Hi Guys, New to Chameleons , have have a quick question.

[petertt]

hi there guys, my name is peter and i recently bought my first veiled Cham, shes 6 months old. I have her in a 20hx18lx12w metal cage. I have no live plants at the moment but i will be looking into it in the next week or so. Temps range from 100 to mid 60's really depends on the weather out side, the only thing that i cant get up is the humidity switch hangs around 50% and after i spray it goes up to 70%. and for substrate iam using coconut husk, iam feeding her crickets and gutloading them with fish flakes ,and other another fish pellet which are called veggie pellets are are high in vitamins.I have only handled her 2 times and that was at her own will, i have not forced her to come off a vine i simply put my hand out and see if she wants to come out or not, and so far its only been twice.(including today to get some pictures)the cage is located in my room with little activity and i live in ontario canada

the main reason iam writing is that i have noticed a black blemish on her side, i just noticed this today and am i tad worried. she has been eating about 10-15 3/4in-1in crickets and ive only seen her drink once, but i have a dripper set up which is easy access to her.i haven't noticed any abnormal behavior since i got her, seems to be active climbing around ,here are some pictures of her and my set up.. please tell me if there is anything wrong, (besides no live plants the the humidity being low) i really care for animals and only want the best for them.

thanks

 

[Murrdox]

Hi there, welcome to the forums!

That black mark looks like a burn to me. I see that some of the spikes on her spine look a little black too in your picture, which would follow.

Have you checked the temperature at her basking spot?

You said your temperature goes up to 100s, which is too hot, especially for a younger chameleon. Her basking spot really shouldn't go above 95 degrees at the most.

However, she looks great, and the burn doesn't look too severe. Definitely get a temperature reading ASAP, and move the bulb farther from the cage, or change the wattage.

Great job getting live plants for her, she'll love those. Also, I'd ditch the substrate that you have. As a lot of other people on here will tell you, it doesn't do anything for your chameleon other than provide a risk of her ingesting and impacting some, and in the end it just causes a mess when you're dealing with the excess water from spraying her and providing a drip.

She's eating and drinking which is good. I wouldn't worry too much about the humidity. 50% average is plenty for a Veiled. They don't require as much humidity as other breeds.

 

[ChromaChameleons]

That bruise may have been sustained due to a fall. I should expect it will be fine in a couple of weeks.

 

[ChromaChameleons]

I just saw Murrdox post . I never thought to consider it a burn , but it is possible....

 

[petertt]

thanks, i will get a reading asap, it could be a fall, i had a big plant fall over in my room last night which could of hit the cage, it is a possibility. i was told the substrate will keep the humidity up as well, but i have heard about them eating it. keep you guys updated

 

[Goggles]

I also live in Ontario and have no problems keeping humidity up with no substrate. Just use paper towels and it keeps it easier to clean too.

 

[laurie]

Welcome to the forum. Just a couple of questions, what type of lighting do you use and how far is it from the chameleon? Could you describe the supplements you use on her crickets? Using fresh veggies to gut load the crickets is a lot better for your cham. For your first chameleon it looks like you are off to a great start, correct type of cage,( which most new people miss.)

 

[jannb]

Hello Peter and welcome to the forums. That'a a pretty little girl you've got. I love veileds. I have two, a male and a female.

I agree that it could ba a bruise or a burn. You are keeping her way to hot. I keep my female between 80 and 82 tops. I also agree about getting rid of the substrate. Also, do not use any fish food for gutload......it's bad for chameleons. Below is a great link on female veileds. Jann

http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/2007/12/keeping-female-veiled.html

 

[petertt]

Welcome to the forum. Just a couple of questions, what type of lighting do you use and how far is it from the chameleon? Could you describe the supplements you use on her crickets? Using fresh veggies to gut load the crickets is a lot better for your cham. For your first chameleon it looks like you are off to a great start, correct type of cage,( which most new people miss.)

if you look in the picture you can see how far it is away, but it is a 160watt with uva and uvb rays, , repti

for dusting the crickets i use calcium by zoo med, and it consists of calcium carbonate and cholecalciferol (D3) and the veggie pellets contain vitamin a,d,e ascorbic acid (vit c) and a few other fats and proteins,
mostly made up from fish flakes , alfalfa meal, meal worms, and fish oils. nothing that i think should harm it. and the flakes are regular tropical fish flakes.

so one thing i noticed just measuring the temp, is that its only ya 83 right now. but i have her set up near a bay window and iam going to measure it again when the sun starts hitting it, i have noticed her mouth open when the sun is hitting my room and i measured the temp then it was 98-102 ish , i might have to close my blinds, during those hours, maybe.


thanks for the gutloading info, i will switch that asap.

 

[Goggles]

They will open their mouth to cool down, I had this happen too and by moving the basking spot(lower) and light(higher) stopped the gape.
Mine is not in the window to make it easier to regulate temps. windows filter uv anyways.

 

[petertt]

well i got some plants , , ill get some pictures up tommorrow, but i have a questions, do any of your cham's have days that there more friendly? is it abnormal that mine is doing this, it seems to be really really curious about everything..

 

[chameleon97]

well i got some plants , , ill get some pictures up tommorrow, but i have a questions, do any of your cham's have days that there more friendly? is it abnormal that mine is doing this, it seems to be really really curious about everything..

my cham occasionally is freindly, and climbs onto my hand when im feeding her. besides that shes an evil brat

www.raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com