HELP! new chameleon owner, need help!!!!

FranklinsDad · Jul 18, 2012

so i have had my veiled chameleon for about 4 days. he is about 2 months old and i have all the right equipment, but he doesnt seem to be doing so good, and i am worried. the first day i got him he was very active and i saw him eat a few crickets one which was to big and he choked on for a bit, but eventually he got it down. but ever since i he has avoided crickets and is less active, he most lays around when his eyes closed (sleeping i think). i dont know if he is still getting used to the new environment or if something is wrong, i dont wanna lose him. :/

froggielog · Jul 18, 2012

Don't worry, we will fix him right up

Can you fill out this form? I am a bit worried because sleeping during the day is not a good sign.

Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
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?
Location - Where are you geographically located?

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

shineru · Jul 18, 2012

Not a problem, i have a female vield and am experiance by now with that breed. Now like many other people are going to ask you, please fill out the " how to ask for help " form aside from that you need to always stick to small crickets, because u dont want her to chocked on them. posting a picture of the chameleon will help alot, also look at his poop and make sure its nothing weird.
i recomend you carefully watch him a fullday, because you do not know if his ill or maybe something off in his enviroment. please do everything fast, chameleon temp to show signs of been sick when they already dieing and its probaly too late, but with the kind help of everyone in the forums i think we all can help u , just keep us updated

Elizadolots · Jul 18, 2012

Hi! I'm so sorry your chameleon is worrying you. Have you bought smaller crickets? You might want to consider cup feeding them. If your chameleon doesn't have to hunt them, he might be less intimidated by them.

sandrachameleon · Jul 18, 2012

"sleeping" during the day is often a bad sign.
Make sure it is getting enough water.
and pls Answer the questions froggielog posted

AllFallDown · Jul 18, 2012

you know, there has got to be a way to write a php plugin to automate the filling out of that stupid form. That way, when people come to the "asking for help" sections they are prompted for the information automatically.

What is CF based on, vBulletin I would guess? Ether way it can be done....

Hmmmm.... tempted to do a little experiment...

FranklinsDad · Jul 19, 2012

Your Chameleon - The veiled, male, and 2 months. about 5 days.
Handling - a couple times , just to see what he was like.
Feeding - i put afew in yesterday and i didnt see any this morning so i put 5 more in this morning. i gutloaded them with lettuce and carrots.
Supplements - i havent started doing this yet but what r some good brands?
Watering - first i spray the substrate then the sides and back of the tank then all the plants. i try to mist about every four hours for about 30 seconds(till everything is wet). i havent seen him drinkk yet.
Fecal Description - i havent seen him poop yet, and no, i just got him.
History - got him from a local reptile store in a small tank with other chameleons.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - it is a 18x18x24 glass exoterra with a screen top there are two doors on the front of it.
Lighting - a repti-sun 5.0 bulb under a hood and zoomed 75 watt basking bulbi in a mini deep dome. the lights come on a 10 am and go off at 10 pm.
Temperature - 78 to 99. at night around 74. i constantly watch the temp of my basking area to make sure it doesnt get too hot.
Humidity - the lowest it gets is in the twenties at night when i cant mist him but but it mostly stays in the 40s after it decreases from misting. i maintain the humidity by misting and a live plant and a dripper. i have an electronical thermo/hydrometer.
Plants - yes, i have a Money Tree Plant (Pachira Braided)
Placement - it is located next to my bed on a stand there is a ceiling fan but i keep it on low.the top of the cage is about 4 feet off the ground.
Location - i am in northeast florida

Current Problem - The overall well being.

FranklinsDad · Jul 19, 2012

and today he scared me because he hung by his back two feet and kinda waved his body back and forth while hanging.

twatts704 · Jul 19, 2012

Have you seen him poop? What is the texture and color of it?

FranklinsDad · Jul 19, 2012

i havent seen him poop yet but im going to watch him a lot tommorow once thee lights come on.

AllFallDown · Jul 19, 2012

FranklinsDad said:
Your Chameleon - The veiled, male, and 2 months. about 5 days.
Handling - a couple times , just to see what he was like.

Personally, I handle mine pretty regularly, at least once a day for like 10 minutes. I waited about 2 weeks before I made a habit of this just to make sure he was nice and acclimated to his new home. The big thing is stress. I think LB is used to me now and does not get as stressed when i am around.

FranklinsDad said:
Feeding - i put afew in yesterday and i didnt see any this morning so i put 5 more in this morning. i gutloaded them with lettuce and carrots.

Sandrachameleon is the uber expert in this department. Have you seen her blog- she has some great tips, not only on good foods for gutloading but also recommendations on feeder insects themselves. Best to offer a variety. As I recall, carrots are not recommended as primary gut load, but I will defer that to sandra's blog (I will try to find it for you after I post this).

FranklinsDad said:
Supplements - i havent started doing this yet but what r some good brands?

Start ASAP. I use ZooMed for the calcium. No particular reason that is just what I initially bought. A lot of people here seem to like Rhapashy (spelling?), Miner-all, Repti-cal, etc... The big thing is dust with calcium once a day. Most people around here dust with calcium w/o vitamin D every day and then calcium with vitamin D about once a week or so. I am not sure how much truth there is to this recommendation, I will also not argue with it. Get a good multivitamin as well. Miner-all is one brand, reptivite, I use Zoomed again and I have been dusting about once a week with vitamins (I skip calcium on those days) although I have been considering switching to twice a week on the multivitamin.

FranklinsDad said:
Watering - first i spray the substrate then the sides and back of the tank then all the plants. i try to mist about every four hours for about 30 seconds(till everything is wet). i havent seen him drinkk yet.

Get a dripper, or some kind of drip line. Misting might work but personally, I like the idea of my cham having a good source of constant running water. he seems to like it too.
Chances are you will not see your cham drink very often- they like privacy. I very rarely see mine drink.
Also, I see you have a glass enclosure. Because of that- be very careful with the misting. Make sure you get some good ventilation so as not to encourage fungal growth. Fungus is usually bad for chameleons.

FranklinsDad said:
Fecal Description - i havent seen him poop yet, and no, i just got him.

Brown poo, white urates is what you usually want to see. Orange urates usually is a sign of dehydration. Here is a short thread that may give you some insight:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/what-normal-poop-urate-43050/

FranklinsDad said:
History - got him from a local reptile store in a small tank with other chameleons.

Cage Info:

FranklinsDad said:
Cage Type - it is a 18x18x24 glass exoterra with a screen top there are two doors on the front of it.

All mesh screen cages are generally recommended- mainly because of the fungus/stangnant air issue (there is also the theory out there that glass allows them to see their own reflection and that causes them stress). Some people have successfully housed chams in glass, I would just caution you to be very careful about ventilation and excess moisture. Humidty is nice- but not if it leads to bad things in the air. Recall of course that Veiled chameleons can handle lower humidity and in fact their humidity levels fluctuate over in their natural habitat.

FranklinsDad said:
Lighting - a repti-sun 5.0 bulb under a hood and zoomed 75 watt basking bulbi in a mini deep dome. the lights come on a 10 am and go off at 10 pm.

Sounds good!

A couple of things:
1) you mention you have a deep dome, I assume there is some separation between the bulb and the top of the cage? If so this is good because if the lamp is too close you can get thermal burn. Bad.
2) Because you have a glass enclosure (and live in the sunny state), be super careful about the temperatures in that enclosure. It can heat up pretty quick on a hot day in an all glass terrarium and cook your lizard. (Yet another reason why screen cages are preferred by many)
3) Nothing wrong with zoomed basking bulbs, but they are quite pricey. A regular incandescent bulb from the department store of your choice achieves the same end at a fraction of the cost. I think I pay $6 for 4 75 watt bulbs and my lizards all seem pretty happy.

FranklinsDad said:
Temperature - 78 to 99. at night around 74. i constantly watch the temp of my basking area to make sure it doesnt get too hot.

Good to keep an eye. I think 99 is technically in range for a male veiled but is starting to push it- especially for a baby. Try to get that closer to 90.

FranklinsDad said:
Humidity - the lowest it gets is in the twenties at night when i cant mist him but but it mostly stays in the 40s after it decreases from misting. i maintain the humidity by misting and a live plant and a dripper. i have an electronical thermo/hydrometer.

Ah ha, you got the high tech set up- nice!

FranklinsDad said:
Plants - yes, i have a Money Tree Plant (Pachira Braided)

Not bad (I am pretty sure I remember seeing those on the safe lists). Do you have some vines in there as well? They love vines- either fake or real. Pothos are a great candidate for this.

FranklinsDad said:
Placement - it is located next to my bed on a stand there is a ceiling fan but i keep it on low.the top of the cage is about 4 feet off the ground.

It would be preferable for you to keep it in a low traffic area to the best of your ability. As I mentioned before, they love privacy.

FranklinsDad said:
Location - i am in northeast florida

Lucky you!

FranklinsDad said:
Current Problem - The overall well being.

All sounds good to me so far- just make sure you get on the supplementation!

Thanks for posting. A picture of the setup could be handy as well- visuals are always helpful.

AllFallDown · Jul 19, 2012

FranklinsDad said:
and today he scared me because he hung by his back two feet and kinda waved his body back and forth while hanging.

Mine does that sometimes. I think that means he's hungry (or thirsty). I have noticed he plays 'George of the Jungle' when he wants something- food or water.

AllFallDown · Jul 19, 2012

thephotoprincess · Jul 19, 2012

FranklinsDad said:
Your Chameleon - The veiled, male, and 2 months. about 5 days.
Handling - a couple times , just to see what he was like.
Feeding - i put afew in yesterday and i didnt see any this morning so i put 5 more in this morning. i gutloaded them with lettuce and carrots.
Supplements - i havent started doing this yet but what r some good brands?
Watering - first i spray the substrate then the sides and back of the tank then all the plants. i try to mist about every four hours for about 30 seconds(till everything is wet). i havent seen him drinkk yet.
Fecal Description - i havent seen him poop yet, and no, i just got him.
History - got him from a local reptile store in a small tank with other chameleons.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - it is a 18x18x24 glass exoterra with a screen top there are two doors on the front of it.
Lighting - a repti-sun 5.0 bulb under a hood and zoomed 75 watt basking bulbi in a mini deep dome. the lights come on a 10 am and go off at 10 pm.
Temperature - 78 to 99. at night around 74. i constantly watch the temp of my basking area to make sure it doesnt get too hot.
Humidity - the lowest it gets is in the twenties at night when i cant mist him but but it mostly stays in the 40s after it decreases from misting. i maintain the humidity by misting and a live plant and a dripper. i have an electronical thermo/hydrometer.
Plants - yes, i have a Money Tree Plant (Pachira Braided)
Placement - it is located next to my bed on a stand there is a ceiling fan but i keep it on low.the top of the cage is about 4 feet off the ground.
Location - i am in northeast florida

Current Problem - The overall well being.

Too hot and probably not enough water. Basking temps should be low 80s at most.

Also make sure the food is small enough for him. If he has to choke and struggle to swallow it is too big. A 2 month old will eat 10-20 very small crickets a day.

FranklinsDad · Jul 19, 2012

i switched the bulb to a 50 watt and now the basking are is about 85. he has been a little active this morning but still periodically will close one or both of his eyes. im going to the pet store to get some crickets today and see if he will eat.

thephotoprincess · Jul 19, 2012

FranklinsDad said:
i switched the bulb to a 50 watt and now the basking are is about 85. he has been a little active this morning but still periodically will close one or both of his eyes. im going to the pet store to get some crickets today and see if he will eat.

maybe get some fruit flies too. They are small and might stimulate him to hunt and eat. I would also give him a nice long shower. (put him on a plant in the shower with the water off to one side) he is likely dehydrated and getting him hydrated and drinking is key.

sandrachameleon · Jul 19, 2012

Money Tree = NOT safe

sandrachameleon · Jul 19, 2012

Veiled/Chamaeleo temp ranges:

day basking spot up to 96.5F/36C (Non breeding females and Juveniles hottest spot should be kept at a lower temp, closer to 80F/25C)
day cooler spot / ambient range 70-80F/21 -26C
night to a low of 60F/15.5C (Juveniles only down to 68F)

SpartyTessy · Jul 19, 2012

When I first got my male Jackson he also was closing his eyes during the day not very active. It is because he was dehydrated. After a few days of drinking lots of water he was good to go, very happy and very active.

CHScrusader · Jul 19, 2012

No worries! The Cham is most likely just recovering from the choke or is in choke and scared itself. I recommend doing the frowned upon thing and feeding it smaller worms for a few days and when it's better go back to crickets, but smaller.

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