Is my baby ok :(

[ChamMama1]

Hey I’m new here so hopefully I’m doing this right
I have a male veiled Cham about 5 months old
He usually gets black spots ( stress spots) when he’s scared or angry or startled, but today he was laying on my daughters shoulder as he usually does , sleeping under her hair ( they r besties) when I noticed his crest wast dark black all on the edges nd around his eyes nd the top of his head . He didn’t show any signs of being upset or anything , he was asleep .
Should I be concerned ? We tried to gently wake him up nd he did a little but nothing changed his temperament seems normal calm nd happy fast asleep but the black isn’t going away
A quick reply would be greatly appreciated I’ll attach pictures of him now and what he looks like normally
Thank you

 

[Bazelthechameleon]

Hey I’m new here so hopefully I’m doing this right
I have a male veiled Cham about 5 months old
He usually gets black spots ( stress spots) when he’s scared or angry or startled, but today he was laying on my daughters shoulder as he usually does , sleeping under her hair ( they r besties) when I noticed his crest wast dark black all on the edges nd around his eyes nd the top of his head . He didn’t show any signs of being upset or anything , he was asleep .
Should I be concerned ? We tried to gently wake him up nd he did a little but nothing changed his temperament seems normal calm nd happy fast asleep but the black isn’t going away
A quick reply would be greatly appreciated I’ll attach pictures of him now and what he looks like normally
Thank you

Hiya! So your cham should not be sleeping or closing its eyes unless he’s in his cage and his lights are off. Sleeping during the day is a sign of illness in chameleons. I’m gonna paste a husbandry form in the chat that you can fill out so the experts can review your husbandry and make changes as needed to help your cham stay healthy and happy

 

[Bazelthechameleon]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
• Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
• Location - Where are you geographically located?

 

[Beman]

Hi there welcome to the forum. He is a handsome little boy. I am about to say stuff you won't want to hear. But I do not want you to think I am picking in any way. Since the Tangled movie came out we see lots of chams that are purchased for children. Unfortunately what you see in the movie is not a real interpretation of how a chameleon like a veiled will act as it matures.

Sleeping like this most typically is a sign of extreme duress. They really are not meant to just sit and sleep on you or be handled consistently. The black you are seeing along the face and casque is normal male coloring. They start getting this more and more as they mature into adulthood. While juveniles like your boy is this shows up more often while sleeping.

While some chameleons can be more tolerant of their humans it is far more common for them to hate them and be fearful of them. Male Veileds are known for becoming more and more aggressive as they mature. I would be extremely cautious with your daughter interacting with him without adult supervision as he matures. And it looks like you have a younger child as well. I would not let a child that young get near him as he gets older. They will not only bite out of stress but they will shoot their tongue at eye balls. Make sure your daughter is not wearing jewelry as well. They like shiny things and find them facinating to try to eat.

Fill out the form above by copy and pasting it into your reply. Then please add pics of his entire enclosure including the lights on the top. I also would love to see a picture of the labels of the supplements you are using.
This way we can ensure you have the right information for caring for him. Also if there is something in his environment other than the stress of human interaction we can pin point it so that he does not decline further. Unfortunately these guys are one of the more fragile reptiles you can have. So having everything on point is really important to ensure a long life.

 

[redhorse]

JMHO-
Welcome- What a pretty boy
Looks like he is getting ready to shed but I would take him to a vet to make sure there is nothing wrong. He should not be sleeping in your hand and the black "Stress" could indicate other issue, since his eyes are closed.
A vet can check some things out that we can't.

 

[kinyonga]

Welcome to the forum and the world of chameleons!

Whats the temperature in the room when your daughter has him out of the cage? What’s the cage temperature? What time of day does she usually have him out?

 

[ChamMama1]

Hiya! So your cham should not be sleeping or closing its eyes unless he’s in his cage and his lights are off. Sleeping during the day is a sign of illness in chameleons. I’m gonna paste a husbandry form in the chat that you can fill out so the experts can review your husbandry and make changes as needed to help your cham stay healthy and happy

Thank you so much this will help a lot as I get so many different things told to me nd it’s hard to decide which I feel is right he is doing so much better and doesn’t sleep anymore unless he’s in his cage at night
I do have one more question lol not really a concern more if I need advice lol I’ve read some threads about male chams humping their owners hands well he had done it a few times nd now it’s literally every time I let him out he attempts to mate with my hand lol
Is there anything I can do to get him to calm down or is this just a phase nd needs to run it’s course or does he need a gf lol thank you for any advice it has gotten so bad I don’t get to give him much free time because he goes straight to it once he gets out lol .

 

[ChamMama1]

Welcome to the forum and the world of chameleons!

Whats the temperature in the room when your daughter has him out of the cage? What’s the cage temperature? What time of day does she usually have him out?

Hi there welcome to the forum. He is a handsome little boy. I am about to say stuff you won't want to hear. But I do not want you to think I am picking in any way. Since the Tangled movie came out we see lots of chams that are purchased for children. Unfortunately what you see in the movie is not a real interpretation of how a chameleon like a veiled will act as it matures.

Sleeping like this most typically is a sign of extreme duress. They really are not meant to just sit and sleep on you or be handled consistently. The black you are seeing along the face and casque is normal male coloring. They start getting this more and more as they mature into adulthood. While juveniles like your boy is this shows up more often while sleeping.

While some chameleons can be more tolerant of their humans it is far more common for them to hate them and be fearful of them. Male Veileds are known for becoming more and more aggressive as they mature. I would be extremely cautious with your daughter interacting with him without adult supervision as he matures. And it looks like you have a younger child as well. I would not let a child that young get near him as he gets older. They will not only bite out of stress but they will shoot their tongue at eye balls. Make sure your daughter is not wearing jewelry as well. They like shiny things and find them facinating to try to eat.

Fill out the form above by copy and pasting it into your reply. Then please add pics of his entire enclosure including the lights on the top. I also would love to see a picture of the labels of the supplements you are using.
This way we can ensure you have the right information for caring for him. Also if there is something in his environment other than the stress of human interaction we can pin point it so that he does not decline further. Unfortunately these guys are one of the more fragile reptiles you can have. So having everything on point is really important to ensure a long life.

I’m so sorry this has taken so long to get back to you I have no idea how to navigate this site yet lol
Ok so I need to address some things that I feel you have misunderstood , ( also I took nothing as picking I appreciated all the info ) just want to clarify max is my Cham not my daughters she is 11 nd only holds him for very short periods of time on weekends nd not every weekend other than that I am the only other person that handles him I usually only handle him once a week maybe , I feel like he tries to get out more by scratching at the door but I know handling them to much causes more harm than good . I had a female Cham who had become extremely aggressive so I don’t allow any small children to touch him just in case he shows aggression at any point which he has not shown any aggression at all . He honestly seems to be a very happy and calm little guy he has started to attempt to hump my hand so the handling has become less common until I can figure out why he is doing that lol he was handled a lot by the store I got him from so im assuming he enjoys it but from my experience with my first Cham I promise I am being extremely cautious
Thank you for taking ur time to respond md try to help me ensure I give my sweet boy the best life I will fill out the form nd send it in a separate message again thank you for ur help

 

[ChamMama1]

Welcome to the forum and the world of chameleons!

Whats the temperature in the room when your daughter has him out of the cage? What’s the cage temperature? What time of day does she usually have him out?

Hello
I want to say it’s between 70-73 degrees maybe warmer I try to keep my room warm as I have all my reptiles in here I don’t let her leave the room nd she usually gets him out before bed for a few mins maybe once or twice on the weekends only
The black crest has gone away nd he is no longer sleeping in our hands but I have limited the handling lately due to him attempting to mate with my hand lol
Thank you for ur reply

 

[ChamMama1]

JMHO-
Welcome- What a pretty boy
Looks like he is getting ready to shed but I would take him to a vet to make sure there is nothing wrong. He should not be sleeping in your hand and the black "Stress" could indicate other issue, since his eyes are closed.
A vet can check some things out that we can't.

Hello
Thank you for ur response
The black has gone away and also the sleeping in my hand has stopped
I will be taking him to a vet soon just for a check up to make sure he’s doing good but he seems a lot better

 

[kinyonga]

I asked about the temperature when he was sleeping under your daughter’s hair in the room because when you take them out of the cage and they can sit still on you, they are cooler than in the cage because the room is cooler than in the cage… and it makes them fall asleep. Simple as that.

I’m glad you’re ding somewhat careful with young ones handling him.

Some of them do try to hump your hand.…just like some dogs try to hump your leg or a pillow. It’s just a male thing.
The dark coloration you are talking about is normal.

Your little guy looks quite healthy! Hope you continue to enjoy him and that he lives a long time with you.