Her cage is heated by a space heated that has a built in thermostat. The heater is blocked off by screen so she can't hurt herself with it. Her basking area stays at about 80 and the lower areas of the cage stay at about 75. My house tends to be a very dry place, so the last time I tried a screen cage my vet told me to use a glass one. Her cage gets misted 3 times a day, drying out between each misting. I am measuring the temp with a reptile thermometer. I haven't been dusting her food with anything either because I don't know which one is the right one, so if someone could suggest what to get that would be great.
How to keep Oustalet's healthy
- Thread starter Taragirl
- Start date
ciafardo 4
New Member
Also Juli your temps are way off for oustalet's they prefer a warmer ambient temp and a basking temp of 90-95 would be optimal.I think she may not be eating because she doesn't have access to a warmer basking spot..I find that when temps go down on my oustaleti they do tend to go off food.Try and adjust your temps and see what happens.
Julirs
New Member
Actually-I keep my Oustalets outside year round here in Florida so my temps are not way off. 
How old is the Oustalet in Question? Looks a tad young in the photo in the giant cage. I will agree with upping the temperature in the basking spot and using a digital thermometer-analog thermometers are junk for guaging basking spot temps. I would still move to a smaller well planted cage, and get the Terramycin. I seemed to have more trouble with Oustalet eyes than any other eyes. And going back a few years, I do think I had to raise the Oustalet temps a bit to get them eating when younger.
How old is the Oustalet in Question? Looks a tad young in the photo in the giant cage. I will agree with upping the temperature in the basking spot and using a digital thermometer-analog thermometers are junk for guaging basking spot temps. I would still move to a smaller well planted cage, and get the Terramycin. I seemed to have more trouble with Oustalet eyes than any other eyes. And going back a few years, I do think I had to raise the Oustalet temps a bit to get them eating when younger.I now have the terramycin, I got some today. She is about 6 months old and about as long as my index finger, she has actually grown since I have had her. Also, I wanted to know how often they shed. She has only shed once since I got her about 3 months ago. And, exactly how big do Oustalets get? I have heard several things now and I'm not sure what to believe.
You said..."top of cage is 80 and bottom is 75"...the basking temperature could be a little higher...but IMHO its not outside the acceptable range for a young chameleon.
Do you know what parasites she has? What was she given to get rid of them?
Your cage would be fine if the lid was screen and you drilled a few holes in the plexiglass to create a vent area so that the air would flow.
As was indicated, the UVB should not pass through glass or plastic...and should be able to be within about 15 inches of the chameleon. The most often recommended UVB light is the long linear fluorescent tube Repti-sun 5.0.
Does she ever open her eyes? (For instance, if you take her out of the cage will she open them? Is there any goop in her eyes?
You said..."What humidity % should her cage be at?"...I keep my female at the same humidity that I keep veileds at.) As long as she is well watered, the humidity is less of a concern.
You said..."What type of basking light should she have?"...I use a regular incandescent household bulb in a domed hood for a basking light. The wattage is determined by the temperature it produces.
You said..."She seems to not be able to poop very well"...do you think that the amount of poop coming out is about the amount that should be coming out for what she's eating? What do you mean by she can't poop very well if you don't mean the amount? Does she bask? What is the temperature in the part of the cage that she sits in most of the time?
You said..."I haven't been dusting her food with anything either because I don't know which one is the right one, so if someone could suggest what to get that would be great"...I use Rep-cal with and without D3 and I use Herptivite. (BTW...I have a female that I have had for about 3 years and she was full grown when I got her....and I've kept chameleons for over 20 years.)
Exposure to UVB will allow her to produce D3 which will allow her to use the calcium in her diet.
Now...many of the insects used as feeders have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorus and to help balance it its important to dust the insects before feeding them to her with a phos.-free calcium powder at most feedings.
I dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder to ensure that the chameleon gets some D3 without overdoing it...allowing her to get the rest of it from the exposure to the UVB. D3 from supplements can build up in the system and cause problems....so don't overdo it.
I dust twice a month with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A. Beta carotene won't build up in the system like prEformed vitamin A will but there is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert it so some people give a little prEformed once in a while. Excess prEformed vitamin A can interfere with the D3 and push the chameleon towards MBD.
Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are important players in bone health and need to be in balance. When trying to balance them, its important to look at the supplements, what you feed the chameleon and what you feed to the insects.
Gutloading/feeding the insects a nutritious diet is important too, then. Crickets, roaches, superworms can be fed a wide variety of greens (dandelions, collards, kale, endive, escarole, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.).
Here are some good sites to read that will explain a lot of this...
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
http://web.archive.org/web/20060421.../index.php?show=6.Vitamin.D3.and.Calcium.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20060502...rnals.com/vet/index.php?show=5.Vitamin.A.html
http://chameleonnews.com/?page=article&id=102
http://adcham.com/
Do you know what parasites she has? What was she given to get rid of them?
Your cage would be fine if the lid was screen and you drilled a few holes in the plexiglass to create a vent area so that the air would flow.
As was indicated, the UVB should not pass through glass or plastic...and should be able to be within about 15 inches of the chameleon. The most often recommended UVB light is the long linear fluorescent tube Repti-sun 5.0.
Does she ever open her eyes? (For instance, if you take her out of the cage will she open them? Is there any goop in her eyes?
You said..."What humidity % should her cage be at?"...I keep my female at the same humidity that I keep veileds at.) As long as she is well watered, the humidity is less of a concern.
You said..."What type of basking light should she have?"...I use a regular incandescent household bulb in a domed hood for a basking light. The wattage is determined by the temperature it produces.
You said..."She seems to not be able to poop very well"...do you think that the amount of poop coming out is about the amount that should be coming out for what she's eating? What do you mean by she can't poop very well if you don't mean the amount? Does she bask? What is the temperature in the part of the cage that she sits in most of the time?
You said..."I haven't been dusting her food with anything either because I don't know which one is the right one, so if someone could suggest what to get that would be great"...I use Rep-cal with and without D3 and I use Herptivite. (BTW...I have a female that I have had for about 3 years and she was full grown when I got her....and I've kept chameleons for over 20 years.)
Exposure to UVB will allow her to produce D3 which will allow her to use the calcium in her diet.
Now...many of the insects used as feeders have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorus and to help balance it its important to dust the insects before feeding them to her with a phos.-free calcium powder at most feedings.
I dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder to ensure that the chameleon gets some D3 without overdoing it...allowing her to get the rest of it from the exposure to the UVB. D3 from supplements can build up in the system and cause problems....so don't overdo it.
I dust twice a month with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A. Beta carotene won't build up in the system like prEformed vitamin A will but there is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert it so some people give a little prEformed once in a while. Excess prEformed vitamin A can interfere with the D3 and push the chameleon towards MBD.
Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are important players in bone health and need to be in balance. When trying to balance them, its important to look at the supplements, what you feed the chameleon and what you feed to the insects.
Gutloading/feeding the insects a nutritious diet is important too, then. Crickets, roaches, superworms can be fed a wide variety of greens (dandelions, collards, kale, endive, escarole, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.).
Here are some good sites to read that will explain a lot of this...
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
http://web.archive.org/web/20060421.../index.php?show=6.Vitamin.D3.and.Calcium.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20060502...rnals.com/vet/index.php?show=5.Vitamin.A.html
http://chameleonnews.com/?page=article&id=102
http://adcham.com/
Carlton
Chameleon Enthusiast
Um, yes, a glass cage top with a UV light located outside of it, in addition to lack of dusting probably does have something to do with it. Yes, the cage is large, but I think with more climbing routes, hiding cover, and a feeding station located near the lights would help.
