Male Yemen/Veiled

[Barney]

This old bloke is known as Borris. He is estimated to be between 4 and 6 years old. He was a rescue by his previous owners and was then passed on to me. This is my first chameleon, I am glad I started with an adult it allows for slight husbandary mistakes, however he eats fine and such and is silly tame!
So now let me introduce Borris (sorry for rubbish pics will get better ones soon!)

As you can see he is still a tad on the skinny side

 

[jojackson]

Boris needs to be hydrated, immeadiately before his organs shut down mate. Lots of 'wet' feeders and a dripper.
Best wishes

 

[jannb]

Yes, he is dehydrated......his eyes are sunken in. Give him plenty of water via mister, dripper and shower and allot of big juicy feeders such as hornworms and silk worms. Does he always keep his eyes closed?

 

[Barney]

no he doesnt always have his eyes closed to be honest, it might be becuase he is looking backwards at me and the camera?. I have only had him a couple of days, but he has fed for me. I will re-hydrate him the best I can as quickly as I can. I thought he looked dehydrated but at first I put it down to being an old man!

Also are these night temps ok? 60-70F with the average being 65-68F?

 

[jannb]

As they get older you need to up their suppliments. If you don't mind please fill out this form below so the members can help you make sure you have everything correct for this guy. Jann
https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

 

[CleaTheChameleon]

Hello yeah your cham need to be hydrated a lot. Give him showers, get a mistking if you want, and get a dripper. Also get hornworms and silkworms for your cham. If you want when i get silkworm eggs and they hatch and grow i can send you some for free. For now go on www.mulberryfarms.com and order hornworms and silkworms pronto, he will love you. Also get superworms but remember superworms are not used for staple feeders. Mostly as treats, due to the amount of fat they have (really high in fat).


I know you are a beginner but i am to so don't worry. At first i gotta say i knew nothing about these animals and now that im on here every day. I KNOW a ton.
Welcome to the forums my name is Stefan message me for help if needed

 

[Miss Lily]

Hi Barney, I'm also in the UK. We can't get Hornworms over here, but we can get Silkworms, Butterworms, roaches and Phoenix worms. Waxworms are very high in fat and should be fed as treats only. Superworms are OK as part of a varied diet.

I order my silkies and Phoenix worms from here: http://www.butterworms.co.uk/index.html Unfortunately they are not taking orders at the moment as they are away on holiday, but the website states that silkworms will be back in stock at the beginning of August.

Alternatively you could try here for roaches and Phoenix worms: http://www.roachshop.co.uk/. I have placed orders with both suppliers and their service is very good.

With regard to hydration, you can make a simple dripper for your cham. I used a plastic cup with a pin prick hole in the bottom. One cup full lasts about 4 hours.

Keep us posted with his progress - he looks like a lovely old man, bless him!

 

[eisentrauti]

Is it so hard to care for a good enough hydration of Chamaeleo calyptratus ? This one is not far from death. Closed eyes are typical sign for it.
The bulb should also not be in the enclosure....
Edit: Sorry, just seen that he is so old. Then you are not responsible for what has happen to him. But please use a dripper like Miss Lily explained, it will save his life !

 

[Barney]

i sprayed him tons today and he is looking better. nice colours, looking more filled out and his eyes are coming back out again and looks nice. one eye he cant open though maybe a passed incident? he struggles catching food becuase of it so i put it in a little bowl so it cant move much. i wonder if his eye will ever be ok. he is an old lad and i want to do my best to prolong his life and make it happy

 

[summoner12]

OK, for starters. Remove the lights from the cage, especially the heat lamp. He will burn himself on it climbing around. Second. What kind of linear tube is that (make, model, date purchased and UVB output)? Third. remove the substrate from the bottom of the cage. Your cham will go hunting for crickets and if he goes to the bottom, he'll most likely pick up some of that substrate and become impacted.

To rehydrate you can put him in the shower and direct the shower head at the wall so that he gets a spray from it. You do not want to spray him directly. You also want to make sure none of the water will have soap in it... so be sure the shower is clean of any residue.

 

[jannb]

What type of supplements are you using? He needs plain calcium at just about every feeding, calcium with d3 and a multi vitamin. Are you gutloading his crickets? Let us know about your lighting and do as summoner12 said above. Set up a drip cup for him as Miss Lilly said. When you mist him use very warm water.....almost hot. By the time the mist hits him if will cool off some. Do a test mist on your arm. The steam along from the shower might help his eye. If you'll answer the "How to Ask for Help" questions we can try to help you more. Jann

 

[Barney]

firstly I have only had him since friday and I am doing all I can. I have a drop cup and spray at least 3 times, heavily, every day. he has perked up a lot and I will get some photos up from yesterday evening shortly.
I am using pure calcium to dust gut loaded crickets, locust, mealworms and waxworms, I intend to feed every 2-3 days and calcium 2 times a week or so.
the uv is 12% exo terra brand new a month ago. his set up came with him where he has been living for the past 4 or so years. he has no burns but i can get a guard around that bulb.
I am not a reptile noob! I have kept tons of reptiles for years now and combined with experiece in reptile shops and with more experienced keepers larger collections I have a rough idea of how to do things, having worked with a few chameleon species before. I know you are all trying to help and I am taking note of all the suggestions and doing most of them, but I thought I ould clear up the fact that I have a moderately sized reptile collection and have dealt with everything from non feeders, to dehydrated reptiles, to ones 'checking out' with various species from leopard geckos to water monitors.
I know this chameleon is in good hands with myself and as I said I am doing everything I can to make him happy and healthy. I have only had him since friday so nothig will change overnight. he eats, and drinks well.
I knew the state of the chameleon before I got him and if I didn't think I could cope I would have passed the opportunity. Another thing you must remember is he is very old so this obviously is going to effect some things. He is at least 4/5 years old and his old owners were guessing around 6.

 

[summoner12]

firstly I have only had him since friday and I am doing all I can. I have a drop cup and spray at least 3 times, heavily, every day. he has perked up a lot and I will get some photos up from yesterday evening shortly.
I am using pure calcium to dust gut loaded crickets, locust, mealworms and waxworms, I intend to feed every 2-3 days and calcium 2 times a week or so.
the uv is 12% exo terra brand new a month ago. his set up came with him where he has been living for the past 4 or so years. he has no burns but i can get a guard around that bulb.
I am not a reptile noob! I have kept tons of reptiles for years now and combined with experiece in reptile shops and with more experienced keepers larger collections I have a rough idea of how to do things, having worked with a few chameleon species before. I know you are all trying to help and I am taking note of all the suggestions and doing most of them, but I thought I ould clear up the fact that I have a moderately sized reptile collection and have dealt with everything from non feeders, to dehydrated reptiles, to ones 'checking out' with various species from leopard geckos to water monitors.
I know this chameleon is in good hands with myself and as I said I am doing everything I can to make him happy and healthy. I have only had him since friday so nothig will change overnight. he eats, and drinks well.
I knew the state of the chameleon before I got him and if I didn't think I could cope I would have passed the opportunity. Another thing you must remember is he is very old so this obviously is going to effect some things. He is at least 4/5 years old and his old owners were guessing around 6.

Any advice is given from what we see in the pictures. We understand you can't turn things around over night. The things that are suggested like removing the substrate and adding drippers or misting more often for longer, are under our control and people generally can turn those aspects of the cage around over night. No one is getting on your case and I don't think we doubt you. I might speak for some others but mostly myself. When I reply to a thread where someone is asking for help I don't really butter them up unless I can tell they are freaked out by what they've gotten themselves into. You seem to have gotten most of it right but need some tweaking.

The main thing I learned from your last reply, is the lighting. The 12% is toooo much, especially since it is inside of the cage, most likely why he isn't opening his eyes. Check out the UV Guide site for some UV learning (if you've never heard of it). Using a Zoo Med Reptisun 5.0 is your best bet. If you can't get a new UVB lamp right away turn the one you have,off. If you see him using both eyes more then you know for sure its the light. If you can sun him outside, safely, then do that in the morning or late afternoon in direct sunlight. Don't use the UVB lamp for about a week and i think you'll see him using his other eye more, if its caused by the light. If you can get your hands on some terramycin, give him one or two drops a day and see if that helps as well.

And as I said before, you should remove the heat lamp from inside the cage, you are just asking for him to get burned. The substrate is just not needed. These animals live up in the trees and the added risk of impaction just isn't worth it.

 

[Barney]

updated pics from today

 

[lizardboy119796]

Barney, awesome looking Veild, and yes a little water would do him the best! Nice looking cage you have their also, you will have to put a video up on youtube, would love to see a little tour of his cage and stuff. ( By the way, its Kyler from facebook)

 

[jannb]

He's starting to look better. Keep up the good work. How's his other eye? It he starting to open it some, too.

 

[Lizardlover]

Hello yeah your cham need to be hydrated a lot. Give him showers, get a mistking if you want, and get a dripper. Also get hornworms and silkworms for your cham. If you want when i get silkworm eggs and they hatch and grow i can send you some for free. For now go on www.mulberryfarms.com and order hornworms and silkworms pronto, he will love you. Also get superworms but remember superworms are not used for staple feeders. Mostly as treats, due to the amount of fat they have (really high in fat).


I know you are a beginner but i am to so don't worry. At first i gotta say i knew nothing about these animals and now that im on here every day. I KNOW a ton.
Welcome to the forums my name is Stefan message me for help if needed

Actually for a cham in that condition id feed silks hornworms and supers. wax worms too, he looks emmaciated and needs all the nourishment he can get.

EDIT: now that I see his recent pic i wouldnt give him waxworms, supers would be good though, just make sure they are gutloaded well, some chams do actually like them as a staple, the key is gutload. also any idea what that large plant is? it looks like it may be a money tree....which is toxic.

 

[CleaTheChameleon]

Actually for a cham in that condition id feed silks hornworms and supers. wax worms too, he looks emmaciated and needs all the nourishment he can get.

EDIT: now that I see his recent pic i wouldnt give him waxworms, supers would be good though, just make sure they are gutloaded well, some chams do actually like them as a staple, the key is gutload. also any idea what that large plant is? it looks like it may be a money tree....which is toxic.

the plant i think is fake. I may be wrong

 

[Barney]

the plant is fake! do morioworms make a good staple?

he is a bit under weight i can sort that! all my other animals are if anything a tad on the chunky side(not fat, but a good weight)

his other eye is starting to open too

 

[Miss Lily]

Morio worms are the same as super worms. We just call them by a different name in the UK! They can be used as a staple, but it is better to give them a variety.