How to stop this?

[korykory]

For my veiled chameleons terrarium I have a dual lamp that comes with a 5 UVB light and a basking light. For the first couple of days, the UVB light wasn’t warming his enclosure enough and so we got a stronger one and it was completely fine for a couple days until yesterday I noticed these burns??

His lights used to rest on top of the terrarium but I moved them to about 6 inches above to hopefully stop this. He now keeps climbing to the top.

I know he’s due to shed soon so is it just that extra thin layer burning or is something seriously wrong.

I’m new at this and am really hoping I’m not hurting him or if this will have long term effects on him.

How do I stop this from happening?

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi and welcome. It sounds like you have a screw in uvb bulb. Those are basically worthless for chameleons and probably most other animals. What you need is to toss that and get a linear T5HO fixture with either an Arcadia 6% or ReptiSun 5.0 uvb bulb. Avoid knock off brands - they are not effective. Once you have the correct uvb, the basking area needs to be about 8-9” below it for correct uvb exposure. Then you need to adjust your basking bulb strength to provide a basking temp of 80F for young ones and females and 85F for grown males. I’m going to guess you probably are in need of additional guidance and that is something you can most definitely get from us here. I need to get off line right now, but others can help if around. If you post some pics of your total enclosure it will be a start. For an in depth and complete husbandry check, you can answer the questions found here. https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/how-to-ask-for-help.66/ Copy & paste with your answers.
For the burn on your sweetie, you really need a vet visit for proper treatment. If you need help finding one, just ask.

 

[korykory]

Here is my husbandry check filled out.

Your Chameleon - Veiled Chameleon, Male, and about 7-8 months old. I’ve had him for around a week and a half.

Handling - Since I just got him, he doesn’t let me handle him at all. Anytime I get close he starts to hiss and do t-rex hands. I haven’t held him at all.

Feeding - Mealworms and baby crickets? Every night and morning I give him about 4-5 mealworms with subelements and have fed him 10 baby crickets twice so far. I don’t have a feeder.

Supplements - I sprinkle Reptile Calcium brand Zoo Med, without D3 on his worms every other time he eats.

Watering - I have a dripper dripping constantly. I mist every maybe 2 hours for a couple minutes. I only seen him licking a leaf a couple times.

Fecal Description - Vertical, white, sometimes had a golden brown substance with it. He has never been tested for parasites.

History - I’ve only had him for a short while.

Cage Info:

Cage Type - Screen.

Lighting - Dual bulbs. ReptiSun 5.0 UVB with amplified heat. Daylight Blue Basking light. Every morning I turn them on, every night I turn them off.

Temperature - Near the bottom it’s about 67-68 and I don’t know about his basking area. I’m not sure about lowest temp at night. I have a thermostat hung near the bottom of his terrarium.

Humidity - 60-70%. I have a humidifier propped into the upper side of the cage and I measured these levels with a humidifier measurer.

Plants - There are two live plants and some fake. I don’t know what kind but I know they’re safe for him.

Placement - In my quiet basement. His cage is sat on a table, 5-6 feet from the basement ceiling.

Location - Michigan

Here is a picture of him and his full current terrarium.

 

[MissSkittles]

I’ll go thru your husbandry. I am working and can get called away at any time, but will get back to this as able. Depending on how busy it gets, it might take me all night though.

 

[BleuSaphir]

Do you have Arcadia or zoo med T5 uvb? I only see the dual kind for coil uvb.

 

[MissSkittles]

My feedback will be bold and I’ll be breaking this into two sections to be more digestible.
Your Chameleon - Veiled Chameleon, Male, and about 7-8 months old. While it’s not always easy to tell, going from his casque size, I’m thinking he’s much younger…like about 4 months old. Either that, or his growth may be a bit stunted. Where did you get him from? Most chain pet stores have incorrect husbandry. I’ve had him for around a week and a half.

Handling - Since I just got him, he doesn’t let me handle him at all. Anytime I get close he starts to hiss and do t-rex hands. I haven’t held him at all. This is pretty normal for veileds, plus he needs time to settle in and feel safe. While he may never become ‘friendly’, you do want to work on building trust with him. This is a wonderful blog on doing that. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/ Chameleons are similar to fish, in that they are more for looking at.

Feeding - Mealworms and baby crickets? Every night and morning I give him about 4-5 mealworms with subelements and have fed him 10 baby crickets twice so far. I don’t have a feeder. I’m attaching some graphics for you. You want to feed him just once in the morning so he has time to bask and digest. It’s very hard for me to tell you how many feeders to give him without knowing his age. He does look like a smaller than adult size and will need some good nutrition to recover from that burn, so I’ll say to give him about 8 or so appropriately sized feeders daily. To determine what size feeders, look at the space between his eyes. That is the maximum size he is able to eat. I’m thinking the equivalent of 1/2” crickets would be a good size for him. Mealworms are not good staple feeders. There are much better options. What I often advise is to get a variety pack from one of the on line insect vendors. Here’s a few options. https://www.rainbowmealworms.net/chameleon-sampler-pack/
https://joshsfrogs.com/kp/josh-s-frogs-chameleon-feeder-bundle-kit58304

Of course I’m getting called away. Sorry…will return to as soon as able.
Supplements - I sprinkle Reptile Calcium brand Zoo Med, without D3 on his worms every other time he eats.

Watering - I have a dripper dripping constantly. I mist every maybe 2 hours for a couple minutes. I only seen him licking a leaf a couple times.

Fecal Description - Vertical, white, sometimes had a golden brown substance with it. He has never been tested for parasites.

History - I’ve only had him for a short while.

 

[korykory]

Do you have Arcadia or zoo med T5 uvb? I only see the dual kind for coil uvb.

No I don’t have those. I had no idea they were needed. If I get it, do I use it along with the ones I already have?

 

[BleuSaphir]

You would have to entirely change your light fixtures.

 

[korykory]

My feedback will be bold and I’ll be breaking this into two sections to be more digestible.
Your Chameleon - Veiled Chameleon, Male, and about 7-8 months old. While it’s not always easy to tell, going from his casque size, I’m thinking he’s much younger…like about 4 months old. Either that, or his growth may be a bit stunted. Where did you get him from? Most chain pet stores have incorrect husbandry. I’ve had him for around a week and a half.

Handling - Since I just got him, he doesn’t let me handle him at all. Anytime I get close he starts to hiss and do t-rex hands. I haven’t held him at all. This is pretty normal for veileds, plus he needs time to settle in and feel safe. While he may never become ‘friendly’, you do want to work on building trust with him. This is a wonderful blog on doing that. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/ Chameleons are similar to fish, in that they are more for looking at.

Feeding - Mealworms and baby crickets? Every night and morning I give him about 4-5 mealworms with subelements and have fed him 10 baby crickets twice so far. I don’t have a feeder. I’m attaching some graphics for you. You want to feed him just once in the morning so he has time to bask and digest. It’s very hard for me to tell you how many feeders to give him without knowing his age. He does look like a smaller than adult size and will need some good nutrition to recover from that burn, so I’ll say to give him about 8 or so appropriately sized feeders daily. To determine what size feeders, look at the space between his eyes. That is the maximum size he is able to eat. I’m thinking the equivalent of 1/2” crickets would be a good size for him. Mealworms are not good staple feeders. There are much better options. What I often advise is to get a variety pack from one of the on line insect vendors. Here’s a few options. https://www.rainbowmealworms.net/chameleon-sampler-pack/
https://joshsfrogs.com/kp/josh-s-frogs-chameleon-feeder-bundle-kit58304

Of course I’m getting called away. Sorry…will return to as soon as able.
Supplements - I sprinkle Reptile Calcium brand Zoo Med, without D3 on his worms every other time he eats.

Watering - I have a dripper dripping constantly. I mist every maybe 2 hours for a couple minutes. I only seen him licking a leaf a couple times.

Fecal Description - Vertical, white, sometimes had a golden brown substance with it. He has never been tested for parasites.

History - I’ve only had him for a short while.

Thank you so much for everything btw, you’re being such a great help.

I thought he was about 5 months but I posted a picture of him on Reddit and was told he was about 7-8 months old. I’m so new at everything so I’m just going with what more educated people say. I bought him Petco.

I don’t mean to bumbard you with my stupid questions but is there any way to build trust without having to hand feed or hold feeders to your knowledge? I’m just really uncomfortable doing that lol.

I attached a picture of the space between his eyes to my best ability if this will help. I’ll note not to get mealworms anymore.

 

[korykory]

You would have to entirely change your light fixtures.

Do you have a recommendation of the ideal light setup? So many people have different things and I’m really unsure what’s best.
Thank you so much for bringing that to my attention though.

 

[ehdee6]

For lighting here is a picture reference.

You'll want either a zoomed 5T 5.0 kit (you have to replace the bulb every 6 months.), or an Arcadia T5 6% (bulbs need replacing every 12 months).

 

[korykory]

For lighting here is a picture reference.

You'll want either a zoomed 5T 5.0 kit (you have to replace the bulb every 6 months.), or an Arcadia T5 6% (bulbs need replacing every 12 months).
View attachment 365208

Thanks so much I’ll probably end of getting the Arcadia. I have the duel one in the picture you attached, what would you recommend I do? What I mean is should I toss it and get one of the T5HO fixtures or keep it along with an Arcadia.