I have a few questions about my new calyptratus

[Tetsuo]

Okay so yesterday I bought my first Yemen chameleon and she is about 7 weeks old. She looks healthy she is eating fine and her color is good and she doesn't have any cheesy looking or green stuff in her jaw nor does she have any symptoms of MBD but she is acting very lazy and looks pretty dry. I'm spraying her cage at least three times a day and I'm also using a dripper. I'm just a little worried about her since she is so young and small. I have done alot of research on her but she is still my first veiled so if someone that is experienced could give me a few tips and possibly answer some of my questions that'd be amazing.
Thanks,
Tyler

 

[Solid Snake]

"If you want one so bad, steal one yourself"



Hi!
Thats great news!
I am sure others can point you in a better direction than I, but I have found reading through this to be very informative when learning about chameleons:http://www.docstoc.com/docs/88297453/Veterinary-Management-of-Chameleons

Reading the WHOLE thing will bring you up to speed on lots of things

 

[Tetsuo]

Thanks for the link it's very helpful. I also noticed she keeps one of her eyes closed sometimes or both during the day and she'll lay on your hand as well and in the article it said it was a bad thing but I don't know what could cause it. yesterday when I got home and fed her she ate 4 fruit flies and I dusted some and put them in her cage today.

 

[Solid Snake]

Thanks for the link it's very helpful. I also noticed she keeps one of her eyes closed sometimes or both during the day and she'll lay on your hand as well and in the article it said it was a bad thing but I don't know what could cause it. yesterday when I got home and fed her she ate 4 fruit flies and I dusted some and put them in her cage today.

Yes, closing the eyes during the daytime for any duration is bad.

Do you mist?
What kind of lighting are you using?

 

[Solid Snake]

Also, here is chameleonsinmyhouse's care sheet for veiled chameleons, I believe you will find it helpful:https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/chameleonsinmyhouse/395-veiled-chameleon-care-sheet.html

 

[Tetsuo]

Yes I mist about 4 times a day and I'm using a 40 watt bulb and I'm getting a UVB bulb and lamp sometime this week most likely.

 

[Solid Snake]

7 weeks old is pretty young, did you get her in a shop or from a breeder?

Dou you know how she was kept before you received her?

 

[Tetsuo]

I got her from a breeder at the KC reptile show yesterday he had two very beautiful nosey be panther chameleons and he was very knowledgable on all the chameleons he was selling but I don't know how she was kept only that they were using a 5.0 bulb, feeding her fruit flies, and misting her cage a few times a day.

 

[Solid Snake]

Do her eyes look abnormal at all?

Has she been shutting them since you got her, or just very recently?

 

[Tetsuo]

No the shape is fine but sometimes I see her rubbing her head/eye on her leaves and branches but she was doing that after I bought her and took her out of the plastic container.

 

[Tetsuo]

Tomorrow I'm going to go get the UVB bulb and lamp I need. For a 12 foot by 12 foot exo-terra what bulb and lamp would you recommend?

 

[Solid Snake]

No the shape is fine but sometimes I see her rubbing her head/eye on her leaves and branches but she was doing that after I bought her and took her out of the plastic container.

They will rub their eyes and face to help break a shed.
That may be what it is doing.

Tomorrow I'm going to go get the UVB bulb and lamp I need. For a 12 foot by 12 foot exo-terra what bulb and lamp would you recommend?

I have no experience with veiled chameleons, or a chameleon that young, so maybe someone else can tell you better, however...

You probably want to go with a reptisun 5.0 Compact Fluorescent bulb for that small of an enclosure. That will be all the UVB you need.

For basking, you need to be careful, it is my understanding that you do not want to over heat a baby chameleon, and that it is easy to do.

I not provide a basking of over 80F for one that young. I believe most people do not use a basking bulb at all when they are that age.

Make sure you have a good digital thermometer, or even better, a temp gun.
Digital thermometers can be purchased at a pet store, or hardware store, for usually about $20.

Take some pictures of her if you can, they may shed some light on what is going on.

If you use a basking bulb, a regular house hold bulb is best. If you use one, start with a very low watt bulb.

 

[Tetsuo]

Okay. For her basking spot I'm just using a normal bulb and I'll try to get some pictures of her on here as soon as I can.

 

[Tetsuo]

Today I went and bought Kaida a UvB 5.0 26 watt repti Glo bulb and she seems to be a little more active but she still keeps her eyes closed but it may just be the time since it's 9:05.

 

[Solid Snake]

If lights are on, she should be awake, with eyes open.

They can settle into a sleeping spot early, but actually going to sleep or shutting eyes means something is wrong, somewhere.

Is there any lights that could be keeping her up at nite?

 

[Tetsuo]

No because she is in my room next to my bed and there arn't any lights on in my room or outside. :/ I just turned off her UVB I also just noticed her heat lamp doesn't have a switch on it, it's pretty irritating. XP lol

 

[Solid Snake]

Putting them on a timer will make your life super easy
The chameleon will get used to it too, and will know when its bed time.

What schedule are you using for your lights?

Are her eyes the same then?

 

[Tetsuo]

I usually turn all my lizards lamps on at 6:00-6:30 A.M then mist my yemen and crested's cage and then when I get home from school I mist their cages again then around 7:00 P.M I feed all of my lizards and around 9:30 I turn their lights off. I'd use a timer but I don't have much money to go buy all this stuff. lol

 

[Solid Snake]

Feeding in the morning is a better idea IMO.

It will give the chameleon plenty of time to digest the food, so its not sitting in their stomach all nite. They will then also have plenty of calories to burn throughout the day.

Im worried about her eyes.

If she keeps closing them, you need a vet asap.

 

[Tetsuo]

Okay. I'll start feeding her in the morning I'll just have to get up a little earlier. Also should I maybe wait a week or so to see if she gets better? I'll try to upload photos of her tomorrow when she is awake.