Help needed

ReptileRampage

ReptileRampage

New Member
I recently got a male verrucosus chameleon, hes about 6-7 inches without tail. I am aware that he is wild caught and i'm noticing some issues and im not sure why its happening. I recieved him wednesday morning, and havent handled him so he could have time to adjust to his new home. I have not seen him drink but i understand this species is very shy and wont eat in front of people. The problem Im noticing is that he has not pooped since hes been here. Today when I woke up I noticed that there was a ball of undigested crickets on the floor. No urates at all just the ball of half digested food. Ive never dealt with wild caught before so advice is welcome as well as suggestions on what is wrong and how i can fix it. Thank you
 
I would give him a shower as soon as possible. In case you don't know what that is; take a plant and put it in the shower and put the water on a mist setting or on the shower setting (keep the pressure not too high if you do this) and let him sit with the water coming down on him.

Hopefully when you do this, you'll see him drinking; if not, there is a good chance he did.

As far as the undigested crickets it seems like maybe he threw them up. How many feeders are you giving him per day? Also have you tried any other feeders?

Here is a care sheet on them: https://www.chameleonforums.com/furcifer-verrucosus-simple-caresheet-51384/

Ask away here or feel free to pm me if you have more questions about the species.
Chase
 
Right now he gets about 7 large a day. They are loose in the cage and he will hunt and eat. I noticed he really ate a lot day 1, maybe throwing up from over eating? I have not tried other feeders but i plan on getting some horn worms and dubias again because my panther loves them. I tried a shower yesterday morning but will do another, i dont want to over stress him. I havent seen him eat at all today. Maybe i should go up to a warmer bulb for him, maybe he couldnt digest because of cold temps? Ive watched his colors and a lot of times hes his normal light grey with lime green legs and blue beard. Id assume hed be black or dark if he was cold. Im using a 60 watt right now the basking is 85 f. I hope he gets better. I might need to take him go a vet. Also when he showed up he had a big belly, and now the size has gone down so i'm not sure if thats a problem. I tried to do research on this species and ive read caresheets on here. I know the company he came from was feeding crickets and worms. But i admit i am a beginner with this species so i might have more to learn.
 
image.jpg heres a pic of Capone
 
It's quite possible he did over eat.

As you said, the species is very shy. It took mine a whole to warm up to me but eventually they learned I brought them food. Just make sure to keep misting and just let him be once you throw the feeders in there so he can feel alone and he'll eat.

Chase
 
Another thought is that he was kept at lower temperatures before you got him, and the food he ate then could not be digested.

Me thinks he will start eating soon…:D

Nick
 
His eyes dont look sunken anymore so i think hes been drinking he looks good today. I put in crickets today and i'll be gone so hes free to be alone. I gave him a half hour. Outside today as well just cause natural sun will do him some good :)
 
I've also observed when I would be messing with them and they would puff up that their eyes would sink in. So if that's what you've observed then you should be ok.

Chase
 
Capone seems to be okay temperament wise. Hes very shy but hes stopped hissing at me. He only mouth gaped once. Hes just very shy and likes to hide. When i do handle him hes hard to get out because he tries
To hide. But once hes out he lightens up. If i do handle him its for 5 minutes max. My goal is to get him comfortable and less defensive with the hissing and such. Its just saturday and he doesnt hiss at me any more and he doesnt puff up so he lets me take pics though if he tries to hide i stop. I think hes got a pretty decent personality so i hope he learns to trust me. Im going to add more leaves for hiding places to make him more comfortable. I'm building him a cage next month cause i know they get bigger. Chase thanks for all the help! And everyone else as well!
 
Just curious.. What kind of plants are in his enclosure? And what size is he in?

You're more than welcome for the help; glad to see people are getting these still :)

Chase
 
Right now he has a golden pothos and fake plants. He was kind of a gift from my girlfriend and so he went in my old panther cage which is 16x16x30. Next month I'm going to build a 20x40 custom cage so he has room, probably more than 20 since theyre bigger species. And then i will buy more plants as well. Hes about 6-7 inches without tail so while the 16 inch isnt ideal it should be okay for a month. He gets freerange outside as well to stretch out. We've had terible weather in the midwest this week so my tegu and chams havent gotten out much.
 
Chase what size of enclosure do you recommend for adults. I havent seen an adult in person so i'm not sure whats needed. I plan to build it myself so i'll wee what i can do :)
 
I kept my female in a 16X16X30 with no problems; but the male I kept in a 18X18X24 Exo-Terra and he thrived.

I think that if you're going to use a screened enclosure the dimensions would be just fine.

When you build it, make sure you get some branchy type plants that are thick so he has a bunch to hide in!

Chase
 
By the way, he looks almost fully grown. Shouldn't get too much longer, just bulkier once he gets acclimated and used to captive life

Chase
 
unfortunately no :( I checked temps and went over the whole cage to make sure his environment was okay. He puked about 3 times since he was here last wednesday and today i woke up and went to turn on the tegu's lights and the chameleons lights and I found him on the floor dead. I'm really clueless as to what was wrong with him. I found a poop on the floor finally a couple days ago and the urate was white so there wasn't that hint of dehydration. His eyes looked full and not sunken any longer. I really thought he was on the mend and maybe he over ate or was stressed from the shipping. I'm really bummed out and I'm not sure I want to try a wild caught again. Definitely not buying from them again either it really sucks to get attached to something and lose it just like that.
 
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