Keeping humidity in
- Thread starter crystal9534
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crystal9534
New Member
* Your Chameleon - veiled, female, about a year or so. had her since tuesday
* Handling - not much, only if we think she's falling
* Feeding - crickets and mealworms. once a day. maybe 3 crickets, 2 worms. orange cubes sold in pet stores fed to crickets
* Supplements - nothing
* Watering - small dish at bottom of cage, we mist enough to get all leaves wet. haven't seen her drink
* Fecal Description - haven't seen any poops
* History - egg impaction problems
Cage Info:
* Cage Type -screen about 4 ft high 18+ in wide
* Lighting - heat light and uvb i believe. uvb is 12 hours a day, heat is constant
* Temperature - temp is about 65-70 in the lower area. don't have a thermo at top of cage.
* Humidity - about 45%
* Plants - ficus
* Placement - next to a window, its about 5 feet off the ground
* Location - washington state
Current Problem - humidity
* Handling - not much, only if we think she's falling
* Feeding - crickets and mealworms. once a day. maybe 3 crickets, 2 worms. orange cubes sold in pet stores fed to crickets
* Supplements - nothing
* Watering - small dish at bottom of cage, we mist enough to get all leaves wet. haven't seen her drink
* Fecal Description - haven't seen any poops
* History - egg impaction problems
Cage Info:
* Cage Type -screen about 4 ft high 18+ in wide
* Lighting - heat light and uvb i believe. uvb is 12 hours a day, heat is constant
* Temperature - temp is about 65-70 in the lower area. don't have a thermo at top of cage.
* Humidity - about 45%
* Plants - ficus
* Placement - next to a window, its about 5 feet off the ground
* Location - washington state
Current Problem - humidity
crystal9534
New Member
do they have bones all the way down to their belly area? i felt her belly and it wasn't squishy but had things in it. not sure if it was eggs or bones, or what? no spines or anything on the back leg area
Brad Ramsey
Retired Moderator
Again, humidity is not your problem.
If you are serious about wanting to keep this particular animal as a pet, you are going to need to help her.
Your first step is a visit to the vet. No one here can tell you what you're feeling in her belly (I think it's eggs)
Do you have a qualified reptile vet with chameleon experience?
-Brad
If you are serious about wanting to keep this particular animal as a pet, you are going to need to help her.
Your first step is a visit to the vet. No one here can tell you what you're feeling in her belly (I think it's eggs)
Do you have a qualified reptile vet with chameleon experience?
-Brad
crystal9534
New Member
the pet store was taking her to a nearby vet so she knows the details about her history. am i not supposed to feed her much because she's gravid or is this how much she's allowed to eat regularly? we have a book that says they can have up to 12 large crickets in a day. what veggies should we feed her while she's going through this?
Leilaskeeper
New Member
Feeding - try using superworms instead of mealworms .. from my experience working in a reptile store, there are a lot of people who don't know the difference between a mealworm and a superworm. Mealworms are lighter in colour (beige) and skinny whereas superworms are thicker and take on more of a darker orange/brown colour. Superworms are what you want.
You can also gutload your crickets leafy green veggies like kale/collards/dandelion greens, a variety of fruits and veggies. I like to use oranges, sweet potato and collards personally. I do this 24 hours prior to feeding my chameleon the crickets/supers.
Supplements - check the search option for much coverage on this topic
Watering - instead of using a dish which breeds bacteria, use a drip and mist at least 2 times a day. For a drip, you could use a deli cup, poke a small hole and put it on top of your enclosure to drip on some leaves.
Lighting - Can you be more specific with the wattage and brand for the basking light and is it a 5.0 uvb? Again, what brand..
Plants - perhaps add a bit more plants and vines
You can also gutload your crickets leafy green veggies like kale/collards/dandelion greens, a variety of fruits and veggies. I like to use oranges, sweet potato and collards personally. I do this 24 hours prior to feeding my chameleon the crickets/supers.
Supplements - check the search option for much coverage on this topic
Watering - instead of using a dish which breeds bacteria, use a drip and mist at least 2 times a day. For a drip, you could use a deli cup, poke a small hole and put it on top of your enclosure to drip on some leaves.
Lighting - Can you be more specific with the wattage and brand for the basking light and is it a 5.0 uvb? Again, what brand..
Plants - perhaps add a bit more plants and vines
crystal9534
New Member
uvb light is a zilla slimline desert fixture: desert 50 uvb T8 fluorescent bulb
heat light bulb is 100 watts flukers clamp
whats the difference between superworms and mealworms besides color? we've been using large mealworms for her.
heat light bulb is 100 watts flukers clamp
whats the difference between superworms and mealworms besides color? we've been using large mealworms for her.
Leilaskeeper
New Member
I'm not familiar with desert fixtures.. but a 5.0 UVB is right. I personally use ExoTerra product but many suggest other brands.
You really need to get a thermometer and know the basking temp. It should be between 80-83. 100 watts can emit a lot of heat if not positioned properly. It might be suggested to you to use a 60 watt incandescent light. I use this in my ExoTerra glass enclosure and it works great. I use an ExoTerra100 watt tight beam for my larger enclosure but I have the lamp hanging higher so the temp meets at 83 for my veileds basking spot. Since you have a clamp, maybe you should try raising it just a bit. The wattage is a lot. At least until you know your exact temps.
This is what you want to feed to your cham ...
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crystal9534
New Member
Leilaskeeper
New Member
Yeah the fixture is pretty huge ... that's okay, what I would do is get a temperature reading asap. Go to a local hardware store like Home Depot and get a digital thermometer. I got one that also gives a humidity reading. If the basking temp is more than 90, you might want to lower the wattage of the bulb. You can get an incandescent .. perhaps 60 watts is good to try. It's trial and error. This is an easy fix.
One thing at a time
One thing at a time
Ashley,
Welcome to the Forum. It can be overwhelming to follow the pet stores directions, and then discover the information is incorrect. You are not the first one to walk this path.....with some changes your girl will be fine.
Veiled Chameleons don't need high humidity, they reside in the desert. Your cage is well planted, and your dripping water and hand misting will be fine for the hydration and humidity needs.
Nick
Welcome to the Forum. It can be overwhelming to follow the pet stores directions, and then discover the information is incorrect. You are not the first one to walk this path.....with some changes your girl will be fine.
Veiled Chameleons don't need high humidity, they reside in the desert. Your cage is well planted, and your dripping water and hand misting will be fine for the hydration and humidity needs.
Nick
Elizadolots
New Member
Maybe I'm confused...I thought she had a duel "waterfall/fogger" mechanism. Like this one: http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/-/exo-terra-medium-waterfall-fogger-and-pump-combo/
If it's two units, then put the waterfall somewhere it will be appreciated (it's great "go to sleep" sound) and put the fogger on a shelf near the cage (build the shelf if necessary) and let it do what it can to help with humidity.
My point is: if the store won't take it back, it can still be used.
Leilaskeeper
New Member
She can return it. She just bought it. There usually is a return policy, especially when you were given wrong advice from an employee. If she is given a hard time, she can just speak to a manager and complain.
It has been mentioned by many people in this thread and many other threads not to use those products at all. I think it's best to listen to the majority in this situation. They are useless for a chameleon.
Where is she going to build a shelf? On her wall? She already said it's not assisting with humidity so it's pointless to use.
It has been mentioned by many people in this thread and many other threads not to use those products at all. I think it's best to listen to the majority in this situation. They are useless for a chameleon.
Where is she going to build a shelf? On her wall? She already said it's not assisting with humidity so it's pointless to use.
pssh
Avid Member
Didn't the zilla desert series have some major problems? I believe they were known to blind the animals.
Mealworms contain more chitin than superworms. Because of this mealworms can cause impaction which is a blockage of the intestines. Impactions can kill the animal and/or cost you a huge vet bill. Mealworms are more of a 1-2 times a month feeder. Superworms are fatty (just like mealworms) and should only be fed a treats every once in a while.
Make sure you get her a laying bin that is at least 10 inches of substrate and that has enough room for her plus a few inches on all sides including above her. You also need to know her basking temps (100 watts could be cooking her) so get a digital thermometer.
Please post larger pictures of her.
Mealworms contain more chitin than superworms. Because of this mealworms can cause impaction which is a blockage of the intestines. Impactions can kill the animal and/or cost you a huge vet bill. Mealworms are more of a 1-2 times a month feeder. Superworms are fatty (just like mealworms) and should only be fed a treats every once in a while.
Make sure you get her a laying bin that is at least 10 inches of substrate and that has enough room for her plus a few inches on all sides including above her. You also need to know her basking temps (100 watts could be cooking her) so get a digital thermometer.
Please post larger pictures of her.
fluxlizard
Avid Member
Does anyone have a source to confirm this. I'm suspicious of this- I guess because I've seen so many speculative hypothosis concerning lizards and their husbandry get magically turned into facts that get passed around over and over in time. I'm thinking this might be one of them but I'd like to know for sure one way or the other. Is there any analysis that has been done to confirm this, and if so, can someone cite a source other than someone who just says so? My suspicion is that someone speculated this because superworms have a lot more of the good stuff inside simply because they grow larger and that percentage wise, there may not be much difference- especially in supers that have not yet grown larger than regular mealworms. Either way, right or wrong- I would like to know for sure and have been unable to find an actual analysis. If someone could provide a link or source, I'd be grateful...
IMO only an unhealthy lizard to begin with would get an impaction from eating mealworms. Lizards make a living off eating and digesting insects, all of which have chitinous exoskeletons... Mealworms have regularly been one part of my lizards diets since the early 1980s (chameleons diets since 1993) and I've never had a single impaction resulting from feeding them...
https://www.chameleonforums.com/bookstore/panther-chameleon/
The link provides the work of at least is one expert who used them regularly and kept a colony of panther chameleons going for multiple generations in a lab type environment where they were being specifically studied using only mealworms and crickets. The mealworms gutloaded calcium significantly better than the crickets which is why they were used.
I apologize if it appears that I am attacking the poster of the quotes here- it is not my intention. I also apologize because this is sort of not the topic of this thread. I just see this mealworm advice passed along all the time and its starting to bug me (pardon the pun- lol) and I'd like to get to the bottom of it.
crystal9534
New Member
i do have that waterfall/fogger combo
CleaTheChameleon
New Member
I really cant add much because really everything was said but you need to move the substrate at the bottom(mulch, bark or whatever it is0 it also can cause impaction if you chameleon eats it. Just use paper towels, newspaper, or nothing..just get rid of the substrate
fluxlizard
Avid Member
Does anyone have a source to confirm this. I'm suspicious of this- I guess because I've seen so many speculative hypothosis concerning lizards and their husbandry get magically turned into facts that get passed around over and over in time. I'm thinking this might be one of them but I'd like to know for sure one way or the other. Is there any analysis that has been done to confirm this, and if so, can someone cite a source other than someone who just says so? My suspicion is that someone speculated this because superworms have a lot more of the good stuff inside simply because they grow larger and that percentage wise, there may not be much difference- especially in supers that have not yet grown larger than regular mealworms. Either way, right or wrong- I would like to know for sure and have been unable to find an actual analysis. If someone could provide a link or source, I'd be grateful.../QUOTE]
Wow- either someone saw this or the forums just experienced syncronicity.
pssh posted an excellent article with the answer to my question over on the chameleon food forum. Looks like my suspicions were completely wrong.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/good-read-37001/
crystal9534
New Member
so we've taken all substrate out and the waterfall and fogger. the store took back the fogger but not the waterfall because my mom tore up the styrofoam while getting it out. i will now attempt to sell it on craigslist. we bought superworms for zeeva (our cham) and put yummies in the cricket keeper and in the cage for the crickets to nom on. i will go look for a box for her to lay her eggs in and look up what to put inside the box for egg laying. will update as i know what's going on.
THANK YOU!
THANK YOU!
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crystal9534
New Member
what do you guys put in your boxes? am i correct in assuming that she lays eggs even if she hasn't mated? what do you do with infertile eggs?
