Help....

[slim]

Hey Guys,

New here so firstly, Hi!

I've got a 6 month old veiled and her name's Georgie, well at least I think she's a girl. lol

I'm new to chameleons or reptiles of any description to that matter but have done plenty of research, read a lot of books and spent way too long on the net! Much to the missus's annoyance! lol

She's been fine (the chameleon that is! ) up until quite recently when she stopped eating?! I tried feeding her Monday but she didn't want to know. She won't even eat her wax worms and usually she goes mad for them!

She looks well, not skinny or dull or scaley or anything like that. She looks normal. I can try and post up some pics of her so you guys can see she looks well.

I had a day off on Monday and was sat watching her from my living room and she's been acting weird. She was alot more mobile than she normally is. Going from top to bottom of her enclosure and having a good mooch about. She's even taken to climbing on the side of her enclosure!

She can be a nightmare to handle and especially difficult to get her out of her enclosure. A few wax worms can usually entice her out though and she's never too much trouble when finally out.

When I popped home for lunch today I tried offering her some wax worms to see if she's got her appetite back but no, she just made a bid for freedom as soon as I opened the enclosure! She's never tried that before! I put my arm out for her to climb onto and she tried to bite me?! Again, she's never tried that before. She has got more 'hissy' recently though?!

Her enclosure is a extra large reptibreeze with a real ficus tree, plenty of fake plants and hiding places, plenty of climbing branches, a 42" fluorescent light, a 100w heat lamp, a big heat matt and a water dripper. She has been in this now for about two and half months with no problems until recently.

Is this something to worry about or am I just worrying about nothing?

Sorry this post is so long guys and probably in the wrong place but I thought it would be rude just to start posting questions before saying hi.

If anyone can help that would be much appreciated!

Cheers dudes and dudettes,

Slim

 

[VeiledOwner87]

lets make this quick and easy.

put a laying bin at least 6'' in her cage filled with play sand! females will become active when their gravid, going from top to bottom, and then bottom to start digging also, they will almost or completely looks their entire appetit before the lay eggs, do this before all else so she doesnt become egg bound, pictures deffinatly will help a greater amount,

take pics of:
above shot (body thickness)
side shot (colours and patterns)
the back feet (look for a tarsal spur)
enclosure

also too,
your feeding schedual, supplimentation, temperature are all factors in egg laying. do you feed her waxworms alot? they are an extreamly fatty insect.

please post pics of what i asked, as well as fill out a help form for better understanding to your concerns.
and when you put the laying bin in there, please cover your enclosures sides with thin sheets or something, you must give her ALOT of privacy,

hope this helps!
-Phil

 

[pssh]

Sounds like she might be gravid with infertile eggs. Try putting a laying bin in her cage. It should be large enough for her plus a few inches on each side including above her. It should be filled with 10-12 inches of moist Organic fertilizer free soil, sand, or a mix. It should be moist enough that you can dig a tunnel with your finger and it won't collapse. Set it in her cage at the bottom and cover her cage with a sheet/towel and make a peep hole. Don't let her see you if she starts to dig or she may abandon the hole. If she abandons the hole she may become eggbound which is potentially fatal without vet care. You can also start a hole for her if you wish.

Once she is don't laying and out of the bin water her for an extra long time (at least 5 minutes) and offer lots of calcium without d3 dusted well gutloaded crickets/roaches/silkies/hornworms. After a few days reduce food intake to a the equivalent of 5-7 crickets three times a week so that her next clutch will be small. Also make sure her basking spot is Around 80-83.

 

[ghettomike]

sorry, this is a bit off topic but what type of flourescent light are you using? Also, i've read that heat mats should not be used because chams heat recepters are in their backs and they can burn themselves if they lay or walk on the mat, Im not talking from experience with one.

 

[wanker]

Ditch the heating pad, and swap out the 100 W bulb to something lower like a 60W. Your enclosure may be too hot. Also get a container with some sand for egg laying. A search of this forum, will provide plenty of informatino.

 

[VeiledOwner87]

i think we ALL shouldnt assume nothing and give him advice until he COMPLETES a help form!

 

[Elizadolots]

I don't see why people can't respond to the information that's been provided. Is there any way the form could be completed that would make you say "oh, okay...then a heating pad is perfect!" Doubtful.

 

[slim]

Righteo guys,

Cheers for all the responses!

Where is that form you guys were talking about? I'm on mobile internet at the mo and its a bit poo so difficult to look through all the site!

I thought she might be looking for somewhere to possibly lay eggs but then I thought to myself she's too young.

Will try and get pics taken tonight.

The heat matts on the back of the enclosure and kinda in the middle, theres no chance she can touch the heat matt. Its mainly there to keep her warm at night.

She lives in my kitchen opposite some patio doors, not draughty or in direct sunlight. She gets the morning sun as it rises.

Lighting is a repti-glo 10.0 42", it runs top to bottom.

Eating wise, she's mainly on silent crickets gutloaded with vegetables and cricket feed. She has 2-3 wax worms a day. Is that too many?

I have just got home and tried offering her food again and again she wasn't interested. She showed alot of interest when I was misting her enclosure so held the mister out and gave it a little squeeze to get a drop of water on the nozzle and she drank quite alot. Not sure she's using her water dripper so will keep a closer eye on her drinking habits.

Off to get some sand and a tub now. Do I just put it in the bottom of her enclosure? Do I need to hide it or anything?

Again sorry for the 20 questions. If someone can point me in the direction of the form I will get it filled in asap.

Thanks so much for all your responces peeps!

Ciao for now...

Slim

 

[Elizadolots]

It's a sticky in The Health Clinic: https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/#post328

Unless your house gets uncomfortably cold for you at night, chameleons benefit from cooler temps when they sleep.

 

[slim]

Groovy! Thank you.

Will do it in a mo, off to find a tub... lol

 

[pssh]

Yeah, she's not too young for eggs. get a bin asap!

 

[Carlton]

Unless your kitchen gets colder than 60 F at night you don't really need the heat mat. Chams do best with a measurable drop in temp at night. The heat mat will tend to dry the cage out more than you might want.

She'll want privacy to explore the laying bin. This is her first clutch so she will not be very experienced in deciding just how she wants it. To keep from interrupting her digging you could hang a sheet or towel over the front of the cage so she doesn't feel she's being watched.

 

[VeiledOwner87]

Righteo guys,

Cheers for all the responses!

Where is that form you guys were talking about? I'm on mobile internet at the mo and its a bit poo so difficult to look through all the site!

I thought she might be looking for somewhere to possibly lay eggs but then I thought to myself she's too young.

Will try and get pics taken tonight.

The heat matts on the back of the enclosure and kinda in the middle, theres no chance she can touch the heat matt. Its mainly there to keep her warm at night.

She lives in my kitchen opposite some patio doors, not draughty or in direct sunlight. She gets the morning sun as it rises.

Lighting is a repti-glo 10.0 42", it runs top to bottom.

Eating wise, she's mainly on silent crickets gutloaded with vegetables and cricket feed. She has 2-3 wax worms a day. Is that too many?

I have just got home and tried offering her food again and again she wasn't interested. She showed alot of interest when I was misting her enclosure so held the mister out and gave it a little squeeze to get a drop of water on the nozzle and she drank quite alot. Not sure she's using her water dripper so will keep a closer eye on her drinking habits.

Off to get some sand and a tub now. Do I just put it in the bottom of her enclosure? Do I need to hide it or anything?

Again sorry for the 20 questions. If someone can point me in the direction of the form I will get it filled in asap.

Thanks so much for all your responces peeps!

Ciao for now...

Slim

I don't see why people can't respond to the information that's been provided. Is there any way the form could be completed that would make you say "oh, okay...then a heating pad is perfect!" Doubtful.

that is why you dont short cut, its not just a heat pad that needs to be taken out. Slim your 10.0 needs outting too, 5.0 is what is acceptable. it doesnt sound like your ficture is very high above the cage, and i highly doubt you have pet screen on top of the cage. 5.0 is what you need and pretty soon

 

[Elizadolots]

that is why you dont short cut, its not just a heat pad that needs to be taken out. Slim your 10.0 needs outting too, 5.0 is what is acceptable. it doesnt sound like your ficture is very high above the cage, and i highly doubt you have pet screen on top of the cage. 5.0 is what you need and pretty soon

Valid information can be put out there without the form. While it's fine to request the form be completed, it's also fine to respond to the information that has been given without the form. As you just did.

 

[VeiledOwner87]

true, but without it, we could all be wasting our time discussing something that isnt relevant with the problem. for instance. a heat pad isnt at all realy a problem with a gravid female, a heat pad on the side of the tank problem isnt doing a heck of all either. although i may be wrong. no idea, i dont even know what wattage it is. but a heat pad on the side, in a humid enviornment, i think would just increas the humidity

 

[Elizadolots]

I say, get some of it over with before the great onslaught of "what you're doing wrong" that often follows the posting of the form. It will make it a little less overwhelming that way.

Unless a heating pad has got a wet component (some do allow for that) it can do nothing to increase humidity and those that do have a place for a wet towel tend to dry it out fast. Also, modern heating pads have built in automatic shut offs (often after as little as an hour) so, unless one plans on getting up repeatedly, it's not going to have the desired effect (and, there's no way I would recommend someone wrap a wet towel around an old fashioned heating pad and let it sit with the animal all night...there's a definite fire risk in that).

 

[VeiledOwner87]

i didnt know that about the towel or auto shut off. interesting. maybe thats why theyre so stupid expensive lol. i deff would recommend wrapping up a pad either. but i have found that even heating pads under the glass with substrate ontop, stablizes humidity,

 

[wanker]

Slim, definitely swap out your UVB bub to a 5.0, the higher UVB 10.0 is designed for desert species and may cause eye problems with chameleons.

On the issue of the heating pad and 100W bulb, I obviously don't know your exact husbandry conditions, but you may be overheating your chameleon.
Remember, chameleons are arboreal species that need a heat gradient in their enclosures, and they like tempurature drops at night. Thus, a 100W bulb and a heating pad seems like overkill (especially during the summer) and is akin to typical husbandry errors of owners who mistakenly care for chameleons like popular desert species (e.g., bearded dragons and leopard geckos).

Remember, veiled chameleons are indigenous to the coastal mountains of the Southwestern Arabian Peninsula and experience rather significant tempature swings between the night and day. In fact, many owners in temperate climates such as South Florida keep their chameleons outside most of the year without any problems.

Bottom line is that I'd get a temperature gauge to measure the tempurature in your enclosure.