I'm new at this and have a few issues

[calialy13]

Okay hi.

So I'm a new chameleon owner. We've had him for a few weeks and recently this week he's being staying at the vet because he has MBD from where the pet store wasn't taking proper care of him and also from where we were missing a few things we didn't know about. But today I brought my little guy home and have been trying to take care of him.

Here is some recommended information to include when asking for help in the health clinic forum. By providing this information, you will receive more accurate and beneficial responses. It might not be necessary to answer all these questions, but the more you provide the better. Please remember that even the most knowledgeable person can only guess at what your problem may be. Only an experienced reptile veterinarian who can directly examine your animal can give a true diagnosis of your chameleon's health.


Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - he's a veiled, male, and I know he's a juvenile. We've had him for about a month but do not know his age and the info given at the pet store was "he's been here a while"
• Handling - not very. He has MBD and other than to and from the vet, he stays in his cage.
• Feeding - Superworms, calci worms, and gut loaded (Sweet pt, apples, carrots) crickets (crickets are something we are trying to add)
• Supplements - Repti calcium without D3 everyday. With d3 is every couple weeks.
• Watering - we have been misting with a bottle. I either try about 3-4 minutes or until I've missed 6-8 oz.
• Fecal Description - last time I saw it was before the vet. Brown one end, other end tip was white.
• History - recently found out he has MBD. he's been at the vet for two nights getting liquid calcium and fluids just picked him up today. Was told to make sure he eats but he seems VERY uninterested. Also vet said no vines until he's cleared to.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Glass and screen combo to help with humidity.
• Lighting - Reptisun 5.0 UVB hanging from a dome currently about 7-8 in from the bottom in an area he can get it. Then for basking I'm using an incandescent bulb but I'm afraid it's not getting warm enough for him to bask.
• Temperature - Right now with the climbing restriction he's got a cage temp of about 72. His basking spot is ~ 80.
• Humidity - We are misting to have a rise and fall of humidity. We also have some moss along the bottom of the cage to help (bought at the pet store for reptiles, I can't remember the brand)
• Plants - Fake plants only right now
• Placement - The cage is located in my room on a desk. I'm the only one in here other than my boyfriend occasionally when he comes to visit. Not near any vents and he's close to a desk fan but it's much lower than the cage and only on at night.
• Location - Southern USA.

Current Problem - Okay so my first concern is the note from the vet on force feeding and forcing his Meds. I have to give oral calcium 2x a day but I'm struggling to get him to open his mouth to do so. Any advice on how to help with this so I can administer the meds and feed him?

Second concern. Basking light. I've been advised to just use a store incandescent bulb but wasn't recommended a wattage type to use and need to get this taken care of so he has the right warmth during the day.

Third concern, when misting he seems to be very angry and runs away. I have the bottle usually warm to Luke warm but it's still concerning. He also doesn't drink very often from it.

I just want my little guy to get healthier so any advice is welcome.

 

[kinyonga]

Please post a photo of your chameleon.

 

[Tattersb]

Hey Caliali13, I don't know much about veiled in particular, but I might be able to help with a few things. For the basking light, I was told to get a 40-60 watt bulb. I have mine about 8-10" above his basking branch to keep his spot around 78-80 degrees (I have a Jackson's, I believe veileds need a higher basking temp.) Mine isn't able to get close enough to the bulb to get burned. For your watering, hand-misting is pretty tedious. Unless your misting 5-10 minutes (enough to make a good bit of dew/drips), you may not be misting enough to stimulate him to drink. Both of my guys have drippers that provide moving water all day. The drippers are positioned over their plants so the water collects on the leaves and they can drink whenever the want. Hydration is a MAJOR concern with chameleons. Most of them are shy drinkers, so it can be hard to tell if they are getting fluids are not. You'll probably have to monitor urates for that. And your third concern about him acting angry and running away when they get misted? Yeaaahhh....they hate that. No matter what you do, they hate that. Mine acts like I'm spraying the cage with acid. Still, it sounds like your water temp is right, just be sure to mist around him and don't spray him directly.

I've never had to give mine medications, so I'm hoping someone else chimes in on that. I hope this helps. Good luck

 

[calialy13]

This is a photo right before he went to the vet and while we were cleaning the cage to move him.