Juvenile Veiled Not Shedding?

philc21

New Member
Hi i have a juvi veiled about 6-7 inches total length and ive had him for about 4 months now and hes only shed once. im starting to worry about his growth because i was told that they grow very quickly when they are young and hes only grown about an inch since i got him back in september. hes getting enough calcium, im gutloading his crickets, i gave him waxworms for a while to hopefully boost up the protein hes getting, hes under the right lighting and has a good basking area, no visible signs of parasites or wet stool. Is there anything i should be looking for? or is there no need to worry?
 
Don't feed your chameleon too many waxworms...they have quite a bit of fat in them.

Their growth depends to some degree on temperature, how much you are feeding them and even genetics. He should shed when he grows enough.
 
the lights are on for a total of 10 hours the main lights for 10 and the basking light for about 8 hours.
 
Okay the lighting you can up to 12 hours a day. Some keepers roll change their lighting schedule to reflect the outside enviroment. 12 hours is the middle average for areas in which you would find veileds.

I would look into his diet. He needs access to all the "essential amino acids." They are: tryptophan, threonine, isoleucine, phenylalanine, valine, arginine, histidine and hydroxyproline.

Something like arginine becomes an essential amino acid when under stress, injured or during growth spurts. Arginine increase collagen, a protien that provides the main support for bones, cartiledge, tendons, connective tissue and skin. Deficiencies can be linked to depressed growth in alot of cases.

I would suggest gut loading your feeders with something like collard greens. It has traces of seven out of eight of the essential amino acids.

Not saying this is the case but making sure he has access to all his amino acids will not hurt.
 
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thanks i will try up'ing the light a little bit and ive been gutloading with a product called total bites.. (its supposed to have the amino acids)
 
How much are you feeding him?
What size are the feeders?
What kind of supplements do you use and how often?
 
im putting enough crickets in his cup per day so that he doesnt finish them all (if he finishes the number i put in the next day i put in more than that day) so right now hes getting about 6. he stopped taking dusted circkets so now i use calcimize in his water and im gutloading the crickets with total bites which supposedly has everything he needs...... as for feeding him collard greens directly how would i do this i was told i could try feeding him mango as a treat and other things like that but im not too sure how to give it to him. should i hold it for him? or just leave it sumwhere in his cage?
 
I don't feed my veiled fruit.
I'm not saying it's bad...I just don't do it.
The collard leaf can be attached to a branch with a clip or twist tie.
I've found it's good to secure it to something so that they can rip pieces off.
I also offer butter lettuce, radiccio, arugula and romaine from time to time.
Mostly collard though (high in calcium).

-Brad
 
how many crickets is too many?

My veiled, Spud, eats like he is going to go hungry. I put around 12 gut loaded and calcium d3 dusted pin head crickets in his cup and he runs down to where I put the cup to eat them. He usually eats them all right away then goes and basks. Usually I fill it up again right after with around 12 or less maybe (not dusted because I figure twice a day was to much) and there all eaten almost right away. Am I feeding him to much? Is there a way to tell? I dont feed him any more around two to three hours before its bedtime because of what ive read about digestion.
Also since I'm worrying, Spud takes showers and drinks from the dripper every other day (its there for him everyday), that Ive noticed and I'm pretty sure on the in between days he doesn't touch the dripper. Is it safe to assume hes drinking off the leaves those days? he doesn't seem dehydrated so I'm probably worrying.
There is posted pictures of him if thats necessary.
Any comments?
 
If you have seen him drinking and the dripper runs everyday and you are misting regularly, I wouldn't worry about that.
At his age I would not hesitate to feed him all he wants. Pinheads are pretty small, so 20 or so of those a day is fine. I wouldn't dust everyday with the cal w/ D3 though. Maybe twice a week then start to cut back to once a week when he's 4 or 5 months old. The vitamin supplement should only be every other week right now and maybe cut back to once a month. Is he getting greens? I would offer them and see how he responds.
How old is he by the way?

-Brad
 
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