is my adopted chameleon too small for his age of 8-9 months

[reptarsmom]

Rehabilitating a chameleon , i adopted him from my little brother whip did not have the funds to take care of him. I am worried reptar is too small for his age of 8-9 months. Pleaser post pictures of your veiled chameleons at this age. Do you have any rehabilitating tips for me?

 

[camimom]

That is not a 8 or 9 month old chameleon.

Whoever said it was, is completely off base.

That chameleons is max 3 months old, but looks more along the lines of 2 months.

 

[Olimpia]

He is much younger, mainly because he doesn't even have his big boy colors yet. And I'm not sure Reptar is a He - does he have little nubs on the heels of his back feet? If Reptar is a little female we can give you better, more relevant info on how best to care for her.

For now, let me link you to some info:

https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/chameleons/ - General chameleon caresheet
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/ - Veiled-specific caresheet
http://muchadoaboutchameleons.blogspot.com/2012/04/how-to-set-up-proper-chameleon.html - How to set up a proper cage

 

[camimom]

Also, that red light needs to go.

you need a uvb bulb and a regular house bulb for basking.

read the care sheet posted on the home page.

I think Olimpia is right, I think he's a she.

 

[FlChamMom]

I have a 4 month-old male veiled who is larger. Are you sure he is 8-9 months? He could definitely use some good meals... I would make sure you are feeding him healthy feeders like silkworms and gut-loaded crickets. Weigh him regularly- if he does not start putting on weight under your care I would have a fecal float done to rule out parasites. Does he have spurs on his back feet? I can't see any on the 3rd pic but the angle could be the issue. Other than the weight he looks fine, arms are straight, does not look dehydrated. Sounds like he is good hands in his new home!

 

[reptarsmom]

reptar does have the nubs on his heels. i am saying he is small, because i know my baby brother has had him since his birthday in march when he bought him from the reptile show in march. he changes his pattern and color at times. yesterday when i took him outside for sunlight when the weather channel said the humidity was 86, he was blue and green with white spots. i will get rid of the red light. but the breeder gave my little brother that for basking. i also have the 5.0 uvb light in the viv i just bought him. i have been feeding him 2 times a day. a mixture of medium crickets, phoenix worms, small butter worms, and meal worms all dusted with calcium with d3, i mist constantly to keep the humidity above 80. i turn all the lights off at bed time, i have lots of foliage for him, he is no longer grey like when i adopted him, but i just cant believe he should be the small. he has no dents, his eyes are not sunken, he is very active, his eyes swivel quite a bit, his bones seem to be all in shape, he is not swollen any where and does not have mites. just his size is worrysome.

 

[reptarsmom]

with how long my little brother has had him, i know he is 8-9 months =( which sucks because of his size. though since he has been with me, he seems to have chippered up and gained a little. he looked flat before and very week.

 

[camimom]

You should bee feeding calcium with no d3 every feeding.

If he was bought in march, then he must have been a neonate (aka freshly hatched).

Even if he was born in march, then he is still super small for his age.

How much is he eating?

If the UVB IN the cage, or on the cage?

Are you sure he was bought in march, because he is just way way way too small for how old he supposedly is.

 

[reptarsmom]

thank you guys! i think i will give it 2 weeks if he has not gained any weight i will take him to a local reptile vet.

 

[FlChamMom]

Humidity does not have to be a constant 80%- the cage should dry out completely between mistings. In Florida, you should be fine with 3 mistings a day, my humidity never goes below 60%. I do one long misting so he'll drink and two shorter ones in the morning and afternoon. You just may have a petite boy...

 

[reptarsmom]

i am positive he was bought in march, i brought my little brother who had a baby sitting job at the time to pay for the supplies he needed, and he bought reptar, come to find out recently he has not been able to adequatly care for reptar and i needed to take him. the breeder gave my brother the d3 calcium, a 5.0 uvb light for on top of the cage, a horizontal cage =( a mossy mat, a little feeder bowl the red light for basking and said to mist him three times a day, feed him everyother day, and not to handle him much. now i have reptar eating 2-3 times a day. i was using the d3 because i saw that he was malnourished and possibly needed more calcium and nutrients. i am hoping his growth was not stunted by the stress and neglect of living with my brother. i bought reptar a verticle ventilated tank added foliage and created a tempature gradient that he would benefit from and i keep the humidity up. i will stop using the d3 though. thank you

 

[reptarsmom]

Humidity does not have to be a constant 80%- the cage should dry out completely between mistings. In Florida, you should be fine with 3 mistings a day, my humidity never goes below 60%. I do one long misting so he'll drink and two shorter ones in the morning and afternoon. You just may have a petite boy...

thanks i will try the mistings your way. im kind of hoping hes a girl just so i dont feel so terrible and worry so much about his size.lol

 

[camimom]

You don't need to stop d3, you want to use it 2 times a month.

There is a care sheet on the home page here, read through that.

IF he wasn't getting adequate food, that could explain the extreme size issue.

Because at supposedly 8-9 months old, he should have his bars, and be 6 times that size.

How much was he eating and how much is he eating now?

What is the basking temp at?

If that uvb bulb is the one that came with him, its time to replace it.

 

[Olimpia]

What city in Florida do you live in? I'm in Miami and am happy to help you if you needed anything. We have loads of Florida members all over, too. But we can recommend good reptile pet stores to get supplies from, recommend places to order bugs from, etc.

I don't know if this is anywhere near you but there is a reptile show going on this coming weekend in Ft. Lauderdale. If you run a Google search for Repticon Ft. Lauderdale it'll pop up. I might be going Sunday to pick up a couple things - but that would be a great place to get supplies like a screen cage for when he's older, a new UVB bulb, calcium, feeders, etc. and save on shipping. And it's usually a lot of fun!

 

[camimom]

thanks i will try the mistings your way. im kind of hoping hes a girl just so i dont feel so terrible and worry so much about his size.lol

Even if it is a girl, its still extremely undersized for the age its supposed to be.

A female at the supposed age of this one, 8-9 months, should be 4-5 times this size.

 

[reptarsmom]

ok. ok. i am used to caring for my bearded dragon, chameleons are pretty foreign to me. i live in port richey. i will change both of his bulbs this weekend when i get paid then, and we plan on dropping 1000-2000 on equipment and supplies for both the chameleon and bearded dragon, for new vivs, automatic misters, timers ect. and feeder breeder boxes so we can have a constant supply of food, with out me walking to the store once a week.lol. right now repter eats about 10 worms and 10 crickets two times a day, now i have only had him for about 3 weeks. but he loves to eat

 

[reptarsmom]

i will post new pictures in about a month so you all can see reptars progress since living with me and all the changes due to all your massive amounts of tips! thank you guys so much

 

[camimom]

That's a good diet.

Let him eat as much as he can for now.

 

[FlChamMom]

I can't wait to see his progress! Keep us posted!

 

[reptarsmom]

im super eager too see healthy results also! im just so happy that i have the time to dedicate to my little patient