Help! Newly purchased stressed chameleon

[Dbarton6505]

Hello! I'm Dave. My wife and I just bought a new piebold veiled cam and she seemed as happy as can be for the first day. The next day I made a hanging food tray for her to eat that wouldn't get sprayed on when the automatic mister c went off. Then I mistakenly tried to spray a couple plants with that "tropical mist" and now she's really dark color and just stays towards the top of the cage. I am posting a picture of her habitat as it sits now. Any help is greatly appreciated. I just want her to be happy. (We are adding more plants towards the mid section shortly) View attachment 289589

 

[Beman]

Hello! I'm Dave. My wife and I just bought a new piebold veiled cam and she seemed as happy as can be for the first day. The next day I made a hanging food tray for her to eat that wouldn't get sprayed on when the automatic mister c went off. Then I mistakenly tried to spray a couple plants with that "tropical mist" and now she's really dark color and just stays towards the top of the cage. I am posting a picture of her habitat as it sits now. Any help is greatly appreciated. I just want her to be happy. (We are adding more plants towards the mid section shortly) View attachment 289589

Hi there... So your going to really want to fill out that cage with branches and tall mature plants... Veileds to not typically like being sprayed. So they tend to go into their plants when misting happens. Since it is a Veiled you need to make sure you are using Veiled tested. https://chameleonacademy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Chameleon-Plants-122819.pdf

This site will help you with cage set up. https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/
https://chameleonacademy.com/veiled-chameleon-care/

If you post a picture of the baby including the back of the feet we can see about confirming gender as well.

What UVB lighting fixture are you using and what bulb strength?

 

[Mendez]

Chameleons, in general, don't like to be sprayed with water. Some will tolerate being sprayed while others will run away. Most likely the water cooled her down which is why she is near the top of the cage with dark colors. The dark colors help her absorb the heat from the basking light to warm her back up.

For this reason, many chameleon keepers have adopted the naturalistic hydration schedule which requires misting at night and not during the day.

Additionally, you said that you are getting more plants for her which is excellent! But you need to also add more branches. Vertical branches are a must, especially under the uvb. Without proper uvb, she will develop mbd. About 8-9 inches away is sufficient. What brand are u using?

Also, what is "tropical mist"? I thought you sprayed her with water. Is "tropical mist" just the adjective you for the way the water was sprayed? Sounds kinda like a drug...

As long as you didn't spray any chemicals on her, she will be fine.

 

[ERKleRose]

I’ve responded to your other duplicate thread with the pictures. Try not to do that any more, as it confuses us and you

 

[Dbarton6505]

Chameleons, in general, don't like to be sprayed with water. Some will tolerate being sprayed while others will run away. Most likely the water cooled her down which is why she is near the top of the cage with dark colors. The dark colors help her absorb the heat from the basking light to warm her back up.

For this reason, many chameleon keepers have adopted the naturalistic hydration schedule which requires misting at night and not during the day.

Additionally, you said that you are getting more plants for her which is excellent! But you need to also add more branches. Vertical branches are a must, especially under the uvb. Without proper uvb, she will develop mbd. About 8-9 inches away is sufficient. What brand are u using?
View attachment 289598

Also, what is "tropical mist"? I thought you sprayed her with water. Is "tropical mist" just the adjective you for the way the water was sprayed? Sounds kinda like a drug...

As long as you didn't spray any chemicals on her, she will be fine.

 

[Dbarton6505]

Tropical mist is that crap you buy at the pet store with aloe and stuff in it. Apparently I'm dumb enough to think it might be a good thing to try just on a couple plants and see if she likes it which apparently she didn't haha

We are using a to slimline 25 uvb light that I think zilla makes.
We boosted her plants to be more where she would be able to hide and are getting more vines and stuff tomorrow so she has more options to walk

I can't tell you all how much I appreciate the advice!

 

[Dbarton6505]

Tropical mist is that crap you buy at the pet store with aloe and stuff in it. Apparently I'm dumb enough to think it might be a good thing to try just on a couple plants and see if she likes it which apparently she didn't haha

We are using a t8 slimline 25 uvb light that I think zilla makes.
We boosted her plants to be more where she would be able to hide and are getting more vines and stuff tomorrow so she has more options to walk

I can't tell you all how much I appreciate the advice!
T8

 

[ERKleRose]

Tropical mist is that crap you buy at the pet store with aloe and stuff in it. Apparently I'm dumb enough to think it might be a good thing to try just on a couple plants and see if she likes it which apparently she didn't haha

We are using a to slimline 25 uvb light that I think zilla makes.
We boosted her plants to be more where she would be able to hide and are getting more vines and stuff tomorrow so she has more options to walk

I can't tell you all how much I appreciate the advice!

Filling out the form I posted on the other thread will help us give you any more pointers. She needs a T5 High Output linear fixture, not the Zilla Slimlines. It should have either an Arcadia 6% or Zoo Med 5.0 linear bulb in it. If you can afford it, definitely invest in a Solarmeter 6.5 to check the UVI levels on her basking branches and to know when to replace your UVB bulb!

 

[Mendez]

Filling out the form I posted on the other thread will help us give you any more pointers. She needs a T5 High Output linear fixture, not the Zilla Slimlines. It should have either an Arcadia 6% or Zoo Med 5.0 linear bulb in it. If you can afford it, definitely invest in a Solarmeter 6.5 to check the UVI levels on her basking branches and to know when to replace your UVB bulb!

I'm not experienced with the zilla slimline, but I think you can still make your setup work. Many keepers on here, including myself use the arcadia t5 HO 6%, but using a T8 can still be used. If you can return the fixture and get an arcadia then that would be great, but don't feel like you can't use what you have. Old keepers have used t8s successfully in the past, but the new tech is the t5s. Below is a chart for the light distance for your bulb to be successful: https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-cage-set-up-replicating-the-sun/ (Look at ZooMed T8 Linear). What does the bulb say? If it says 10.0 then follow the diagram below. This is why arcadia t5 HO 6%--other bulbs are hard to recommend because it is hard to accurately tell people the height of the bulb from the basking branch. Too low UVB will cause MBD and Too high is also unhealthy. If your bulb doesn't say 10.0 on it, I would strongly suggest getting an arcadia bulb. Either sell or return your fixture if possible. MBD is the number 1 leading killer of chameleons.

Yeah, and I wouldn't use that tropical mist again, plants and chams both like plain water just fine .

And no problem, we are here to help!

Also, filling out the form @ERKleRose posted on your other thread will greatly help us know if you need other pointers.

 

[ERKleRose]

I'm not experienced with the zilla slimline, but I think you can still make your setup work. Many keepers on here, including myself use the arcadia t5 HO 6%, but using a T8 can still be used. If you can return the fixture and get an arcadia then that would be great, but don't feel like you can't use what you have. Old keepers have used t8s successfully in the past, but the new tech is the t5s. Below is a chart for the light distance for your bulb to be successful: https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-cage-set-up-replicating-the-sun/ (Look at ZooMed T8 Linear). What does the bulb say? If it says 10.0 then follow the diagram below. This is why arcadia t5 HO 6%--other bulbs are hard to recommend because it is hard to accurately tell people the height of the bulb from the basking branch. Too low UVB will cause MBD and Too high is also unhealthy. If your bulb doesn't say 10.0 on it, I would strongly suggest getting an arcadia bulb. Either sell or return your fixture if possible. MBD is the number 1 leading killer of chameleons.
View attachment 289632

Yeah, and I wouldn't use that tropical mist again, plants and chams both like plain water just fine .

And no problem, we are here to help!

Also, filling out the form @ERKleRose posted on your other thread will greatly help us know if you need other pointers.

Just don’t use the Zilla bulbs! T8s are perfectly fine, I just though thought Zilla Slimlines came in certain sizes not compatible with Arcadia or Zoo Med bulbs, just looked it up and stand corrected! Thanks!

 

[Beman]

With the zilla make sure you have taken off the plastic cover that sometimes comes with the fixture. It is clear and over the bulb. UVB can not penetrate this....

With this you have to go up to a 10.0 bulb because it is a T8 fixture... Then to get the right level of UVB you would have the basking branch approximately 6-7 inches below... Basically 4 inches down to their back. gives a 3 UVI.
You would be looking at the T8 12% in the first image that was posted... This is your basic for the 10.0 bulb. If baby screen climbs the top you have to adjust and raise the fixture 2 inches off the top then the basking branch would be 5 inches below the screen this in turn is also a 3 UVI but at the screen it is not over a 6 UVI so your within safe limits for exposure.

But I would not suggest this as a long term uvb option. Just because as baby grows they end up being so close to the top screen. Once they stop screen climbing the top I would switch out to a T5ho fixture and a 5.0 or 6% bulb then basking for this one would be 9 inches down with the fixture sitting directly on the cage top.

 

[Gingero]

Dropping in some helpful videos:













Since you've mentioned you have a female you'll want to provide her a laying bin:

 

[GrayMadder]

Dropping in some helpful videos:













Since you've mentioned you have a female you'll want to provide her a laying bin:

I was literally about to post some of these! The don't freak out one helped me so much when I brought my little guy home! ❤