Mouth issues

[harsza15]

Hi everyone! First of all, sorry for my English. I live in Hungary and only speak a little English. I have a 3.5-year-old veiled chameleon. One month ago, I noticed that he wasn't shooting his tongue at his food. I took him to the vet, and they did a blood test. They said his phosphorus was slightly high and his calcium was low. But we caught it in time... We got phosphorus-restraining fluid and liquid calcium. These ran out and his condition started to deteriorate. He developed lockjaw and spasms. I took him to another vet, and they wanted to euthanize him because they said he had Zenker's necrosis. I didn't allow it, brought him home, and now I'm trying to treat him at home. Externally, he looks beautiful, is interested in his environment, and has a strong grip. Please help!

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi and welcome. Are you using any supplements, like calcium, vitamin D3 and multivitamin? If not, that is likely the problem. You should be lightly dusting his food at every feeding with a phosphorus-free calcium without D3. Then for one feeding every other week (14 days) you want to use a phosphorus-free calcium with D3 and a multivitamin, but not on the same day. For example, on the first and third Saturday of the month you’ll use the calcium with D3. On the second and 4th Saturday of the month you’ll use the multivitamin. All feedings in between, you’ll use the calcium without D3. Additionally, you need to have a proper uvb light. The standard is a T5HO fixture with either an Arcadia 6% or ReptiSun 5.0 uvb bulb. With this specific uvb source, your basking area should then be about 20-22 cm below. The screw in uvb bulbs are not able to meet a chameleon’s needs. I’d like to see some clear current photos of your chameleon and his entire enclosure. How did your vet diagnose the Zenker’s necrosis? I had to look that up as I’ve never heard of it before. If you are able to answer these questions, we can look over all of your husbandry and identify if there’s a problem there and help you to fix it. I know you said your English is limited, but I understand you fine and we always have Google translate and other apps.
Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
• Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
• Location - Where are you geographically located?

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

--------------

Please Note:

1. The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.
2. Photos can be very helpful.

 

[harsza15]

I have a veiled chameleon, male, 3.5 years old, and he has been with me since he was 3 months old.

I handle him every day, for 4-5 hours daily.

His main food is brown crickets and flies. Occasionally, he gets mealworm larvae and silkworms, but these are given only about 1-2 times every six months. I feed him by 4 PM.

I use Zoomed brand multivitamin and Repti Calcium (I will attach a picture).
I feed him every other day, and I use vitamins with every feeding: 2 days calcium, then 2 days multivitamin. I never give him both vitamins at the same time.

I give him water from a pipette, I tried to get him to drink from a water fountain, but he refused. He usually drinks a lot, and I give him water 2-3 times a day.

He has a bowel movement about every 2 weeks, then it is a larger amount, not hard, not liquid, but rather soft. The urine part is white with some yellow and some egg white-like parts. The food is always digested. He has not been tested for parasites.

The terrarium is glass, 90 cm high, 45 cm deep, and 60 cm wide. It has ventilation grilles at the top and bottom.

He has a Zoomed brand lighting set (I will attach a picture). His heat lamp is in a metal dome with a standard 40-watt incandescent bulb. The UVB lamp is also Zoomed brand, 55 cm long, 24 watts. In summer, the lights are on for 12 hours, in winter for 10 hours.

The basking branch is at 30 degrees Celsius, lower down it is 24-25 degrees Celsius. At night, the temperature does not drop below 20 degrees. I measure the temperature with a stick-on thermometer.

Humidity is usually around 75-80%, we spray water for him twice a day, and we measure it with an ExoTerra brand hygrometer.

I use both live and artificial plants. I will attach a picture. He has a Ficus benjamina, a ZZ plant, and a pothos. There is also artificial ivy and an orchid.

He is in the living room, currently in an air-conditioned area, and the terrarium is on a 77 cm high cabinet.

Additionally, in the 3.5 years I've had him, he has just been to the vet for the first time. I am very worried about him, and due to lockjaw, he was prescribed Hill's brand a/d cat food.

Thank you very much for your help!

---

 

[harsza15]

I have a veiled chameleon, male, 3.5 years old, and he has been with me since he was 3 months old.

I handle him every day, for 4-5 hours daily.

His main food is brown crickets and flies. Occasionally, he gets mealworm larvae and silkworms, but these are given only about 1-2 times every six months. I feed him by 4 PM.

I use Zoomed brand multivitamin and Repti Calcium (I will attach a picture).
I feed him every other day, and I use vitamins with every feeding: 2 days calcium, then 2 days multivitamin. I never give him both vitamins at the same time.

I give him water from a pipette, I tried to get him to drink from a water fountain, but he refused. He usually drinks a lot, and I give him water 2-3 times a day.

He has a bowel movement about every 2 weeks, then it is a larger amount, not hard, not liquid, but rather soft. The urine part is white with some yellow and some egg white-like parts. The food is always digested. He has not been tested for parasites.

The terrarium is glass, 90 cm high, 45 cm deep, and 60 cm wide. It has ventilation grilles at the top and bottom.

He has a Zoomed brand lighting set (I will attach a picture). His heat lamp is in a metal dome with a standard 40-watt incandescent bulb. The UVB lamp is also Zoomed brand, 55 cm long, 24 watts. In summer, the lights are on for 12 hours, in winter for 10 hours.

The basking branch is at 30 degrees Celsius, lower down it is 24-25 degrees Celsius. At night, the temperature does not drop below 20 degrees. I measure the temperature with a stick-on thermometer.

Humidity is usually around 75-80%, we spray water for him twice a day, and we measure it with an ExoTerra brand hygrometer.

I use both live and artificial plants. I will attach a picture. He has a Ficus benjamina, a ZZ plant, and a pothos. There is also artificial ivy and an orchid.

He is in the living room, currently in an air-conditioned area, and the terrarium is on a 77 cm high cabinet.

Additionally, in the 3.5 years I've had him, he has just been to the vet for the first time. I am very worried about him, and due to lockjaw, he was prescribed Hill's brand a/d cat food.

Thank you very much for your help!

---

Im living in Hungary, Budapest.

 

[kinyonga]

I see there is vitamin D3 in the reptivite and in the calcium. In addition to that your schedule is not what we recommend. These things can push a chameleon towards bone issues and other health issues due to an imbalance/overdose of nutrients.

Please post some photos of your chameleon so I can see all of him from the side and other angles as well.

 

[kinyonga]

We recommend using phos free calcium with no D3 at all feedings but two a month lightly. On those two feedings, about 2 weeks apart, the vitamins should be used lightly. I’m going to try to explain the reasoning behind this…but if you follow this you should be ok.

Explanation…
Without D3 and/or exposure to the proper amount of UVB, the calcium cannot be pulled into the chameleon’s system to keep the bones strong. D3 is what helps the calcium get to where it’s needed in the body. Calcium also plays a part in muscle health, etc too.

TOO MUCH D3 from supplements can lead to health issues with the bones and other systems. It’s hard to overdo the D3 that comes from the UVB sources as long as the chameleon can move in and out of it at will.

Phosphorous needs to be in a proper balance with the calcium as well…and most feeder insects we use, don’t have the right balance of phos to calcium, which is why we dust with calcium.

Vitamin A is another vitamin that needs to be in balance. Like D3, it’s fat soluble and can be stored…thus can be overdosed. If you use beta carotene sources of vitamin A, it won’t build up in the system, but it’s suspected that chameleons can’t use/convert the beta carotene into proper vitamin A. So we use preformed vitamin A with caution.
Water soluble vitamins should not build up…excess should be expelled.

The D3 and the vitamin A need to be in balance with each other as well….but there’s no exact amount that we know this balance has to be for sure.

Hope this helps.

 

[MissSkittles]

I’m not sure I’ll have enough time for more than a quick reply right now, but @kinyonga identified the probable source of your guy’s problem and gave you the biggest change you need to make. You need a phosphorus free calcium without D3 that you’ll lightly dust every feeding with. I wasn’t sure what supplements are available to you, but the ReptiVite with D3 is perfect! It’s a combination multivitamin and D3 and is the only other supplement you need. You’ll use this one on one feeding every other week (14 days). Since he’s been getting overdosed on it, it’s best that you not give him anymore for at least a month. Give his body some time to process the fat soluble vitamins D3 and A, as well as a couple others. You do need to provide better hydration. Fountains are no good to use. Get a spray bottle and spray the leaves of his enclosure for at least 2 full minutes twice a day - right before his lights turn on and about 30 minutes before lights turn off. Your night time temps are not low enough to add a fogger or humidifier at night which helps hydration. But you can add a dripper for about 20-30 minutes during the day. Very simple to make one - poke a pin hole in the bottom of a disposable type plastic cup. Place it where it will drip onto some plant leaves. Has your chameleon been tested for parasites? If not, maybe the vet you went to will test without having to make another visit - you can just drop the fresh poo off. Some parasites can make a chameleon very thirsty. I do have more feedback on some other changes that I see you should make, but none are as essential as all of this. I’ll be back to go over the rest when I have more time if someone else doesn’t do it. By the way, I’m so very glad that you found your way here and I’m hopeful that your chameleon’s problems can be fixed.

 

[Rae006]

I’m not sure I’ll have enough time for more than a quick reply right now, but @kinyonga identified the probable source of your guy’s problem and gave you the biggest change you need to make. You need a phosphorus free calcium without D3 that you’ll lightly dust every feeding with. I wasn’t sure what supplements are available to you, but the ReptiVite with D3 is perfect! It’s a combination multivitamin and D3 and is the only other supplement you need. You’ll use this one on one feeding every other week (14 days). Since he’s been getting overdosed on it, it’s best that you not give him anymore for at least a month. Give his body some time to process the fat soluble vitamins D3 and A, as well as a couple others. You do need to provide better hydration. Fountains are no good to use. Get a spray bottle and spray the leaves of his enclosure for at least 2 full minutes twice a day - right before his lights turn on and about 30 minutes before lights turn off. Your night time temps are not low enough to add a fogger or humidifier at night which helps hydration. But you can add a dripper for about 20-30 minutes during the day. Very simple to make one - poke a pin hole in the bottom of a disposable type plastic cup. Place it where it will drip onto some plant leaves. Has your chameleon been tested for parasites? If not, maybe the vet you went to will test without having to make another visit - you can just drop the fresh poo off. Some parasites can make a chameleon very thirsty. I do have more feedback on some other changes that I see you should make, but none are as essential as all of this. I’ll be back to go over the rest when I have more time if someone else doesn’t do it. By the way, I’m so very glad that you found your way here and I’m hopeful that your chameleon’s problems can be fixed.

So if I have the repti-calcium with D3 and one without do I also need a multivitamin or is that in the with D3 i use

 

[MissSkittles]

So if I have the repti-calcium with D3 and one without do I also need a multivitamin or is that in the with D3 i use

Hi and welcome. Yes, you need a multivitamin too. There are a few different ways to supplement and I’m going to tell you two different ways. The one thing that is the same is that you will use a phosphorus-free calcium without D3 lightly dusted at every feeding. Then…
Traditional method - Phosphorus free calcium with D3 use one feeding every other week, for example the 1st and 14th of the month. A good multivitamin like Reptivite without D3 use one feeding every other week, for example of the 7th and 28th of the month.
Easy method - Use a combination product of either ReptiVite with D3 or Repashy calcium plus LoD https://www.amazon.com/Repashy-Calc...669338316-B00DLJRMV2-&hvexpln=73&gad_source=1 for one feeding every other week.

I prefer the easy method myself. Just two products - calcium without D3 and I use the Repashy LoD.

 

[harsza15]

Thank you very much for responding so quickly! You found the mistake; I recently bought the powders because the previous ones ran out (the previous ones were phosphorus and D3-free calcium powder), and I was careless because I didn't even check that this one also contains vitamin D3. I am grateful to you, and I will do everything as you advised! I hope it's not too late and I can improve its condition. I will also send fresh pictures of it after I wake up.

 

[MissSkittles]

Now let me go over the rest of your husbandry.

I have a veiled chameleon, male, 3.5 years old, and he has been with me since he was 3 months old.

I handle him every day, for 4-5 hours daily. Yikes! That’s a lot. I know you love him and enjoy interacting with him, but he needs to be able to spend more time in his enclosure basking so that all of his body functions are warm enough to work efficiently, and to be under his uvb light. Also, chameleons are not the social animals that we wish they were and they can very easily become stressed from handling. We think they are happy and comfortable and enjoying a little nap on our hand or how they brighten their colors. These are actually signs of stress. Veileds are really not at all friendly…even the rare nice ones don’t really want much to do with us.

His main food is brown crickets and flies. Occasionally, he gets mealworm larvae and silkworms, but these are given only about 1-2 times every six months. I feed him by 4 PM. Ok. Mealworms aren’t so great, but since it’s not often you give them, that’s fine. Silkworms are awesome and you can definitely give those more often if you can. Roaches are also good additions to his diet, if you have them available. I believe dubia are available in most places. Don’t forget that you need to keep your insects well fed and healthy, so that they will be more nutritious. I’ll attach a couple of graphics to help guide you. How many feeders are you giving each time? Are you feeding him daily? For his age, he should be getting 3-4 adequately sized feeders, every other day or even three days per week. Of course, this also depends on his physical condition, for which pics are needed. It’s best to feed once early in the day, so he has time to bask and digest his food properly.

I use Zoomed brand multivitamin and Repti Calcium (I will attach a picture).
I feed him every other day, and I use vitamins with every feeding: 2 days calcium, then 2 days multivitamin. I never give him both vitamins at the same time. We already went over this.

I give him water from a pipette, I tried to get him to drink from a water fountain, but he refused. Good for him! The problem with water fountains is that no matter how clean you think you keep it, it is still going to become bacterial soup. Do be careful with the pipette. The airway is in the front of their mouth and they can easily aspirate. He usually drinks a lot, and I give him water 2-3 times a day. I do find this unusual since many chameleons are very secretive about drinking. I already gave my input on it though.

He has a bowel movement about every 2 weeks, That really should be more frequent. Definitely getting a parasite check is needed. then it is a larger amount, not hard, not liquid, but rather soft. The urine part is white with some yellow and some egg white-like parts. The food is always digested. He has not been tested for parasites.
I’m going to break this into two parts and this is a good stop point. More to come.

 

[MissSkittles]

The terrarium is glass, 90 cm high, 45 cm deep, and 60 cm wide. It has ventilation grilles at the top and bottom. I’m afraid this is much too small for an adult. He needs at least a 60x60x120 cm enclosure and even bigger if you can. This is probably why he is so ‘friendly’…he just wants out of his tiny space. I’m also going to suggest that you get a screened enclosure because your humidity is much too high. I’ll go over that below.

He has a Zoomed brand lighting set (I will attach a picture). His heat lamp is in a metal dome with a standard 40-watt incandescent bulb. The UVB lamp is also Zoomed brand, 55 cm long, 24 watts. In summer, the lights are on for 12 hours, in winter for 10 hours. Perfect

The basking branch is at 30 degrees Celsius, lower down it is 24-25 degrees Celsius. At night, the temperature does not drop below 20 degrees. Very good. You don’t want the basking area any warmer than 30c. It’s great if the night time temp gets below 20c. It’s actually desired. Not everyone can achieve the cool nights though. I measure the temperature with a stick-on thermometer.

Humidity is usually around 75-80%, This is way too high and I fear he’s at high risk for a respiratory infection. You want your daytime humidity between 30-50%. A screen enclosure will help greatly to achieve and maintain humidity in the ideal range. For now, you could/should place a tiny fan on the enclosure top to suck air out. we spray water for him twice a day, and we measure it with an ExoTerra brand hygrometer.

I use both live and artificial plants. I will attach a picture. He has a Ficus benjamina, a ZZ plant, and a pothos. There is also artificial ivy and an orchid. Because veileds love to nibble their plants, it’s essential that they have only safe live ones. It only takes on nibble of a fake leaf to cause a bowel obstruction. You can hang the artificial plants on the outside of his enclosure to give him more privacy. To bring in some more color, you could try a tradescantia plant or croton. You also need to replace all of the ropes with branches or vines. Little chameleon nails have gotten trapped and injured in ropes, woven hammocks and similar items. Definitely add more branches and other little chameleon roads to travel. You can use ones you gather. Just avoid pine and other trees with strong odor or sap. Create a nice little tree for your guy. Attaching pics of my enclosures to give you an idea of what I mean.

He is in the living room, currently in an air-conditioned area, and the terrarium is on a 77 cm high cabinet. Good. Height is safety for our little friends.

Additionally, in the 3.5 years I've had him, he has just been to the vet for the first time. I am very worried about him, and due to lockjaw, he was prescribed Hill's brand a/d cat food. I don’t know about giving him cat food for more than a couple of days. It’s too high in protein and can cause gout. It would be better to mash up some of his insects and mix them with a little water. Very many vets really have poor knowledge and experience with chameleons. These are not like other reptiles and lizards and in many ways their medical care is very very different.

Thank you very much for your help!

 

[harsza15]

Wow, in my country, we are very misinformed about chameleon care. Unfortunately, the doctors can only interpret blood tests and then mistreat the chameleons. Specifically, two doctors even told me that they had never seen a chameleon older than 2 years...

I have a lot to change; I think I have my program for the weekend... If I see it correctly, the sides and top of your terrarium are mesh? How is the background in the terrarium made? I have heard of flexariums, but here they are mostly used outdoors.

What has always interested me is breeding feeder insects myself. It would be much better because, although there was a supposedly good feeder insect shop here, they once made a mistake that cost the lives of several chameleons... This way, at least I would know that I am giving them nutritious food.

By the way, how old was the oldest chameleon you had?

 

[harsza15]

His beard is a bit messy because of the food; I tried to wipe it.

 

[isaiah33]

Wow, in my country, we are very misinformed about chameleon care. Unfortunately, the doctors can only interpret blood tests and then mistreat the chameleons. Specifically, two doctors even told me that they had never seen a chameleon older than 2 years...

I have a lot to change; I think I have my program for the weekend... If I see it correctly, the sides and top of your terrarium are mesh? How is the background in the terrarium made? I have heard of flexariums, but here they are mostly used outdoors.

What has always interested me is breeding feeder insects myself. It would be much better because, although there was a supposedly good feeder insect shop here, they once made a mistake that cost the lives of several chameleons... This way, at least I would know that I am giving them nutritious food.

By the way, how old was the oldest chameleon you had?

My oldest I have had was 6 years old

 

[MissSkittles]

Wow, in my country, we are very misinformed about chameleon care. Unfortunately, the doctors can only interpret blood tests and then mistreat the chameleons. Specifically, two doctors even told me that they had never seen a chameleon older than 2 years...

I have a lot to change; I think I have my program for the weekend... If I see it correctly, the sides and top of your terrarium are mesh? How is the background in the terrarium made? I have heard of flexariums, but here they are mostly used outdoors.

What has always interested me is breeding feeder insects myself. It would be much better because, although there was a supposedly good feeder insect shop here, they once made a mistake that cost the lives of several chameleons... This way, at least I would know that I am giving them nutritious food.

By the way, how old was the oldest chameleon you had?

Your guy is quite handsome and looks quite well, so I do believe with the changes he will pull thru and be ok. That’s really sad that the vets haven’t seen any chameleons older than 2 and it doesn’t help that they lack the specialized knowledge. Although it may be a challenge to translate, this is the most current and correct source of chameleon husbandry and is what we all pretty much go by. https://chameleonacademy.com/ I would suggest giving the website address to your vets as it should help them greatly. There is a ton of information contained within the site - podcasts, videos, husbandry programs, species specific standards, etc. Spread the knowledge everywhere you can.
I’ve bought my enclosures. Some are ZooMed ReptiBreeze XL size and others are a similar brand from a small brand. In the second picture, I used a few different products and created expanding insulating foam backgrounds which were covered with coco coir. They were very dark and I got rid of them and now use a fabric shower curtain that has a print of blue sky and clouds on the outside of some of my enclosures (just needing to block so my chameleons can’t see each other). If you are even a little bit handy or know someone who is, you could build your own enclosure. Before all of that though, let’s make sure you get your guy back to his best health.
I have bred several of my own feeder insects and even though I don’t like bugs, it was interesting and fun and I developed a respect for the insects that I didn’t have before. I haven’t had much success breeding my own crickets, but I haven’t put very much effort into it either. What kind of insects are you thinking about breeding?
My oldest chameleon is my veiled lady Stella, who is 5 years old and I’ve had her since she was maybe about 5-6 months old. I’ve only been keeping chameleons for 5 years. There are some who have their chameleons for as long as 7 or 8 years. As we learn more about them, our husbandry improves and they live healthier and longer lives.

 

[harsza15]

Your guy is quite handsome and looks quite well, so I do believe with the changes he will pull thru and be ok. That’s really sad that the vets haven’t seen any chameleons older than 2 and it doesn’t help that they lack the specialized knowledge. Although it may be a challenge to translate, this is the most current and correct source of chameleon husbandry and is what we all pretty much go by. https://chameleonacademy.com/ I would suggest giving the website address to your vets as it should help them greatly. There is a ton of information contained within the site - podcasts, videos, husbandry programs, species specific standards, etc. Spread the knowledge everywhere you can.
I’ve bought my enclosures. Some are ZooMed ReptiBreeze XL size and others are a similar brand from a small brand. In the second picture, I used a few different products and created expanding insulating foam backgrounds which were covered with coco coir. They were very dark and I got rid of them and now use a fabric shower curtain that has a print of blue sky and clouds on the outside of some of my enclosures (just needing to block so my chameleons can’t see each other). If you are even a little bit handy or know someone who is, you could build your own enclosure. Before all of that though, let’s make sure you get your guy back to his best health.
I have bred several of my own feeder insects and even though I don’t like bugs, it was interesting and fun and I developed a respect for the insects that I didn’t have before. I haven’t had much success breeding my own crickets, but I haven’t put very much effort into it either. What kind of insects are you thinking about breeding?
My oldest chameleon is my veiled lady Stella, who is 5 years old and I’ve had her since she was maybe about 5-6 months old. I’ve only been keeping chameleons for 5 years. There are some who have their chameleons for as long as 7 or 8 years. As we learn more about them, our husbandry improves and they live healthier and longer lives.

Yes, the first and most important thing is for my sweet little boy to get better. I’ve been thinking about making my own terrarium since I like DIY projects. I checked out the ReptiBreeze XL terrarium and found an ad selling two of them with additional accessories. This could be good for a panther chameleon too, if I read the descriptions correctly, I just need to provide higher humidity for it.

I want to learn how to breed banana crickets. I searched for videos on YouTube but couldn’t find any that explain in detail what to pay attention to.

Ohhh, here it’s very rare for a female chameleon to reach the age of 3-3.5 years. You are raising them very well, congratulations! This is also why I didn’t dare to keep a female, because here 90% of the time they die due to egg retention issues. I’m happy to read that with these care rules, I can even double their lifespan.

I’m attaching a picture of the terrarium for sale, the equipment that comes with it, and the other little resident, Julian, my panther chameleon.

 

[MissSkittles]

Yes, I have panthers and veileds and keep both essentially the same. My humidity is a compromise of around 45-50%. It’s a little bit low for panthers and on the higher end for veileds. All do very well though. I keep them in double sized enclosures, which is just 2 of the XL screened enclosures that I’ve attached together. Along with having lots of space, they have a wider variety of temps and humidity to choose to be in.
In caring for females, I’ve learned from some of the most amazing and experienced keepers how to reduce their egg production, which greatly reduces the risks of egg laying problems. I wrote a blog, in case you’re interested. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/veiled-chameleon-laying-101.2488/
I haven’t heard of that type of cricket before, but I would think that breeding them would be similar to breeding other crickets. One of the most important thing in keeping any and all crickets is to keep them clean. They will literally die from the fumes of their own poo. I believe breeding is pretty simple. I provided a container or moist organic soil, about 5-7 m deep, that I placed a small piece of window type screening over. The females can place their long ovipositors through the screen and lay their eggs, but none of the other crickets can reach the eggs to eat them. After about a week, I removed their lay bin and placed it in a separate little bin. I sprayed the soil to keep it moist and put it in my garage, which is very warm. I don’t remember how long it took for them to hatch. Once they did, I fed them fresh greens and the same things I fed to the adults. They grew really slowly for me and I’m not sure what I was doing wrong. I kept them clean, warm and well fed.
Julian is beautiful! He’s yours? Do you know what locale he is?

 

[isaiah33]

Yes, I have panthers and veileds and keep both essentially the same. My humidity is a compromise of around 45-50%. It’s a little bit low for panthers and on the higher end for veileds. All do very well though. I keep them in double sized enclosures, which is just 2 of the XL screened enclosures that I’ve attached together. Along with having lots of space, they have a wider variety of temps and humidity to choose to be in.
In caring for females, I’ve learned from some of the most amazing and experienced keepers how to reduce their egg production, which greatly reduces the risks of egg laying problems. I wrote a blog, in case you’re interested. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/veiled-chameleon-laying-101.2488/
I haven’t heard of that type of cricket before, but I would think that breeding them would be similar to breeding other crickets. One of the most important thing in keeping any and all crickets is to keep them clean. They will literally die from the fumes of their own poo. I believe breeding is pretty simple. I provided a container or moist organic soil, about 5-7 m deep, that I placed a small piece of window type screening over. The females can place their long ovipositors through the screen and lay their eggs, but none of the other crickets can reach the eggs to eat them. After about a week, I removed their lay bin and placed it in a separate little bin. I sprayed the soil to keep it moist and put it in my garage, which is very warm. I don’t remember how long it took for them to hatch. Once they did, I fed them fresh greens and the same things I fed to the adults. They grew really slowly for me and I’m not sure what I was doing wrong. I kept them clean, warm and well fed.
Julian is beautiful! He’s yours? Do you know what locale he is?

Can I see a pic of the cage?

 

[MissSkittles]

Can I see a pic of the cage?

Here’s one of the first I did, which I did a foamed background. It was a time consuming, expensive job that I later felt was way too dark. I wasn’t able to find the hardware I needed, so I improvised and used tiny hinges to attach the two enclosures, along with thin wire.

This is one of the more recent ones which I’ve set up for one of my panthers.