Help!!

[ShOeGaL2010]

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Translucent veiled female 2 months been in our home about 2-3 weeks
Handling - about 3-4 times a week
Feeding - Feeding crickets(small) 5 a day. Everyday at about 5pm. gutloading with carrots and the yellow gut load you can buy at the store.
Supplements - zoomed repticalcium with d3 dusting crickets lightly at each feeding.
Watering - Misting and dripper? mist 3-4 times a day for about 30 seconds? have never witnessed her drinking?
Fecal Description - color is white and dont know much about consistency. never been tested for parasites that i know of?


Cage Info:
Cage Type -screen cage size small
Lighting - zilla 20watt uvb cfl and zoomed 60watt red heat lamp. daily lighting is 12hrs for the uvb and 24hrs for the heat lamp
Temperature - 85f for basking and 70f for the cage floor. i havent measured the overnight temp. i measure the temps with a exoterra temperature little disk?
Humidity - humitity is 70% i am misting and using a dripper and i use and exoterra hygrometer.
Plants - fake plants
Placement - cage is located by front door but the door is generally closed and we dont have ac and they are on the opposite end of the house from the swamp cooler.
Location - thornton,co

Current Problem -I woke up this morning and she is very skinny half if her is black(goes from dark blck to light grey) her eyes are closed and sunken in and she is very weak and not eating. this literally happened overnight yesterday she was perfectly fine and today a complete 180. Please help me I am not sure whats going on and I cant afford to take her to the vet right now because i just payed my rent and the rest of the money i had went to things for my daughters bday party. if someone would be willing to help me mend her back to health or tell me what i can do i would appreciate it very much. I have a 1 1/2 year old veiled that we took in(he wasnt taken care of properly from the previous owner) and he is doing just fine and i have the same set-up/schedule as her but he has a large reptiscreen cage. Please dont bash me i just need help i have never had to deal with an issue like this before and im not sure where to look for help.


I tried t take a picture but i was to hard to see...

 

[laurie]

Sorry for your problems, I can't answer without sounding like I am bashing you. Try reading "raising kitty the veiled chameleon" by Brad ramsey. Do a search on here and it will come up. i am sorry to say I think you have lost that chameleon.

 

[ShOeGaL2010]

advice is welcome i just dont want to be told how horrible i am i didnt do anything on purpose i only did what i was told how to take care of her. i read his blog a little bit ago.

 

[Thompson]

First she's 2 months, you should be feeding her about 8-10 small crickets a day. You need a calcium supplement w/o d3 and a multivitamin supplement. You dust with just the calcium 5x a week and on Sunday you should alternate the d3 and the multivitamins. A good multivitamin supplement is from sticky farms, get the one w/o the d3. Mist about 5 minutes each time. Get a normal 60watt house bulb for his basking bulb and get a 5.0 linear reptisun uvb bulb. The humidity shouldn't always stay at 70%, it should be at about 50% when it is dry and should go up to 70% when you mist. I would also get a live plant, a good one is Ficus or shefflera.

Her eyes are sunken in because she is dehydrated. Give her a 30 minute shower and make sure she is getting indirect mist. Have the water bounce off the walls. After you get everything correct with your husbrandry your chameleon should be fine, and I know you've said you can't afford to take her to the vet but in order to save her you may have to find the money. I hope she'll get well soon!

 

[ShOeGaL2010]

when i checked the humidity i just misted her cage...i will try the shower. thank you for your advice...

 

[Julirs]

I am going to assume you may have cooked your cham. You are using a dangerous uvb compact light and using a crappy inaccurate analog thermometer. I am also going to guess dehydration was a factor along with underfeeding and too much d3. A picture of the cage would be helpful.

 

[Elizadolots]

ShoeGal, many of us have been given inappropriate advice when we bought our first chameleons. In this case, the temperatures are too high for a baby and there really shouldn't be heat at night unless you let your house get very cold (some people do). Sadly, babies are not as resilient as adults. I do hope you can save her. Thompson has given you good advice. Please let us know.

 

[ShOeGaL2010]

UPDATE!!!

I have been misting her like crazy!! She cleaned off her eyes and now has them open!Her eyes are filling back out pretty much all the way now!! and I have been putting OTC antibiotic ointment on her black marks...seems to be helping...but the good news is she is improving...i took the zilla light out and replaced it with a exoterra light 5.0 uvb its a cfl but its all i have for now..

 

[ShOeGaL2010]

ShoeGal, many of us have been given inappropriate advice when we bought our first chameleons. In this case, the temperatures are too high for a baby and there really shouldn't be heat at night unless you let your house get very cold (some people do). Sadly, babies are not as resilient as adults. I do hope you can save her. Thompson has given you good advice. Please let us know.

-my house does get cold at night cause i leave the swamp cooler on so in that case is it ok to leave the heat lights on?she is looking much better and getting stronger than she was earlier-

 

[Elizadolots]

Oh, that's very good news. I hope the upswing continues!

I've never owned a veiled, but from what I've read they benefit from a significant drop in temperatures at night. If your house stays above 60 degrees at night then I wouldn't think you would need to supplement the heat at night. If your house gets really cold then you'll need some heat. There are ceramic "heat bulbs" that fit into a regular light fixture. They just radiate heat, no light. Chameleons (of all sorts, as far as I know) seem to appreciate a nice dark night. I wrap my chameleon's cage up at night so the lights of the family don't bother him.

 

[kinyonga]

You said you use a zilla 20watt uvb cfl and zoomed 60watt red heat lamp...some cfl's have been known to cause eye problems/health issues.

Also, most people only use a (phos.-free) calcium powder with D3 in it once a month. I don't think in three weeks you've caused much harm though.

White urates should mean that the hydration is okay. Is there a brown (feces) being produced??

Is it wheezing or gaping or making popping sounds?
Could it be getting a draft from the door at times?

Unless the house drops below 65F at night you don't need any heat and if it does it would be better to have a ceramic bulb (its not a light).

I agree that she needs to be fed more...I feed young chameleons as much as they will eat in a minute or two per feeding.

 

[Elizadolots]

In a subsequent post she said she "took the zilla light out and replaced it with a exoterra light 5.0 uvb its a cfl but its all i have for now.."

I was sort of under the impression that ZooMed and Exoterra compacts were now considered safe.

 

[ShOeGaL2010]

Oh, that's very good news. I hope the upswing continues!

I've never owned a veiled, but from what I've read they benefit from a significant drop in temperatures at night. If your house stays above 60 degrees at night then I wouldn't think you would need to supplement the heat at night. If your house gets really cold then you'll need some heat. There are ceramic "heat bulbs" that fit into a regular light fixture. They just radiate heat, no light. Chameleons (of all sorts, as far as I know) seem to appreciate a nice dark night. I wrap my chameleon's cage up at night so the lights of the family don't bother him.

yes i hope she keeps improving too...i think it says at 60 or just above that so i dont think i have to worry ill check tonight and see what it gets to...

 

[Elizadolots]

From what I've read, they can tolerate night time temps as low as 50. I wouldn't recommend that for an extended period, but for a night or two, it should not be a problem.

I sort of think if you can get up and go to the bathroom at night without freezing, your house is warm enough that you don't need any extra heat at night.

 

[ShOeGaL2010]

You said you use a zilla 20watt uvb cfl and zoomed 60watt red heat lamp...some cfl's have been known to cause eye problems/health issues.

Also, most people only use a (phos.-free) calcium powder with D3 in it once a month. I don't think in three weeks you've caused much harm though.

White urates should mean that the hydration is okay. Is there a brown (feces) being produced??

Is it wheezing or gaping or making popping sounds?
Could it be getting a draft from the door at times?

Unless the house drops below 65F at night you don't need any heat and if it does it would be better to have a ceramic bulb (its not a light).

I agree that she needs to be fed more...I feed young chameleons as much as they will eat in a minute or two per feeding.

i havent noticed any dark brown feces..no wheezing,popping,gaping...no draft plus its way to hot for a draft...i have a ceramic ill use it if i need it..i will definately be feeding her more...

 

[ShOeGaL2010]

From what I've read, they can tolerate night time temps as low as 50. I wouldn't recommend that for an extended period, but for a night or two, it should not be a problem.

I sort of think if you can get up and go to the bathroom at night without freezing, your house is warm enough that you don't need any extra heat at night.

i dont think it gets that cold i have little ones and i dont worry about them getting to cold and i definitely dont freeze..

 

[Elizadolots]

I think that means you can give up the night time heating of your chameleon. She just does not need it.

 

[ShOeGaL2010]

I think that means you can give up the night time heating of your chameleon. She just does not need it.

ok i will definately do that!!thank you