24” x 48” cage for your girl, but proper lighting is essential to her health and is the first place I would start):

https://www.amazon.com/Jump-Start-JSFC18T-Fixture-Reflector/dp/B079PVVC2V/ref=sr_1_13?crid=1104K47VA1LYR&keywords=Sun+glow+t5+fixture&qid=1666048377&sprefix=sun+glow+t5+fixtur,aps,477&sr=8-13

 

[nightanole]

Are the same people giving you this advice experienced chameleon keepers themselves?

I genuinely am not attempting to sound condescending or argumentative. I would just hate for you to take that advice seriously - you will lose your chameleon over it. Just getting her “a lot of vitamin D and D3” isn’t going to fix the issue. In order to keep your chameleon healthy and prevent her from getting metabolic bone disease, you will need a linear T5 UVB bulb. Coil UVB bulbs are not suitable. So long as you continue to use a coil UVB bulb instead of a linear T5 5.0 or 6% bulb, you will continue to see a decline in the health of your chameleon. It is entirely possible to overdose your chameleon on vitamin D3, and simply offering her a lot of it to make up for what she isn’t getting from her coil bulb isn’t the solution. She will get sick from this. Supplementing vitamins like D3 is done so (and on a strict schedule, so that you don’t overdose your animal) in conjunction with providing a proper source of UVB for 12 hours a day.

@Beman really goes out of her way to help out people new to keeping chameleons, and has quite a bit of experience herself. I would definitely take her advice to heart and get either that T5 Reptisun 5.0 or Arcadia 6% bulb. If you need help finding a T5 fixture, here’s a link (I’m assuming your cage is the 16“ x 16“ x 30“? You will need a 24” x 24” x 48” cage for your girl, but proper lighting is essential to her health and is the first place I would start):

https://www.amazon.com/Jump-Start-JSFC18T-Fixture-Reflector/dp/B079PVVC2V/ref=sr_1_13?crid=1104K47VA1LYR&keywords=Sun+glow+t5+fixture&qid=1666048377&sprefix=sun+glow+t5+fixtur,aps,477&sr=8-13

That CFL is borderline useless past 6". However if she is using something like ultra low dose D3 sticky tongue farms indoor formula every feeding(or Repashy Calcium Plus LoD every other feeding) she wont be anywhere close to over supplementing. I used that combo for 12 years back in the day before reptisun 10.0 T8 came out.

Still she should be saving the whopping $50 for the Zoo Med ReptiSun T5-HO High Output Terrarium Hood 24" w/Lamp #LF-71 since she has to replace that cfl every six months anyway.

 

[PlanetRemulak]

That CFL is borderline useless past 6". However if she is using something like ultra low dose D3 sticky tongue farms indoor formula every feeding(or Repashy Calcium Plus LoD every other feeding) she wont be anywhere close to over supplementing. I used that combo for 12 years back in the day before reptisun 10.0 T8 came out.

Takes me back to when I was a teenage kid and got my first veiled chameleon. Feels like a million years ago!

Still she should be saving the whopping $50 for the Zoo Med ReptiSun T5-HO High Output Terrarium Hood 24" w/Lamp #LF-71 since she has to replace that cfl every six months anyway.

I don’t want to sound like a broken record on repeat, but definitely. @Macy&Pixie the chameleons I know it seems pricey, but it will be absolutely worth it. The bulb alone usually goes for at least $20.

 

[kinyonga]

I'm sorry you're having so much trouble with your chameleons.

It would help us a lot if you would not keep making new posts but instead just keep on with one thread for the same chameleons with the same issues so we can follow what's going on without having to re read many threads.

Mealworms are not the best choice for feeding chameleons. BSFL, silkworms, crickets, roaches, once in a while horn worms or wax worms. All the insects should be well cared for, well fed and gutloaded before feeding them to the chameleons.

Temperature plays a part in digestion...you need to have the basking area at 80F. I would recommend using a regular household incandescent bulb for this.

Your chameleons need a proper UVB light...most recommended...reptisun 5.0 long linear tube light or Arcadia 6% long linear bulb. It's hard to cause a vitamin D3 overdose the proper bulbs set up as @Beman tells you. It's easy to overdose using D3 in supplements ...which is why we limit it to twice a month, lightly dusted on the insects.

PrEformed Vitamin A is another vitamin we can overdose them on which is why we only use it twice a month. PrOformed vitamin A (the other form of vitamin A) will not lead to an overdose but it's thought that many/all chameleons may not be able to convert it.

Calcium is important too, because most insects we use as feeders have a poor ratio of calcium to phos....so we dust the insects with a phos free calcium at all feedings but 2 a month lightly to make sure the chameleons have enough.

As for Macy...she may grow more if you get her husbandry fixed soon. What color are her urates (not poop) ...white or orangey?
If they are white then she is hydrated and you don't need to force feed her water.

As for force feeding her food, it should be a last resort. Try putting a cricket between her teeth while she is opening and shutting her mouth drinking...if you can get her to drink from a dripper. The dripper should only drop at the rate of one or two drops per second.

For a Pixie...I'm not sure why she's throwing up. I need more information...so more about that later.

 

[Beman]

I have a 60 watt incandescent and a uvb, not the one you told me to order, but a lot of people are saying what I have is fine as long as she gets a lot of vitamin d and d3

So I do not know who all these people are... You would not get that incorrect info here in the forum.

I can only help so much but you have to implement the changes that are recommended with the items we say are needed. If you do not then me helping is pointless. I think it is a better option to return the chameleon you just got and hope they can nurse it back to health. You have the first chameleon that had growth issues due to improper care. That one really needs the turn around in husbandry.

I really try not to be shocking in my words. But without the right husbandry chameleons decline until they die. This cham is showing major signs of decline such as closing the eyes and the eyes being sunk in. Chameleons are not an easy animal to have when you are young unless you have the ability to provide every thing they need. These are more complex animals and the items they need get really expensive really quickly. Please go back to your threads and read through the advice given. Go to chameleon academy and read back through the husbandry program.

 

[Macy&Pixie the chameleons]

So I do not know who all these people are... You would not get that incorrect info here in the forum.

I can only help so much but you have to implement the changes that are recommended with the items we say are needed. If you do not then me helping is pointless. I think it is a better option to return the chameleon you just got and hope they can nurse it back to health. You have the first chameleon that had growth issues due to improper care. That one really needs the turn around in husbandry.

I really try not to be shocking in my words. But without the right husbandry chameleons decline until they die. This cham is showing major signs of decline such as closing the eyes and the eyes being sunk in. Chameleons are not an easy animal to have when you are young unless you have the ability to provide every thing they need. These are more complex animals and the items they need get really expensive really quickly. Please go back to your threads and read through the advice given. Go to chameleon academy and read back through the husbandry program.

My mom won't let me buy anything else because she thinks that would be a waste, when I got her she had a bump on her tail, she has developed another one on her rear left foot, the jerks that sold her to me are located in Ohio, they came to Georgia once.
I really love her and I would hate for her to die, what can I do to help her without buying anything?

 

[Tkrd69]

Sorry to hear this. It is easy to spend over $1,000 to set up a chameleon enclosure. Chameleons are not cheap to keep and vet bills get expensive. Need to see exotic get but if you cannot make proper adjustments to enclosure it won't help. Uvb is very important and outside time helps if temperature allows it. My prayers are with you all.

 

[Beman]

My mom won't let me buy anything else because she thinks that would be a waste, when I got her she had a bump on her tail, she has developed another one on her rear left foot, the jerks that sold her to me are located in Ohio, they came to Georgia once.
I really love her and I would hate for her to die, what can I do to help her without buying anything?

Without adjustments to her husbandry that are basic needs like correct UVB lighting, supplements, correct feeders, etc the cham will continue to decline. UVB is the most basic need. It is their version of sunlight in a cage. It provides the essentials that sun does for us when we go outside. In a chameleons body it not only starts an internal chain of production of D3 but it stimulates appetite. They need it so that their bones stay strong and so that they thrive. Without the correct UVB lighting. Metabolic bone disease sets in and failure to thrive starts. This can present in many different forms at first. A slow decline in growth leading to an abnormally small cham, full MBD crippling the limbs of a cham, and then common failure to thrive signs being eyes closed during the day, lack of appetite, and eyes sinking in.

If you can not get the right UVB lighting this being the most basic of needs then your best option is to find a reptile rescue that will take them in.

 

[nightanole]

My mom won't let me buy anything else because she thinks that would be a waste, when I got her she had a bump on her tail, she has developed another one on her rear left foot, the jerks that sold her to me are located in Ohio, they came to Georgia once.
I really love her and I would hate for her to die, what can I do to help her without buying anything?

"buy" some Repashy Calcium Plus LoD. Its super cheap.

Stop using meal worms. They dont gut load well, and are almost "candy". You use them in a pinch or as a treat.

Switch to crickets and use left over human greens(even peels) as a gut load.

She is under weight and doesnt have enough UVB. So feed her as much as she will eat every other day, and dust with a D3 calcium powder. Its going to take at least 90 day of "over supplementing" to show signs.

If you have any left over cash flow, start a dubia colony, or buy dubia for food instead of crickets. Soon that will be "free food" because the dubia bin will turn into just a human veggy scraps recycling bin.

 

[crosscutts]

I have a 60 watt incandescent and a uvb, not the one you told me to order, but a lot of people are saying what I have is fine as long as she gets a lot of vitamin d and d3

If you’re not following Beman’s advice on the UVB , and listening to what a lot of other people . this is going to be your issue not trying to be mean but there’s only one UVB set up that should be used and that’s a T5 6% linear . As far as hydration spending a couple nights with cool temperatures in high humidity (fogging) as well as some horned worms usually can turn that around pretty quick .. I don’t think you’re being ghosted . I just think you’re getting too much outside advice you need to pick one source and follow their recommendations preferably somebody with skills like Beman ..

 

[Macy&Pixie the chameleons]

Sorry to hear this. It is easy to spend over $1,000 to set up a chameleon enclosure. Chameleons are not cheap to keep and vet bills get expensive. Need to see exotic get but if you cannot make proper adjustments to enclosure it won't help. Uvb is very important and outside time helps if temperature allows it. My prayers are with you all.

I don't have any exotic vets near me, and whenever I take either of them outside when it nice and warm they turn a dark color is that a good thing?

 

[Sonny13]

whenever I take either of them outside when it nice and warm they turn a dark color is that a good thing?

In principle yes, that´s when they´re soaking up UVB and/or heat.