Help

[KiyaMarie]

My cham isn't moving around much, I've had her for about a month and she has always been pretty active. I recently put a ficus plant in the cage so that she could have some places to hide, and now all she does is hangout on top or underneath the plant, the only time she comes out is if I bring her out or if there is food...should I be worried?

 

[carol5208]

Can you fill out the ask for help form in the health clinic?. It is hard to say what is going on without knowing anything about the way she is being cared for. Also, a pic of her and your set up would be most helpful too.

 

[KiyaMarie]

I'm sorry, I'm new to this site, what form do you want me to fill out? I don't see one?

 

[carol5208]

https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/how-to-ask-for-help.66/

 

[KiyaMarie]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Veiled chameleon, female, 3 months old, I have had her for about a month now.
  
• Handling - I try to once a day, sometimes I skip a day if I'm busy. but for the most part everyday for about 5-10 minutes each time, that's when I feed her.
  
• Feeding - I mostly do crickets, waxworms, and mealworms. I feed her until she's full, with crickets she can eat anywhere from 10-15 and with the waxworms about 3-4, right now I'm doing it twice a day morning and night. I buy them from petco so i'm not sure what i should gutload them or if I need to.
• Supplements - The brand is zoo-med, and I'm doing vitamins 2x a month, and calcium 3x a week because that's what I've read to do.
• Watering - I mist the cage about 4-5 times a day for about 1-2 minutes each time, and she does drink, but not every time.
• Fecal Description - it's pretty normal white and brown. and she has been checked and is parasite free!
• History - I got her from petco. she's the sweetest little thing. never shown any sort of aggression towards me at all.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Screen, 3 ft. tall and 1 ft. wide
  
• Lighting - UVB/Heating lamps, 60 W
  
• Temperature - Anywhere from 75-85 in the cage and under the lamp is around 90, I turn it on when I wake up and turn it off when I go to bed. same time everyday. at night it never goes lower than 70.
  
• Humidity - I spray 4-5 times a day to keep it humid.
  
• Plants - I have two fake plants and one live ficus elastica plant.
• Placement - the cage is in the living room.
  
• Location -

 

[carol5208]

So you have two lights.. a uvb and a basking? What I see you needing is more foilage, branches and vines to fill the cage. I would run a branch horizontally under the lights about 6-8 inches down. The way you have it set up, you chameleon has to cling to the flimsy plants to bask.She should be able to grasp onto something will all four of her feet She looks good in the pictures. Give her some more walkways and plants and see if that does not make a difference in her activity. Make sure the light you have is a uvb light and not just a daylight bulb. Also, if you could post what kind of calcium you are using. Does it have d3 or not?? You have to be careful with certain brands of calcium with d3. If the concentration level is too high it can cause problems down the road for your chameleon. Generally, most of us use the calcium without d3 at most feedings and the one with d3 a couple of times a month along with a multi vitamin.

 

[KiyaMarie]

Yep, i have two lights, one is UVB, and the other is for heat. I will definitely get more foliage. are pothos a good choice? my calcium that i use does not have d3 in it.

 

[BayChams]

I use pothos for my chameleon but some of the people on this forum claim it is toxic, though I haven't had any trouble with it.

 

[KiyaMarie]

I heard they were very common, along with ficus, but then the other day I read somewhere that the sap on the ficus were toxic?...I also heard hibiscus were good plants but I can't find any til spring.