Help Questions and Information

[XxLatinImpactxX]

Need Some Suggestions ..do you think my chameleon is sick?

- Veiled chameleon, 3-4 inches, not sure how old,female. I've had her for only a week now.

-She gets handled at least once a day..

- Gut filled baby cricktes. About 3 a day, but that's going to change now that i've read up and know that she needs 20-25 a day. I dont relly have a scheduele but i put her lights on at 5:30 a.m when i leave for school and i turn them off at 11:30 p.m so i dont really have a scheduele but ill tell my mom to feed her while im at school. Gutloading feeders by feeding them fruits..so far only apples

-dusting feeders with repticalcium vitamin d.

- For water i use the little dripper. I mist everyday, about every houre- 2 hours. I dont see my chameleon drinking, is that normal?ch

- Her poop is regular im asuming, a little brown stood that looks shiny when it comes out but gets dull as it dries up..looks like a brownish gray. she hasnt been tested for parasites because i only purhased her this week.

Concerns: when she eats she sway back and forth and kinda sorta hangs off the leaves which panics me.
Cage Info:

Cage Type - Glass cage, has plastic plants and water proof vines.

Lighting - Daylight is zilla, 50 watt incandescent bulb, the night light is zoo med, 40 watt , and a zilla uvb 25 watt light. the day light and uvb light are on from 5:30 am -11:30 p.m

Temperature - overall temp i try to keep in 80-85and over night i try to keep in between 65-70. i measure these temps with the zilla realitive humidty/thermometer

Humidity - humidity is often between 75-80 although i like to try and get it high if thats good for her. Im creating and mainting these levels by spraying/misting it every hour -2 hours of the day .I meausre the humidity with the zilla realitive humidity tracker.

Plants -No live plants just plastic

Placement - cage is located in my room. its not near any fans or vents but balanced on a book shelf.
Location - geographically located new york, so cold in the winter and hot in the summer.

other concerns: how do u first sight cricket bites?

 

[Lovereps]

Welcome to the forums!

It's nice to see a responsible, caring cham owner taking the time to see if everything is right with their cham's care.
Most of us have had the misfortune of being sold the wrong things or been given the wrong instructions on caring for our chams.
It looks like there are plenty of things you're doing right and also a few changes that would benefit your new cham's health.
I posted comments on a lot of things so you'll know which is which.

- Veiled chameleon, 3-4 inches, not sure how old,female. I've had her for only a week now.

-She gets handled at least once a day..

Although we all want to hold and handle our chams, you have to resist. Chams should be just left alone to adjust to their new surroundings for a couple of weeks. Handling can be done gradually after that but they are not social creatures and many just get too stressed out by being handled.

- - Gut filled baby cricktes. About 3 a day, but that's going to change now that i've read up and know that she needs 20-25 a day. I dont relly have a scheduele but i put her lights on at 5:30 a.m when i leave for school and i turn them off at 11:30 p.m so i dont really have a scheduele but ill tell my mom to feed her while im at school. Gutloading feeders by feeding them fruits..so far only apples

Your growing baby girl needs much more rest than she is getting. 12 hours of complete darkness--no lights at all at night.
Some people set up a feeding cup, so their cham can get the food without the bugs crawling around the cage.
A variety of feeders will help her stay healthy.

This place has a good selection http://www.mulberryfarms.com/

Here's all you'll need to know on gutloading:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/75-feeder-nutrition-gutloading.html

-
-dusting feeders with repticalcium vitamin d.

Ooh, that's not good.
She needs plain calcium on her daily food.
If you use the calcium with D3 every day, it leads to serious health problems.
Plain calcium like this for every day dusting http://www.joshsfrogs.com/food-nutr...s/rep-cal/rep-cal-calcium-without-vit-d3.html
She does need the calcium with D3 2x a month
AND
A multivitamin 2x a month like this one http://www.joshsfrogs.com/food-nutr...nhancers/rep-cal/herptivite-multivitamin.html

-
- For water i use the little dripper. I mist everyday, about every houre- 2 hours. I dont see my chameleon drinking, is that normal?

You don't have a water bowl in there or some sort of substrate on the cage bottom do you? Neither is recommended.
usually the water bowls end up as a toilet, with bacteria problems and the substrate can get accidentally eaten and block their intestines .
Some chams don't like you to see them drink.
If the urate part of her poop is snowy white, then she is getting enough to drink.

- - Her poop is regular im asuming, a little brown stood that looks shiny when it comes out but gets dull as it dries up..looks like a brownish gray. she hasnt been tested for parasites because i only purhased her this week.
Concerns: when she eats she sway back and forth and kinda sorta hangs off the leaves which panics me.

Chams do a leaf dance where they sway back and forth. Helps them to survive in the wild by blending in.

-
Cage Info:

Cage Type - Glass cage, has plastic plants and water proof vines.

A screen cage is preferred.
It allows more air flow and that helps prevent respiratory infections.

-
Lighting - Daylight is zilla, 50 watt incandescent bulb, the night light is zoo med, 40 watt , and a zilla uvb 25 watt light. the day light and uvb light are on from 5:30 am -11:30 p.m

Chams need 12 hours of complete darkness to be healthy.
Please get rid of the night light and change her lighting schedule to 12 hours on 12 hours off.

-
Temperature - overall temp i try to keep in 80-85and over night i try to keep in between 65-70. i measure these temps with the zilla realitive humidty/thermometer

Humidity - humidity is often between 75-80 although i like to try and get it high if thats good for her. Im creating and mainting these levels by spraying/misting it every hour -2 hours of the day .I meausre the humidity with the zilla realitive humidity tracker.

You want to be sure the cage dries out in between mistings, so mold and bacteria don't start growing on things from constant wetness.She can have lower humidity of 55-65%.
She is probably a bit too hot with those temps in a glass cage.
Female chams can lay eggs even if they never are with a male, so it is recommended that you keep them a little cooler than the males.

-
Plants -No live plants just plastic

Placement - cage is located in my room. its not near any fans or vents but balanced on a book shelf.
Location - geographically located new york, so cold in the winter and hot in the summer.

other concerns: how do u first sight cricket bites?

Don't leave crickets in with her unless you leave them a bit of food to munch on instead of giving them no choice but to snack on her.

This is a great guide to look over, too. It's 2 pages, so it isn't as short as it first looks.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/chameleonsinmyhouse/395-veiled-chameleon-care-sheet.html

Congrats on your new cham.
With the tweaks to her care, she can have a great life with you!

 

[XxLatinImpactxX]

Thank You!

Welcome to the forums!

It's nice to see a responsible, caring cham owner taking the time to see if everything is right with their cham's care.
Most of us have had the misfortune of being sold the wrong things or been given the wrong instructions on caring for our chams.
It looks like there are plenty of things you're doing right and also a few changes that would benefit your new cham's health.
I posted comments on a lot of things so you'll know which is which.




Although we all want to hold and handle our chams, you have to resist. Chams should be just left alone to adjust to their new surroundings for a couple of weeks. Handling can be done gradually after that but they are not social creatures and many just get too stressed out by being handled.



Your growing baby girl needs much more rest than she is getting. 12 hours of complete darkness--no lights at all at night.
Some people set up a feeding cup, so their cham can get the food without the bugs crawling around the cage.
A variety of feeders will help her stay healthy.

This place has a good selection http://www.mulberryfarms.com/

Here's all you'll need to know on gutloading:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/75-feeder-nutrition-gutloading.html



Ooh, that's not good.
She needs plain calcium on her daily food.
If you use the calcium with D3 every day, it leads to serious health problems.
Plain calcium like this for every day dusting http://www.joshsfrogs.com/food-nutr...s/rep-cal/rep-cal-calcium-without-vit-d3.html
She does need the calcium with D3 2x a month
AND
A multivitamin 2x a month like this one http://www.joshsfrogs.com/food-nutr...nhancers/rep-cal/herptivite-multivitamin.html



You don't have a water bowl in there or some sort of substrate on the cage bottom do you? Neither is recommended.
usually the water bowls end up as a toilet, with bacteria problems and the substrate can get accidentally eaten and block their intestines .
Some chams don't like you to see them drink.
If the urate part of her poop is snowy white, then she is getting enough to drink.



Chams do a leaf dance where they sway back and forth. Helps them to survive in the wild by blending in.



A screen cage is preferred.
It allows more air flow and that helps prevent respiratory infections.



Chams need 12 hours of complete darkness to be healthy.
Please get rid of the night light and change her lighting schedule to 12 hours on 12 hours off.



You want to be sure the cage dries out in between mistings, so mold and bacteria don't start growing on things from constant wetness.She can have lower humidity of 55-65%.
She is probably a bit too hot with those temps in a glass cage.
Female chams can lay eggs even if they never are with a male, so it is recommended that you keep them a little cooler than the males.



Don't leave crickets in with her unless you leave them a bit of food to munch on instead of giving them no choice but to snack on her.

This is a great guide to look over, too. It's 2 pages, so it isn't as short as it first looks.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/chameleonsinmyhouse/395-veiled-chameleon-care-sheet.html

Congrats on your new cham.
With the tweaks to her care, she can have a great life with you!

Thank you so much for all the advice, but unfourtunatley he passed this evening :'(. the pet store i purchased her from didnt really know how to take care of them and i wqas informed today that they had medical problems before i even bought her which upset me becuse they never told me this when i purchased her. I dont thinbk ill be buying another one for a couple of years..its heartbreaking , but ill be sure to save ur tips so i can be sure my next chameleon will be healthy for sure, but thank you for your time and advie it's greatly appreciated.

 

[Lovereps]

XxLatinImpactxX, I'm so sorry to hear that.
May your saddened heart heal soon

 

[DavidBuchan]

I dont thinbk ill be buying another one for a couple of years..its heartbreaking , but ill be sure to save ur tips so i can be sure my next chameleon will be healthy for sure, but thank you for your time and advie it's greatly appreciated.

I know it feels terrible to lose an animal....but there's no need to wait so long if you get yourself a healthy youngster next time. Any of the site sponsors have great reputations for delivering healthy Chams as well as proving advice and aftercare.