Jose has improved!!!!

[bylee2009]

Jose is getting better, I finally got him to eat a cricket today (had to stick it to his tounge) but he ate, he wants to move everywhere he wont still still! but he still doesnt have great movement in his front hands, he uses them but wont bare weight on them, im also worried that his neck looks a little swollen, im working on getting the pic on right now, the guy at the reptile store said the calcium with d3 isnt bad for him to get everyday so im alittle confussed what to do anyone have any ideas??

 

[carol5208]

No he is wrong. Do not give d3 everyday. your chameleon is getting d3 from the UVB light you are providing and additionally if you take him out in the sun. You do have a UVB light I take it? A couple of times a month should be sufficient. Please post some pics and you need to fill out the ask for help form.

 

[bylee2009]

yes i do have a uvb light for him but he also isnt climbing in his cage like usual hes down at the bottom so i dunno if hes getting enough, also do i have to fill it out everytime? i did it on my last post when he first got sick a few days ago
here's the pics of him, also i have one of his new cage we built its not ready ready for him just wondering what people think.

 

[Justin Ward]

you should just post this in the same thread so people dont have to do back an refer to another thread, or just save a copy of it (not many things will change on it) so you can just cut and paste...d3 everyday isnt good, he can overdose, but if he isnt climbing he needs some source of UVB, be it a bulb or natural sunlight...gad to hear he is eating and hope he can be nursed back t proper health

 

[bylee2009]

thanks and sorry ill re post it on this one then, still getting used to how this all works lol

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Veiled chameleon, male, he's around 6 months old. we've had him about 3 4 months now.
Handling - daily, he comes to the doors to come out now
Feeding - We feed him crickets dusted with d3 calcium ( calcium every other day)mealworms and waxworms.he eats around 10 crickets a day and a wax worm a day sometimes every other. we have cricket food and water gel
Supplements - d3 calcium every otherday
Watering - he has a fountian and we mist him with a spray bottle 2 3 times daily for about a minute each time and we see him drink from the fountian often.
Fecal Description - nothing different, long dark brown with a yellow white part attached, dont know if he has ever been tested for parasites
History -never had a problem with him before even today he was eating and drinking, he ate a waxworm a few hours before i found him like i did.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - glass screen combo 14''x14''x22''
Lighting - direct focus heat lamp and a coil uvb light, the lamps are on from about 9am until about 10pm
tempurature- his cage is always around 30 32 C daytime and at night around 21 c
humidity- is around 50 going up a bit when i msit his cage during the day
no live plants
Placement - we keep him in our bedroom on a small stand near the window
Location -Ontario Canada

and he has his uvb bulb in and his cage is infront of the window (open permitting weather) still i just dont know if hes getting enough of it being at the bottom of his cage right now, i was worried his neck looks a little swollen as well or if its just in my head now cuz im worried about him.

 

[DavidBuchan]

You should give less d3. You would be much better off with a reptisun 5.0 tube uv light. Your new cage looks good, as long as you get the bask spot right and he can't touch the lamp or burn anywhere. Plenty of foliage, regular warm misting. Variety of food, keeping crickets/locusts as the staple.
Get rid of the fountain. Have a small shallow dish like me if you must. Make the lamps 12 hours on/ 12 hours off.
Keep reading the advice on the forums, because there is still a fair bit that could be better.........

 

[bylee2009]

You should give less d3. You would be much better off with a reptisun 5.0 tube uv light. Your new cage looks good, as long as you get the bask spot right and he can't touch the lamp or burn anywhere. Plenty of foliage, regular warm misting. Variety of food, keeping crickets/locusts as the staple.
Get rid of the fountain. Have a small shallow dish like me if you must. Make the lamps 12 hours on/ 12 hours off.
Keep reading the advice on the forums, because there is still a fair bit that could be better.........

Im going to get the tube light instead for this cage, everyone has recommended it n the more i look up on him the more good things i see about that kind of light, what is a GOOD variety of food for him as i have been feeding him mealworms waxworms and crickets, ppl seem to not like the mealworms or waxworms so much, what else can i use? also i tried the water dish he never bothered with it n i have always been told chameleons only go to running or moving water which is why i got the fountian. they are always on n off 12 hrs each maybe an hr off here n there due to not being home whatever else, im going to get a timer to fix that problem,

and fair bit that could b better my reptile guy told me everything n there chameleons do great, this is the only problem ive had with him how can i be doing EVERYTHING wrong? he seemed to be doing great until 3 or 4 days ago growing nicely, eating n drinking lots his cage's humidity and heat is always bang on, what else can i do?

 

[DavidBuchan]

Im going to get the tube light instead for this cage, everyone has recommended it n the more i look up on him the more good things i see about that kind of light, what is a GOOD variety of food for him as i have been feeding him mealworms waxworms and crickets, ppl seem to not like the mealworms or waxworms so much, what else can i use? also i tried the water dish he never bothered with it n i have always been told chameleons only go to running or moving water which is why i got the fountian. they are always on n off 12 hrs each maybe an hr off here n there due to not being home whatever else, im going to get a timer to fix that problem,

and fair bit that could b better my reptile guy told me everything n there chameleons do great, this is the only problem ive had with him how can i be doing EVERYTHING wrong? he seemed to be doing great until 3 or 4 days ago growing nicely, eating n drinking lots his cage's humidity and heat is always bang on, what else can i do?

It all sounds ok mate, actually. The tube uv and the timer you are changing. You do not need the fountain if you mist properly. If you keep it 100% clean it is no problem, but it will just breed bacteria and get shit in and breed more bacteria. You have a decent variety of feeders, but no matter how hard you try you can't match the variety of the jungle. I like to give it a shot
In summary you are doing nothing wrong, especially since you are on here asking for advice and taking it. Things can always get better and I've learnt a lot on here and been inspired a lot on here so good luck for him and have fun

 

[bylee2009]

thanks i am glad i found this site, everyone has been so helpful and givin great advice. he is my first reptile and i was told chameleons are one of the hardest to handle, but hes been great! i love the litle guy, do u know how many crickets i should hand feed him? (he's not eating so i managed to get one stuck to his tounge today) i dont know if i should try again today or wait til tomorrow. and im assuming by no one saying anything that his neck isnt swollen n it was just me lol

 

[Stanly]

everyone has made good points, I just wanted to point out a couple of things.

first what brand of calcium with D3 are you using, the reason I ask is because diffrent brands have more/less D3, the recomendation of d3 about 2x a month is based on rep-cal I believe which has a pretty large amout of D3.
post your brand (and maybe the amount of D3 it has in it) and maybe some one could tell you if it's safe to use more often (or less)

next your lights, I don't see a big deal if it's 12 or 13 hours (as 9-10 would be 13) but depending on the out side light from windows you may want to make your lights come on and go off ealier. I say this because if there is alot of lights from windows your little guy will be awake at sun rise anyway.
I'd set my lights to come on around sunrise or shortly after, then have them cut off about 12hours later. (if your not home or up at that time buy a light timer, you can get them at about any hardware store)

as otheres have said ditch the fountain, maybe try and mist a bit more (buy or make a automatic mister if your not home enough), also live plants seem to hold water (for drinking) and humidity better than fake, I use a mix of both but would definitely have some real plants, just make sure and wash them and either repot or at lest replace the top few inches of soil with organic soil (no pesticides, fertilizers, or perlite) you may also want to cover the soil with large stones to prevent him from eating soil, roots, twigs.

I like Schefflera arboricola (dwarf umbrella tree), and pythos (devils ivy).

for feeders you could try
(worms) silkworms, hornworms, butterworms, soilder fly larve (aka repti-worms or pheonixworms).
(flies) blue bottle flies, soilder flies (tho to since these can't be gut loaded maybe just as a treat from the larve that hatches)
wild spiders, moths and hoppers (just make sure they're from a pesticide free area, and look them up to make sure they're non-toxic)

 

[Justin Ward]

thanks i am glad i found this site, everyone has been so helpful and givin great advice. he is my first reptile and i was told chameleons are one of the hardest to handle, but hes been great! i love the litle guy, do u know how many crickets i should hand feed him? (he's not eating so i managed to get one stuck to his tounge today) i dont know if i should try again today or wait til tomorrow. and im assuming by no one saying anything that his neck isnt swollen n it was just me lol

i think you took hardest to handle out of context...they are harder to take care for, but dont like to be handled...as far as length from UVB bulb, i believe it penetrates to about 12 inches...im not sure about all of his health problems, but they can go a week or so without eating (probably not recommended for a sick cham) but if you can get him to eat it will definitely help

 

[bylee2009]

Stanly- thats all amazing advice thank you sooooo much!!
the calcium im giving him now is zoo med repti calcium now theres 2 calcium parts on the back one says max one says min the max is 43.0%... 430,000mg
the min is 38.0%...380,000mg not really sure :s

 

[bylee2009]

i think you took hardest to handle out of context...they are harder to take care for, but dont like to be handled...as far as length from UVB bulb, i believe it penetrates to about 12 inches...im not sure about all of his health problems, but they can go a week or so without eating (probably not recommended for a sick cham) but if you can get him to eat it will definitely help

thats what i meant they are the hardest to care for, just poor word choice, my guy likes being handled he walks right up to the doors of the cage n when i open them he comes out to me. and thanks for the answer about the light i was worried about it, i got him to eat one today i just dont know if i should try another or if itll stress him out too much i have to force feed him(stick it to his tounge) so i dunno if i should wait till tomorrow or not

 

[Stanly]

Stanly- thats all amazing advice thank you sooooo much!!
the calcium im giving him now is zoo med repti calcium now theres 2 calcium parts on the back one says max one says min the max is 43.0%... 430,000mg
the min is 38.0%...380,000mg not really sure :s

ok my repti-calcium (which is one of the brands recommended for 2x a month) is the same as yours min 38% (380,000mg) max 43% (430,000mg).
So I'd go with what carol said and only use it 2x per month.

over doing D3 can cause all sorts of issues, from organ damage, hypervitamintosus (that maybe spelled wrong) even effecting how calcium is used (to much can cause the same issue as to little such as MBD).

D3 as a supplement is just that, from all I have heard the safest way for a chameleon to get D3 is to convert it from UVB, the best source being the sun, 2nd best being UVB lights, D3 as a supplement is just to fill in the gaps for chameleons that spend a lot of time indoors.

ps. I'm not saying it is, but over dosing on vitamin A or D3 can cause glandular edema (swelling around the neck) and loss of appetite.

One last thing when dusting your crickets you want them kind of sprinkeled or "seasoned" not "ghosted", I used to have a hard time not over dusting my crickets till I read some advice by a forum member (Texas Panther Man) to use a cup and "swish" them rather than shaking them in a bag.

Hope your little one continues to improve, Best of luck

 

[bylee2009]

not sure what to do

so he is still having a hard time with his front hands, he walks on them with his back hand, really starting to think its MBD does anyone have some pointers to help him out? aslo, he has been moving around a lot today, the most he has in 3 days and he seems to want to climb up the side of the cage should i put his vines back in or not im scared with his grip not bang on that he'll fall again, what do i dooo????

 

[DavidBuchan]

Put the vines back, he seems to be getting better. I forgot if you went to a vet. I would leave him to himself totally for a couple of days apart from a little hand feed from inside the viv. Make an appointment with a vet? You'll be able to find out how bad it is........That's what I'd do because I'm not qualified.

 

[bylee2009]

i know and I spend the first day and a half trying to find a vet around me that handles reptiles the closest is 2 hrs from where i am n dont think the trip would be good for him there for im kinda stuck doing this n trying to get him back to normal as i can. so i should let him try n climb around? im worried he'll fall again, really scared me last time so im super nervous about it, but if people think he'll b ok im willing to try it i hate that he's climbing on the screen he's gotten his claws stuck a few times today also i dunno if its cuz he hasnt been 100% but everytime ive gone to check oin him he starts moving towards me he seems to like resting with me, not sure tho

 

[DavidBuchan]

i know and I spend the first day and a half trying to find a vet around me that handles reptiles the closest is 2 hrs from where i am n dont think the trip would be good for him there for im kinda stuck doing this n trying to get him back to normal as i can. so i should let him try n climb around? im worried he'll fall again, really scared me last time so im super nervous about it, but if people think he'll b ok im willing to try it i hate that he's climbing on the screen he's gotten his claws stuck a few times today also i dunno if its cuz he hasnt been 100% but everytime ive gone to check oin him he starts moving towards me he seems to like resting with me, not sure tho

You could make sure he'll have a soft landing by putting something on the bottom of the viv......but they do have ribs made of cartilidge and have evolved the controlled fall as a defence mechanism. Of course, it depends on the setup you have and you can see how he's moving around. If it's as bad as it sounds and he's gripping onto his own front legs everytime he tries to move around then I think the 2 hours in a box would be worth it to see if the vet reckons there's a chance of a real recovery.

 

[bylee2009]

well he ate 2 or 3 crickets alll on his own yesterday and i put some sticks and leaves in his cage n he hasnt fallen yet i think he's getting better with each day

 

[Psi]

everyone has made good points, I just wanted to point out a couple of things.

first what brand of calcium with D3 are you using, the reason I ask is because diffrent brands have more/less D3, the recomendation of d3 about 2x a month is based on rep-cal I believe which has a pretty large amout of D3.
post your brand (and maybe the amount of D3 it has in it) and maybe some one could tell you if it's safe to use more often (or less)

next your lights, I don't see a big deal if it's 12 or 13 hours (as 9-10 would be 13) but depending on the out side light from windows you may want to make your lights come on and go off ealier. I say this because if there is alot of lights from windows your little guy will be awake at sun rise anyway.
I'd set my lights to come on around sunrise or shortly after, then have them cut off about 12hours later. (if your not home or up at that time buy a light timer, you can get them at about any hardware store)

as otheres have said ditch the fountain, maybe try and mist a bit more (buy or make a automatic mister if your not home enough), also live plants seem to hold water (for drinking) and humidity better than fake, I use a mix of both but would definitely have some real plants, just make sure and wash them and either repot or at lest replace the top few inches of soil with organic soil (no pesticides, fertilizers, or perlite) you may also want to cover the soil with large stones to prevent him from eating soil, roots, twigs.

I like Schefflera arboricola (dwarf umbrella tree), and pythos (devils ivy).

for feeders you could try
(worms) silkworms, hornworms, butterworms, soilder fly larve (aka repti-worms or pheonixworms).
(flies) blue bottle flies, soilder flies (tho to since these can't be gut loaded maybe just as a treat from the larve that hatches)
wild spiders, moths and hoppers (just make sure they're from a pesticide free area, and look them up to make sure they're non-toxic)

Finally someone else that pays attention to the brands ingredients.
Based on what the OP said, I was getting worried I told him the info, but sounds like it was some other shop lol.