Is my Chameleon sick, with eggs, or eggbound, or am I just paranoid?

[maddylynnejane]

Sorry for the excessive photos (I am quite paranoid).

KP has been going all around the enclosure as if looking for a way out. Often sits stretched between a branch and the hammock for hours. Hisses at me when I pick up (this is new). Will climb into the lay box but not dig. I occasionally handle, maybe twice a week, usually just to move to a hanging plant. Has been displaying the dark green color most often with very little change. Or black spots when I try and pick up. Not absolutely positive of gender was told male when I got Kp but no evidence of tarsal spurs. I am confused and nervous, is something wrong or am I extremely paranoid?


Karma Pascal, KP for short
Veiled Chameleon
Female (I think)
6 months
Had since 2-3 weeks old
Habitat
- ReptiBreeze
--- 24 x 24 x 48
Diet:
- Crickets every other day, usually 10-20
---Orange cubes
---Flukers High Calcium Cricket Diet
- Dried mealworms are always available
- Watermelon once or twice a week
- Dried vegetables once or twice a week
Water
- ReptiRain System
---1 or 3-hour intervals
---15-second misting period
---ReptiSafe drops in water supply
Heat/ Humidity
- Dual lamp fixture
- Blue Daylight bulb
- UVB Bulb
- 7:00 AM - 8:00 PM, timer
- Average temperature: 70-80 F
- Average Humidity: 65-70 %
Lay Box
- Coconut fiber Substrate
- Lightly dampened
- 12 inches deep
- 6 inches wide
- 18 inches across

 

[Beman]

Hi there... Welcome to the forum. I am going to give you some feedback on your girl. Let me know what questions you have. Her coloration is pretty dull and I am not seeing specific receptive or gravid coloring. But it is very common for them not to show their color as much when they are not under the correct UVB lighting. However based on her size and belly along with you saying she is restless I am betting she is getting close to laying. So fixing her lay bin should be done asap. And not bugging her if you see her digging. I also would not be taking her out of her enclosure during this time. When they look for a place to lay they need to focus on that.

Karma Pascal, KP for short
Veiled Chameleon
Female (I think) yep this is a female.
6 months based on her size she looks older than a 6 month old.
Had since 2-3 weeks old Are you sure she was that young when you got her? Do you have pics of her from then. They are extremely tiny at that age and normally never sold that young.
Habitat
- ReptiBreeze
--- 24 x 24 x 48 This is perfect.
Diet:
- Crickets every other day, usually 10-20 She is being fed too much. You need to start reducing her food intake. As she matures you will have to start cutting back her food. By about 6 months she should be getting about 5-8 small feeders each day. At about 7 months you want to slowly reduce by cutting down feeder amounts so that she is on a feeding schedule of 3 days a week with 3 feeders. You want them to be on this schedule by the time they are 9-10 months old.

---Orange cubes
---Flukers High Calcium Cricket Diet Not the best gutload. See image.
- Dried mealworms are always available They should never be given dead feeders.
- Watermelon once or twice a week They should never be given any fruit or veg. They are insectivores and can not process sugars the way other animals can.
- Dried vegetables once or twice a week
What supplements are you using to dust the crickets with?
Water
- ReptiRain System
---1 or 3-hour intervals
---15-second misting period
---ReptiSafe drops in water supply
Heat/ Humidity
- Dual lamp fixture So this is a big one. The compact UVB bulbs should not be used with chameleons. I would switch over to a T5HO fixture with a 5.0 or 6% linear bulb. Get the 24 inch fixture. THen the branches below it would be no closer than 8-9 inches to put her in the right UVB level. The compact bulbs are known for causing MBD.
- Blue Daylight bulb
- UVB Bulb
- 7:00 AM - 8:00 PM, timer
- Average temperature: 70-80 F It should never be hotter than 80 at basking for her.
- Average Humidity: 65-70 %
Lay Box You will want to rework this. It is too deep for her. And I would remove the coconut fiber. It will not hold a tunnel. See image and details.
A lay bin should be added as a permanent fixture by the time they are 6 months old so they get used to it and it does not cause stress.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/laying-bin-set-up-educational-video.77225/

- Coconut fiber Substrate
- Lightly dampened
- 12 inches deep
- 6 inches wide
- 18 inches across


Additionally with a veiled it is extremely dangerous to have fake plants and hammocks in a cage. The fake plants they will eat and can cause an impaction. The hammocks they can get their nails caught in.

Start reading every module in this husbandry program. https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/

 

[MissSkittles]

You beat me @Beman
Everything above and adding that due to several different things, I’d strongly advise a vet visit with x rays to accurately determine if she has been producing any eggs as well as her bone health. Might as well take a fresh fecal for parasite check while there.

 

[maddylynnejane]

Hi there... Welcome to the forum. I am going to give you some feedback on your girl. Let me know what questions you have. Her coloration is pretty dull and I am not seeing specific receptive or gravid coloring. But it is very common for them not to show their color as much when they are not under the correct UVB lighting. However based on her size and belly along with you saying she is restless I am betting she is getting close to laying. So fixing her lay bin should be done asap. And not bugging her if you see her digging. I also would not be taking her out of her enclosure during this time. When they look for a place to lay they need to focus on that.

Karma Pascal, KP for short
Veiled Chameleon
Female (I think) yep this is a female.
6 months based on her size she looks older than a 6 month old.
Had since 2-3 weeks old Are you sure she was that young when you got her? Do you have pics of her from then. They are extremely tiny at that age and normally never sold that young.
Habitat
- ReptiBreeze
--- 24 x 24 x 48 This is perfect.
Diet:
- Crickets every other day, usually 10-20 She is being fed too much. You need to start reducing her food intake. As she matures you will have to start cutting back her food. By about 6 months she should be getting about 5-8 small feeders each day. At about 7 months you want to slowly reduce by cutting down feeder amounts so that she is on a feeding schedule of 3 days a week with 3 feeders. You want them to be on this schedule by the time they are 9-10 months old.

---Orange cubes
---Flukers High Calcium Cricket Diet Not the best gutload. See image.
- Dried mealworms are always available They should never be given dead feeders.
- Watermelon once or twice a week They should never be given any fruit or veg. They are insectivores and can not process sugars the way other animals can.
- Dried vegetables once or twice a week
What supplements are you using to dust the crickets with?
Water
- ReptiRain System
---1 or 3-hour intervals
---15-second misting period
---ReptiSafe drops in water supply
Heat/ Humidity
- Dual lamp fixture So this is a big one. The compact UVB bulbs should not be used with chameleons. I would switch over to a T5HO fixture with a 5.0 or 6% linear bulb. Get the 24 inch fixture. THen the branches below it would be no closer than 8-9 inches to put her in the right UVB level. The compact bulbs are known for causing MBD.
- Blue Daylight bulb
- UVB Bulb
- 7:00 AM - 8:00 PM, timer
- Average temperature: 70-80 F It should never be hotter than 80 at basking for her.
- Average Humidity: 65-70 %
Lay Box You will want to rework this. It is too deep for her. And I would remove the coconut fiber. It will not hold a tunnel. See image and details.
A lay bin should be added as a permanent fixture by the time they are 6 months old so they get used to it and it does not cause stress.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/laying-bin-set-up-educational-video.77225/

- Coconut fiber Substrate
- Lightly dampened
- 12 inches deep
- 6 inches wide
- 18 inches across


Additionally with a veiled it is extremely dangerous to have fake plants and hammocks in a cage. The fake plants they will eat and can cause an impaction. The hammocks they can get their nails caught in.

Start reading every module in this husbandry program. https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/

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Thank you so much for your response, it is very helpful.

I was told when I got her that the max she could be was 4 weeks but they also said she was male so who knows. I used to use calcium powder to dust the crickets but I was told that between that and the high protein diet powder it was too much, so I stopped. What is wrong with the dried mealworms? (She loves them).

Thank you again for all the information!

 

[maddylynnejane]

You beat me @Beman
Everything above and adding that due to several different things, I’d strongly advise a vet visit with x rays to accurately determine if she has been producing any eggs as well as her bone health. Might as well take a fresh fecal for parasite check while there.

Thank you, I will try and get her to a vet as soon as I can.

 

[Beman]

Thank you so much for your response, it is very helpful.

I was told when I got her that the max she could be was 4 weeks but they also said she was male so who knows. I used to use calcium powder to dust the crickets but I was told that between that and the high protein diet powder it was too much, so I stopped. What is wrong with the dried mealworms? (She loves them).

Thank you again for all the information!

So dried does not mean gutloaded nor do they have any moisture content. Mealworms are also very low quality when it comes to nutritional value.

So you should be using calcium without D3 at every feeding and then a calcium with D3 multivitamin 2 times a month say the 1st and the 15th. Without the proper supplementation of her feeders she will have a harder time developing eggs as well. Instead of getting the calcium she needs from her supplements that are on her live gutloaded feeders her body will pull it from her bones making them more brittle and weak. You combine this with improper UVB and you have an even higher risk of MBD developing which is much worse for females due to egg laying.

 

[Tkrd69]

Could dried mealworms dehydrate a cham?

 

[MissSkittles]

Could dried mealworms dehydrate a cham?

That’s a really good question. All it does is lead me to more questions.

 

[Tkrd69]

It crossed my mind that dried worms would pull moisture from cham depending on how many it eat might bind things up

 

[MissSkittles]

It crossed my mind that dried worms would pull moisture from cham depending on how many it eat might find bind things up

Yes, and all creatures obtain some hydration through their food too. I don’t think my beardie has ever taken a sip of water, yet his urates are white as he gets all his hydration needs met by his food. While chameleons may not be the exact same, since veileds do have the dry season I wonder if they are perhaps more efficient with the fluid they get from their food. Like I said…only more questions.