help!

[amycrespi]

I recently purchased a new baby veiled male 2 weeks ago. This morning I misted him and gave him crickets but I noticed that he was sort of wriggling his body pointing his head towards the sky And opening his mouth and making a chirping sound which almost sounded lake sneezing maybe? Can anybody help me out? The 1st photo is him after I missed it him The 2nd photo is of him walking around in his enclosure a couple days ago seemingly fine

 

[amycrespi]

to clarify
the pic of him w eyes closed is after spray, the one of him somewhat virticle looking down was a cpl days ago

 

[amycrespi]

NewChameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Male Veiled maybe 2 months old. had him for 2 weeks
• Handling - only twice, both times more than a week after I got him
• Feeding - 3-5 crickets daily with occasional mealworms
• Supplements - I have not given a supplement yet, I have calcium with d3 but i undee stamd I'm only supposed to use that once or twice a month? would love recomendations on where to find calcium without d3.
• Watering - monsoon solo misting every 3 hours for 16 seconds and hand misting in between
• Fecal Description - dark with white end
• History - Had him about 2 weeks now.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - exo terra mini 12x12x18
• Lighting - zoo med tropical uvb and heat lighting kit. which has 60w daylight blue light and 5.0uvb 13 watt tropical reptisun.
• Temperature - basking point 80-90degrees, in 70s In lower area
• Humidity - 50-80%
• Plants - it's either a white or gold ribbon plant, the others are artificial.
• Placement - In front of a window that gets indirect morning light
• Location - milford ct

 

[CJ's Exotics]

Before we do anything about husbandry (a lot needs to be corrected), the signs you are describing may be an indicator of an URI. Please post pictures of the enclosure, and take him to a reliable chameleon veterinarian.

 

[amycrespi]

can you please tell me what to correct?
I will post photos when i am back at home, at work right now.

 

[amycrespi]

Before we do anything about husbandry (a lot needs to be corrected), the signs you are describing may be an indicator of an URI. Please post pictures of the enclosure, and take him to a reliable chameleon veterinarian.

can you please tell me what to correct?
I will post photos when i am back at home, at work right now.

#5A moment ago

 

[moonlightecho]

Seconding that sounds like URI. Glass terrariums aren’t recommended for chams. They don’t have enough ventilation and can allow bacteria and mold to grow. It is possible your cham developed uri because of this. A screened enclosure is better.

For supplementing, you should supplement calcium without D3 everyday, calcium with d3 once every other week, and a multivitamin once every other week. For calcium without D3, I use Zoo-med reptical without D3. You can find this online. You can use Reptivite or Herpivite for multivitamin, but be careful not to overdose with Reptivite since it can lead to Vitamin A Toxicity.

Also, for misting, how long do you most manually? I recommend increasing the duration of the Monsoon misting, since 16 seconds generally isn’t enough time to stimulate drinking.

 

[amycrespi]

Seconding that sounds like URI. Glass terrariums aren’t recommended for chams. They don’t have enough ventilation and can allow bacteria and mold to grow. It is possible your cham developed uri because of this. A screened enclosure is better.

For supplementing, you should supplement calcium without D3 everyday, calcium with d3 once every other week, and a multivitamin once every other week. For calcium without D3, I use Zoo-med reptical without D3. You can find this online. You can use Reptivite or Herpivite for multivitamin, but be careful not to overdose with Reptivite since it can lead to Vitamin A Toxicity.

Also, for misting, how long do you most manually? I recommend increasing the duration of the Monsoon misting, since 16 seconds generally isn’t enough time to stimulate drinking.

I usually get in there and give the whole terrarium a good must and get everything nice and wet maybe 4 or 5 times a day. I cut back on the monsoon because it was creating a lake at the bottom of the tank.
is my lighting correct? i will purchase a screen habitat today. i just thought that because he was so small, the glass tank was ok until he grew...

 

[CJ's Exotics]

New Chameleon Info: My answers are in red.

• Your Chameleon - Male Veiled maybe 2 months old. had him for 2 weeks
• Handling - only twice, both times more than a week after I got him You should not be handling him at all, until he is acclimated, recommended time is a minimum of 2 weeks.
• Feeding - 3-5 crickets daily with occasional mealworms Mealworms are not recommended because high chitin levels can cause impaction. He should be eating at least 10 crickets a day that are gutloaded, along with other species of insects fed according to their recommended times because of nutrition.
• Supplements - I have not given a supplement yet, I have calcium with d3 but i undee stamd I'm only supposed to use that once or twice a month? would love recomendations on where to find calcium without d3. A general supplement schedule without taking into account other factors is phosphorous free calcium w/o d3 every day (for his age and species), and multivitamins and phosphorous free calcium w/ d3 every 2 weeks.
• Watering - monsoon solo misting every 3 hours for 16 seconds and hand misting in between Try to do less frequent mistings and longer mistings.
• Fecal Description - dark with white end
• History - Had him about 2 weeks now. Has he been treated for parasites?

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - exo terra mini 12x12x18 That is very small, he should be in something bigger.
• Lighting - zoo med tropical uvb and heat lighting kit. which has 60w daylight blue light and 5.0uvb 13 watt tropical reptisun. That lighting is not sufficient. A normal white incandescent light that you can use for your home works well. A linear UVB is recommended, typically a 5.0.
• Temperature - basking point 80-90degrees, in 70s In lower area That basking temperature is too high, recoomended you his age is around 83 degrees fahrenheit.
• Humidity - 50-80%
• Plants - it's either a white or gold ribbon plant, the others are artificial. Please specify on the plant.
• Placement - In front of a window that gets indirect morning light Next to windows are not recommended, as they provide extra heat, and can give drafts to the enclosure which can also lead to respiratory problems.
• Location - milford ct

Please feel free to ask questions, and thank you for reaching out to us in the Chameleon Forums!

 

[CJ's Exotics]

Seconding that sounds like URI. Glass terrariums aren’t recommended for chams. They don’t have enough ventilation and can allow bacteria and mold to grow. It is possible your cham developed uri because of this. A screened enclosure is better.

For supplementing, you should supplement calcium without D3 everyday, calcium with d3 once every other week, and a multivitamin once every other week. For calcium without D3, I use Zoo-med reptical without D3. You can find this online. You can use Reptivite or Herpivite for multivitamin, but be careful not to overdose with Reptivite since it can lead to Vitamin A Toxicity.

Also, for misting, how long do you most manually? I recommend increasing the duration of the Monsoon misting, since 16 seconds generally isn’t enough time to stimulate drinking.

Glass terrariums can provide adequate ventilation, especially because the OP lives up north (in general). Just because it works for you does not mean it stereo-typically causes problems for others.

 

[amycrespi]

New Chameleon Info: My answers are in red.

• Your Chameleon - Male Veiled maybe 2 months old. had him for 2 weeks
• Handling - only twice, both times more than a week after I got him You should not be handling him at all, until he is acclimated, recommended time is a minimum of 2 weeks.
• Feeding - 3-5 crickets daily with occasional mealworms Mealworms are not recommended because high chitin levels can cause impaction. He should be eating at least 10 crickets a day that are gutloaded, along with other species of insects fed according to their recommended times because of nutrition.
• Supplements - I have not given a supplement yet, I have calcium with d3 but i undee stamd I'm only supposed to use that once or twice a month? would love recomendations on where to find calcium without d3. A general supplement schedule without taking into account other factors is phosphorous free calcium w/o d3 every day (for his age and species), and multivitamins and phosphorous free calcium w/ d3 every 2 weeks.
• Watering - monsoon solo misting every 3 hours for 16 seconds and hand misting in between Try to do less frequent mistings and longer mistings.
• Fecal Description - dark with white end
• History - Had him about 2 weeks now. Has he been treated for parasites?

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - exo terra mini 12x12x18 That is very small, he should be in something bigger.
• Lighting - zoo med tropical uvb and heat lighting kit. which has 60w daylight blue light and 5.0uvb 13 watt tropical reptisun. That lighting is not sufficient. A normal white incandescent light that you can use for your home works well. A linear UVB is recommended, typically a 5.0.
• Temperature - basking point 80-90degrees, in 70s In lower area That basking temperature is too high, recoomended you his age is around 83 degrees fahrenheit.
• Humidity - 50-80%
• Plants - it's either a white or gold ribbon plant, the others are artificial. Please specify on the plant.
• Placement - In front of a window that gets indirect morning light Next to windows are not recommended, as they provide extra heat, and can give drafts to the enclosure which can also lead to respiratory problems.
• Location - milford ct

Please feel free to ask questions, and thank you for reaching out to us in the Chameleon Forums!

Thank you!
I have about a million questions haha
firstly, i do have the 5.0 uvb bulb, but linear is better? and it is a 60w incadessant bulb I'm using.
is that not the same as a typical house bulb?
as for the terrarium being small... he is like 2 inches big. should he be switched to the 16x16x30 right away?

 

[CJ's Exotics]

Thank you!
I have about a million questions haha
firstly, i do have the 5.0 uvb bulb, but linear is better? and it is a 60w incadessant bulb I'm using.
is that not the same as a typical house bulb?
as for the terrarium being small... he is like 2 inches big. should he be switched to the 16x16x30 right away?

Linear bulb's are better in general. White bulb's are better, the "tropical lighting kit" is pretty bad. Never said a 16x16x30, you don't need a screen enclosure, just a larger glass TERRARIUM, NOT AQUARIUM.

 

[amycrespi]

Linear bulb's are better in general. White bulb's are better, the "tropical lighting kit" is pretty bad. Never said a 16x16x30, you don't need a screen enclosure, just a larger glass TERRARIUM, NOT AQUARIUM.

i ended up getting the 16x16x30 before i sent the last response, would thar be too big?
Gojira, my cham , seems to have stopped the sneezing I was seeing this morning. I was misting him and got him directly and I think it might have gotten in his nose.
I guess I need to stay away from direct sprays?
do you have any experience with a reptifogger? is that good to use for keeping humidity levels up?

 

[moonlightecho]

Glass terrariums can provide adequate ventilation, especially because the OP lives up north (in general).

Oh, thanks for correcting me. What factors make it okay to keep chameleons in glass terrariums, and why is that especially true up north?

 

[kinyonga]

Re feeding...I usually give hatchlings/young chameleons as much to eat as they will eat in about two minutes at each feeding using well fed/gutloaded insects of appropriate size.

I feed/gutload crickets, superworms, roaches, locusts with dandelion greens, make, collards, endive, escarole, carrots, squash, zucchini, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, etc and a small amount of fruit such as pears, apples, berries, melon. These same things can be offered to the chameleon when it's a bit older.

For supplements I dust the insects just before feeding them to the chameleon with a phosphorus-free calcium powder at almost every feeding to help make up for the poor ratio of calcium to phosphorus found in most feeder insects. I dust twice a month with a phosphorus-free calcium/D3 powder to ensure that it gets some D3 without overdosing it. D3 from supplements can build up in the system and lead to health issues but D3 produced by exposure to the UVB light won't as long as the chameleon can move in and out of the UVB at will. I dust twice a month with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene prOformed source of vitamin A. PrOformed sources won't build up in the system but prEformed sources can....so this leaves it up to you to decide if/when your chameleon needs some prEformed vitamin A.

For watering...I would add a dripper that drips long enough each day to stimulate drinking. As was said...the misting sessions should be longer so they stimulate drinking too. No drippers or misting at night. You want the cage to have time to dry out.

Re plant...is it non toxic and well washed? Veiled chameleons will eat vegetation.

Re proximity to the windows...in cold climates having the cage near the windows can lead to respiratory infection. Sunlight shining on a glass cage can make it too warm and the light passing through the glass will not give the chameleon uvb to produce the vitamin D3 it needs to use the calcium in it's system. In northern/cold climates glass cages with screen lids and front ventilation are fine. You just need to set the lights up so they will create a chimney effect.

To create a chimney effect the lights are placed to one side on top of the cage so it creates air flow.

 

[Graves923]

The new enclosure you purchased will do well for awhile. At about a year old youll want to get a bigger cage. The exoterra 12x12x18 was definitely too small. I keep some large arboreal tarantulas in those terrariums lol.

Here is the resource section of the forums: https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/

There is a lot of great info here to answer a lot of the questions you may have.